The conference was attended by
several luminaries, including, from left to right:
- Dr. Madiha Kahtab, former Dean of the Cairo University
Faculty of Medicine (and first woman to ever become Dean of the medical
school, another picture of whom is below)
- Dr. Tarek Kamel, Minister of Communications and Information
Technology of Egypt
- Dr. Mohamed Salem, Chairman of ITI
- Me! :-)
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At the conference banquet on the
opening night, I was asked to make a few comments about biomedical
informatics. Listening on from left to right are the Minister of
Education, Dr. Kamel (the Minister of
Communications and Information
Technology), and Dr. Salem. Afterwards I was interviewed by an Egyptian
television station. I was also written up in a local newspaper (I have
the paper but can't read the Arabic!).
More pictures from the conference are below.
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The view of the Nile River from
the balcony of my hotel, the Cairo
Marriott. The hotel sits on Zamalek and Gezira, an island in the
middle of the Nile.
The security here is incredibly tight. They inspect your car and trunk
before you can drive in, and you have to go through a metal detector to
enter the lobby of the hotel. Many tourist places and restaurants also
have metal detectors.
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You can't go to Egypt without
visiting the Great Pyramids! On the Giza Plateau are 9 pyramids, 3
large and 6 small. Seen here are the two largest, Chephren to the right
and Cheops, the largest of all them, to the left. You can't climb on
them but can go inside, although most people don't because
the passages are low in height and there really is not much to see.
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Here in front of Chephren is the
Sphinx, which is not as big as you might think.
In the old days before the Nile was dammed up, this area used to
flood. That is amazing, because it is several miles from where the bank
of the river is now.
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Yes, that's me riding a camel!
Good thing I am well-protected by my head gear!
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Here I am in front of the Sphinx
and Cheops.
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This well sits behind the Ben
Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo. It is the oldest synagogue in Egypt,
dating from the 9th century. This well is allegedly the spot where
Miriam plucked Moses from the Nile. And the rest is history!
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Inside the Amir Ibn Al-As
Mosque, also in Old Cairo. It was built in AD 642 and was the first
mosque in Cairo.
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The minaret from the Ibn Tulun
Mosque, which was built in AD 876-879. You can climb to the top and get
wonderful views of Cairo.
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The view from the minaret down
to the interior of the Ibn Tulun Mosque. In the background is The
Citadel, home to Egypt's early rulers. The Mosque of Mohammed Ali sits
inside it.
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Papyrus scrolls with
hieroglyphic translations of my daughters' names.
I found this nice translation
table from English to hieroglyphics. |
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Can't go to Egypt without my
favorite Arabic beverages: instant coffee, Mountain Dew, and Pepsi.
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Giving my
keynote address at the conference.
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| After my talk, Dr. Kahtab
presented me with a conference medal. |
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I enjoyed listening to some of
the other presentations as well.
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Whlie in Cairo, I also visited
the Egyptian Museum, home to the famous King Tut and Royal Mummies
exhibits (and a whole lot more!).
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I also managed to keep up my
running, despite the traffic and air pollution. Some people from the US
thought I was crazy to try to run, but I found some places where I
could do so without too much worry for my safety. Here is one place I
ran, a tributary of the Nile that had nice stretches of sidewalk
without too many cross streets.
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All of my touring was made so
much easier by my tour guide, Rania. She and a driver escorted me
around for three of the days I was there. She was even gracious enough
to invite me for dinner at her family's house. Picture here from left
to
right are her father, mother, sister, and Rania herself. Both her
father and sister are physicians. They served us up an incredible and
delicious feast.
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