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﻿Mlle Katrina McDonnell's adventure in Egypt!
 * When? ** December 26th, 2010- January 17th, 2011

__Some practical information about the location:__ I will be spending the first couple of days in Cairo where winter is very moderate, ranging from 25 C to around 10 C at night. Then moving on to Farafra where mornings are pretty warm and sunny and it gets down to 2 C at night (so I'm told to be prepared for some intense desert cold.) The Egyptian currency is the Egyptian Pound (Geneih) usually written as L.E. The Egyptian Pound is divided into 100 piasters (‘irsh).
 * Weather:**
 * Money:**

About Farafra **(the community in which the majority of the project takes place**):
According to current Egyptian Government plans and directives by 2017, it is anticipated that some 4 million people will be reallocated to the Egyptian desert settlements from the already over populated cities and regions of the Nile Valley in order to exploit opportunities of development in less populated and less developed regions of the country. Governmental jobs in local authorities in various locations in the Egyptian Oases have been designated as part of this strategic plan and this concept note will address a unique settlement in the oasis of Farafra in the western desert.

Farafra is an almost isolated human settlement in the western desert of Egypt with a mere population of some 7,000 people. It has a unique urban character that is based on mud brick houses and compact streets. The population is mainly a herding population with an array of local crafts, small industries and farming. Within the past 15 years, Farafra has witnessed a dramatic change in both the urban and demographic aspects as well as the introduction of immigrant population (from the Nile Valley) that have arrived to assume local government positions in the oasis.

Being an almost untouched urban settlement made Farafra a destination for many safari trips and excursions. The oasis’ main active hotel receives regular occupancy, yet it seems that trips are being directed to other destinations due to the deterioration of the overall environment of Farafra evident in ugly concrete-built residential blocks built out of synchronization with the oasis’ character. The local community has also been galvanized against “the other” since immigration started to take place. They have become frustrated that “foreigners” (though they are also Egyptians) have assumed jobs in their oasis.