The Black Smoke

I know this title may remind you of the TV show Lost, but this wouldn't be a blog about Cairo, Egypt, unless I mention the fall occurrence of "The Black Cloud."  Egypt grows much of it's own rice.  It is short grain white rice and makes great sushi.  Before you boil it, you need to rinse it and fry it a bit so it doesn't stick together.

Every year, after the rice harvest, the farmers start to burn the leftover rice plants and depending on which way the air is blowing, sometimes it gets trapped in the busy and crowded Cairo.  Here is a BBC report on Cairo pollution from last year.  Watch it, because I can use any sympathy you can spare.:)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8324024.stm