Beartree Park In Cheonan Review

The park is kind of out of the city. It’s very beautiful and very green. Has a lot of good sculptures. However, it is one of the cruelest places for bears and deer. The park is big wide green space but they’re keeping the poor animals in a cage with concrete ground, 20 bears in the same small cage and the pools are small, dirty and shallow.



The deer cage wasn’t any better.


And the worst thing, there were bears cubs that were very young and were separated from their mothers. Unfortunately whoever designed the place thought only about making it pretty and didn’t think of the animals.

Kofta El-Haty

El-Haty means the kofta restaurant or a kofta’s cook. Usually people just go out to the haty to buy this kind of kofta. El-Haty cooks it on a big professional grill. However, you can cook it at home on the ordinary grill and it doesn’t take long. Also you can cook it in the oven.

Serves 2

Ingredients:
1- 500g of ground beef.
2- Teaspoon of salt.
3- Teaspoon of black pepper.
4- Teaspoon of chili powder.
5- Tablespoon of dried or fresh parsley.
6- Half teaspoon of cumin powder.
7- Skewer.
8- One onion, shredded and keep its water in a different bowl.


Preparations:
1- Bring a deep bowl and mix the beef and the shredded onion.
2- Add all of the spices and mix it very well.
3- Put the skewer in the onion water and make it wet.
4- Take a small piece of the beef and roll it on the skewer and make it long.
5- Softly withdrew the skewer and repeat this step until you finish all of the beef. This step is important so the heat can escape through the hole.
6- Keep it in the fridge for 1-2 hours.
7- Heat the grill and grill them.
It took around 20 minutes on the electric grill. Serve it with green salad, tahini sauce and rice if you like.

Yi Sun-Sin Festival

Asan city celebrate the birth of the great admiral Yi Sun-Sin who defeated the Japanese navy during the Imjin war in the Joseon dynasty. This year the festival is from April 26-28th which takes place in Onyang Oncheon area.


The admiral's house which became a museum.


The admiral's family tombs.


The pond.


Martial art performance in Onyang area.

The festival is ongoing until tomorrow so if you're near Asan city go and check it out.

FEMEN And Hypocrisy

As I read that article I felt anger and rage, FEMEN members acts were very offensive to me on so many levels. Ever since I started my travels in 2008 I’ve met a lot of racist people, they didn’t like talking to me because I’m Muslim, because I’m Egyptian and some of them didn’t like me because I’m a feminist.

The internet has tons of false information about Islam, Muslims and Arab countries, I’ve always told myself that I can’t change the hearts that filled with hatred, ignorance and racism. I wasn’t just offended because those women who call themselves feminist insulted my religion. A lot of people insult Islam every day and I think they should be ignored. The act of FEMEN members offended me as a woman and as a feminist and because they’re liars. They claimed that all of Muslim women, millions of women and every single woman who is wearing Hijab were forced to wear it. And women in Middle East are slaves and stupid and FEMEN should save them.

I chose to be Muslim , I lived 25 years in Egypt and no one ever forced me to wear Hijab, The men in my family have never abused me, they loved me and took good care of me, my family have never told me what to do. I went to schools in Cairo, I went to college in Cairo, I have a business administration degree from Cairo, and I’ve worked in Cairo in the public sector with men and everyone in my position men or women had the same salary, I’ve traveled to three countries solo, I’ve learned three languages in Cairo other than Arabic, I love my religion and I’ve never felt I’m less than the men in my family because I’m a woman, I love Egypt I don’t live in Egypt now because I met the love of my life while traveling in Korea, I stayed in Korea and we got married, I didn’t leave Egypt because I hate it or because I felt less any man there. FEMEN members believe women have the right to be naked but women don’t have the right to cover their hair or bodies. What hypocrites you are FEMEN members.

FEMEN protested to support the Tunisian activist Amina Tyler which is fine and I believe Amina has the right to protest with any mean she chooses and as for Islamists who want to punish her they just want media attention. To FEMEN members guess what you aren’t any better than those extreme Islamists they denied Amina’s right to do what she wants with her body and you are doing the same thing to millions of women who chose to wear Hijab. Yes there are some women who were forced to wear Hijab and there are some abusive men who happened to be Muslims and Arab. Abusive men are everywhere in the world not just in the Middle East.

FEMEN you are the worst group to speak of women’s right, if you really want to help Muslim women why don’t you start with protesting against the discrimination against Muslim women who wear Hijab in countries like America, France and other countries in Europe? Of course you won’t do that because you really don’t care about those women who have to fight every day for their right to choose to cover their head.

If you think I’m stupid because I’m a Muslim I would say you are racist and you don’t believe in the freedom you talk about, and if you say I’m a slave because I’m Muslim I would say you are slaves to your own ignorance.

This is the article.

San Diego Zoo Safari Park

My husband and I love animals, usually I don't like zoos because they are sad places and I'm totally against the idea of animals in cages, I think it's barbaric and inhuman. However, I'm always happy to go to a good zoo that cares about animals.

Last February we went to San Diego zoo and I was so impressed not just because it's located in very beautiful spot, there weren't any cages, the animals had a big space to move around and play and the workers seemed to be enjoying their jobs. And they donate some of the money to safe the wild life in Africa. What a great message.





For the first time I see elephants have a big space.


The rare white rhino.





We had a great day there, I wish I could work there.



Photos: Ian Porell

Oz the Great and Powerful Review

The wizard of Oz 1939 is one of my all time favorite movie, I grew up watching that movie and I loved the Oz world. When I heard of the new movie release I had to watch it. Yesterday I went to the cinema and watched the movie with friends.
Oz the Great and Powerful had such an amazing visual effects. However, the movie had some plot holes and I still like the original The Wizard of Oz much more.

Here are some of the plot holes:
1- With the first glance at Evanora I knew she is wicked. How did I know, her dress said it all.
2- Evanora convinced Oz that Glinda is evil and must be destroyed. Oz goes with Finely and china girl to the dark forest, they met Glinda and they were afraid of her but once she showed her face they weren't afraid anymore. Glinda told them she is the good witch and they believed her right the way. And Oz and her company didn't think she might be lying. All of this because Glinda had the power of the beautiful face. As Disney always said beautiful people are good.
3- Rachel Weisz who played Evanora the wicked. Evanora hated Glinda because Glinda is beautiful and the director didn't know how beautiful Rachel Weisz is.
4- Evanora deceived her sister Theodora for many years and the good sister didn't know the wicked one is in fact her sister Evanora. Theodora had a broken heart and decided to be evil with no reason. right before Theodora turned to the green evil witch she knew that Evanora is evil and lied about pretty much everything and yet she chose to be evil anyway.
5- After Theodora became evil I really thought her heart died or she doesn't feel anything anymore but at the very end "I Hate You." Theodora said to Oz. That's mean she still having some feelings in her heart.
6- Evanora and Glinda fought, Glinda won and we got to see Evanora true face which of course was a typical ugly and old witch face. If Evanora that old how come her sister Theodora didn't know about it?
7- Glinda is so good she even let the witches go free without thinking that the witches will come back to Oz someday and kill everyone.

Those are the holes that I could remember. Oz the Great and Powerful worth the watch anyway.

Disneyland the happiest place in the world

Disneyland was one of the places I've always dreamed of visiting, last February my husband and I went to California and it was my first time in America. One of the top things on my list was Disneyland of course.

I was very happy I was like a child I kept running and riding all of the rides. Disneyland is the happiest place in the world as they promised. The only thing I didn't like there was the ticket price for children. My husband and I are adult and we could afford the adult tickets prices but how about children who dream of going to Disney but can't afford the ticket?



Had my first American "American" dish. Beef gumbo and it was amazing.


The hunted house was one of my favorite things there. It's very cool.



More stories about my trip coming soon.