'Lovely morning!' It sounded really incongruous in the sand and heat of the pyramids on Thursday morning. Tourists from far and wide with mobile phones in hand were attempting to get the best camera angle on the huge structures. Meanwhile, locals touting for trade were using clever ruses to get their attention. What got mine was when the 'Lovely morning' greeting was spoken in an English accent by one of the Egyptians. I'm sure he'd never been anywhere near the UK or Ireland

During our time with the church in Cairo we noticed that in the Diocesan offices are pictures of some previous bishops going back over 100 years. They have very British sounding names. The world they knew has changed enormously. At the English speaking service at All Saints' Cathedral on Sunday morning, Bertie and I had the privilege of meeting Bishop Mouneer Anis, recently retired Bishop of Jerusalem and the Middle East. We also came across a young English lay reader, James

Archdeacon Patrick Bamber (CMSI Trustee) is currently taking part of his planned sabbatical in the Province of Alexandria, and reflects upon his time at Anafora, just outside Cairo: "It's hard to imagine a thirsty wilderness in lush green Ireland. Yet two nights at Anafora, a Coptic retreat centre in the Egyptian desert was a memorable experience for us. In the late 90s Bishop Thomas of the Coptic church had the vision for establishing a place of spiritual and emotional refre

I have been kicking about in Alexandria for four weeks now. It is certainly quite a change from quiet north Armagh! Alexandria is a busy place, filled with bustling, tooting traffic rushing past posh looking clothes shops (which are many) while a multitude of street traders sell everything from y-fronts to cactus fruit on the pavements in front. At first glance Egypt seems like a very competitive place, as everyone tries to eek out their living. But this is also a place of h

Hi Everyone, We hope all is well for you wherever you are, whether that’s the (sometimes) sunny United Kingdom or as far as the wintery New Zealand! As you may remember this is our last edition of our blog from Uganda, however, don’t worry I will write a final blog at the end of August from Northern Ireland, so at least the anguish I know you will all have can be delayed for one more month!! July started with a week’s holiday in Jinja which is a town about 2:30 hour’s drive f