ACE (Animal Care Egypt)

ACE (Animal Care Egypt)

On the outskirts of Luxor A.C.E. is a must see for animal lovers. They have a lovely new facility set up from the donation of an estate of a man who was so impressed by the work they did in the early days from a small ramshackle facility. However the running costs, mainly medication, are high and they heavily rely on visitors and their generous donations.

A.C.E. was founded by Kim Taylor who has raised to many challenges along the way, firstly trying to make the locals understand care of their animals is important, not high on their priorities, and being a woman in a very male dominant land has made that even harder, but Kim’s continuous hard work along with the backing of some seriously hard working and dedicated UK volunteers has made it’s mark on the community.

Animals in Luxor City are normally working beasts, especially Horses & Donkeys, but do not normally get the care and attention a farmer would give to his working animals. Kalesh drivers (Horse & Carriage), will whip their horses to get them to run in the hope of impressing their passengers & getting a bigger tip. These practises are both painful and dangerous for the horses and dangerous for the passengers as horses can easily skid and fall with the metal of their shoes against the tarmac.

The horses are often overworked and do not get regular veterinary care as it takes time out of the owners working day to take them to visit a facility, loosing them valuable income.

A.C.E. have a wonderful modern facility on the outskirts of Luxor and offer free treatment to all animals, so if you really do wish to take a Kalesh ride ask the driver to take you to A.C.E. and whilst your having a tour of this amazing facility, that supports so many animals monthly, your drivers horse will get looked over by a fully qualified Vet, have the chance to roll in a sand pit and have a shower and groom, Please make sure you tell the driver you will not be pleased if he whips the horse or run’s him on the roads and will get out and take a taxi, that way in the fear of loosing a fare he will not misbehave.
In an ideal world we would see no Kalesh on the streets, but this is not going to become a reality, all we can hope for is damage limitation and good regular medical care for the animals. Be sure you are clear with the driver to take you to A.C.E the new animal hospital as not all animal hospitals offer the same facilities, and really it’s about getting the animal the best available. The hospital also offers free care to local farmers Donkeys helping them to remain self sufficient in their own communities.

Not only do A.C.E offer free care, but with the help of the local Governor and education system, school children as part of their education must visit the centre and attend classes aimed at teaching them that animal like humans feel pain, respond to love and care, and the results are astounding. Education is definitely the way forward for these kids and their treatment of animals.

With the crazy drivers on the roads of Luxor you can imagine that accidents are frequent and often involve animal, the local police work closely with A.C.E. and call should an animal be injured and need attention, so if you see their pick up truck racing through the streets jump out of the way, it’s on an urgent mission….

The centre employs 16 local people, bringing much needed jobs to the local community and these include 3 local vets, 10 stable boys, 2 cleaners and an office assistant. There is also an overseas volunteer vet normally on 6 months secondment and visiting vets who pop over, and whilst they are here they also offer training to local vets on the latest treatments and practises, keeping them abreast with the ever changing world they may otherwise miss out on.

Their next goal is to start classes for the Kalesh in correct driving techniques and animal care!


Last but not least.

The latest addition at A.C.E. is Felix. Felix is currently 4 weeks old and his mother died just after giving birth. He is the cutest most adorable and cuddly baby Donkey. He is currently being bottle fed every 3 hrs and is doing just fine. See the pictures and fall in love. We all have.

To find out more visit http://www.ace-egypt.org.uk/
Email kim@ace-egypt.org.uk
Photo's of ACE http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/GARETHANGEL/PhotosForBlogg#

Cruising The Nile

Whoever wants to spend half their holidays on a coach! A Nile cruise is the perfect answer.
If you really want to see this magnificent land without too much effort a Nile Cruise is the way. Mornings spent exploring Temples, afternoons lazing on deck and evenings with your newly found friends, go to bed a wake up somewhere new with a new Ancient wonder to discover. Obviously many of the stops will have a short coach journey but as you return to the same room every night, no need to pack every day and spend countless hours on a coach! Yippee.
Cruise itinaries change from boat to boat but WWW.firstchoice.co.uk & www.thomson.co.uk have a great selection of cruise boats to choose from.

Living In Luxor

Well after 18 months in Isla Margarita I am now in Luxor Upper Egypt and wow what a contrast.

My first day in my new office I checked into a Nile Cruise boat where i met loads of great people who i was about to share the experience of a life time with.

The next morning i woke early and went on deck for the view, and what a view, the first flight of hot air balloons was going up over the West bank for their fight over the Valley of the Kings and the Temple of Hatchepsut.

That very morning we were heading to the West bank to see these phenomenal sights for ourselves, and it does not matter how many photos you have seen or how much footage in movies and TV, nothing prepares you for the WOW factor of seeing it up close and very personal.

Photos at http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/GARETHANGEL/File1#
http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/GARETHANGEL/MoreOfTheNIleCruise#