Tricky Trees

Further in the world of geodesic domes, one more 3v has been set up in Aswan. This one is 6m diameter, made with PVC hubs and has not been covered yet but will be soon. I made this one for Hadouta Masreya, now one year old, in Soheil Gharb. Where I setup the dome is not right next to the guesthouse but a short boat ride or camel ride away.

 As you may have noticed I usually work alone and get help from friends and people who are enthusiastic about geodomes. This time I had my own dad and uncle to help me with assembly.

perfect Pentagons in nature

perfect Pentagons on a Karkade flower (Hibiscus)

I originally was asked to make this dome in time for the Afrikan Yoga retreat by Pablo Imani (http://afrikanyoga.com) and indeed I arrived a couple of days earlier and set it up in time for the Journey of Ra retreat. We, however,  did not visit it once let alone held sessions in it. The dome is spacious, the most spacious of the three I have made myself though still dwarfed by the one in RockSea.

the finished dome

Right next to where we setup this dome is a another very large tree of the same kind the dome is setup next to (Acacia Nilotica) but even bigger with branches that run almost parallel to the ground covering a large area providing it with shade all day every day. 

countless objects hang from its branches and twigs

Beneath the tree and on the perimeter of its shade a man sits roasting coffee and making mixtures as travelers and guests sit on the comfy cushions and enjoy “gabana”. Gabana is a local coffee prepared in a round bottom clay flask by Nubians, nomads, and further south all the way to Ethiopia in much the same way. 

We drink in odd numbers so if you’ve had two go to three, or five or even seven if you really need to be buzzzzzing. Brewed with your choice of ginger, nutmeg, cardamom or any combination thereof.

your choice of add-ons

roasted beans

Meanwhile in Fekra, I arrived after the yoga retreat was over and Pablo had gone. The very next morning I marked windows and sun panels in the cover of the 3v 5m dome there (scroll down for earlier blog post about this) and took it straight to the tailor’s.

view through the window with one panel open
showing the two sun panels from the inside 

Mr. Tailorman, though welcoming as always, was anything but quick or efficient this time. We had tea and chatted and chatted and sat and looked and did nothing and then maybe two hours later he started machining. I spent a total of about 5 hours this time just standing about and rambling in between spurts of work, but getting to know each other better too.

the entrance from the inside

Eventually it was ready with one two-panel-zip-up-window and two sun panels.

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