Mosquitoes & Flies

Yesterday while out to eat with a German friend we were swarmed by mosquitoes; the worst yet. We've been seeing them in the house as well, especially at night around our bed... nice. The Nile is almost 20 feet higher than when we first arrived as the rains to the south saturate the soil and gush into the river. Bringing with it nice malaria-carrying mosquitoes. We had noticed locals burning something in small clay containers and smoking their houses, but were not aware of what it was for. Our friend enlightened us and said that they use it in their house about once a month to drive out the pesky little buggers.

Excited for possible relief we found the dried sap/sandal wood concoction at the market (suuq) and brought it home for our first "smoke out" experience. And smoky it is! The smell has a twist of citrus and musk, really not too offensive. A small price to pay for mosquito-free living... if it works... So, we'll let you know how the night goes. The smoke definitely took a few hours to clear the house. Flies seemed undaunted, flying kamikaze style through the dense hanging clouds... maybe we'll have better luck with the mosquitoes!