Today was our “tour” free day!
The bellman at the hotel arranged a driver, Abdul, for us, and our plan was to visit the Kahn al-Khalili market. Our adventure began at 10:00AM….
Driving along the streets of Cairo in car is a very different experience than driving in the comfort of a bus. Despite the millions of cars veering close, and passing us by we felt safe in the hands of Abdul….praise to Allah. Along the route into downtown Cairo we saw a range of different people, places and all sorts of crazy things. At any given moment one can see cars, trucks and livestock near by. Remarkably, the traffic moves with very little delay – despite the huge volume. I’m pretty sure there are no regular traffic lights here ….despite the 18 million inhabitants.
The visit downtown was pretty good. We started by visiting a mosque…where Richard embraced the spirit of Mohammed, it then prompted him to purchase a galabaya (traditional garb for an Egyptian man) and headdress. Praise Allah.
The market was “manageable”….which means we were only bothered every meter as opposed to every centimeter. For some reason the hawkers want to know where the shoppers are from, and then the always say, “ah, Canada Dry”….which is odd but cute all the same. We made some good purchases and eventually found our way out of the market and back to our driver.
Smell of the day: while having mint tea and enjoying the people watching we were overcome with smell of something that was ….hmmm…like body odour.
Tomorrow we’re off to Aswan at the un-holy hour of 5:00 AM….what is Allah thinking?
Till then…
The bellman at the hotel arranged a driver, Abdul, for us, and our plan was to visit the Kahn al-Khalili market. Our adventure began at 10:00AM….
Driving along the streets of Cairo in car is a very different experience than driving in the comfort of a bus. Despite the millions of cars veering close, and passing us by we felt safe in the hands of Abdul….praise to Allah. Along the route into downtown Cairo we saw a range of different people, places and all sorts of crazy things. At any given moment one can see cars, trucks and livestock near by. Remarkably, the traffic moves with very little delay – despite the huge volume. I’m pretty sure there are no regular traffic lights here ….despite the 18 million inhabitants.
The visit downtown was pretty good. We started by visiting a mosque…where Richard embraced the spirit of Mohammed, it then prompted him to purchase a galabaya (traditional garb for an Egyptian man) and headdress. Praise Allah.
The market was “manageable”….which means we were only bothered every meter as opposed to every centimeter. For some reason the hawkers want to know where the shoppers are from, and then the always say, “ah, Canada Dry”….which is odd but cute all the same. We made some good purchases and eventually found our way out of the market and back to our driver.
Smell of the day: while having mint tea and enjoying the people watching we were overcome with smell of something that was ….hmmm…like body odour.
Tomorrow we’re off to Aswan at the un-holy hour of 5:00 AM….what is Allah thinking?
Till then…
4 comments:
Hey BJBQ!
I'm loving the updates on both your's and Fiddy's blogs....thak-you for all the stories. I've been laughing at Fiddy's photo for a while now....hilarious! Love the outfit!
Hang in there with the tour....I know it's going to test your patience at time's, but as you said, you're getting something else out of it, that you wouldn't if you were there on your own.
Have fun!
Biba
Hello Barbara,
Enjoying some retail therapy .... hmmm ... stay away from those essence oils! Although those might have come in handy about the time you were drinking your mint tea! Ahhh ... taking in all the sights and smells. In case you might be missing our weather, we have another snow warning. ttfn,
MMMM. Mint tea! Barb, have a lovely time in Aswan, say HI to Fiddy and Cindy!
Hi Barb,
Just checked both blogs, and saw Fiddy's posting. Hope all is going well. I assume you're done with the cruising portion of the trip now. Can't wait to hear the stories.
Hugs, Biba
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