Saturday, 2/21

2/21

Saturday

 

Well it is another morning that I have to myself, as the girls don’t venture out of their rooms until 12:30. I wish I could sleep like that! Instead I’m up doing wash, cleaning the apartment, and checking email on the balcony with a cup of tea. I’ve even had lunch before I see them ; ).

 

It is a little cool, but mostly sunny and the girls decide to join me on a venture head to Khan al-Khalili. We each have lists of friends and family we would like to purchase gifts for. Annieck and Halla have never been to the beledi side of the Khan, so that and eating at the Naguib Mahfouz Restaurant are on our to do list. By the time we head out the door to catch a taxi it is almost 3 PM. Traffic isn’t too bad and we are at the Khan within 30 minutes.

 

You have to have a special mind set to shop in the bazaar. It is crowded and hawkers everywhere are trying to get you into their shop “ I have just what you are looking for!” “Look at my shop”, and of course the comments to female tourists” If you want an Egyptian boyfriend/husband, see me”, “How many camels will you trade me for her...” If you do see something you want then the game of bargaining begins.

 

Annieck, Halla, and I wander around the bazaar for a bit. They go with me to Haberdashery and have fun looking at all the beaded dance dresses and hip scarves for dancers. We then head to the beledi side of the Khan and wander for a bit. This side has changed since I was there last in 2002. I really wanted to go to the tentmakers section but it isn’t where I remember it, and we have come to what appears to be the end much sooner than I recall. We see only one stall selling tent fabric and appliqué work—there used to be a whole alley!  And I don’t see the many jewelry storefronts either- just one. The souk is filled with everyday household things and clothing. Instead of lots of different caftans, I now see lots of black abayas, thought most of them are decorated with faux sequins--mostly are silver, but some are multicolored. I see lot of women wearing them in the bazaar, too. They are different from the Saudi style in that they are quite a bit more fitted so you actually see a loose hourglass shape on the women. Those that wear them also wear hijab, though black. There are several women wearing the full Saudi style abaya with face veil. On the other side of the spectrum, s notice more tight jeans on the younger women than I remember, too.

 

The girls are hungry, so we head back to the tourist side and to the restaurant Naguib Mahfouz.  It takes me a bit to find it and, because I couldn’t remember the name of the restaurant to ask directions, I call Nicole-- just as we stumble upon it. It is now about 4:30 PM and the restaurant isn’t very full except in the coffee lounge at the entrance. We get a nice private alcove and have an enjoyable Lebanese mezza style late lunch. Now fortified with food, we feel ready to fend off the hawkers and head back into the bazaar to shop. Annieck finds a “poof” (ottoman), Halla finds a pair of shoes, and I find bracelets. By now it is 7 PM and dark and we have had our fill of wandering and window-shopping, so we catch a cab back to the flat. Traffic crawls because it is the height of the evening rush hour --which started at 4 and will last till 10 or 11 PM!

 

Traffic in Cairo is hard to explain if you haven’t experienced it. There are traffic lights in some places, but they are just decoration. There is no such thing as lanes- as many cars can squeeze in side by side with a mere 4” between, that is how many lanes there are. Many cars, if they have them, have their side-view mirrors folded back to allow access to tight spaces. The best way I can explain it is that it is like bumper cars, only you don’t hit each other. Cars are constantly changing and crossing “lanes”, beeping horns and flashing their headlights to announce turns and lane changes. It is like an ameba- constantly changing its shape, or water flowing in a river. I have watched cars slowly back out into traffic and the other cars honk but go around it, the river just changes it’s shape and keeps moving- well unless it is evening when there are so many cars on the road that it backs up to a crawl like now.

 

Cairo streets and sidewalks are more packed in the evening than any other time of day. Whole families are out walking and shopping till 10PM or later even on a weekday. Many more stores are open at this time than during the day- in fact many small shops and coffee cafes don’t open till evening.

 

It takes us an hour to get back to the flat. We unload our goods, Halla and Annieck change and head out to join friends, and I plant myself on the couch with a beer and watch TV for an hour. By 10 PM I am ready to go to bed. Tomorrow night will be a late one- I want to go to Dina’s show.