8.18.2010

Street life in Cairo

We spent the day in Cairo!
Taking the 2 am bus, we walked from the bus station to our
hostel,watching business men have their shoes polished before work
while reading the morning paper.

We took a taxi to the pyramids, another taxi to the Egypt museum
(more about those soon!) and then spent another few hours wandering
the streets, drinking fresh juice and trying to avoid getting killed
by cars! Tricky stuff when they don't turn their lights on in dark
allies!

Muslims all over Egypt are celebrating Ramadan at the moment, which
means that after a day of no food or water, the streets really come
alive when the sun goes down! Most food shops don't even bother
opening until dusk. ( it also explains why people seem so cranky all
day!)

Crossing the street is a challenge! If a car sees you, they will most
likely aim for you, so run!

There are a lot of cars!
There are a lot of motorcycles!
There are a lot of people!

I haven't been wearing a wedding ring on the trip because I didn't
want to lose it, and this is the first place where I really wish that
I'd had one. Even with Rodolfo right next me, the stares, smiles and
greetings kept coming! According to all Egyptian met we've met,
Rodolfo is a "very lucky man".

The large speakers blaring out prayer calls can be lovely in the
distance, but a little intense right next to your ear.

The streets are a bit dirty and I want to wash my feet all the time
due to the dust, but that is a very small price to pay for the awesome
lingerie/burka window shopping all in one store! As Rodolfo
said...inside and out! How handy!

Cairo is kind of laid out like Paris. If you want to buy a light bulb,
you'll need to go to the light bulb block of the city. Mechanic? Same
deal! Everything has a street!

Tomorrow it is off to London one more time! I'm excited to not think
about whether or not my knees are showing and after 2 months in
Africa, the color of skin I have under my
clothes....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhh..to blend in!!

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