Getting lost in the Khan

This is our first weekend, since arriving, when there were not “scheduled” things to be done. My first (partial) week of school is over, and Life in Cairo begins for real. We slept late, read some information about Islamic Cairo and decided to “look around” in some of the shopping areas and the Khan al Khalili – the famous souq of Cairo.

We began in downtown, just as prayer was finishing for midday (or so). I was in awe of the lines of men up-and-down some streets, all praying and moving in unison (I think Jack has a photo of the men on his blog). It gave me goosebumps to see the power of faith. We spent a couple of hours walking around in downtown, window shopping and attempting to get a mental map of the area. By 4, we were both STARVING, so had lunch at Felfella restaurant, an Egyptian place that is near the university. We had a yummy lunch of stuffed vine leaves, ?shakshouka? (onions, peppers, tomatoes, ground meat and an egg), and Kebab&Kofta. MMMMMMMMMMM It was delicious and got us ready to experience the Khan.

The taxi to the Khan was a bit pricey, but we got to the bazaar and plunged in.

It was packed, hot, only occasionally was there flat walking, there were hawkers everywhere – it was AMAZING. We got UNBELIEVABLY lost in the bowels of the food and metal working areas of the bazaar. It was apparent that we were in areas that are not frequented by tourists. The alleys got very tight and very difficult to pass. I got a little claustrophobic and uneasy for a bit, until we got back out into more open spaces.

Jack was a star at the Khan. Everyone wanted to talk to “Cowboy” or “Hulk Hogan” or “Ali Baba” (we’re guessing it was the beard that got him this one!). One guy followed us for a LONG way, asking Jack, “Where is your horse???” We got ideas of things that we will go back for, but today we bought nothing. This was a scouting mission, and a successful one at that. We retired into a taxi to head home for a beer – total bliss.