Friday Feb 1, 2008
Waited around all morning for my landlord to show up but as usual with landlords and a lot a prearranged appointments here, he didn’t show up. After waiting three hours I left and went off with several other teachers to a large Market near the Old Citadel. It is all arranged into sections according to the goods sold there. There was jewelry, (silver, gold, gems, coral, ivory and more) copper goods, clothing, spices, scarves, blown glass, appliquéd wall hangings, frankincense, myrrh, fish, *roasted yams, ladies middle east dresses, bread carried on large platters on the heads of boys, linens, belly dancing outfits, and much more …almost anything you can imagine even live goats. Then each type of article was sold in one particular area with at least 20 -30 stores selling the same thing and all vendors very, very aggressively trying to sell to you. There were also actual artisans making their goods, spinners, jewelers, copper smiths, cabinetmakers, and cats, cats and more cats.
All this is housed in the old walled city structures of Old Cairo, places where Napoleon and his troops came through. A very easy place to get lost.
On the way there we passed by the City of the Dead where people are buried in crypts above ground. These crypts have rooms and a huge amount of people live in this area, over a million. The city of the dead has a highway running through it. Maybe Judique will loose its place in the Guinness Book of Records for having a graveyard with a road running through it.
* One of the teachers said she had bought one of the roasted yams wrapped in newspaper on a previous visit and had enjoyed it so much. Then later on she saw the same vendor scavenging on the street for the dirty newspapers to wrap his potatoes!
Wednesday 6 February 2008
Feb 1, 2008
Friday Feb 1, 2008
Waited around all morning for my landlord to show up but as usual with landlords and a lot a prearranged appointments here, he didn’t show up. After waiting three hours I left and went off with several other teachers to a large Market near the Old Citadel. It is all arranged into sections according to the goods sold there. There was jewelry, (silver, gold, gems, coral, ivory and more) copper goods, clothing, spices, scarves, blown glass, appliquéd wall hangings, frankincense, myrrh, fish, *roasted yams, ladies middle east dresses, bread carried on large platters on the heads of boys, linens, belly dancing outfits, and much more …almost anything you can imagine even live goats. Then each type of article was sold in one particular area with at least 20 -30 stores selling the same thing and all vendors very, very aggressively trying to sell to you. There were also actual artisans making their goods, spinners, jewelers, copper smiths, cabinetmakers, and cats, cats and more cats.
All this is housed in the old walled city structures of Old Cairo, places where Napoleon and his troops came through. A very easy place to get lost.
On the way there we passed by the City of the Dead where people are buried in crypts above ground. These crypts have rooms and a huge amount of people live in this area, over a million. The city of the dead has a highway running through it. Maybe Judique will loose its place in the Guinness Book of Records for having a graveyard with a road running through it.
* One of the teachers said she had bought one of the roasted yams wrapped in newspaper on a previous visit and had enjoyed it so much. Then later on she saw the same vendor scavenging on the street for the dirty newspapers to wrap his potatoes!
