extremes of one kind or another

People queue at the bakery throughout the day for fresh bread.

A few quick observations
at the end of day two.
1. You almost never see women walking alone.
2. Have not yet seen a woman driving.
3. Have not seen a woman pregnant, many children, so we know they are pregnant at some point.
4. See lots of boys walking and playing in the street, never the girls.

Today being just our second day we wanted to take things a little easy. Landing on Thursday then hitting the Pyramid route Friday a rest was in order. LC said he would wake us up at 8a so we could get up an going. At 9a I awoke thinking I had missed his knocking, but no, he had simply slept in himself. Go figure - seems the earplugs I gave him drowned out the 5a call to prayer (and, ahem, BA's snoring! - doh!)

We had a small and tad lame breakfast at hotel and hit the road. The Islamic road today. I wanted to see the Gayer-Anderson house down in Islamic Cairo area. We got there and discovered you have to check your bags with a not so trustworthy looking guy standing next to a sign that says do not leave prized valuables in bag left with attendant. Needless to say we sent the boys in while we held all bags and would go in after them. About 15 minutes later a small group walked right in with a big fat camera bag and a purse in tow. We went and said if they could go we wanted to go with our bags too. A small verbal scuffle ensued wherein no one really understood what the other was saying until JS said, ok then give us our money back. The woman at the door was stubborn but when she told some guy sitting nearby drinking tea that we wanted to get reimbursed he said it was fine that we go right in with all our bags. Mind you at this point I was carrying three bags! My own and LC's too.

ANYWAY, the place was amazing. A British general lived there, put two houses together, restored them and filled them with antiquities from the area and neighboring countries. When he died he left it to the Egyptian people and it became this museum. The woodwork was exquisite and the decor, while a bit ornate for my taste, was striking in its craftsmanship. They just don't seem to make artisans like they used to. Views from the rooftop sitting area were splendid - you could see the spires and domes of the Citadel and few neighboring mosques.

A particularly interesting feature of the house was a hidden tiny room behind a built-in corner curio cabinet. When the cabinet was pulled forward, as if out of the wall cavity, it exposed a hidden balcony where the women could watch the men socializing in the large room below without being seen. There were several other areas designated as such along the perimeter of that room as well as the roof. Ladies, we are sure lucky to be as free as we are! Made me grateful.

Then we went right next door to the Ibn Tulun Mosque which is one of the oldest ones around still fully operational. The structure is architecturally interesting and has several pointed arches, which apparently were used here before anywhere else in the world until Europeans did so some 200 years later. Some of us climbed a spiral staircase to the top of a minaret to find indescribable views of the city there. (it is amazing how many satellite dishes and wire antennas there are adorning the roofs here!)

We had enough of that and headed to Zamalek, another taxi adventure. Alarmingly few if any taxi drivers speak English, and they certainly can't read it. And forget about a map! Several times today we thought we were being taken for more than a ride, but somehow ended up exactly where we belonged.

Zamalek is not so much prettier being across the Nile - but it is cleaner, much less dusty and smoggy, and far more gentrified. Some nice boutiques and shops and a gourmet food shop selling luxe food items like a small bag of spelt granola for nearly $20 (healthy, organic is not an option here). They alos had a lovely refirgerator filled with gourmet Otis Spunkmeyer muffins, cookies and pizza dough. That was  good laugh!

We had drinks after our shopping at a place along the Nile called Sequoia. Very trendy with a South Beach vibe - lots of dark wood and white everywhere. Lots of sheesha being smoked by the elite Egyptian's kids and expats.

After a few wild goose chases it was another adventure trying to get back to the hotel. It is really easy to get turned around here, but GML is the best navigator and we all vowed to stop doubting her after getting home tonight!

Tomorrow the Egyptian Museum and Khan El-Kalilli market. Wish us luck!
xoxx