Egypt, Take 2 – Part 3

On Friday morning we took off for the Luxor airport and hopped on a quick flight to Cairo. Once we arrived in Cairo we checked in to our hotel and booked a driver to take us to Khan Al Khalili which is the main market/souk in the city.

The traffic just getting to the market was MAD!!! Paul and I have seen some pretty crazy driving in the UAE and our other travels (Nepal, Lebanon, Thailand, to name a few) but Cairo took it a whole new level. There were massive roundabout intersections where we literally had cars 1 ft away and perpendicular to us. (Side Note: If you know R, D, & L you have to have them tell you their story about trying to get to the airport to leave to come back to the UAE—it is unreal.)

We made it to the market and the driver dropped us off. We started to walk away from the car and were told to wait by our driver as he was talking with some security people. Eventually one of the security people came to us and told us that we was assigned to us to keep us safe and to ensure that we don’t have any problems. Meanwhile, our driver left. The security guy was dressed in a suit and showed us his gun. He kept telling us how he was there for us and our safety. We were a bit weirded out but were unsure what to do. He asked is where we wanted to go and we decided to go to dinner. We had a recommendation from our hotel concierge for an Egyptian/Indian food place on the outskirts of the market. It’s called Taj Al Sultan. We went into the restaurant with our “private security guard” who stayed and waited for us in the entrance lobby lounge area while we ate. Dinner was good and the restaurant was a really cool place with interesting, authentic looking architecture. Service was a bit slow and the English comprehension wasn’t great, but we would definitely recommend it.

When we were ready to leave, our security guard followed us out. We decided to tell him that we didn’t really need him with us. It just felt too fake and weird. Eventually R gave him some money to “thank” him for his time, but more we were just trying to get rid of him without causing any more trouble for ourselves. We had a much more relaxed time after he left us. We wandered through the various souk alleys and stalls and bartered for more treasures including the alabaster pots/vases and coffee mugs.

Khan Al Khalili

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 D buying some cumin

Mmmmm... fresh pita

After much negotiation and even walking away, we came back and got a good price

When it was time to meet up with our driver, we headed back towards the entrance. As we waited (and hoped) for him to show up, we watch a few local girls (maybe 6 yrs old) interact in front of us. One was playing in a really dirty puddle. At first I thought I saw her dad watching because he told her something that sounded like a scolding in Arabic. But then he left. Eventually I realized that she must be from a very poor family and is just out playing by herself. Then two other girls came over. Girl 2 started talking with Girl 1 and it seemed like they were fighting over something—maybe their shoes? (Girl 2 was barefoot). Then Girl 2 went to Girl 3 complaining. Girl 3 then went and hit Girl 1. She knocked her on the ground. Girl 1 was on the ground crying. We were just all in shock watching this. Then Girl 3 proceeded to kick Girl 1 in the throat/head while she was laying on the ground! I came over and separated them yelling “La,” “Halas,” and “Haram” (“no”, “stop,” and “against God” in Arabic). Girl 2 & 3 eventually left. It was a very bizarre and depressing experience.