Cairo Day 2

We woke up this morning and headed out to the Cairo Museum. It was filled with lots of Egyptian artifacts, King Tut’s tomb, a copy of the Rosetta Stone, and tons of other stuff. Zach, Andrew and I got done faster than Adam and Kristina and decided to head out to the market Khan El Kahili. We couldn’t remember the name or how to say it so I called Lamiaa and asked her. She told us and said we could get a cab to there for no more than 10 pounds. We walked out of the museum gates and hailed down a cab. I went up to the window and told him where we wanted to go and said we would pay ten pounds he said twenty and said ten he said fifteen and I said ten and Andrew walked up said ten too. He said fifteen again and I said that we would just get the next cab then. And he finally agreed. We piled into the small aged black and white taxi, and he pulled away into the madness of the Cairo traffic. We dodged in and out of cars and finally reached the overpass from the downtown to the older part of the city. Once we were on a little clearer spot of road our driver sped through traffic like we were in the middle of a high speed chase. I was glad I was in the middle of the two guys so I had less impact of the jostling vehicle. We finally pulled over and we assumed that this was our destination we handed the driver our money and rolled out of the car. The street ahead of us wasn’t crowded like I had expected but was lined with simple stands of fruit and vegetables. As we walked a little further I was drawn aback by the sight I saw. It was a man hacking away at the head of a cow and the whole stand was filled with freshly butchered meat. There were pig’s heads and feet hanging and meat just laying in the sun on the counter. At this point we decided it was best to observe this market and not necessarily participate in it. There was no need to spend any time in an Egyptian hospital. We continued walking through the winding streets and saw a larger covered area for fruits and veggies and a stand with live chickens and rabbits. I saw a woman choosing the chicken she wanted and bartering for a good price with the owner. Once they had agreed the man took the chicken, broke it’s neck and placed it in a plastic bag for the woman to take home. As if that wasn’t enough excitement we wandered a little further around the corner and this is where I observed one of natures finest moments. I was totally shocked by the order and society these little creatures had established. We came to another meat shop and there were cats everywhere. One was begging at the door for a scrap of meat and the butcher dropped a piece to it. It snatched it’s prize and scurried off. What I saw next was the truly amazing part. There had been other cats, I suppose they were in line, I hadn’t noticed it before but they next one stepped up to the door way and each one moved up its spot in line. I suppose they had realized that if they waited they would each get a piece and there was need for a scuffle over one small scrap, if each could have his own. It was funny to see animals functioning as a “society.” We turned around and wandered the street for an hour or so more, just getting lost in the culture. For the most part we were ignored, they didn’t even bother to acknowledge our presence, which was a nice change from all the hassling we had endured the day before. We walked down a street and met two little girls. They said hello to us in perfect English, and Zach said hello back and also told them that they spoke English well. They responded with Thank you, and continued to ask his name and have a short conversation. They giggled and spoke to each other in Arabic occasionally, I’m pretty sure they thought Zach was cute. It’s interesting to see how children in all cultures are really all nearly the same. We circled around to head back to the main street and just was we thought our tour of the market was nearly over we passed by a bakery. Before we knew it we were being pulled in to see how it works. The man who seemed to own the shop took us back and showed us how they made the bread and then placed it on large trays and carried it to the oven and after it baked they placed it on shelves until they took it out to sell. It was a very interesting process. As Lamiaa, our tour guide yesterday had said though, nothing in Egypt is free. Not even this tour, after we had finished out “friend” asked for a souvinier to remember us. We finally gave in and gave him a dollar bill and a 1 Euro Coin. He was finally satisfied and said that he would remember us. With that we left the market and headed back out to crazy city to hail another taxi.