Just a heads up: my entries are going to be in random order because I’m writing as I remember each visit.

One of the parts of Cairo that we visited and I really liked was Islamic Cairo and the Khan el-Khalili.

We started our Islamic Cairo visit at Bab Zuwayla (which translates to Gate Zuwayla) and was the Southern gate built around the city by the Fatimids a couple of centuries after Cairo was founded.

The two minarets flanking the gate when we arrived were a great preview to all that we would find inside.

The gates were certainly in deteriorating condition but still a sight to see. They rose into the sky (just how high, we would find out personally), two pillars guarding the city contained inside. (photo to the right).

When we climbed up the minaret (all the way up, including up the rickety, completely unstable and shaky, looking like it was built 2000 years ago staircase at the top), the view was breathtaking (and breaths I took. A lot of them. I found out just how out of shape I am on this trip. FML).

But the view the top provided was ridiculous. All of the old city was splayed out in front of us, with minarets rising and dotting the landscape as far as my eyes could see (which admittedly wasn’t very far because I’m legally blind without my glasses, but you get the point).  Another thing we found out on top was that most people always leave the top floor of their homes under construction so they can avoid paying property taxes. The laws in Egypt only tax completed houses, so if you say you’re still building a floor, you won’t be taxed. Genius (on the taxpayers’ parts). Kind of dumb on the government’s part.

a view from the top

The actual markets inside the city was bustling, even though we went on New Year’s weekend (did I mention that getting used to a Friday-Saturday weekend and Sunday-Thursday work week was harder than expected? And it wasn’t very hard but I did notice a difference. So Thursday nights were Friday nights. Mind-blowing? I know.) and most things were supposed to be closed. The streets are not really friendly to walking (which I found out the hard way in my shibshib (flip-flops)), with holes, uneven bricks, dust and CAT FECES EVERYWHERE. I put that in capitals because I just realized that I forgot to talk about how many stray cats there are in Cairo. A LOT. Stray dogs? I saw a few near the pyramids, besides that, nothing. The cats, on the other hand….the cats. I’ve seen cats climb up to places never before discovered by man (okay, so I’m exaggerating a little bit but let a girl tell a story. sheesh). There were ninja cats that nimbly ran on the spiral tops of gates; there were crazy cats that ravaged through garbage bags and were as big as some dogs. They also had the crazy eyes one only hears of in ancient legends. I don’t think you understand…I was terrified of these cats. And Ioana (in her mother’s spirit) was sure they had rabies and walked far away, while crossing herself, every time. (<3)

….Anyway, back to the markets.

i can actually sense the atmosphere on the street that day

The Khan el-Khalili was also a marketplace of sorts, but it was a bit farther down from Bab Zuwayla. The Khan (originally created as a resting spot for merchants and travelers, where they would continue trading while they rested before going on to their destinations). It’s a massive area, lined with stores and storeowners vying for your attention with calls of “sister, come in here” to “I kill my wife for you!” You can probably find everything you see in one store for 10 pounds cheaper at the next store, but part of the experience is letting the sellers charm their way into your wallet.

We made good friends with the sellers in one of the first stores we went to, two guys named Abdo and Hany, who actually gave us good prices. (If I asked for the price for something, Abdo would ask if I was going to try to bargain or not. If I said bargain, he’d say an outrageously high number and if I said no bargain, he’d say a fifth of the original number haha). That’s part of the fun of shopping in the Khan. Being creeped on, making friends, bargaining for the price, etc. Set prices, shmet shprices.