Our first stop: the bazaar downtown.
Hookah water pipes and pastel boxes of sheesha (flavored tobacco) in strawberry, coconut, and orange.
Our own hookah pipes, topped with hot coals, as we take a break from shopping/bargaining/rebuffing the men asking if we are "Spice Girls" to enjoy the local custom for ourselves.
I think Kasey's puffing on grape, but by the end of the trip we discovered we liked lemon the best.
Also a local afternoon custom: personal pots of hot mint tea.
Beautiful to look at, but also a remarkable union of refreshing and sweet.
El Fishawy is one of the most popular places in Cairo's bazaar for a repast. And if I were more up on my Egyptian literature, I'd remember which Pulitzer winner Bosaina said wrote a book here.
A seriously impressive way of transporting loaves of bread.
The sun hitting a minaret high above the dirt streets.
Kasey and Bosaina head for the car where Yoshi (our driver) is waiting for us outside the labyrinth of stalls after our afternoon of shopping.
Posts
2 comments:
Naguib Mahfouz, the 1988 Nobel Laureate for Literature. A meticulous observer of life in Islamic Cairo, Mahfouz made the café a primary setting in his trilogy: Bein El Asren, Asr El Shouk, and Al Soukariah. (Each title is named after a street in the El-Hussein neighborhood.) The café’s patrons became the archetypes for Mahfouz’s heroes
Have fun in Russia. Bob
Bob! You amaze! I AM having fun in Russia - thank you kindly. And once I'm out of the land of the Cyrillic alphabet, I promise to write you a proper email re: Portofino.
Cheers!
Post a Comment