After coming back from the fourth of July…we decided to take a day of tourism. So naturally, we went to see a few mosques. These mosques weren’t just any mosques; the first was at the citadel…Muhammad Ali to be in fact……

The mosque was on a great hill overlooking Cairo, with a beautiful panoramic of each side. The view alone was breathtaking, but the time spent inside the mosque resuscitated our taken breathes. Outside, you can view the huge domes from afar. Arabic writing covered the walls with gold and greens to compliment the many years old design. I’m not certain the exact age of the mosque while I’m writing this, but I do know that it is very old and one of the most famous of the mosques. Rays of sun bounced off the ground and walls blinding you with an impenetrable holy force saying, “Come hither”. The experience was fulfilling. In my own words, if I wasn’t Orthodox, I would be Muslim…no joke.

Inside, the burial of an old Muslim King stood within the center of the mosque. But prior to coming inside, it is custom to wash your hands, arms, face, mouth, nose, head, ears and feet before you enter the mosque. Take your shoes off before entering, and if you’re a man, wear pants, otherwise it is kind of disrespectful to pray. Woman, I believe but am not totally sure, practice the same technique, maybe changed a little bit…and in most cases, pray, I believe again, pray in a different area then the men.

We performed this ritual then came into the mosque, but this time, did not pray (Mono and I had shorts on today), but we did relax for while and just hung out…enjoying the scenery, chatting about good ol` times, and just enjoying each others company.

After the mosque at Mohammed Ali, in the Citadel, we ventured off to the Ibu Idal Mosque…this is the second oldest mosque in Egypt..roughly around 1300 – 1800 yrs old. Very old…still beautiful. At this mosque, we simply walked around and enjoyed the scenery. We took in the old washing station, the large pillars for the high ceilings with domed roofs. At one part of the mosque, there is a view which is noted on the 5 Pound Bill…similar to our Washington monument…or Lincoln sitting on the whatsit called…sorry, my American history sucks…but hey, I still love being an American…GOD BLESS THE WORLD!!!

Next…FOOD!!! We went to fabulous restaurant where we all ordered the best meals…babaghanoosh, thiani, fool, oriental salad, yogurt, Egyptian Chicken (2 different ones), spicy fish, and another Arabic chicken dish with lots of Egyptian bread, chai, and of course…HOOKAH!!! In Arabic, they call the hookah “shEE-sha”.

Next stop…a book store where I, as well as the other guys, picked up a variety of Arabic music…I have two CDs of Jazz with a touch of Arabic, and two old instrumental Arabic CDs. I haven’t listened to them yet, but am waiting to drive around in my truck and check out the tunes…PETE AND BERNS…I can make ya copies if you would like…let my ears marinate the sounds first. ;-D

NOW…here’s the big part of the day…the part that all the ladies love…SHOPPING. And I’m telling you, this was so much fun. In am Arabic city, you must, I repeat, you must bargain. That is the only way you will get the deal of your life. We learned this in the beginning of the trip, but now, our skills were put to the test. Each of us had our own different techniques, and Nageeb helped us along the way with our big purchases of near $200 worth or so…yes, $200 worth. Some of the items that we picked up along the way were very expensive, others, mediocre. But, I’ll let you in on my experience.

Now…I would walk up to the guys and check out the product…lets say…something simple, like copper ashtrays with Egyptian hieroglyphics on them…I tried to get 10 for 50 LBS @ 5 LBS a piece…the guy wanted them for 10 LBS a piece…casually, I told him, “Too much”, and I would low ball him with a figure that is kinda demeaning…but listen, if you want the price at what you want to pay for it, then you need to negotiate to that price…don’t start with it, because you’ll end up paying a little above it or simply above.

Needless to say, I didn’t get the ashtrays. I wanted to, but he just wouldn’t come down to my level. No biggie. Walk on and check out the next shop. These guys are dying to get your money. My favorite line of theirs was “Ser…ser, right this way. I give you best deal. C’mon ser. Good deal right a’ here.”

Now, they would always ask where you’re from…naturally, I’d say Greece (Yunan in Arabic) and they would just love me “Hey…you win in soccer. Congratulations!” As if I had a part in it. “Thank you,” I’d say, or “Shokran” in Arabic. Sometimes, you’d just need to walk away from price and just keep walking. Once guy started off his bid at 85 Egyptian pounds. After telling him thank you and walking, he lowered the price…very much. I got him all the way down to 10 LBS. Yup…that’s a big change from what he started at…but you need to negotiate. On food, that’s a different matter, because a majority of the time, it’s set in the menu…unless they forget something….Ooops. :-O

I loved walking away, just for the fact that they would chase you down and haggle with you. A very nice experience. Some guys were very sincere…seriously, and whenever I came into contact with these guys, I almost always bought something. Why? Because you don’t find too many people who aren’t just about money.

Cab drivers are the same way. Never tell them a direct price. They will hustle you out of your last LBS. The ones who drove as if they were sane, I would negotiate a good price, but the crazy drivers…man, getting there the fastest doesn’t mean you can get to my wallet the fastest. Besides, I don’t use a wallet…too much weight.

The best cab driver was last week, when Mono and I left from Al Hussein Square. This guy negotiated a price of near 25 LBS. As he started driving towards the highway, he asked us if we liked Egyptian music. Sure we said. He popped in a cassette (no CDs unless you have a new or pretty new car…and cabbies definitely didn’t) but he popped in a cassette, and out of his rattling 6x9 speakers came this funky modern/oldie pop Egyptian song. This guy was hilarious, he was singing the whole song, and honking his horn to the rhythm of the song as well. AND, as he was singing, he was looking back at us in the rear view mirror, still speeding, probably only in 4th gear (I don’t believe 5th gear works in a majority of the cars.) I was thinking, please don’t look at me while you’re driving. Pay attention to the roads and the other speeding cars!!! But he was good, and we laughed and smiled the whole way home. Just thinking about this guy makes me smile…man, he was such a character. Please, that was a good night…as was each night here.

Cheers!