Unorganized observations of Cairo life
I have been jotting down interesting sights and experiences each day, none of which are fascinating enough to warrant a full blog entry, but fascinating enough to let you know about them.
* Friday in the city is a dream come true for those seeking quiet after a week of tolerating the incessant noise of honking horns and breathing in exhaust fumes. Few people are roaming the streets, instead staying home or praying at the mosque. The shops are closed and it is the one day where crossing the street is not an extreme sport.
* Pallets stacked with fresh pita bread are ubiquitous throughout our local market. Buyers stand and pick through each piece of bread, bagging up the half dozen or so which pass inspection. The bread is puffed up to perfection, and although I routinely eat from sketchy looking street vendor stalls, my germaphobia prevents me from buying bread from the pallet vendor. How many hands touched the bread before it made it to my table? Instead, I buy a bag of fresh pita from the local supermarket. I’m sure that the supermarket probably just got it delivered from the guy down the corner with the pallet full of bread, but please, don’t ruin my fantasy of clean, fresh bread for me.
* Heavy, black eyeliner on both upper and lower lids is the most prominent way women wear their eye make-up.
* Coffeeshop culture: Men sit outside in plastic chairs, smoking shisha and playing backgammon or dominoes till late in the evening. I’m soooo jealous…it looks quite idyllic to sit around, chatting with friends and playing games in the evening.
* The smallest monetary note I have ever received is 10 piastres (= 2cents) and the only place I have ever received this note is in the grocery store. Consequently, the only place I’ve been able to use it is also in the grocery store. Since apparently only the grocery stores use 10p notes, they are always crisp and clean, as if they just came from the mint. [Aside: As far as I know, the smallest denomination is 10 piastres, then 25p, 50p, 1 pound (=100p), 5 pounds, 10 pounds, etc.) I have never seen anything less than 10p and I don’t even know if 1p exists. At a store, if my change is supposed to be 83p, I can anticipate to instead receive 75p made up of a 50p and 25p notes. I have no idea how bookeepers deal with these minute differences, which over time may make a big difference.
* The water in our apartment goes out at least once a day so we have adapted by keeping a lidded container full of water for such emergencies. Last Sunday, our electricity also went out for about a half hour. Not too comforting to me since I use the elevator every day to get to and from our apartment. What happens when the electricity goes out while I’m in the elevator in 40C temperatures?
* One of the great surprises when walking down the street is the occasionally waft of fried onions in the air. In an instance, you know that a kushari shop is someplace nearby.
* I can’t get fresh hummus from the grocery store, only canned. Why is that? Do people have their own recipies which they make from scratch rather than buying a premade version?
-s
Tags: Egypt, Tag Index
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