Life As I See It - From Egypt

Alexandra's Visit to Cairo

Ali has already posted many pictures of her visit on Facebook. We spent fun times together at coffee shops and local shops in Maadi, Cairo. We made two trips to the famed Khan al-Khalili Suuq - one of the oldest bazaars still in existence, dating back to the fourteenth century. The suuqs are where all the "bargaining" occurs. ALL prices are negotiable. And the wares seem unending. The Egyptians are, by and large, a very honest group of people. However, they do not consider asking more for an item than it is worth as being dishonest. They feel we should know the value of what we are buying and, if we don't, then they will use that to their advantage. Fortunately, I was accompanied by two of the best bargainers I know, Ali and Ron. Between the two of then, we came away with some terrific buys. Ali and I spent one day in Alexandria, on the north coast of Egypt. It is about 180 kilometers north of Cairo. One day was not nearly long enough but, we made the most of our time there. First we visited the Citadel, also known as Qaitbay Fort. This fort was originally built in 1479 where the Alexandria Lighthouse (one of the original seven wonders of the world) once stood. Our next stop was the Greco-Roman ruins (discovered less than fifty years ago and still being excavated). This was an awesome site and extremely interesting. Our last visit of the day was to the Bibliotech. It is an engineering marvel and has been open only since 2002. It is believed to be at or near the site of the original Great Library of Alexandria. Ron's administrative assistant has a sister who works in Alex (as the locals call it). She served as our tour guide and was a wealth of knowledge. Ibrahim was our driver and he was superb. I plan to spend a lot of time in Alexandria as time goes by so I will report more as I learn it. We saw our first demonstration against the war in Gaza while in Alexandria. It was a peaceful demonstration on the courthouse steps. Heba, our guide, said these are common and always peaceful. She said at times there will be people lined up along the Corniche for four kilometers or more holding signs of protest. Ron and I do not talk politics with the locals. And they do not ask us our opinion about the current conflict. They all love our newly elected president and believe he will bring positive change to their world. He gets a thumbs up from everyone we have met here. Back to Ali. She had a great trip and we are so thankful she could make it here to see us. She has already started devising a strategy for how to get back for another visit when the weather is warmer. She was hoping for 80 and 90 degree temperatures instead of (only) 70's. :)

posted by Teresa @ 5:28 AM