Sometimes sensory input other than through the 10.1" screen and the headphones is necessary.
I had a great day of sensory input yesterday riding the big old Egyptian buses and the metro and mooching around the ancient market streets full of traditional spices, oils, fruits and modern Chinese cheapo rubbish! All the mosque azzans going of at slightly different times! Cacophony! Such contrasts!
I bussed and metroed up to the city from my home and met my friends at Orabi metro. We walked over to Turgoman to check some bus details, then along to a koshari and pasta joint for a fine repast. Decisions made, we returned to Turgoman for yours truly to purchase a ticket for a night bus for my next cross-Egypt journey (for my first post-revolution 'adventure'!) before repairing to Ramses for train details and ticket purchasing for my friends' onward journeys.
After that, we taxied over to Khan El Khalili and partook of liquid refreshment of the chai variety at an qwha where one of my friends was known to the proprietor and sadly found out that a trip to Tanta to meet a Sufi master was to be held on Friday but she was leaving Cairo on Thursday. My friends went for a visit to Al Husseiny mosque but I didn't accompany them as I have been before and let's just say didn't feel I needed to repeat the experience. It was right on prayer time so one of my friends stayed for that.
We then took a very long walk back through the Tentmakers' area, back through to Attaba where my friends were staying - checked the net to see if there was any music at Makan that night, but there wasn't. Off to Talaat Harb and the touristy but nice Falfelas for tameya, omlette, and other things I can't remember the name of.
Back down the Talaat Harb to Tahrir where I descended to the metro and continued my homeward -journey.
We saw some people gathered on the central roundabout at Tahrir but nothing untoward appeared to be happening. If we hadn't known about the tragic incidents of Sunday, as three foreigner-women, we wouldn't have 'guessed'. We didn't pick up any bad atmospheres at all. One man who had given us directions at one point asked us if we felt safe in Cairo, and we did.
If you are in Cairo, just play a bit safe, keep away from any obvious demonstrations or random large gatherings of people. We didn't go into the Khan El Khalili itself, but there were tourists around including one coach load of people who looked as if they were all about 90 years old and none of them looked alarmed about anything (such as can be detected through a bus-window anyway!)
Showing posts with label Khan El Khalili. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Khan El Khalili. Show all posts
Wednesday, 12 October 2011
Tuesday, 30 December 2008
Al Azhar Park & Khan El Khalili
Yesterday I spent a few hours with friends old and new.
We met up outside Mogamma and took a taxi up to Al Azhar Park. (10LE due to our fantastic bargaining skills!). The entrance fee cost 28LE for the 4 of us.
I have only been to Al Azhar Park once before, in the dark, so it was great to see it in the day time. 2 of the others had never been before at all. If you have never been it is a very attractive, well-maintained place with landscaped gardens, including many water features.
There are fabulous views over all of Cairo – it is close to the Moqattam Hills and the Citadel and, because the air was so clear yesterday, we also managed to catch a glimpse of the pyramids in the distance.
There are a number of cafes and restaurants dotted around but be warned they all have minimum charges varying from 25LE to 55LE per person. Luckily I had stopped off at the Giza bakery on the way and my 8.5LE bag of buns served us well and is feeding me today too! We were rather thirsty but came across a little stall selling cans of drink and icecreams.
We stayed there until sunset and the muted blues and oranges of the sky were lovely.
We then took a taxi (10LE again – more fantastic bargaining skills !) over to Khan El Khalili. We visited Al Hussein Mosque. We went in the women’s entrance. It was crowded with women and children pushing and shoving and we went through to the area where it is claimed that the head of the Prophet’s (pboh) grandson is kept. To be honest, we didn’t really find the experience of visiting this mosque uplifting. It was a shame I think that we couldn’t go into the main area which, glimpsed through the mens door, seemed to be very different from what we were able to see. Next time it would be nice to visit Al Azhar Mosque if its possible to contrast the two.
We then made our way to eat at the Naguib Mahfouz Cafe/Restaurant. The restaurant has quite a plain, simple grace to it and served ‘traditional’ Egyptian food in an upmarket way, prices not too bad as a treat, but its definately not GAD!!! (Falafels or koshari 14LE, other dishes - chickens, pigeons etc 60-70LE)
After that, we took a wander round Khan El Khalili. I’ve managed to avoid this place in all my time in Egypt and it was much quieter than I had imagined, and I was very pleasantly surprised at the low-key hassle we got from the shopkeepers. Some of them are very funny – ‘everything here is 100% discount’ ‘everything here today is free’ ‘how can I part you from your money today’ ‘whatever you want I have it’. All lit up in the dark it was like an Aladdin’s Cave. Here you could buy lots of brassware, scarves, galibayas, perfumes, rugs, lamps. Worth a visit after all.
Another 10LE taxi took us back to Ramses Station where we went our separate ways by bus and metro.
It was a beautiful relaxing day with many different impressions of Cairo, ancient and modern, blending themselves together in that unique Cairean style.
IMPRESSIONS FROM ONE OF MY FRIENDS:
It was an amazing day for me seeing Cairo in a way I had never seen it before. The park is high above the city, green, with water features everywhere; tranquil above the noise and bustle of the city and the view was wonderful. At sunset the buildings old and new were outlined through pastel colours of the evening sky.
A taxi ride to Khan el Khalili took us to the world below with vibrant colours, the air full of exotic perfumes and funny, friendly people to make you smile.
The restaurant was expensive, but part of the whole experience - worth paying more for a day you will remember forever!
(links etc to be added in a few days when not in a hurry!)
We met up outside Mogamma and took a taxi up to Al Azhar Park. (10LE due to our fantastic bargaining skills!). The entrance fee cost 28LE for the 4 of us.
I have only been to Al Azhar Park once before, in the dark, so it was great to see it in the day time. 2 of the others had never been before at all. If you have never been it is a very attractive, well-maintained place with landscaped gardens, including many water features.
There are fabulous views over all of Cairo – it is close to the Moqattam Hills and the Citadel and, because the air was so clear yesterday, we also managed to catch a glimpse of the pyramids in the distance.
There are a number of cafes and restaurants dotted around but be warned they all have minimum charges varying from 25LE to 55LE per person. Luckily I had stopped off at the Giza bakery on the way and my 8.5LE bag of buns served us well and is feeding me today too! We were rather thirsty but came across a little stall selling cans of drink and icecreams.
We stayed there until sunset and the muted blues and oranges of the sky were lovely.
We then took a taxi (10LE again – more fantastic bargaining skills !) over to Khan El Khalili. We visited Al Hussein Mosque. We went in the women’s entrance. It was crowded with women and children pushing and shoving and we went through to the area where it is claimed that the head of the Prophet’s (pboh) grandson is kept. To be honest, we didn’t really find the experience of visiting this mosque uplifting. It was a shame I think that we couldn’t go into the main area which, glimpsed through the mens door, seemed to be very different from what we were able to see. Next time it would be nice to visit Al Azhar Mosque if its possible to contrast the two.
We then made our way to eat at the Naguib Mahfouz Cafe/Restaurant. The restaurant has quite a plain, simple grace to it and served ‘traditional’ Egyptian food in an upmarket way, prices not too bad as a treat, but its definately not GAD!!! (Falafels or koshari 14LE, other dishes - chickens, pigeons etc 60-70LE)
After that, we took a wander round Khan El Khalili. I’ve managed to avoid this place in all my time in Egypt and it was much quieter than I had imagined, and I was very pleasantly surprised at the low-key hassle we got from the shopkeepers. Some of them are very funny – ‘everything here is 100% discount’ ‘everything here today is free’ ‘how can I part you from your money today’ ‘whatever you want I have it’. All lit up in the dark it was like an Aladdin’s Cave. Here you could buy lots of brassware, scarves, galibayas, perfumes, rugs, lamps. Worth a visit after all.
Another 10LE taxi took us back to Ramses Station where we went our separate ways by bus and metro.
It was a beautiful relaxing day with many different impressions of Cairo, ancient and modern, blending themselves together in that unique Cairean style.
IMPRESSIONS FROM ONE OF MY FRIENDS:
It was an amazing day for me seeing Cairo in a way I had never seen it before. The park is high above the city, green, with water features everywhere; tranquil above the noise and bustle of the city and the view was wonderful. At sunset the buildings old and new were outlined through pastel colours of the evening sky.
A taxi ride to Khan el Khalili took us to the world below with vibrant colours, the air full of exotic perfumes and funny, friendly people to make you smile.
The restaurant was expensive, but part of the whole experience - worth paying more for a day you will remember forever!
(links etc to be added in a few days when not in a hurry!)
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