morning in the tentmakers' alley

Friday morning we took a trip to the tentmaker's alley in Islamic Cairo. We took the metro from this, our local stop, to a place fairly close.



It appears we weren't technically inside the older city, because we were just outside of this large gate (Bab Zuweila). It's been a while since those gates were used, so they're just decoration now. Islamic Cairo is different from Old Cairo in that Islamic Cairo was built about 1200 years ago, whereas truly old Cairo (aka Fustat) was established long before.



We'd forgotten to change our clocks for daylight savings, which got us to the tentmakers' alley before anyone was open, so we sat in a local cafe and had tea and breakfast. This is a typical Egyptian breakfast: foul (stewed fava beans with lemon, olive oil, and vinegar), pickles, very fresh bread, and a bit of arugula. This particular stand was run by a very businesslike woman. Cost: 2 LE = 40 cents.




This gentleman was selling his snacks on the other side of the cafe. He was frying fresh potato chips, eggplant, and taamiyya, each of which he stuffed with a bit of salad into a pita. These and foul are hugely popular both for breakfast and lunch. Note the water pipe in the foreground, probably for when things got slow.




These are taamiyya frying. Taamiyya are basically falafel, except falafel are generally made of chickpeas, and tamiyya are made from fava beans. Delicious.


This very old half-blind and very kind gentleman offered us a tour of this old and run-down local mosque. He claimed it was from the time of the Mamluks (pre-1800). He also claimed to be the muezzin (who sings the call to prayer). The brickwork and stained glass certainly bespoke a period of previous grandeur.
This is the tentmakers' alley beginning to open. This particular street is famous for pillowcases and wallhangings and other kinds of tapestries like these:
Anyone interested? Send details of color schemes and sizes. They're available in geometric designs like these, in flowery motifs, and sometimes in calligraphic designs, generally with religious/spiritual messages.



Zach is a bit fried here from the heat as it is approaching noon and we are getting ready to hide in the a/c for the afternoon. These lamps are very popular for Ramadan, and as Ramadan begins Monday, they were selling fast.

For anyone trying to talk to us, e.g. skype, please keep in mind that Fridays and Saturdays are weekends here, and Sundays normal workdays. As mentioned above, we have already changed our clocks for daylight savings, so we think for now we are 6 hours ahead of the East coast and 9 from the West coast.

River adventures

The wedding was at a restaurant on a boat on the Nile. Here we are at the river a few yards away.



A Muslim wedding ceremony is simply the signing of the marriage contract. Usually this is done a few days prior to the party, but our friends had the ceremony at the beginning of the party. Yasmin, the bride, had a blue finger for the rest of the night from fingerprinting eight pages. After the ceremony comes hours and hours of dancing to everything from 50s Egyptian standards to contemporary Egyptian pop to Chubby Checker and international contemporary dance hits.




Here we are with the bride and groom. While this party was most likely more Westernized (with women in short dresses without sleeves), it seems that most women cover up on the street and then reveal more skin once they are inside for a party or club. I wore a sweater to the wedding, and then saw all the other women in tiny dresses. Technically, you're not supposed to wear black because it's a happy occasion, but that also seems to be acceptable now.



Here we are on a sunset felucca (sailboat) ride a couple of days later. Usually people bring snacks or dinner with them on the boat since you take about an hour ride.



Faluccas were for millenia the lifeblood of Egypt, but at least in Cairo they're mostly just for pleasure rides. In some parts of the Nile in Cairo they compete with motor boats with loud stereos, but we didn't hear any tonight.

Canal Street

Key to photos: First is a close-up of the pyramids from our window. Second is a zoomed out view of the same skyline from the window with the Nile and the pyramids very small in the middle. Third is into the courtyard below with kids playing in a blow-up kiddie pool on their balcony. Fourth is the spare bedroom/den with its balcony. Last is Rachel in the living/dining room-- tree is fake, but we're working on that.

The apartment is actually way nicer than anything we could afford in Brooklyn. It's a two bedroom apartment with a very spacious living room/dining room. We use the second bedroom as a tv room, but it is completely suitable for guests. The dining room table is turning into Zach's office, which is great because he likes to spread out his many piles of papers. The kitchen is small, but completely ample, in fact bigger than most NY kitchens, though we don't eat in it - we could squish but it's not really worth it. We have two balconies - one is really for laundry drying and the other has a very distant view of the pyramids. The furniture is Egyptian, which means quite gaudy almost rococo with gold-leaf trim, but the landlords worked hard to tone it down for western tenants. Oh, and we have a washing machine (which will, by far, be the hardest thing to give up)!

We live in a middle class projects looking complex. The buildings look a little communist in their concrete blandness. The neighbors are friendly and there are several services like dry cleaning, bodegas, and a pharmacy right in our complex.

Though it's on a subway line, the neighborhood (Maadi) is outside of central Cairo and is known for being quiet. That's not to say that cars don't honk much more than is necessary, but it's much quieter, less crowded and greener here than most parts of Cairo. In fact a street leading up to our complex is called Canal and has a very wide median full of gardens.