I was half in half out of sleep this morning when I caught myself reaching for a blanket. A blanket? We don't use blankets here. We never have anything more than a sheet on our bed. My fabulous new bedspread that I gave up several pounds and space for in my suitcase has been neatly folded on a shelf since our arrival. Each day I would look at it and sigh knowing that if I did put it on the bed it would be taken off once we went to sleep.
I was fully awake now and realized that the weather had shifted. Levels of "burn your brain" hot had dipped to what Missourians would call an "Indian summer day." I'll take it.
We decided to go for a long walk through the city knowing that for once the desert heat would not sap all the known liquids in our bodies in the first 20 minutes of movement. First we walked along the corniche (road along the Nile) and (as always) were greeted by the variety of felucca (sailboat) captains who hang out there looking for customers.
John knows a lot of them by name now and he tries to divide our sailboat rides evenly among them. Sometimes they greet us and say, "Oh, how are you? I missed you." It's a tactic that they've learned about Westerners. We feel terrible when we can't remember someone so we make up for it in boat rides. We're getting a little more savvy now and actually know who we really know. (Still with me on this?)
One man, Magdee*, greeted us and began telling us about his girlfriend in London. He told us he had a problem. He wants her to come for a visit, but she is too afraid to come because of the trouble in Egypt. John nodded his head in understanding wondering where this conversation was headed. Magdee said, "Other cities may have trouble, but not here." John agreed. Our little section of the country for the most part has remained calm.
Magdee continued, "She is very beautiful, you know?" He nudged John with his elbow. I tried to keep from rolling my eyes. "I want her to know it's safe."
John said, "Yes, we are telling our friends that it is fine to travel here now."
Magdee said, "Yes, but if my girlfriend could hear it from you…"
Oooooooh, now we understood. He wanted John to call his girlfriend and assure her that it would be fine for her to come.
John smiled and said that he understood, but Magdee's girlfriend would need to talk with her family to make that decision.
Magdee nodded and asked for a final time if we were well. John assured him we were and we bid our goodbyes. Ah, love troubles...
We continued our walk noticing that the barricades on the main road had been removed and the number of tanks had diminished. Another good sign that things were improving and a political climate change might be happening as well...
We turned into the souk (the market) and were amazed at the number of people shopping. I guess the cooler temperatures rejuvenated them, too. Many of the vendors have resorted to selling items that appeal to the local people rather than the tourists in which they normally cater. Inflatable toys, cap guns, table lamps and gawdy moo moos were the new products of choice.
Of course, we can't exactly blend in so we are definitely shark bait (so to speak) when we walk from store to store. The vendors go from yelling "Tomatoes! Tomatoes! Tomatoes! 6 pounds!" to "Beeeeeeutiful spices for the traveler! Good prices! No hassle!"
Some of them know us now, but another man told us "You all look alike and it's hard to know who's a tourist and who lives here." That made me laugh. The ones that do know us will yell, "Meeester Zhahn!" until John stops and turns to see who was speaking. Some of the other guys heard this and also began yelling, "Meeeester Zhahn! Meeeester Zhahn!" Our friend said, "He is the most popular man in all of Egypt!" John slapped his hand and they both laughed at the joke.
Our final stop in the souk was a store with hundreds of knickknacks covered in a protective layer of dust. Most Egyptian vendors keep their stores meticulously clean. This guy's angle was that if the items were covered in dust, they MUST be old and valuable. He cleared a path for us to enter and immediately offered us karkaday (hibiscus) tea or tamarind tea. We thanked him and began looking through the rows and rows of pharaoh heads, Egyptian symbols and carvings.
I found some beads that I liked and he told us that they were from S*dan. I was immediately persuaded, but I had to go through the bargaining dance until we reached an agreement we could both live with. We completed our transaction before the tea arrived which told us that he was just being polite in his offer. (Three offers usually means they are serious.)
I took my beads and we walked toward the end of the souk passing a man with a cart full of croissants. It took restraint not to leap in the middle of them like I would a pile of leaves in the Fall, but I realized I wouldn't have the Arabic to explain my actions.
We returned to our village and were inundated with a passel of children playing soccer in the street. The game stopped momentarily while they ran around us saying, "Hello! Hello! What ees your name?" One boy asked for a euro, but John engaged him by asking his name and making conversation.
They followed us for a while, but lost interest when a little boy tried to sneak their soccer ball away while they were distracted.
I greeted some of the women who were out longer than usual because of the cooler weather and because it was the weekend. They were happy with the weather change too.
We returned to the flat happy and content that we continue to make progress in living life here and building friendships. Now if I can teach the vendors about apple cider and craft festivals…
*Not his real name
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Today's BOGO Blog: Midnight in Cairo
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