Christmas?! Now?!

So, I’m finding it hard to get in the Christmas spirit this year. Could it be because I’m doing it a month early and it’s 80°F outside and sunny, sunny, sunny? Quite possibly. But we’ve been advised that our packages should be in the mail between Nov. 18-Dec. 2 in order to reach the states, so I’m cranking things out. Got our international packages out this week, hoping they’ll reach the globe’s corners before the New Year.

But the mood just isn’t right. Christmas prep is about shopping in the Mall with the girls, eating Auntie Anne’s pretzels and guzzling gallons of Diet Coke while we try to remember we’re shopping for others, not ourselves. Or it’s about making day trips to Annapolis or Alexandria. I guess it’s really about hanging out with friends.

I did do a bunch of shopping here with friends, but it’s just such a different environment (no pretzels, but I can always get bread from someone’s open basket, and of course there’s no where you can go and not get “Coca-Cola Light”). The good part about all this is that Cairo is a city for gift-giving. The volume of possible handicrafts, or Pharaonic paraphernalia is never-ending (so you’ve all been forewarned – make room for a life-size sarcophagus in the lounge).

While I have made some wonderful friends here, this is the first time I’ve felt home-sick in Cairo. I guess it’s something I’ll have to get used to, and I’ve never not been (I know, double negative, but it’s more effective) somewhere cold for Christmas. While wrapping presents on the dining table the other night I almost put in a Christmas movie to try to get in the mood, but really just didn’t feel like it. And I’m writing this with the Muslim call to prayer in the background (despite it happening five times a day, I really do rarely notice it).

I’m not whining, well, much. And the first weekend after Thanksgiving I will diligently put up our Christmas tree, which I’m sure will help things feel more festive. Christmas and Thanksgiving are about friends and family and traditions. And even in our circle in the states we’ve always added (and subtracted) people along the way. And Thanksgiving was the first time I met all of Ron’s immediate family (and despite him trying to convince me of erroneous family traditions, including his attempt to get me to wear a bonnet for Easter brunch, his family was all very welcoming), so I guess this year we’re just shaking up the traditions a bit and adding some new friends. Just modifying a tried-and-true recipe.

Walls of Cairo (really old walls)

A month or so ago a friend and I took a tour of the “Walls of Cairo.” I had no idea what to expect, but with the change in weather and temperatures being really pleasant (days are sunny and in the 70s), we figured we couldn’t go wrong with a guided outing.
I was pleased that we had the same guide I did for the Citadel tour, and I had no plans to poop out on her this time. We started out at the Khan around 10am. This time of day is a great chance to explore the Khan for things other than gallibayas, jewelry, scarves, and an inflatable King Tut, as most of the vendors are not even open. So for the first time I actually walked through the Khan and looked up to find some amazing architectural sights.

We walked through the Khan to the back area known as the coppersmith’s bazaar. It’s not as common today, but the Khan used to be divided into sections, so you would go to the gold section or the perfumes, or spices, or copper section, etc. to get your goods. From here, we walked along essentially behind the Khan, which is an area I’ve never explored. (Cairo is a city that is truly best explored by those without intention. Walking down an unknown alley or turning an unexplored corner usually reveals amazing sights that otherwise we might not have seen (and, at times, sometimes wish we hadn’t).)

We came to the complex of Sultan Qalaun, which was built in the 1280s, and right next to it the Madrasa and Mausoleum of Sultan Barquq, built in 1380s. It’s a huge complex, made up of mosques, schools (for boys to learn the Qur’an), mausoleums and a hospital that today specializes in eye diseases and injuries (which can explain the rather high number of people walking around in eye patches – not a pirate convention). The architecture is typical Mameluke and really stunning.

We also passed several sabil-kuttabs, which were public water fountains (some from the 1700s) with small Qur’anic schools above them. These public fountains were architectural marvels, with intricate tilework and woodwork. They were designed so that the public didn’t actually enter them, but rather reached through the ironwork from outside to basins inside that would be kept filled with fresh water. I’m not sure why such detail was put into the inside, but I can certainly appreciate its beauty. We were shown into one such sabil, and even taken upstairs to the very small classroom.

We continued on, past regular modern shops, past even older mosques (this was the Mosque of Al Aqmar, 1125 A.D., and I loved the stone detail).

Through some windy streets, we were brought to the house of Uthman Khadkhuda, which represented a very wealthy house from the 1700s (I believe). It was beautifully restored with several houses in a row, each slightly different. The interiors and exteriors were all fixed up thanks to a generous grant from Jordan, apparently. And to complete the picture, they do have a resident cat, as all good Egyptian houses should (though he’s a little grubby, but nonetheless seemed content).

From here our guide took us through some back alleys to a 17th century caravanserai called Wekalat Bazaar. This was designed for traveling merchants to be able to come to Cairo, stay in one of the rooms above, even with their families, and arrange business meetings. Essentially it was the precursor for the modern-day conference center (with a lot more character, no offense Holiday Inn). Some rooms even had an “en-suite” bathroom… uh, yeah, no thanks.

From here we walked back out past shisha pipe stores and women selling olives and lemons, all the way to the north wall of Cairo and the Bab Al Futuh gate. This was built in 1087 by Fatimid vizier Badr al-Jamali, who ruled Cairo until 1094. You just don’t realize sometimes the history that surrounds you here, even amongst all the trappings of modern life, a casual stroll (or a four-hour guided one) will reveal some amazing finds – especially if you have the courage to look up, once in a while.

I know, more damn trucks

I know, you’re probably all getting tired of seeing more wacky trucks. Well, tough. I’m not. As we left today for the commissary, Ron asked me if I really needed my camera. “Are you kidding?” I asked? Silly question. I’ll do more substantive posts, I promise, but I do love sharing the sights:

We see this all the time. Families (not always with three small children) piled on the motorbike, with mom usually riding sidesaddle at the back with a kid held in one arm. I hold my breath and keep all fingers crossed as long as they’re in sight.

Cardboard truck – and yes, there is a man sitting on top.

Propane trucks – always a breath-stopper to pass.

Two-by-fours – lots and lots of them!

Truck o’wool.

Maybe this is a delivery truck – with a delivery man (or a hitchhiker). But these little tiny Tonka trucks are zipping all over the place.

One comment from Ron wondering aloud what would happen if the wires snapped made me all the more delighted when we passed them.

Towering stacks of vegetable baskets.

Not really sure what these were – folding chairs?

Gaggles of gorgeous sheep and goats happily munching away on the side of the road – there’s another Eid coming up in early December, so I’m enjoying these sights while I can (and we’re making plans to leave Cairo for the upcoming Eid).

Election Day

This is it folks. I hope everyone gets out and votes today (unless you’re voting for ____, then feel free not to bother – don’t want to offend anyone, so I’ll just leave the name blank). Ron and I did the dutiful expat thing and mailed in our absentee ballots a few weeks ago. We both did have to do some research on the non-presidential items that were up for consideration in Maryland. One of the questions was worded poorly, so after voting then discussing it with Ron, I realized that I voted opposite of what I’d intended. Oh well, they really should write these legal questions for a much lower denominator (namely me). I think I at least managed to vote for my presidential choice.

Thanks to Allison and Don (Ron’s sister and brother-in-law) allowing us to share their Direct TV through some miracle of computery things (Slingbox on their end, a Mac Mini on ours), we have been able to catch a lot of the debates and coverage. It’s covered here on our local satellite TV, but the added benefit of the Slingbox is that we can record and watch it whenever. So along with the debates and the complete coverage on “Saturday Night Live” we feel fairly well-informed.

So, aside from counting down this election with the rest of the world, Ron and I are doing well. Ron’s getting ready for the wrap up of his database course in a month, including lab work and a research paper, plus the final. I’m still doing my writings and walk-abouts. Did some wandering with a friend yesterday and managed to get more lost than I ever have before. But the end result was we made it out fine with no incidents (despite being lost in a neighborhood with narrow streets, an over-abundance of men, an adorable stray brown sheep and three maps, all of which left this neighborhood area blank). We had a great lunch in the Naguib Mahfouz Café in the Khan and we showed each other some shops that we’d found separately. I bought a few trinkets here and there until I reached my limit of being vocally barraged and practically ran out to the main street to catch a cab home.

(Typical Khan shop -- patience is key.)

Car Games – Cairo Version

As anyone who’s been subjected to this blog will know, driving in Cairo is as close as you’ll get to a live-action video game. And in keeping with the “fun” aspect of it, we have come up with some games. For those of you who know Ron well, or have spent any time with him, you’ll know that he loves games, particularly ones he can win. And since he’s the creator of most of them, the rules tend to be rather fluid and oddly enough often fluctuate in his favor (he will deny this vehemently, but I’m still right).

So we have been discussing the possibility of creating a new version of Car Bingo – Cairo style. When I was kid, I had these bingo boards with little sliding windows. At the beginning of a car trip I’d open all the windows on the board, then when I saw a “red car” or a “flag pole,” or whatever was listed, I’d close the specific window until I got a row or a column complete. Now, as an only child, the concept of actually “winning” wasn’t really of issue, since I was playing merely against myself. However, I do feel that despite my depressing lack of aggressive competitiveness, I did gain a keen sense of observation. Who knew it would come in handy 30 years later while driving around Cairo?

The main obstacle to our idea is the size of the board, essentially because there are just too many variables. You’d think that putting a drawing of a one-legged man on crutches trying to cross an 8-10 lane highway would be ridiculous as you’d never see one – wrong, saw him last weekend. Or maybe an old woman crouching in the middle of traffic selling packs of tissues would seem unlikely – wrong again, they’re all over! How about eight cows crowded head to tail into a pick-up truck – sadly, we see them all too often. Or double-decker bread bicycles, or trucks overflowing with used cardboard (pic), or trucks carrying loose watermelons with two kids propped on top, propane carts, men lifting their gallibayas to urinate on the wall, someone getting an unconventional lift on a shuttle bus (pic - I have no idea why he did this, or whether he had to pay the full fare)? See what we mean? The board would have to be impossibly large. We might have to go digital with this – something small, hand-held, but with a lot of memory! Plans are in motion.

The one game that can be played sans board or electronics is our aptly named, “Why Would They…?” game. This we play automatically every time we’re in a vehicle. The rules are simple and the purpose is to foster greater understanding, acceptance and political-correctness. It’s also a game of repression skills. Whoever is able to make it through the entire ride without exclaiming, “Why would they/he/she…?” wins a round. Believe me, it’s not easy. The other day I lost with a simple noted observation of a metal barricade placed in the middle of a lane on a 10-lane road, adding to the already-chaotic traffic. I mean, it’s a perfectly justifiable observation (damnit)!

The end result of someone being caught with a “Why Would They…” is they have to give Chuckles a zerbert (a.k.a., raspberry). This may not sound like much to some, but Chuckles is a big cat, with consistently sharp claws, a vise-like grip, and who loves to bite – so there’s definitely risk of injury (though we have found that he tends to merely look bemused when receiving a zerbert, so we may have to up the ante).

We were in the car with a friend the other day who knows of the “Why Would They…?” game and its rules. Throughout the drive Ben would make comments such as “I find it interesting that they would…”, or “I love when you see someone…”, and other such phrases until Ron called him on his attempted verbal deception and gave him two zerbert points. There’s no way not to play. Welcome to cultural exposure.