Day 174 - Bazaar Khan Al Khalili and Christmas Dinner
Monday, December 24th, 2018.
Today we woke up late, had a lazy morning. We finally had a semi-decent hot shower! I say semi-decent because the shower doesn’t have shower curtains, so you get the whole bathroom wet but who cares, at least it's clean and has hot water. Plus, we have 2 bathrooms so 1 stays dry. The more houses we stay, the more I appreciate the bathrooms that we have back home.
When we were all ready we took an Uber to the bazaar Khan Al Khalili, mostly to get presents for Christmas. I can’t believe I waited until the very last minute. My idea was to buy something the kids liked in each place we've been, but the truth is that I forgot and the kids never seemed very excited about anything. The only thing I had for Sunshine was a pair of banana-print socks that I have been carrying since Istambul.
We made it to the bazaar and when we got out of the taxi, it was just more of the same chaos I have been observing since we got to Cairo. Every single space is filled with cars, people, food stands, anything. It is overwhelming to your senses after a while. It is all new and colorful, the people wearing their traditional outfits. The men wearing their long robes called “galabia” and some with turbans and sandals despite the cool weather. The women, well most of them have their hair covered and wear long dresses (also called galabia). From time to time, we see the women that are completely covered in black, even the face except for the eyes.
We first walked along the mosque where there were many stands where merchants were selling junk made in China, like cheap plastic toys for children. I thought it was sad not to see their traditional handicraft. When we reached the end of the road, I told Gregory that I didn’t think that was the bazaar so we went back to where we came from. First, we stopped to peek in the mosque. No one wants to go in, except me of course, but then when I see all the worn and dirty shoes outside the door, I change my mind. I peek as much as I can and notice that is nothing special in this mosque.
We found the bazaar and we walked in the middle of many stands selling scarves, postcards, keychains, pants and other touristy stuff. All the owners try to sell you souvenirs, they try to get your attention by saying hello in all the possible languages, they ask where are you from and if you stop even for one second to see something, they want to pull you into their store.
Luckily none of us likes to shop much so we were done very quickly. Besides, it was lunch time and we were hungry. I told Gregory that we should probably find a decent restaurant because I had read that we need to be careful not to eat in the street. We went back to a hotel that we had seen but when we went in, they told us that they only served coffee and tea.
We went back to the street and looked more around. We saw a family sitting at an outside table with many different dishes. I went to ask them what it was and if they thought it was clean. They told me that the food was really good and that we should be fine. My dad, who was a doctor, would have died to see the hygiene of the place. I mean, we were eating in a dirt road and the place didn’t look like it had a bathroom, it looked very local so we decided to go for it. [Gregory's note: Lili's father did, in fact, die, but not from the hygiene here, which was fine. And again, Lili is from Mexico -- how bad can Cairo be?]
The food was really good. We had fuul, falafel patties, spicy eggplant, French fries, and delicious tomatoes and cucumbers with parsley. Even if we wanted to eat some kind of salad, I told the kiddos not to eat the cucumbers or anything that wasn’t grilled or fried. Gregory suggested fresh orange juice but I objected, because even if they squeeze the juice, the outside of the orange is dirty or just their hands! Daniel was thrilled and got soda.
With a full tummy, I decided to finish seeing the bazaar and buy presents. Everyone found something, except me. Oh well! Afterward, we went to get tea and a chocolate crepe. We also went to look for an ATM. When they guy directed us to a dark road with some stands I wasn’t so sure, but there it was. We got some money and then we tried to get an Uber but there was no cellular data.
We went back to the main square where all the touristy restaurants had WiFi, but everyone wanted us to eat or pay for the WiFi! Finally, the owner of one of the cafes (Abu Mazen) took pity and gave us WiFi at no charge. Gregory requested the car. It was a painful experience because it took forever for the car to come, and we couldn’t check the status because we were back at the street with no coverage. Gregory had to go back and forth to the restaurant area. Finally the car came, but on the way, the driver got lost for an hour. He took us around many dirt roads, trying to find our neighborhood. He stopped at the intersection of two dirt lanes and asked if this is where we wanted to go. I wanted to scream. Gregory ended up using his Google Maps and giving directions to the driver!
[Gregory's note: apparently, there are multiple neighborhoods with the same name. I had typed the name of ours, El Kordy, but Uber thought El Kordy was another area. In my rush to get back to the street before the car came, I didn't check the map carefully. Apparently Uber referred to our area as El-Kordy. You can imagine my confusion. The narrow, dark streets we were driving through turned out to be a huge umm... necropolis. Anyway, we were not too far away but it took longer than we wanted.]
By the time we made it home, we were exhausted and overwhelmed with the way the Egyptians drive and honk! We had a nice late Christmas Eve dinner where everyone gave a small speech about how we felt about our family and our trip. I thanked everyone for their last weeks of support cheering me up. I was honest with them, saying that I had never expected that it was going to be this hard for me and how happy I was for being so mature and strong.
Gregory was very sweet to say that he loved that we had really become a team. He said he didn’t like how back home everyone did their own thing. He felt now that we were a team. Danny boy was so sweet to share that Mommy and (especially) Daddy were there to cheer him up and that we had to finish the trip!
Sunshine had a small speech and she was just being funny. She said, I know I will thank you later but for now, I think I would have been better if we had stayed home and she were still at San Dieguito Academy!
After that, we decided to give presents since we are leaving early tomorrow to see the pyramids. We all had very small and simple presents. Sunshine’s was very special because she made me a bracelet with seashells she had collected in Tel Aviv. She had to find the same size and with a hole for the string. Danny boy gave me a one stay-at-home day pass and another spoil-mom pass!
Gregorio owes me a night in a nice hotel or a pretty typical dress from a country (I wanted to buy one in Jordan but he told me to wait for Egypt.)
[Gregory's note: actually, I told her to wait for another shop, apart from the one we saw as soon as we stepped out of the car but she got distracted. She was told by another shopkeeper that the price the first guy gave her was double what she should pay but she didn't feel like going back, anyway. Easier to just blame me. And as you may have already read (spoiler alert) she declined 2 offers of 4-star hotel stays.]
It was a very nice, special dinner for our family, even if we didn’t have a big meal or many presents, we were together and happy!
Today we woke up late, had a lazy morning. We finally had a semi-decent hot shower! I say semi-decent because the shower doesn’t have shower curtains, so you get the whole bathroom wet but who cares, at least it's clean and has hot water. Plus, we have 2 bathrooms so 1 stays dry. The more houses we stay, the more I appreciate the bathrooms that we have back home.
When we were all ready we took an Uber to the bazaar Khan Al Khalili, mostly to get presents for Christmas. I can’t believe I waited until the very last minute. My idea was to buy something the kids liked in each place we've been, but the truth is that I forgot and the kids never seemed very excited about anything. The only thing I had for Sunshine was a pair of banana-print socks that I have been carrying since Istambul.
We made it to the bazaar and when we got out of the taxi, it was just more of the same chaos I have been observing since we got to Cairo. Every single space is filled with cars, people, food stands, anything. It is overwhelming to your senses after a while. It is all new and colorful, the people wearing their traditional outfits. The men wearing their long robes called “galabia” and some with turbans and sandals despite the cool weather. The women, well most of them have their hair covered and wear long dresses (also called galabia). From time to time, we see the women that are completely covered in black, even the face except for the eyes.
We first walked along the mosque where there were many stands where merchants were selling junk made in China, like cheap plastic toys for children. I thought it was sad not to see their traditional handicraft. When we reached the end of the road, I told Gregory that I didn’t think that was the bazaar so we went back to where we came from. First, we stopped to peek in the mosque. No one wants to go in, except me of course, but then when I see all the worn and dirty shoes outside the door, I change my mind. I peek as much as I can and notice that is nothing special in this mosque.
We found the bazaar and we walked in the middle of many stands selling scarves, postcards, keychains, pants and other touristy stuff. All the owners try to sell you souvenirs, they try to get your attention by saying hello in all the possible languages, they ask where are you from and if you stop even for one second to see something, they want to pull you into their store.
Luckily none of us likes to shop much so we were done very quickly. Besides, it was lunch time and we were hungry. I told Gregory that we should probably find a decent restaurant because I had read that we need to be careful not to eat in the street. We went back to a hotel that we had seen but when we went in, they told us that they only served coffee and tea.
We went back to the street and looked more around. We saw a family sitting at an outside table with many different dishes. I went to ask them what it was and if they thought it was clean. They told me that the food was really good and that we should be fine. My dad, who was a doctor, would have died to see the hygiene of the place. I mean, we were eating in a dirt road and the place didn’t look like it had a bathroom, it looked very local so we decided to go for it. [Gregory's note: Lili's father did, in fact, die, but not from the hygiene here, which was fine. And again, Lili is from Mexico -- how bad can Cairo be?]
The food was really good. We had fuul, falafel patties, spicy eggplant, French fries, and delicious tomatoes and cucumbers with parsley. Even if we wanted to eat some kind of salad, I told the kiddos not to eat the cucumbers or anything that wasn’t grilled or fried. Gregory suggested fresh orange juice but I objected, because even if they squeeze the juice, the outside of the orange is dirty or just their hands! Daniel was thrilled and got soda.
With a full tummy, I decided to finish seeing the bazaar and buy presents. Everyone found something, except me. Oh well! Afterward, we went to get tea and a chocolate crepe. We also went to look for an ATM. When they guy directed us to a dark road with some stands I wasn’t so sure, but there it was. We got some money and then we tried to get an Uber but there was no cellular data.
We went back to the main square where all the touristy restaurants had WiFi, but everyone wanted us to eat or pay for the WiFi! Finally, the owner of one of the cafes (Abu Mazen) took pity and gave us WiFi at no charge. Gregory requested the car. It was a painful experience because it took forever for the car to come, and we couldn’t check the status because we were back at the street with no coverage. Gregory had to go back and forth to the restaurant area. Finally the car came, but on the way, the driver got lost for an hour. He took us around many dirt roads, trying to find our neighborhood. He stopped at the intersection of two dirt lanes and asked if this is where we wanted to go. I wanted to scream. Gregory ended up using his Google Maps and giving directions to the driver!
[Gregory's note: apparently, there are multiple neighborhoods with the same name. I had typed the name of ours, El Kordy, but Uber thought El Kordy was another area. In my rush to get back to the street before the car came, I didn't check the map carefully. Apparently Uber referred to our area as El-Kordy. You can imagine my confusion. The narrow, dark streets we were driving through turned out to be a huge umm... necropolis. Anyway, we were not too far away but it took longer than we wanted.]
By the time we made it home, we were exhausted and overwhelmed with the way the Egyptians drive and honk! We had a nice late Christmas Eve dinner where everyone gave a small speech about how we felt about our family and our trip. I thanked everyone for their last weeks of support cheering me up. I was honest with them, saying that I had never expected that it was going to be this hard for me and how happy I was for being so mature and strong.
Gregory was very sweet to say that he loved that we had really become a team. He said he didn’t like how back home everyone did their own thing. He felt now that we were a team. Danny boy was so sweet to share that Mommy and (especially) Daddy were there to cheer him up and that we had to finish the trip!
Sunshine had a small speech and she was just being funny. She said, I know I will thank you later but for now, I think I would have been better if we had stayed home and she were still at San Dieguito Academy!
After that, we decided to give presents since we are leaving early tomorrow to see the pyramids. We all had very small and simple presents. Sunshine’s was very special because she made me a bracelet with seashells she had collected in Tel Aviv. She had to find the same size and with a hole for the string. Danny boy gave me a one stay-at-home day pass and another spoil-mom pass!
Gregorio owes me a night in a nice hotel or a pretty typical dress from a country (I wanted to buy one in Jordan but he told me to wait for Egypt.)
[Gregory's note: actually, I told her to wait for another shop, apart from the one we saw as soon as we stepped out of the car but she got distracted. She was told by another shopkeeper that the price the first guy gave her was double what she should pay but she didn't feel like going back, anyway. Easier to just blame me. And as you may have already read (spoiler alert) she declined 2 offers of 4-star hotel stays.]
It was a very nice, special dinner for our family, even if we didn’t have a big meal or many presents, we were together and happy!
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| The bazaar is hundreds of years old. |
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| Egyptian cat |
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| Many people carry things on their head |
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| Selling fresh fruit with his bike stand! |
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| Dig in! |
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| Our lunch, no forks or spoons only pita bread! |
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| Grandpa smoking shisha and granddaughter! |
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| Cutie! |
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| After taking this picture, many locals wanted to take a picture with us like if we were some kind of celebrity! |
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| Buying Gregory's Xmas present! |
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| For the record! |
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| Luckily, there's an underpass because otherwise, you could never cross the street! |
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| Upstairs at Restaurant Gad waiting for parents to bring chai and crepe! |
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| A lot of poor people. |
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| Don't call them Christmas lights! They're New Year's lights here. |
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| Sunshine had the Christmas spirit, I love her! This is the bar in our apartment. |
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| Some of our simple and joke Christmas presents. Sunshine made the shell bracelet for me! |
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