Tag Archives: Cairo

Me Playing Cowboy

It’s Oklahoma. We not only got to play cowboy, we really could be one if we wanted. I had lots of relatives with farms. It was pretty common for me to be on a horse before I was an adult. When I was in high school, my folks had a place outside of town where they had horses. My brother had a lot of ribbons and trophies for his horsemanship. I think my mom was more than a little disappointed that I didn’t want to ride bulls for a living. She never really understood me, but that’s okay. I like this photo because it shows a fairly typical scene in the life of a youngster who was raised in rural Oklahoma. Yes, there was a time in my life when I went home from college and rode the tractor into town to pick up the mail from the post office. Even after forty years I still think that’s cool. Significance? Oklahoma isn’t like Boston, L.A., Tokyo, Paris, London, Cairo or Istanbul. We all get what we got, whatever that was. I got Howdy Doody, Captain Kangaroo, Marshal Dillon and John Wayne. Oh, and I got to be a little cowboy. Sometimes.

Koshary

Egyptians take some pasta, rice, lentils, chick peas, onions, garlic and mix it into a bowl and call it Koshary. The give you another smaller bowl of chili sauce to add to taste. There were also a couple of jugs of condiment (garlic – hot or mild) on the table to spice up the stuff a little more. Throw in a coke and the cost for the whole meal was about 5 Egyptian pounds – approximately an American Dollar. Not only was it cheap, I developed something of an addiction to the stuff. I would go to El Tahrir once every day when I was in Cairo for a bowl of the stuff. Significance? There are a lot of foods that you may never get to try if you never leave the United States of Processed Foods.

El Abd

Absolutely the best bakery in Cairo and, fortunately, located very near to where I stayed in the city. The only problem is learning how to order little goodies that you had no idea of their name. The system of procurement of the product is different in many Egyptian bakeries than in the states. Once I figured out how to get my goodies, life was a real treat.

Lunch at Marriot in Cairo

I stopped off for lunch at the Marriot. Or, rather, my tour stopped at lunce. Here is your basic American roast beef and swiss with coke for $10.

The Marriot – Cairo.

There are some really nice hotels in Cairo. Expect to pay American prices.

Giza Pyramids Pic 31

The Giza Pyramids are a must see in Egypt. There are 3 main pyramids right outside of Egypt. All told there are something like 100 pyramids discovered so far. The number is in dispute (how could that be?). The three main ones are at Giza, outside of Cairo. You can get a good tour for $30-60.

Mohammed Ali Mosque Pic 20

There are lots of tours that go to the Mohammed Ali Mosque in Cairo. This is a picture of such a group. It was not my group. I had a private guide for the day. The lady in the picture is a tour guide. She is, in all probability, a college graduate and she makes great money, as far as jobs for women go, in Cairo. Unfortunately, she doesn’t make a lot of money, at least compared to what she would make in the U.S. Fortunately, her cost of living is much lower.

Mohammed Ali Mosque Pic

I would say a visit to the Mohammed Ali Mosque is a must see in Cairo. If for nothing else, the view from the hill is incredible. The Mosque isn’t half bad, either. The picture really doesn’t do it justice and the views of Cairo from the backside are simply like nowhere else I’ve ever been.

Cairo Cat

This is a cat that is in a debris filled entrance to an abandoned building in downtown Cairo. I would like to tell you that the scene here wasn’t on the busiest street in Cairo, but that would be a lie. Abandoned buildings were quite common in Cairo. So was debris. Outside of Cairo, the issue became significantly more pronounced because there were a lot more abandoned buildings and a lot more stray cats and a lot more debris.

Cairo Breakfast

This is your basic Egyptian breakfast – bread, cucumbers, tomatoes, beans and falafel. Falafel is made from spiced fava beans, possibly combined with chickpeas and served as a fried ball. Or a 1001 other ways. You can’t eat too much bread, beans or falafel in Egypt. Unless you’re really poor and can’t afford it.

Rolling Okie

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