Grauniad Top Tips: Bookshops

I didn't win, but was included in the long-list on the website for the recent ivebeenthere Grauniad Top Tips.
http://www.ivebeenthere.co.uk/tips/bookshop?start=20&matchAllTermsTag=true&tag=bookshop

Attaba Bookmarket

Cairo is a crazy, busy and bustling place and the bookmarket at Attaba station is a condensed version of the city in this sense. The bookmarket consists of four or five rows of shops that open up and spread their wares on tables, shelves and the floor, making the narrow passage between them even narrower. This is a great place to browse and enjoy the hustle and bustle of the city, as the store-owners are very friendly and don't mind browsing. It's a real mixture of books you'll find, with arabic texts old and new, as well as obscure books in English that make you wonder how they found themselves over here. Favourite buys include Tintin: Cigars of the Pharaoh in arabic and a dozen beautiful Egyptian 1940's film posters.

The bookmarket is in the middle of the Attaba roundabout in Downtown Cairo. It is beside the Puppet Theatre and the easiest way to find it is to get the Metro to Attaba and when you leave the station look for the exit that says "Puppet Theatre"

Tasting - Valley of the Kings

While in Canda this summer we not only managed to find a homebrew store, but also bought a can of real Canadian homebrew beer.  It's therefore travelled many thousands of miles to get out here to Cairo (and contributed significantly to the weight of our baggage).

This was our first brew of the year, which we got going within the first fortnight of arriving back.  It was done and bottled by the 24th September but, as we had a supply of beers we brewed just before the summer (see how organised we are?) this one was able to sit and condition for 6 weeks.

You can read the bottle tag properly by clicking on it to open a full-size version.

Anyway, we opened the beer for a first taste today, and have put our thoughts in the video...

Sparking streetlight

We were working at the table when the room was lit by a flash similar to sheet lightning.  We went out to the balcony to find that the streetlight by our apartment had gone out, and the top of it was sparking.  Before long a blue flame was being given off, while sparks continued to fall to the street.

We went down to street level to try to work out what had happened, and see if it was possible to isolate the steetlamp's power somehow (clearly they don't use circuit breakers out here!)  We took the video camera in order to try to zoom in on the lamp and work out what was going on.  Our upstairs neighbour was just coming home, and when we explained the issue to her she simply said, "I'm sure it's nothing to worry about.  Are you afraid?"  Not afraid, no.  Just a bit concerned for the safety of our building!

In the end we couldn't do anything, but after an hour of burning the fir and sparks stopped.  I assume it had got so hot that any wiring had burnt through or melted, and consequently disconnected the power!



More framing

Somehow we've been finding hearts in nature of the last few years and so I printed up a few of our pictures to get framed. It's not the greatest photo of the frame, but you get the idea I hope. We thought that natural tones for the frame and mount would be best and the man at the framing shop helped us with choosing these and it's come out really, really nicely.

"Allo, Cleaners?"

Well it was within the first term of moving here I think that we discovered the wonders of dry cleaning in Egypt. It's just so cheap! 7 quid is the price of dry cleaning a skirt here and it's about the same in the UK I'd say except a different currency! There isn't a dry cleaning place in easy walking distance, so I settled on patronising (is that the right word/spelling in this context?) one on Road 9 (as we're down there a fair bit for shopping etc, so I thought it wouldn't be too much of a problem to pick up/drop off). Also the one I'd chosen was called "Cleaning in 60 Minutes" and the logo is like a "Now 60" album for those reading this blog who grew up in the 80's and 90's. Brilliant!
After settling on this place and taking and collecting a few times, the bloke there was really insistent about "sending the boy" so now we just phone them up, ask them to collect/deliver and they are round in less than 5 minutes. Brilliant x 2!

My latest extravagance though is getting them to do my ironing.
One side of me feels pretty guilty about this; the ironing doesn't take too long and I've done it all the time before. But then I also feel that we have a maid/cleaner already (who doesn't like to iron) so I guess this is part of that package, and it's giving someone a job (even if it is 3LE per shirt).
Well the first time we called I had tonnes of ironing to do, so they collected 17 shirts! That was just before half term. We're back now and did four loads of laundry at the weekend which led to 8 shirts being ironed yesterday and another 16 being sent today! Because I've called so much they now know the rest of my address once I've said the street name.
So, guilty secret is out!

Aida at the Pyramids

Maybe two weeks ago Scotty stumbled on a blog which listed events taking place in Cairo. We've been moaning ever since we arrived here about how difficult it is to find out about what's going on in Cairo. The newspaper only lists a few events that are taking place the coming week - no advanced listings and only a few venues have a website to show bookings but it's not possible to book tickets for these online or by phone. A few blogs list upcoming events, but their listings are patchy and will not show anything for weeks before.  Then suddenly information appears about something happening tomorrow.

So Scotty found the blog which lists upcoming events and its pretty good. One event listed is "Aida at the Pyramids" which sounds too good to be true. The blog author is skeptical and says that this event is being run by the Cairo Opera House, but it isn't advertised on their website or posters, but he has heard it is taking place. In a later post the author updates that he has gone downtown to the Opera House (as this is the only way to get tickets for an event there - no phone or web bookings) and spoken to their Box Office Manager who has confirmed that the event is taking place around 6th October weekend (National Holiday), and that seats are 100, 200 or 300LE. The blog author now has tickets and so it seems that this event might actually be happening.

Although we're really run off our feet with work and really feeling the effects of 6-day weeks (plus working at home at the weekend and evenings) we decide that this is to good to pass up and we'd really regret it if we didn't make the effort to go. So one evening after coming home from work I take the Metro to Opera station with the hope of buying tickets (and confirming for ourselves that this is taking place) for us and a few friends.
I get down there and ask for tickets using a bit of Arabic, but they see that my Arabic isn't great and so find me an English-speaking assistant straight away. I don't mind as this at least means I can ask a few questions and be sure about what I am buying tickets for. It's really easy and he has the seating plan up on the screen in no time confirming the day and time for the performance, and that it indeed is at the pyramids. I get our tickets for the Thursday night and the top price are 200LE each. The tickets say the words "Aida" and "Sound and Light" so I've either got tickets for "Aida at the Pyramids" or the most expensive sound and light show ever!

I head home excited, pleased but still a little unsure.

So yesterday we get a bus with friends at 6pm from Maadi to the pyramids for the show. This seems very early, but in true Egyptian style our tickets say 8pm start but the two online posters we've seen say 7.30pm start (still no actual posters around town) and we've heard that seats are unreserved and we know that traffic on a Thursday night can be a nightmare - hence allowing a good amount of time to get there!

The traffic is a nightmare, but eventually it clears and somehow it takes us around 45 minutes to get there!
When we arrived there's incredible levels of organisation to suggest that it is really happening! There are police all around and lanes are being enforced, and all vehicles being sniffed by dogs (K-9 security team, not random baladi dogs on the street). We show our tickets and walk through to the sound and light area and gradually we see this amazing stage set up, light rigs all over the place, cushioned seats set out and an orchestra pit - we've hit the jackpot!

We get good seats on the second rake in the centre block and sit back to enjoy the show. We saw this same production in the Opera House itself last year when mum came out to visit. It was a good production although there were a few "Egyptian" moments with wobbly scenery and Ethipoian slave children, so it will be interest to see how it translates to being performed outside.

We really enjoy ourselves and the production is great. The sets they use are very simple, but very effective with the lighting changes. This lighting comes into its own though in the second scene of the First Act when the temple pillars are pulled back to reveal the Sphinx and Great Pyramid lit up beautifully as a perfect backdrop - cameras out everybody!

The sound from the orchestra pit and on stage is wonderful thanks to a sound crew who really seem to know what they're doing.  At the end of Act One we are treated to the mystical sounds of the off-stage chorus being carried on the evening air.  Our favourite bits remain and we manage to get a short video on my small Cannon Ixus of the Ethiopian slave dance (brown leotards?!) and the Triumphal March which is amazing with the Pyramids and Sphinx lit up and most of the cast filling the stage.

How to Ride a Motorcycle / Scooter in Cairo

I'm sure we've mentioned this in blog posts before, but I wanted to draw together a few crackers! Negotiating their way between the micro buses and dilapidated taxis and cars on the road are a great number of scooters / motorcycles and we've seen a number of different ways people ride these to their destinations.

1. The Classic
No form of transport is complete without a stereo system and this goes for a scooter too. The Classic involves a speaker system being installed on the footplates with wires weaving their way up to the handle bars and an old car stereo being stuck in any available space found. Pimp My Ride - eat your heart out!

2. The Side-Saddle
Most women in Egypt wear long skirts or a gallebeya and this presents a challenge when your husband is taking you somewhere on his bike. So we'll often see women passengers riding side-saddle behind their husbands.

3. The Family
So mum is riding side-saddle, but what about the kids? If your child is old enough to sit up, then he will sit between you and your husband, but if you've still got a "babe in arms" then they'll stay a babe in arms and will be cradled by mum - as she sits side-saddle behind dad.


4. The Purchase
We were amazed when we saw this one. It was the week that the World Cup started and so everyone in Cairo was getting set for enjoying the games. We were in a taxi and overtaken by two men on a scooter holding their new purchase between them. The new purchase being a flat-screen TV! So the scooter's width has trebled and many months worth of savings is causing wind resistance as these guys overtake us on the Ring Road!

5. The Phone Call
What are you to do when a call comes through that you just have to take? We see two men on a bike one day and the passenger is holding a mobile up to the drivers ear so that his driving isn't impeded (too much).

We'll keep updating should any more styles emerge :)