Hot, hot, hot, that's how I can describe Cairo in August... That said, I had a lovely time. Before I went my plan was basically to eat, sleep and relax, and amongst other things, that's basically what I did, and boy can you eat well in Cairo... I've put on at least 2 much-needed kilos (yeah, right, Nadya the fatty porker, I hear you mock!). Besides eating, I read loads, Cairo is fantastic for bookshop-cum-cafes and you get imported reads from all over, plus lots of fiction and non-fiction with a very local focus - great for reading up on the middle east which just gives you a whole other insight into that part of the world... I think I'd go as far as to say that without reading a bit about egypt (other than tourist guides) before you go or whilst you're there you really do miss out on experiencing the 'real country'. The other thing Cairo is great for is shopping, not just locally made 'ethnotat' (excuse the description, but rarely do you find well-made local handicrafts in Egypt) but international big-brand shopping... a rare luxury when you live in Madrid where 'local is best'. Cairo is also good for buying bling, and repairing your broken bling! And the best thing is that it's all 22k plus! OMG I'm turning into an Arab princess, must stop...
Apart from consuming everything in sight, we did make a few local trips, one to the lovely AlAzhar park - beautiful arabic gardens, in fact Cairo contains some of the greenest, lushest gardens I've ever seen - how do they do it in a country that NEVER rains?
I don't really have many touristy photos, because we're not really tourists when we're there, but here are a few snaps of some things we saw...
P.s. a couple of great reads are Nine Parts of Desire (The Hidden World of Islamic Women), Geraldine Brooks - a much more riveting read than it sounds and full of surprises, and In an Antique Land, Amitav Ghosh - shows there's so much more to Egypt than Pharoes and Islam...
AlAzhar Park
The Citadel in the background
Is this the view from our flat or from AlAzhar Park? I don't remember...
Chez Merghani, ha ha
Mum and Mimi in Crave, lovely restaurant, but obscene looking plants...
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