German Christmas Fayre, Cairo

My first time here, Dd's second, and it was a popular event set in the German-speaking school, only a short walk from our flat. We still had to chance our lives to cross the dual carriageway road to get there and, after, took advantage of being on 'the other side' to explore some very Cairene backstreets that are still very much another world . . . the children's bicycle shack on the corner with rusty frames hanging from racks and the weirdest of homemade contraptions - some with three wheels and multiple seats - which are taken out by kids for a rickety ride up the street and back to the sound of gleeful shrieks, the fish shop that announces itself from 100 metres around the corner, the greyly-lit, wobbly-tabled sheesha and coffee houses buried deep in the basements of buildings that seem to stand by the merest of chances, so bent over are they, the scrums of other kids - this time would-be superstar footballers - kicking up clouds of dust as well as a heavy leather ball in the sandy street, brightly-lit barber shops - two chairs each - with brylcreamed owners shaving the necks of old men or erecting gel-reinforced stooks on the heads of young trendies and, finally, kosahari stalls dishing out their poor-man's noodle and rice mix for a few bob a plate.

Then, it was over the Nile to Downtown for dinner at El Estoril.