Khan El Khalili Market

After a civilised walk to Maadi and a continental breakfast at Costa, we took the Metro down town and then a taxi to this market which is enormous and crowded. and then We then did the tourist thing round the Citadel which gave us good views over Cairo, but which were very hazy.

My impressions of Cairo:-

People, people everywhere: tourists, locals, people in burkas, people in head scarves, people in western clothes, people in shorts, men in dish dashas and skull caps and ever present tours of Japanese in face masks.

Cars, cars everywhere: tooting as if they have tourettes's syndrome, beat up cars, cars with dented sides, cars with bits hanging off, cars that certainly wouldn't pass their MOT, taxis with meters, taxis without meters, all trying to make you pay over the odds.

Cats Cats everywhere: fat cats, cats with sore eyes, cats with bitten ears but all seemingly happy and lounging in the sun.

Heat, dust, thirst and general organised chaos. Constant haggling in the market and with taxi drivers and lots and lots of rubbish in the streets. Things are just thrown out of car windows with absolutely no thought about the environment.

But hey, this is the Middle East and life in Cairo is so different from sanatised Britain but nevertheless it is so exciting and vibrant that you can't help appreciating it for all that.

Tonight we take leave of David and Larissa and join or Explore group.
They have been amazing hosts and we would have really been struggling without their guidance.
Thanks guys!