Alexandria – Oops! Lunch & shopping

The Drive to Alexandria Goes Awry

Friday, December 24, 2010

Early blast off today, to beat the traffic and make it all the way to Alexandria.  Marwa and Malak met us at 6:30 and we were off to the north, back through Giza.  This time there was absolutely no traffic at all.  We could cruise at full blast on the “freeway” such as it is.  But 20 minutes out, we ran into incredibly heavy fog.  At times you could not see the road, or the line on the side of the road.  Absolute white out.  Ayman had mentioned the day before when we arrived from Luxor that he knew of a group that had turned back under the same conditions.  After about 35 minutes of driving we gave up.  This is typically a 2-hour drive each way, maybe 3.  But with this fog, it would have taken maybe 5 hours each way.  And we had no idea how bad it would be.  Marwa called ahead to her parents who live in Alexandria, and they said it was foggy there too, so we decided to give up.  Seeing Alexandria had been one of our primary goals, and we had dedicated an entire day to it.  But it probably would have been a nightmare driving.  It was very scary.  The traffic in Egypt is bad enough even when you can see where you are going.

So the alternative was to punt, return to the hotel, take in a nice lunch, and then go to Khan El Khalili bazaar, which we had skipped a previous day.  We had a quick nap, hooked to the Internet, and were off to a familiarly named restaurant, the Fish Market.

Now this was another example of where you should not let your Egyptian guide order lunch.  First course, hummus, yogurt with garlic, etc.  Do you want fish soup?  Sure.  Oh, and then here comes the fish plate.  Ah, what a great lunch.  Oh, that was just the appetizers?  Ok, the whole foot-long sautéed fish then, please.  You get the idea.  By now we have learned never to eat more than half of what is put in front of us, because they are always going to serve us at least three times what we can eat.

I think I mentioned before what an Arabic bazaar is like.  Streets becoming narrower, shops of all sorts on either side – from brass pots to spices to tea shops, clothing, trinkets, tourist stuff.  An endless array of thing presented to you, with a zillion people packed in.  And many of the vendors asking you to come in – good bargain sir.  I am always very careful, however, never to let them touch or pull me, for fear of something funny happening.  And my wallet pocket is buttoned.  But it helps to be with a local guide because there is less flack.

Marwa leads us to her friendly scarf dealer, where Carol peruses the pure silk and Egyptian cotton scarves.  Very nice stuff, and I get an explanation of the difference between cheap plastic inlaid boxes, and the real thing.

Bazaar Sign

Rice Pudding for all!

Final visit to a cafe like this near the market for Marwa’s favorite rice pudding. Yum!