(The Bangles - "Walk Like an Egyptian")
It was in a back alley - you had to know it was there...to know it was there. Chairs were set up tightly around little round tables, about knee height. There was what one might call an aisle where waiters squeezed through bringing your tea, or hookah if you so desired. The air was thick with oddly pleasant smelling smoke and the buzz of conversation in a handful of languages. After touring all day, it was nice to rest our feet and people watch. We were in the oldest, and judging from the amount of patrons also the most popular, tea shop in Cairo, called "El Fishawy."
But just before taking a load off with our tea, we wandered through the Khan El Khalili souk (market) that was one of the main attractions in this area. This market dates back to 1382 (no typo - that's 1382!) During our short visit to Cairo we had already been through many markets, ranging from about a block long, most of which were lining the entrance to ancient sites...to as short as just a couple of make-shifts booths strategically placed where tourists would take notice. Our tour operator promised that this was the "mother of all markets" in Cairo. As far as size goes, I would agree. But in all honesty, it was the same old stuff -just a lot more of it.
Knowing it was our last chance in Cairo to purchase those items we reluctantly had our eye on, we eagerly started down the street. The street was normal width but despite crowds of tourist walking down the middle, it wasn't blocked off to traffic. Cars, trucks, motorcycles and worst of all buses tore down the crowded street. Had the shops not extended their tables and wares into the streets, or even if there had been sidewalks, it wouldn't have been so dangerous or memorable. Several times I grabbed onto one of my kids' shirts to pull them back, a bus coming through less than a foot from us. Seriously, less than 12 inches! Yikes!After buying some last minute souvenirs, dried spices and teas, and an cool Egyptian chess set Michael HAD to have, we finally wandered over to El Fishawy. And what an experience that was! It's best described as rows of chairs that were not just set up in a shop but extended out into an alley. Looking up you could see a cheap, junky roof covering the alley part. After giving our order to the waiter, we just sat and looked around at the spectacle we were now a part of.
Through the hazy air you could make out groups large and small of other patrons drinking tea and smoking water pipes called a hookah, or shisha. Smoking hookahs is a huge part of Arab culture and social life, and hookah cafes are everywhere. The tradition of smoking water pipes is not unique to the Arab world: they can be found in other areas such as Turkey, Southeast Asia and Spain for example, and are becoming increasingly popular in Eastern Europe. Hookahs are used to smoke herbal fruits, tobacco or marijuana among other things I probably can't imagine.Being that the kids are repeatedly told in school that if you smoke you will eventually get lung cancer and die, there was no way that we were going to try it. It wasn't a big loss... Steve already has tried it once on a business trip and Tom, Dolly and I weren't interested.
While we drank our tea and ate some nibbles, outside entrepreneurs eagerly squeezed in and out of the aisles making deals with the patrons. Dolly and I were able to get a good price on some beautiful pashmina scarves / wraps. As we were half-heartedly dickering with the vendor, a woman behind me leaned over and mentioned that she had gotten a much better deal. We of course started insisting on the same great price she got. The vendor got a bit upset, but did ultimately sell us the scarves at the lower price. He probably thought he would turn a big profit off the Western tourists - but he underestimated the bond of sisterhood - we girls have to stick together - right?
We hung out at the cafe until it was time to leave for the train station. It was really a lot of fun to just take in the whole experience. In the same area as the souk and the tea shop were a mosque, restaurants, a courtyard and a small university.A site as historical, interesting and popular as this does draw a large number of tourists. And unfortunately with the open nature of all the shops and courtyard, it has been a target for terrorist attacks. In February, two months after we had been there, a bomb exploded in front of a crowded cafe outside of the market killing one and wounding twenty three. Were we freaked out when we heard about it? Yep, to be honest.
But more than being freaked out we were reminded that everyday, no matter where you in the world you are, there's the possibility of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Acts of terror by disturbed, fanatical people can (and do) happen almost every where these days. It happens in a shopping mall in Illinois. It happens in Montgomery County, Maryland on a bench in front of a post office. It happens in an elementary school in Colorado. And it happens in a popular tourist area in Cairo. What a shame that it has to happen at all.
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