Just In Case You Were Wondering

Life in Egypt is just a teeny bit schizzy these days. On one hand we have a bunch of bozo Salafi parliamentarians who want to ban ballet because it is pornographic, and on the other hand we have mannequins modeling outfits like these in a normal upper middle class mall in Maadi. Are these the new Salafi militia uniforms?

Who Knows Where The Clothes Go...

 This seems pretty weird to me, but a lot of clothes bought in North America and Europe are made here in Egypt. We have local shops that sell seconds at extremely reasonable prices and you can get name brands for peanuts. But once the clothes have been shipped out, they start their way back here, among other places. Many people tire of their clothing before it wears out and they sell or donate items in North America and Europe. Very often these second hand items are shipped back to Egypt where they end up in Wekala el Balah, an area of Cairo known for inexpnesive clothing and fabric. There they can be bought off racks, as seen above, or in bales sight unseen.

Buyer Beware

Translations can be a bit sketchy here. I'm not sure that I'd want to buy jeans here.

Who Was That Masked Man?

I was escorting some visitors on a ride through the village of Sakkara yesterday and when we came around a corner we found this tiny little boy with only a tshirt on standing in the middle of the path. I called everyone's attention to our small obstacle and we very carefully passed by him. His mother was just up the way sitting on a step so he wasn't without supervision, but kids in the villages are assumed to be the responsibility of everyone so she wasn't too worried. We are always careful on the horses around any buildings.

Wekelat el Balah

Although the name refers to dates, the area is known for fabrics of every possible type. Do you need to reupholster your sofa? You can go to the upscale fabric shops in Maadi or Zamalek, or you can come here and probably find the same fabric for half the price. It's magic.

The Perfect Dress

I live outside Cairo and my kids live in New York, two cities separated by an ocean or two and joined by a unique joie de vivre and a twenty four hour clock. I couldn't handle living in Manhattan although I do enjoy visiting it every so often. Walking through Union Square in June I could barely keep up with all the activities at a weekend street fair. This young woman in a wedding dress and white baseball cap talking on a mobile phone just seemed perfect.

The Ladies Of The Chorus

My friend Pat Canfield was in the area of Khan el Khalili not long ago for a tour of some newly renovated Mameluke buildings and took this shot in passing. While the building behind the girls is quite old, they are anything but. Some lovely photos of the places she visited can be seen on my Living In Egypt blog.

Anyone Seen The Tin Man?

Every now and then someone builds a scarecrow out of some old clothes that makes you stop and say "What was that?"

What Did You Think Is Under An Abaya?

Okay, I don't think that Aunt Fatima dons one of these outfits to go shopping for her veggies, but the raciness of some of the lingerie in shop windows in Cairo is a pretty stark contrast to the veiled women who are often seen checking them out. Thanks again, P.E.

Face To Face: Women's Options

Egypt is a country of contradictions and nowhere is this more clear than Cairo. While visiting a shopping mall recently I shot these two shop windows with my phone. They basically face each other across the walk and express very clearly two aspects of life here.

Don't We All Wish...

Carrefour is a useful store carrying, as it does, just about everything in the world except for the one small item that you are looking for. But the thing that I like the most about it is the guy who makes up the signs for special sales. He probably has no idea how entertaining he is.

I'll take a 25 yr old body weighing roughly 140 lbs, about 5'8", no bangs or bruises, please.

Traveling Department Store

Village women don't have the transport or the time to go into town to buy things so enterprising businessmen bring goods to the village wives. In this case, a tricycle motorcycle base has been fitted with a box on the back to carry cartons and some rails on the sides where quilts and blankets or dresses can be hung for viewing.

Cultures Colliding

I spent a morning a while back sitting on the Great Pyramid photographing people taking pictures of families and friends on or by the pyramid. About halfway through the morning I noticed a man in a galabeya, jacket and scarf who looked like a visitor from Jordan or Libya...not a local outfit. He sat quietly on a stone in front of the pyramid apparently waiting for someone for some time. Then a Russian family stopped to take a photo of the mother and son in front of the pyramid and this totally captured his attention. To be honest, mine as well since the woman had to be wearing some of the least appropriate clothing for visiting Egypt and more specifically the pyramids that I've ever seen. Short shorts, a backless tshirt and platform high heels....she could barely hobble around. With all the information out there on culture and sensitivity, I wonder if we really need tourists like this.

Window Shopping

Stuck in traffic I had the chance to scan the windows of a store that sells evening gowns....yep, just evening gowns. These were quite elegant. The traffic reflects in the window pane providing the audience.