- First stomp into Cairo-- covered the northern City of the Dead, so named because...well, let's just say it's a bunch of people squatting in a graveyard. A very big, very old graveyard. Mosques of ibn-Tulun, the Ghuri complex, and baksheeshed our way into a bunch of others. Climbed my first minarets-- also with baksheesh in hand. Discovered the seediest bar in Cairo and ran into Charlie in the street-- back from Ethiopia and the Sudan (miserable traveling, he says)-- essentially christened the place as the watering hole before departures elsewhere. Serves tomatoes as barfood. Not a bad idea. Exhausted (must have walked twenty miles between everything).
- Rosetta. Most medieval town we've been at to boot: awesome. Nothing much except a lot of Ottoman Delta-style buildings with a plethora of mashrabiya work on the windows. Like a scene from the Arabian Nights. cobblestone alleys. Nice day trip-- recently restored (albeit not functional) Turkish bath. Incredible. Have to hang around the Delta a little more. Cheap, too.
- Managed to get out to the Anfushi district south of Ras al-Tin: old Ottoman quarter with a few mashrabiya windows and winding alleys. Supposedly a large Sufi contingency there. In Durrell's time it was the drug-and-prostitute quarter. Very rustic. Very atmospheric. I might move, it's so deliciously so. Constant attention from children. They're always flabbergasted when I start talking to them-- when they ask "You can speak Arabic well?" I ask "Can you speak English well?" Some nod their heads yes and try it out. I've developed the Egyptian habit of clicking my tongue instead of saying a simple "no," and the "Ah" for "yes." It's kind of irritating.
- Winter is officially here, announced by one hell of a rainstorm the other night. Breathtaking-- couldn't sleep so I threw on my raincoat and went for a walk on the Corniche at 3 in the morning. Not a soul awake-- waves splashed into the street occasionally. I felt very Durrell.
- Mt Sinai. After one failed attempt, one aborted attempt, and one man down, Norman and I spent our Thanksgiving on the mountain of Moses. I'm going to stop here because I've got a headache, but rest assured, a link for pictures and a proper post shall follow.
