Memories of Cairo - 3

Me: (on phone) You had called?

GG: Ah yes! Our designer has given some suggestions on the framing. She suggests a black background with a bamboo kind of frame…

Me: OK…

GG: It will cost about y extra because the size has increased – that is what I wanted to check with you…

Me: Hmm…can I call you back on this?

GG: Sure.


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We hire an older guide called Abdullah for the entire day. He is a charmer, and talks about his entire family, then quizzes us – he has not seen many Indian tourists. We chat about Indian movies on the way to our first stop – Memphis, near Saqqara. “We love Indian movies”, he says. “No logic, but very pretty girls! You know, if anyone acts crazy, we call him Hindi movie – no logic! One of your actors, very famous one…”, he pauses, searching for the name. We prompt him, and it turns out to be Amitabh. “Ah! He comes to Egypt, and everyone goes crazy!”

It’s a smallish museum, and the main attraction is a huge statue of Rameses, that lies on the floor. We quickly finish up there, and then head towards some carpet industries. Intricately designed carpets at exhorbitant prices are displayed to us, and we finally choose a modestly priced camel-hair rug, which has a camel motif.

From there, it’s on to the famed Pyramids of Giza! We spot them from afar, three in a row. As we draw closer, they loom into the clear sky. The largest is that of Khufu aka Cheops. Ironically, the only statue remaining of him is a really tiny one! The next is that of Khafre, Khufu’s son. And finally, that of Menkaure, son of Khafre. The blocks at the base are the size of huge halls, and when we look up, I am simply amazed at what the stubborn will of a few powerful men can accomplish, at the cost of several thousand human lives. The price of aiming to remain immortal! It needs to be experienced to be believed.

We have a hilarious camel ride before we are off to a perfumery. The owner gives us some delicious tea, whilst we examine his wares. He tells us that floral extracts from Egypt are exported to France, and make up the base of several popular perfumes. We finally settle on small vials of oil of Lotus, Rose, and an ambitiously named Sheherazade. Put a few drops in your bath, or massage it into your skin, he tells us, as he waves us good bye.

We go next to a papyrus factory, where the manufacturing details are explained painstakingly, and we are then allowed to browse thru different scrolls. I choose one, and the artist paints our names in Egyptian alphabets on either side – our very own personalized papyrus scroll!!

Off to the Sphinx then, where the cool evening settles down, and a fantastic laser show crowns our day. An amazing experience in the open-air amphitheatre there, with the enigmatic Sphinx clothed in various hues!

Dinner at the Felfela is simply fantastic, and the ambience is wonderful – all wood and plants and water gurgling. The Foul (some bean dish) and falafel is very good.

The last day sees us checking out the Citadel from outside, and a quick shopping spree at the Khan al Khalili, a souk with the typical narrow winding streets and bazaar atmosphere.

There are so many things we still haven’t seen, but still, when we bid farewell to Cairo, we know it’s a dream come true!

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The scroll is delivered. Never mind if the frame cost more than the picture.
Finally, it adorns our walls, and it looks awesome!
A piece of Egypt in our home.