Egypt - 11 October 2010 (4)

Market and Library

After lunch, Caroline, Heuley, Barry and I decided to walk to the hotel instead of going back in the bus.  We headed slightly away from the Corniche and passed a mosque with a very archaic and tacky funfair outside.  It mainly comprised rides for young children.

Mosque

Caroline found us a narrow street, which contained a real local market.  We had to look where we were treading most of the time, but we were able to see most of what was on offer.  At one shop near the entrance, I enjoyed looking at a group of naughty sparrows which found some egg boxes particularly interesting.  There was a small flock of sheep, with their heads firmly in their troughs, possibly enjoying their final meal.  There were lots of stalls selling fish, including prawns and squid.  The butchers sold all sorts of meat and I spotted some trotters.  The vegetable stalls looked good though.

Sparrows busy Shopping

Heuly had lived in Egypt at one time and pointed out some baskets which the people who lived in flats above the market used to collect their purchases.  They lower their basket, the shopping is placed inside and they haul it back up, lean out of the window and haggle over the price.  The money is then placed in the basket, which is lowered back down again.

Sheep for Sale

We walked along three or four streets occupied by the market.  Throughout this time, I held on tight to my rucksack, camera, handbag and money belt because people got very close in the confined spaces, but we did not feel threatened at any time.  We emerged from the market with nothing worse than dirty feet.

Alexandrian Market

Soon we came across Orabi Square and Caroline and I could lead the way to the hotel.  We dumped our bags in the room and I washed my feet.  The cleaners had not been in and had missed our room, so I asked for it to be cleaned.  Barry and Heuly had problems getting into their rooms but eventually we were reunited in the lobby and set off for the new library.

Library of Alexandria

We could see the library from outside the restaurant, but it was much further than it looked.  We even asked the way a couple of time as we were sure we must have walked past it.  When we got there we had to face a lot of security.  No bags were allowed, so we had to wait while Caroline handed hers in.  It must have been difficult for the students, who had to carry piles of books around with them.  Still, if you believe the Hollywood films, it is a good way to meet strangers when you drop them.

An English speaking tour was just leaving by the time we had got through all the security checks.  The guide explained the amenities and all the projects the library was undertaking and much of it sounded very futuristic.  Ancient documents are being scanned so that they are available on the internet and the library had a printer which enabled books to be produced on demand.  We could have used our ticket to do some reading in the library, but we just walked around an exhibition at the end of the tour and then followed a corridor lined with exhibits and came out at the entrance to the planetarium.  Unfortunately, that was closed.

By now, we were extremely thirsty, so we went to a café on the corner of the campus.  Caroline and I had a freshly squeezed orange juice, which was so welcome.  Barry and Heuly had coffee.  It was quite expensive at £E60, but, having left our water in our bags in the hotel, the drinks were much needed and they were worth it.

While we were walking to the library, we had been accosted by someone trying to sell us a ride in a horse and carriage.  We had politely declined and said “perhaps on the way back”.  He had taken us literally and was waiting for us when we were enjoying our drinks.  Given that there were four of us and our feet were aching, we decided to splash out and ride back to our hotel.  We renegotiated the price as it seemed to have increased from before and climbed in.  There were a few close calls with the traffic but we made it back along the Corniche with no mishaps.  I said goodbye to the horse when we got off and the driver tried in vain to extract more money for a photo.  We were dropped off on the Corniche, so had to walk back to the hotel from there, but it was not far.

After the exertions of the day, I just went back to the room and crashed.