Are You Egyptian?

Trip Start Sep 07, 2008
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Trip End Dec 09, 2008


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Thursday, October 30, 2008

I finally nailed the hijab draping. I concocted a way of wearing the headscarf combining the forehead sweep of Blink Blink's method, the ponytail anchor of Wreath of Roses' method, and the pinning of Straw's method. The response in public was immediate. I was asked at least ten times at the bazaar today, "Are you Egyptian?" Two people came up to me and just started speaking Arabic, assuming I would understand. AND, the scarf stayed on my head all day without constant fidgeting. Success!

After our morning in the museum, we spent the afternoon back at the Kahn al-Kahlili bazaar. We lunched on falafel, our new favorite dish koshary, and chicken shwarma at a café. A woman sat down at our table and offered to paint henna designs on our hands. I've always wanted to do this, but it's too expensive in time and money at the fair, so now was the perfect opportunity Blink Blink's henna
Blink Blink's henna
 . You have to let the henna dry and flake off so it can last a long time on your skin, so I held my arm up stiffly on my chest for the rest of the day. This is no delicate-lined Indian brown henna, this is in-your-face thick black Egyptian henna twining up my hand, wrist, and arm. My favorite souvenir.

Blink Blink and Wreath of Roses went in one direction after lunch to buy hookahs and scarves, and Click and I went in another direction to find postcards, earrings, and boxes inlaid with mother of pearl. We were there for 3.5 hours and we still didn't see everything at the bazaar.

I'm starting to develop a deep, wet chest cough. Is it just a reaction to the Cairo smog, which is so thick it's equivalent to smoking 30 cigarettes a day? Or is it bronchitis?
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