A visit to the Internet café was followed by some sightseeing; this time to El Tahreer Square and exploring the tiny lanes of markets that radiate from it. One of the things that I love about Egypt is that all shops or market stalls of one type can be found close to each other. We went down the street of women – clothing, scarves, fabrics, haberdashery – and other streets that were entirely for other categories eg shoes; fruit and vegetables; fish and meat (with decorations of intestines hanging up like Christmas paper chains); kitsch (amazing items of no specific purpose but with plenty of tulle, sequins, bright colours and tizziness); dried flowers; herbs and spices; hardware items. The market streets are a maze of tiny lanes with stalls set up so close to each other that in many places you move through in single file. One wider street with a tram in it had mobile displays right across the tram lines and, when a tram came, everything had to be pulled out of the way temporarily. We were snared by an English speaking Cairoesque salesman who took us to look at scarves and on the way tried to get us to enter many stalls, all owned by his relatives. At least this time we knew the drill, going with him because we intended to buy a scarf, and resisting all other suggestions. Otherwise in Alexandria we have been welcomed and asked to come into shops but not worked on to anything like the same extent as in Cairo.
Although predominantly a Muslim city, there are Christian communities and once a Jewish community lived here too. There is still a synagogue but most of the remaining Jewish people left during the struggles with Israel. We visited two beautiful churches – a Greek one that was not open
and St Catherines. St Catherines has paintings, plaster statues in alcoves, mosaics and a multitude of detailed decorations set in a high ceilinged and airy church. The cream walls were all highlighted with three shades of jade green, making borders for feature decorations and garlands of pink flowers.
To the side was a little sanctuary housing the reclining form of St Sabina in a glass case. The Italian attendant told us it was her original body – it certainly looked life like but was probably made of wax.
It is interesting how French and Italian are possibilities for us to understand – even some of the Latin in the church – but Arabic is not coming easily. We would need to put a concerted effort in if we were staying longer. I have eavesdropped on French speakers occasionally, just glad to have a sense of what is going on around us. Today some fragile old ladies dining with their sons were saying what bad manners it is to use the mobile phone in a restaurant and how it would never have been acceptable in the past.
We reached Pompey’s Pillar just on sunset. It is impressive (30 m high) but the gates were locked so we only glimpsed it and the two sphinxes beside it through gaps in the fence. It was set in piles of rubble which are the remnants of the ancient settlement here, and also the ruins of the Serapeum, which was once a huge temple dedicated to Serapis and which included a sister library to the great library. Serapis was a god made up by Ptolemy 1 to connect Egyptian and Greek deities, bringing all the subjects happily together.
On our way home we passed through streets of mechanics, upholsterers, door makers etc. A model house was strung high across an intersection in the district of woodworkers. It was a fascinating and long walk.
A major means of transport is ‘local busus’ (vans). People can wave to them to stop, but they usually come to places where people congregate and they rarely depart until crammed to the limit with passengers.
Although predominantly a Muslim city, there are Christian communities and once a Jewish community lived here too. There is still a synagogue but most of the remaining Jewish people left during the struggles with Israel. We visited two beautiful churches – a Greek one that was not open
and St Catherines. St Catherines has paintings, plaster statues in alcoves, mosaics and a multitude of detailed decorations set in a high ceilinged and airy church. The cream walls were all highlighted with three shades of jade green, making borders for feature decorations and garlands of pink flowers. To the side was a little sanctuary housing the reclining form of St Sabina in a glass case. The Italian attendant told us it was her original body – it certainly looked life like but was probably made of wax.It is interesting how French and Italian are possibilities for us to understand – even some of the Latin in the church – but Arabic is not coming easily. We would need to put a concerted effort in if we were staying longer. I have eavesdropped on French speakers occasionally, just glad to have a sense of what is going on around us. Today some fragile old ladies dining with their sons were saying what bad manners it is to use the mobile phone in a restaurant and how it would never have been acceptable in the past.
We reached Pompey’s Pillar just on sunset. It is impressive (30 m high) but the gates were locked so we only glimpsed it and the two sphinxes beside it through gaps in the fence. It was set in piles of rubble which are the remnants of the ancient settlement here, and also the ruins of the Serapeum, which was once a huge temple dedicated to Serapis and which included a sister library to the great library. Serapis was a god made up by Ptolemy 1 to connect Egyptian and Greek deities, bringing all the subjects happily together.
On our way home we passed through streets of mechanics, upholsterers, door makers etc. A model house was strung high across an intersection in the district of woodworkers. It was a fascinating and long walk.
A major means of transport is ‘local busus’ (vans). People can wave to them to stop, but they usually come to places where people congregate and they rarely depart until crammed to the limit with passengers.
Good grief! Who put this expression on my face?
Mohammad Ali
No comments:
Post a Comment