I've spent the weekend, ie Friday and Saturday with a friend who teaches here in Cairo. It's been wonderful to catch up with her after six years and to meet her husband and four month old son.
On Thursday I got to visit Christy at her school and sit in on one of her classes. Then I walked to the nearby Festival City Mall, an enormous brand new mall with so many American and stores and restaurants I was overwhelmed. There are a number of incredibly Western malls in New Cairo. We had a yummy lunch with some of her friends at a Lebanese restaurant at one on Friday.
We also visited one of the nearby Coptic Orthodox churches. It was much busier than we expected as we think they were celebrating Ascension day. However I got to go into an extension of the church that had the most beautiful paintings all over the ceiling.
Visiting with Christy I've got to see a little of a different side of Cairo, some more regular Egyptian experiences such as visiting the souk to taste beautiful sweet treats and buy yummy bread. The range of bread is amazing, last night we went to a bakery in the souk to buy bread at 8:30pm from a bakery that cooks 24/7.
Christy's husband also cooked me a traditional meal from his home town. I particularly loved the pasta. It is sauteed in butter, then covered in water and when all the water is absorbed it is ready. He also introduced me to Egyptian beer, it comes in 500ml cans and is 10% alcohol! It's perfectly acceptable for the Coptic Christian population to drink alcohol. They're about 10% of the total population.
It's been great to catch up with Christy and meet her family.
On Thursday I got to visit Christy at her school and sit in on one of her classes. Then I walked to the nearby Festival City Mall, an enormous brand new mall with so many American and stores and restaurants I was overwhelmed. There are a number of incredibly Western malls in New Cairo. We had a yummy lunch with some of her friends at a Lebanese restaurant at one on Friday.
We also visited one of the nearby Coptic Orthodox churches. It was much busier than we expected as we think they were celebrating Ascension day. However I got to go into an extension of the church that had the most beautiful paintings all over the ceiling.
Visiting with Christy I've got to see a little of a different side of Cairo, some more regular Egyptian experiences such as visiting the souk to taste beautiful sweet treats and buy yummy bread. The range of bread is amazing, last night we went to a bakery in the souk to buy bread at 8:30pm from a bakery that cooks 24/7.
Christy's husband also cooked me a traditional meal from his home town. I particularly loved the pasta. It is sauteed in butter, then covered in water and when all the water is absorbed it is ready. He also introduced me to Egyptian beer, it comes in 500ml cans and is 10% alcohol! It's perfectly acceptable for the Coptic Christian population to drink alcohol. They're about 10% of the total population.
It's been great to catch up with Christy and meet her family.
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