ok, for those of you who are visual learners, here are my first images from Cairo. they're all inside my apartment, as i haven't ventured out with my camera as of yet. still, here's where i'm living...
here's my street - Sharia Dokki. this is a view from our living room window. crossing this street is the sort of experience that can make a person reflect on her mortality. who knew getting groceries could turn into a life or death scenario?
my room. somehow i ended up with two beds, though i wouldn't recommend trying to sleep on the one on the far wall. the fan is an absolute necessity, as i don't have any air conditioning in my room. and though it's the end of summer, it's still pretty freaking hot here. i've been leaving my windows open at night to let in the cooler air, the tradeoff of which is the fact that it also lets in the sounds of this all-night city. glad i invested in some earplugs...
as in Belize, clothes here are dried on the line. don't have a drying rack yet, so i'm resorting to using hangers. these are the french doors in my room. i've got a little balcony that looks out over the alley in the back of the building. it's a great place for catching the evening breeze and for indulging in a bit of voyeurism. there's a group of three or so men who set out a small carpet on the ground every evening to have their dinner. they bring out cushions and blankets and a tv on a chair, and hang out until the wee hours in what's more or less the alley between two buildings.
here's the view from the dining room. pretty much all the buildings in Cairo sport this same shade of brown. they're mostly concrete (Egypt is a big exporter of the stuff), and there's really no way to avoid the dirt and sand that blows in from the surrounding desert. it coats every conceivable surface. but the breeze is essential for those of us without AC, and it blows constantly through all our amazingly wide windows. i'm definitely not hurting for natural light in this place.
and here's my favorite one so far. Mohamed bought me this fanoos on one of my first nights in town. these are traditional Ramadan lanterns, and you find them strung in front of shops and restaurants all around the city. they add a beautifully festive ambience to the nighttime streets.
here's my street - Sharia Dokki. this is a view from our living room window. crossing this street is the sort of experience that can make a person reflect on her mortality. who knew getting groceries could turn into a life or death scenario?
my room. somehow i ended up with two beds, though i wouldn't recommend trying to sleep on the one on the far wall. the fan is an absolute necessity, as i don't have any air conditioning in my room. and though it's the end of summer, it's still pretty freaking hot here. i've been leaving my windows open at night to let in the cooler air, the tradeoff of which is the fact that it also lets in the sounds of this all-night city. glad i invested in some earplugs...
as in Belize, clothes here are dried on the line. don't have a drying rack yet, so i'm resorting to using hangers. these are the french doors in my room. i've got a little balcony that looks out over the alley in the back of the building. it's a great place for catching the evening breeze and for indulging in a bit of voyeurism. there's a group of three or so men who set out a small carpet on the ground every evening to have their dinner. they bring out cushions and blankets and a tv on a chair, and hang out until the wee hours in what's more or less the alley between two buildings. 
here's the view from the dining room. pretty much all the buildings in Cairo sport this same shade of brown. they're mostly concrete (Egypt is a big exporter of the stuff), and there's really no way to avoid the dirt and sand that blows in from the surrounding desert. it coats every conceivable surface. but the breeze is essential for those of us without AC, and it blows constantly through all our amazingly wide windows. i'm definitely not hurting for natural light in this place. 
and here's my favorite one so far. Mohamed bought me this fanoos on one of my first nights in town. these are traditional Ramadan lanterns, and you find them strung in front of shops and restaurants all around the city. they add a beautifully festive ambience to the nighttime streets.
4 comments:
Wow! I love seeing pictures! So much going on in Cairo. It is so busy! Your apartment is super cute!
Now I can finally imagine you in your apartment in Cairo...in the middle of the hustle and the bustle...cozy apartment and what a lovely lamp...
Excellent. So... a map next? You know me and my need for maps...
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