Maadi

It's not often I take pictures around my neighborhood, in fact, I usually take my lovely little neighborhood for granted.

But this morning, waking up to the beautiful sunshine and warm weather, I just had to take my camera out when I joined my friends for our weekly coffee just down the way from my apartment.

The first thing that caught my eye was this scene next to the supermarket. I see it every day (yes, I go grocery shopping nearly every day - or at least get a coffee. Fruit, veg, and meats are all pretty organic here and the lack of hormones and preservatives means food doesn't last long - you cook and eat it or it goes bad pretty quickly.) Anyway, this pretty little walkway and seat are on a side street smack in the bustle of Road 9 - the major shopping thoroughfare in Maadi. I loved how the light and shade made the little scene seem so very tropical.




Next I ran in to the street sweepers kicking up quite a bit of dust in front of Beano's. The sweepers clean the trash and endless sand from the gutters BY HAND using a broom made of twigs and a plastic dustbin. They are usually assigned to the same areas, so you tend to get to know your local sweeper - even if it is just with a daily "SabaHr el Khir" - good morning - and a wave.





Finally, after T and I had wandered quite a bit down Rd 9 in search of a particular tiger print couch we had found for her new apartment (which sadly had been purchased by someone else), and had explored the local antique shop that was full of beautiful curiosities from the heyday of Cairo (including a full-size Victrola and a beautiful desk-top chiming clock in the art deco style), we noticed this little building and dove cote. Now, I've walked past this particular building hundreds of times, and I think never really noticed how beautiful it is - and also how peculiar - a as it is sitting right across the street from a Cinnabon!


I really hope this weather sticks around for the field trip I'm taking with my students on Sunday to Islamic Cairo! What a long blog post and lot of photos that will require to recount!