Stationary Stationery

First published January 27, 2009

Today I thought, "This is it. This is where the interesting pieces of information end. We've settled into a routine and it's all pretty much predictable now. Wrong. John had mentioned that he had noticed on the map that there was a section of town that specialized in stationery. (For more information on that whole topic, read 'Gonna Rock Down to Electric Avenue.') I told him that I would like to buy some notecards that had Egyptian art on them. He perused the map some more and declared that he had a route planned out and we should make our way to Stationery Street.

Aria is always ready to go somewhere, anywhere for any reason. Emileigh is too if given enough preparation time. I just sighed to myself and thought, "Oh, boy. Another grand opportunity to get lost, mumble my two Arabic words and spend way more money than any other person should in Cairo." However, the girls' enthusiasm was contagious so I decided to put on my pantalones feliz (translated "happy pants") and go along.

We walked out of our flat to the corner and hailed a taxi. You never know whether you'll get the deluxe (less than 15 dents) sedan or the demolition-derby-why-hasn't-this-car-been-put-in-a-salvage-yard edition. This time we got the latter. We hopped in and John began telling the driver that we needed to go to the Metro. The Metro is the subway system in Cairo. Our flat is not near a station so we had to get a ride there. The problem is differentiating between Metro the Subway and Metro Mart, my grocery store. John had the streets we needed memorized so the confusion was quickly cleared up. I am SO happy to have married a guy who is detailed oriented--VERY handy at times like these.

The taxi guy drove to the station and deposited us at a collection of stairs that led below the street. We followed the masses below and looked for the ticket booth. It was in English and Arabic so that part was easy. John paid 1 EGP for each ticket. Total cost for 4 riders: 73 cents. No wonder so many people ride. John dispensed the tickets to each of us and we began looking for the right platform. Of course, the Human GPS walked straight to it. We caused a stir among the regulars--their staring very obvious. We are getting used to the looks and try to get over the awkwardness of the moment by telling each other funny stories.

The train arrived and we hopped on. This was the girls' first subway ride ever and our second. We grabbed an arm loop above our heads and zipped down the dark tunnel. Each stop would gather more riders and spurt out one or two simultaneously. My biggest fear was getting separated from the family. What if only 3 of us made it off? What if I were left behind? (A new book series would surely ensue...) I kept my eye on John while trying to ignore all the other passengers who were turned toward us staring. Some were a bit more subtle while others--not so much.

After 6 stops, John made his move and the 3 other Westerners bolted off at the same time. We found the steps up to the street and landed in a completely new area of Cairo in less than 10 minutes. John pulled out his "All About Cairo" map book and began orienting himself. The girls looked at each other and struck a pose that said, "We're not lost. We're not tourists. We're local. We know what we're doing." Too bad the parents blew it by pointing, looking around, referring back to the map and asking for help.

A nice lady pointed us in the right direction and we began walking. We made our way down a couple blocks and noticed that we were not seeing any stationery stores. We walked a little further and paused. John pulled out the map again and checked his directions. We were on the right track, but just hadn't walked far enough.


John noticed a store that sold leather goods and decided to stop. He needed a new belt and thought he should check it out. The girls and I found a stationery store next door and decided to go in there while he looked around. I found a very nice man who spoke some English. He began showing me some notecards that were made out of papyrus (a specialty paper in this area of the world). They had a very Egyptian looking design. I know it screamed, "Cheesy Tourist Item," but they were exactly what I was looking for. Now the hard part...bartering. I can't tell you how much I hate the whole process, but I knew it was necessary. I haggled a tiny bit and called it good. (When my Arabic's better, my bartering will improve--I hope.)

John came around the corner with a new leather belt and a sheepskin wallet. His total purchase was $9. Mine was not.

We continued down the street when a young man approached John and struck up a conversation. He and John chatted for a while and before we knew it, we were bobbing and weaving through traffic heading down a completely new street. I asked John where we were going. John told me that his new friend knew of a cafe nearby. I kept thinking, "Where is my husband? Who is this guy? He's like Anthony Bourdain or Andrew Zimmern with all his new adventurous endeavors."

The entry to the cafe

The girls and I shrugged and kept pace. We turned down a narrow street and were directed to turn left. Down an even more narrow street were plastic tables filled with men and women sipping tea and puffing on hookahs.

Hookah

I raised my eyebrow and was getting ready to call it quits, but found myself alone. The rest of the family had already begun the walk through the maze of people until we were deposited into the middle of the crowd and given 3 plastic chairs to sit in.

John told us to sit and he would go search out food. Our new friend led John to a vendor who prepared an entire meal for us. Within 5 minutes John reappeared with a tray of delicious smelling foods and a 4th chair. We ordered something to drink and ate while soaking in the local flavor. We finished our meal and paid the $3 bill.

Our helpful friend (whose name we found out is Ibrahim) had waited patiently for us to finish. He led us to his place of employment which just happened to be a company that sold tour packages to tourists to the various historical sites in Egypt. How in the world did we get caught in a timeshare trap here? We met the owner while he flipped brochures showing us amazing cruises to Luxor. John accepted his business card and thanked him for his help. 

We parted ways with Ibrahim, walked a bit more, visited a local bakery and made our way back to the Metro. This time we made our way through like pros. We zoomed to the other side of town and caught a taxi back to our flat.

I had used up all my excitement cells for the day. I needed to go back to our little home and lie down. After a nap, I would start writing letters in my new notecards. That's when Aria reminded me, "Why didn't we get stamps when we were near the post office?" Ug. Looks like normal's a ways away.

Our lunch: fuhl, falafel, pita bread, lemons, tomato/onion salad