This morning we caught a cab to the Khan El-Kahili Bazzar. This time we flagged down a cab with a meter, so there was no haggling about the price. As we jumped into the cab we watched him set the meter and we were off. 20 minutes later we arrived at the market. Well things got a little heated, as when i asked him how much, he had managaed to switch the meter off as we were driving. He now demanded 40EGP(Egyptian pounds or $8AUD). Well did i nearly loose it. I called him a thieving so and so, threw 20EGP at him, and slammed the door. He did not chase us.

There are 2 prices in Cairo. one for the locals and one for the tourists. The markets were very interesting, especially the spice market. The smell of all the fresh spices is great. We stoped and had a coffee and tea at El Fishawy cafe. This cafe is over 200 hundred years old and has never closed. The tea was serve with a huge piece of mint in the cup. Very tasty. Alan tried a shot of their coffee. It was not like anything we have tried before. The combination of spices they add gave it a very palatable taste.

After wandering for a few hours a could not be bothered giving another cab driver the satisfaction of taking another cent from me. So we decedid to walk the 7.5 ks back to the hotel. This turned out to be a good idea. We say so much more by walking. We grabbed a bit to eat at a Yiros shop, man was it good! We new we were safe with the food as the shop was packed with locals.

it is hard to describe the poverty you see. It is every where you look. There is not building code, so buildings look like they should be condemned. The local buses emit more diesel fume in 1 minute than a bus in Adelaide does in a year. The smell of diesel and fuel fumes was starting to get to us by the time we arrived at the hotel.
Most cars here are so old, and are not fitted with any catalytic converters. We watched a person letting fuel run from the car down the gutter. Another letting oil run down the gutter. Iwe have not seen one car yet without some sort of body damage. The butcher around the corner from us hangs the carcasses of beef out on the footpath, Cairo is an eye opener!

It is a place i never want to return to. If it wasnt for the Pyramids, we would have never visited Cairo. I consider anyone who visited Cairo 20 years ago very lucky. The air pollution then would not have been anywhere near as bad as it is now. 20,000 to 40,000 people die each year here from respiratory disorders due to the air quality. They also have what they call Black Cloud, which is exactly that, a black cloud covers the city for days.

Anyway we are now getting ready to go to Istanbul, where i believe the temperature is a lot colder, and yes i did forget to pack some nice warm thermal under wear.