FROM STEAV AND BILL:

DAY 4

The 5 of us are on our own for the last day before meeting tonight with our 7 other travelling mates. We (Steav and Bill) went off to the Egyptian Museum while Tom, Bill C. and Lisa continued their walking tour of Cairo.

The Museum is as it has always been: a vast repository of antiquities that Egypt has been able to prevent leaving its borders. So much of this country's history was, literally, stolen by the museums of NY or London or private collectors. You might think there isn't enough left for the Cairo Museum . . . . but you would be wrong.

Like the Smithsonian is the USA's "Attic", so is the Cairo counterpart "Egypt's Attic" . . . . crammed with bits and pieces of a country's history in its prime persona.

From the gorgeous archaeological finds of Tutankhamen to the lowliest bead work; from a long forgotten mummy, everything is there....somewhere!The museum's displays are a bit improved from the past, but still it has a long way to go in labeling and presenting the priceless objects of its past empires. Much remains unmarked or unlabeled or unindexed for the public display, but despite (or because of) this it remains a truly awesome collection. Just don't bring your Swiss Army knife!

That afternoon we 5 went to Khan al Kalili, the vast (really vast!) Market and Bazaar. We were oddly grateful that it is mostly closed on Sundays because this meant that: 50% of the shoppes were closed, and thus 70% of the usual crowds were missing, too!

Lisa remains the supreme and unchallenged guide for getting around Cairo: she leads us in the uncharted turf and ignores the leering looks and commentary from some locals while finding the best places to go. In this case it was Fishawi's, a coffee shoppe buried in the bazaar's bizarre labyrinth. We were given a room of our own in a "more than merely authentic" opium den decor with strong smells of Arabic coffee mixed with the tobacco fruity smell of sheeshas, or hookas, or waterpipes, or hubbly bubblies.

We all (ALL!) shared a sheeshaw while enjoying Mango juice or authentic Arab coffee. The tobacco is surprisingly mild and soaked in apple and fig juice: a very enjoyable way to spend the afternoon with friends.

Again, Lisa's unerring instinct led us to yet another wonderful restaurant with yet another wonderful meal. The food in Egypt is as good as its antiquities (and about as well labeled).

Tomorrow: Giza, Saqqara, and Dashur.