This is an area I had not been. I mean, I had been to part of it, but unwittingly. I didn't know what I was looking at, and I had only seen a small part of it. I had heard, though... So this time, my travel agent cousin told me where it was. We met in Khan el Khalili on Saturday. She brought her niece and 2 nephews plus a friend along; I brought my uncle, and we proceeded to walk through about 1/3 of it. This section has been heavily restored; most of the buildings have been restored, and some are in use, others are museums/monuments you can go in and see. They even set up a system of one ticket for all of them! Very sensible. They also fixed the street and it is very nice...too nice, because now the cars are back. They should have kept it car free, or only cars during certain hours, because it is too narrow.
Anyway, it is beautiful. There are several sabil-kuttub (cisterns that provided water to the public with schools above them for the poor), mosques, mausoleums, and other buildings. I enjoyed looking at them, and the different styles. It is amazing to step into a space that has been used continuously for more than 1000 years as a place of worship.
I am convinced that the US media is hysterical about the Arab world and Egypt in particular. Someone just asked me if the police are on strike. It seems that some of them are--it is by rank. There are less police in evidence than there used to be, which has resulted in increased crime and chaos. Egyptians are very uncomfortable with the rise in crime, as Egypt has been very safe generally. Even now, it is much safer than many places, but there is a rise in crime. Chaos--seems like traffic is worse, and less organized than before. However, I have not felt threatened once. It is certainly no worse than most American cities.
Anyway, it is beautiful. There are several sabil-kuttub (cisterns that provided water to the public with schools above them for the poor), mosques, mausoleums, and other buildings. I enjoyed looking at them, and the different styles. It is amazing to step into a space that has been used continuously for more than 1000 years as a place of worship.
I am convinced that the US media is hysterical about the Arab world and Egypt in particular. Someone just asked me if the police are on strike. It seems that some of them are--it is by rank. There are less police in evidence than there used to be, which has resulted in increased crime and chaos. Egyptians are very uncomfortable with the rise in crime, as Egypt has been very safe generally. Even now, it is much safer than many places, but there is a rise in crime. Chaos--seems like traffic is worse, and less organized than before. However, I have not felt threatened once. It is certainly no worse than most American cities.
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