Friday, February 12, 2010

Just another Friday

This has been a busy week, since I've finally recovered from the effects of the drastic time change from our trip.  I've had tons of laundry to do, and how does the house get dirty when you're not in it for 2 weeks?  I guess we really did it in those first few days home when we were both a little sick. 
Today, though, has been busy day of sewing.  I got 3 DJ blocks done, and put together a Valentine table runner.  (Little late you think?)  Actually, I need a February completion for OPAM, and the other things I'm working on are all long term projects which may or may not be completed this year , let alone this month.  I may just have to withdraw from the monthly project challenge, because I'm afraid that looking for a project that I can complete in the month will just take time away from the projects I really want to work on.
So anyway, back to Egypt....As I think I already told you, the first day of the tour was absolutely exhausting.  We visited the pyramids, the Sphinx, had lunch at an outdoor restaurant, visited the National Museum, and went to a bazaar.  The bus dropped us at the entrance to the restaurant, and as we went in, this was the scene - all those trussed up chickens on spits over the fire, and they smelled wonderful! 

On the way to the restaurant, our guide, Sam, had told us that pita bread is a regular part of the Egyptian diet, and that they are coated on one side with bran to increase the nutritional value.  Off to one side of the restaurant, this was the scene as the women baked the bread.  They sat on the ground, with these large shallow boxes beside them with the pitas ready for the oven.  The box is filled with bran, and as the pita is shaped, it's put into the box until it's baked.  I tell you, they were the best, softest pitas I've ever had. 


The meal was delicious, and after we'd eaten, we were taken to the museum.  We had to go through metal detectors to be sure we weren't bringing any cameras in, so this is the only picture I got of what could have been beautiful pictures.

Our last stop for the day was a bazaar.  By this time we were really exhausted, and in no mood for shoping.  The vendors don't make it easy to 'just look' as we all like to do.  If you look at the vendor or show any interest in the goods, it's almost impossible to get away from them.  We ended up just sitting at a cafe having a cup of tea with Sam.


4 comments:

Pat said...

I really enjoy your photos and your narration. I'd have had real trouble in a market area with "pushy" vendors. Nothing turns me off more than a salesperson applying pressure and it sounds like the pressure there was non-stop!!!

Needled Mom said...

I can only imagine how you would have loved to be taking pictures. Shopping in Morocco was the same way. You didn't want to look at something because they would follow you into the streets to entice you back to "buy" something.

Unknown said...

I love your pictures. I'll have to go back a few days on your blog and see if I missed anything.

Unknown said...

I love the ovens they bake the bread in!!!! melind