To Market

Day by Day
by Orlando A

Yesterday I went out with my landlady, J, and our neighbor, P, for a trip to the market. This was really nice because it allowed us to learn how to use the bus system here, besides the good company, of course. The bus costs 35 piastres. This is the equivalent of five US cents. However, the buses are really more like minivans that stop when they see passengers who wave and if they are full they drive on. They have a little stripe on them at the bottom, the yellow striped bus goes only into the edge of town, the blue striped bus goes all the way into Luxor proper.



We went to town and bought all the necessities: paper products, cleansers, tea, fruit and whatnot. Later, J, explained something very valuable to me. She said, in her wonderful proper English accent to her husband; "you know when I was standing next to Orlando in the store, I realized he was getting the correct prices on things automatically, like he was being taken as a native. They probably wouldn't realize he wasn't Egyptian (or somehow local) until he opens his mouth." So in essence, if I keep my mouth shut, I will be fine. Yeah.

So anyway, we also visited a magnificent western styled market in town, called Arkwrights. It had very reasonably priced cheeses, juices, crackers, sandwiches and other things travelers from the west would appreciate.

As I walked with the two girls from the UK and my wife I got to soak in the looks from the various local men wondering what the hell was going on here. That was kind of funny. We later sat down at a cafe for tea and coffee. I had Turkish that was perfect and Candice had anise tea, which is said to be good for the stomach.

Later, after we got back home, we hung out on the roof with the kids, we met another neighbor A., who is here for a few weeks from the UK. She was extremely pleasant and talked about her time here and politics at home. She explained that she had come here some fifteen years ago and had begun working with an orphanage and has been coming every few months since that time.

She explained how different the West Bank, where the valley of the Kings and Queens is situated, is from the East Bank where Karnak and Luxor are. She told us that not only do they speak different dialects, there are different living standards, with the West Bank being more rural and agrarian than the East Bank which is more cosmopolitan. She advised me that most expatriates hang out on the other side.

She explained that there was a history of the government moving people from ancestral homes and so on over there. However, it also seems that some of those ancestral homes would be built over sites where tunnels would extend so that locals could gather and later export antiquities. So I have been told and read.

Anyway, I plan on getting over to that side next week and look forward to it. However, for now I am taking it easy and plan to walk over to Karnak in the next day or so. I plan on getting over there early packing a nice lunch and making a day of it. Expect wonderful pictures. Meanwhile I will be munching away on the large delicious mangoes and fresh dates I got from the market.