Of dust storms and close shaves

April 22, 2007

Cairo is such a vast, overwhelming place, so full of contrasts, that I'm finding it hard to render the place accurately on this blog. It doesn't help that work is keeping me very busy — I haven't even managed to start my Arabic lessons, and in a few days I will again be in Sweden for a week. In other words, Cairo requires that I pay more attention to it before I can start writing engagingly about it.

On Tuesday I experienced my first real sandstorm, Another blogger recounts her experience in the same sandstorm.and it was a good one, the locals agree. It arrived with a gust; the sky turned yellow, the air turned to dust, and within hours everything in this city was covered in a layer of sand. I ventured outside, my eyes blinking with the frequency of windshield wipers in a downpour, and everything around me looked like scenes from a sepia-toned movie. I ended up at the Marriott, where the pool had sandbanks in it. Yes, I went for a swim. No, these photos do not show you what it really was like:

On Sunday I went to Islamic Cairo, the Cairo that incubated Naguib Mahfouz. There are touristy parts, but further out there is that now-familiar juxtaposition of ancient architectural gems swamped by poverty.I mapped out the walk on my Cairo layer for Google Earth. Download it if you don't already subscribe to it. The streets are dirt-covered, and it was hot today, but I managed to veer my way through the back alleys. I also managed to get some mint tea at Fishawi, Mahfouz's favorite haunt, so it wasn't all one continuous effort.

Earlier, I had wandered into the barber shop around the corner from where I live and asked tohave my head shaved — I thought with an electric shaver. The barber had other ideas. For the first time ever, my head got shaved with a switchblade, and I must say that in this weather, having your head lathered with cool shaving cream is quite a luxuriant feeling. I felt like a new person. Total cost, including tea and water: £E 15, or €2.

I think there is a theme developing here in the rhythms of my daily life. There is a lot of venturing out into dusty, busy Cairo, and then there is a lot of cleansing, bathing, rejuvenating — in the Marriott's pool, in a shower, or with smaller luxuries like that barber. Get dirty. Get clean. Get dirty. Get clean. Have I mentioned that we have a cleaner for our apartment? She comes twice a week. £E 40 (€5.20) per 4-hour session.You pay more attention to the pleasures of cleanliness here.

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