Apartments and villas in Cairo

I love having interesting conversations about how the average Egyptian lives their life. I learn a lot while driving around town and pestering the drivers about things I see out the window. There is always something new and interesting-- and sometimes really crazy. When I say the average Egyptian I am referring to the drivers, maids, cooks, secretaries, shopkeepers, and working class in general. Those are the people I see and talk with on a regular basis. There is a huge wealth divide and the wealthy Egyptians live quite different lives, at least as far as luxury.

Most Egyptians, and really I think most people in the entire Middle East region, live in apartments. And it's really interesting how that works. Housing is very expensive for the average Egyptian and they have to save a long time to buy an apartment. Families commonly live in the same apartment building and share meals and social time with each other. The father, over the course of his working life, will strive to buy apartments in the same building for his sons and families. Sometimes there is just a really large apartment with separate bedrooms for the married sons. The daughters are expected to move into their husband's building with his family.

The apartments that the families buy are completely unfinished because it is cheaper that way. No plumbing, wiring, windows, walls, etc. You buy the apartment and then make it into what you want with the money you have. That is why we see half-finished apartment buildings around town and why each apartment is unique.

I have learned a lot from Nadia, the sweet young lady who works at the nail salon that I go to. She and her husband are working to save 60,000 LE ($8,500.00) for her own apartment, which is a huge amount for her. They have to move every three years or so because every time the lease comes up for renewal (3 year lease) the rent goes up too much. She is tired of moving and dreams of her own place. Maybe she doesn't live in her father-in-laws home/apt because she is coptic and they do things differently.



Apartment building. See how the balconies and windows are finished differently?



Rows and rows of apartment buildings. Can you see the empty ones?



This is our boawab named Ahmed standing in front of our new villa. He works from 6 am to 6 pm and has worked at this house for eight years. He knows everyone in the neighborhood and knows everything that goes on.

 

We have finally found a villa to live in. When Maadi was first established in the early 1900s it was a leafy suburb of Cairo with English-style villas and an English-style life to go with it. Now it's a mix of apartment buildings and villas, and the apartments are winning. Landowners can make far more money renting apartments than having a single house. We will employ Mr. Ahmed above, plus a gardener named Noor (who has taken care of the gardens for years), plus a night time security person that I have not met. We just hired a driver named Zakaria and an  Egyptian maid named Sonia. It's just wonderful to be able to make plans and settle in.

We all love going to the Khan

The Khan el Khalili (1382) is an open place market area also called a souk (sometimes also the grand bazaar) and is a tangle of alleyways and walkways with vendors selling all kinds of things. It's in an old, old, part of Cairo and was off limits to us for months so getting there now is just that much more fun. The more experienced ladies have their favorite shopkeepers and without them you could easily get lost in the maze of old streets and alleys. They also know the more reputable vendors and have established warm relationships with them.

It's always exciting to go to the Khan with a bunch of ladies. In the days before the revolution (I hear that phrase all the time; things have changed a lot since then and not for the better) large groups of women would spend the day shopping and then enjoy a delicious lunch at a local restaurant. The restaurant is now closed and we are told to leave the Khan before 2 pm because the traffic is a verifiable nightmare. So going there now is a mad dash to visit all the good vendors. And you are warned not to drink water because there are no restrooms.

One of our most favorite vendors is M K Jewelers. He makes beautiful silver jewelry and has a tiny room that contains a desk and filing cabinet in which all kinds of jewelry is kept. You simply paw through the drawers and plastic trays until you find something. You are usually squeezing around several other ladies as well. It's almost like a scavenger hunt but lots of fun. The jeweler will adjust the lengths for you and then weigh it to give you the price. The prices are great for unique, beautiful, Egyptian jewelry.

Another favorite shop is owned by a retired professor who makes and sells beautiful wooden things and specializes in boxes made of ebony (or some dark wood like ebony) with inset white camel bone and mother of pearl. His boxes are unique in Egypt and come in all shapes and sizes.

And we always go to the vendor who sells beautiful handmade glass items. You can place orders for anything and he will make it. Wine glasses, figurines, christmas ornaments, etc. He also sells clothes and galabeyas and it's easy to buy from him because you know you are paying a fair price.

Shopping with my friend Lori and the very experienced Betsy (yellow sweater) at the glass man's shop. He will custom make anything for you and is just delightful.

I love the light fixtures and will have similar lights in our villa.

Walking and shopping the alleyways. Clothes, souvenir things, pottery, glass, rugs, old Bedouin things, old pewter and copper things, jewelry stores, bead stores, some furniture.

A necklace and bracelet from MK. I love my bracelet especially.

Khan el-Khalili is a major souk in the Islamic district of Cairo. The bazaar district is one of Cairo's main attractions for tourists and Egyptians. The souk dates back to 1382, when Emir Djaharks el-Khalili built a large caravanserai (خان khan in Arabic) in Cairo under the Burji Mamluk Sultan Barquq; the eponymous khan is still extant. By the time of Barquq, the first Circassian Mamluk Sultan (1382–1399) much reconstruction needed to be done within the walls of the city in order to repair the damage incurred as a result of the Black Death. When Barquq started his madrassa in Bayn el-Qasrayn, markets were rebuilt, and Khan el-Khalili was established.^[1] It was also known Turkish bazaar during the Ottoman Empire.
The Khan el-Khalili was built on the site of the much older and historically significant Za’afran Tomb, the burial place of the Fatimid Caliphs, founders of the City of Cairo.^[2] The Za'afran Tomb was part of the Great Fatimid Eastern Palace (built AH 358 / AD 968) constructed upon the founding of the city.