La, Shukran is My Super Power!

On our first full day in Egypt, we were fully immersed in history, culture and the Egyptian way of life. The first stop was the Cairo Mosque and Citadel.

We learned about Muslim religious practices and enjoyed panoramic views of Cairo. One observation our guide shared was that many devout Muslim men have a dark patch on their forehead caused by bacteria from the prayer rugs. I looked at mens foreheads for the rest of the day!

Or next stop was the Egyptian Museum where we saw the famous funerary mask of King Tutankhamen (no photos allowed) and wandered through galleries of artifacts. I needed two days here to fully explore the museum, but had to settle for two hours. This small sculpture of King Khufu, builder of the great pyramid at Giza was one of my favorites.

Our evening jaunt to the Khan Il Kahlili market in the old city was unlike anything I’ve experienced before. Narrow streets and alleyways were lined with vendors hawking everything from housewares to souvenirs and more.

We wandered through the crush of noisy humanity filling the narrow streets and alleyways fending off aggressive vendors. Bartering is the way of life here and it was uncomfortable just because it is so very different from how we pay a marked price in the U.S.

Before sending us out to meander through the market, our guide taught us the Arabic words for “No Thank You” and mentioned that it might come in handy. Having accidentally made eye contact with an vendor who was persistently pushing me to buy his wares, I tried it out.  When I uttered the phrase “La Shukran” he jumped back about two feet!  The fat American lady was not just a totally gullible tourist. I felt more empowered to move through the alleyways. 

Learning a few phrases in a local language such as hello, please  and thank you enriches my travel experience because I can then briefly connect with a person and their way of life instead of being a passive observer.