Old-Fashioned Supermarket

Cairo, Egypt

“Snacks and Condiments”Click here to share or send a greeting with this image.
Touring Egypt 19: Supermarkets have become ubiquitous worldwide, but sometimes those of us who live in western cities (especially America) forget that most of the world does not actually shop at a supermarket. While in Cairo, my party went several times to Giza, and each time the bus passed a local market on the outskirts of town. (The ramp to the freeway back into town was on a direct line through this neighborhood.) I was struck by the colors; the people; the many umbrellas for shade; the vendor carts propelled by horses, donkeys, or people — and the way the locals were able to completely ignore a tour bus full of westerners driving along their dusty road. A few children waved, but mostly we were ignored. Every day for nearly a week, these same stands and carts were there.

“Want a Drink?”Share this image

Drinks stands are pretty ubiquitous all over Egypt. One finds these stands at every tourist venue and on streets all over the country. Coffee and tea are much beloved social drinks throughout the Middle East, and Egypt is no exception. Usually, they are served strong and sweet. The samovars at these stands never failed to have their intended effect: I always wanted a cup (though as a rule I declined in favor of the bottled water that most stands also sell).

“Fresh Produce Department”Click here to share or send a greeting with this image.

(Top [“Snacks and Condiments”]: Nikon D200, Nikkor zoom lens at 24mm, ISO 400, f/20 at 1/250 sec.)

(Middle [“Want a Drink?”] and bottom [“Fresh Produce Department”]: Same camera and lens at 46mm[“…Drink”] and 27mm [“…Produce…”], ISO 400, f/22 at 1/250 sec.)
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This entry was posted on Thursday, September 17th, 2009 at 18:32 PM. It is filed under Land & Air, thePhotoTourist and tagged with bazaar, Cairo, cart, destination, drink, Egypt, food, fruit, market, not_uw, nuts, produce, stall, stand, street, tea, umbrella, vegetables, vendor. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.