Khan el-Khalili, the mother of all markets

I finally made it out to Egypt's most famous market, "the Khan".

Martha my Khan el-Khalili companion, was in search of a specific section of the market called the tent-maker area. In this long, narrow, covered isle, there are dirt floors and dozens of small spaces to the left and right, where tent-making fabric and other brightly patterned material is sold.

But as it usually goes here in Egypt, getting there proved to be an adventure in and of itself. We good naturedly wandered around the market, turning left or right as the mood struck us, often backtracking and stopping for directions along the way.













I love the colorful banners that hang in some of the narrow alleys.

















Spices anyone?

















A rare scene: this narrow alley opened up to a peaceful courtyard area.













At one point we ducked into this fabric store. Both Martha and I bought some really great fabric to have some clothes made. I have a favorite pair of pants that I'm going to have copied a few times by a tailor here. The fabric was so inexpensive and very well made.











One shop had all these creepy looking dolls as window displays. One guy's hair looks like road kill, another kid's arms are put on backward!








These kids were laughing and running around this small side street. I asked one of the more outgoing boys if I could take his photo (Mr. "Just Do It") and before I knew it, the whole group had gathered into the frame.


















Like the public fountains all over Italy, these clay pots are set out so that locals can grab a quick drink.


















At this point Martha felt like we were getting closer.














And she was right. Five minutes later, and after 3 different "guides" leading the way, we found the tent-maker shops. I realized I could by meters of canvas, which they use as backing for the bedspreads and pillow covers. I bought 4 meters (very wide as well) for 40 LE, under 10 dollars!
















If you looked through the covered tent-maker area, it opened up onto some buildings that have some sort of wooden bridges as walk-acrosses between the two sides.








The variations of colors, patterns and designs were overwhelming, and all beautifully handstitched.

Egyptian Museum of Modern Art

An amazing sunset I happen to catch a couple of weeks ago.
I didn't doctor the image at all. It was unbelievable.


Last weekend I went to the Museum of Egyptian Modern Art. They have some pretty good stuff in there, although the initial impression is that it is waaaay overhung (like my blog space, too many images) and that about a third of the work has no business being in there.


This photo gives you an idea of how tight the wall space is...










Here are some pieces that I really liked.

Berlin, Day Two

Our second day in Berlin, we were more comfortable with the subway. Fortunately, our hotel was very close to a stop.


Amy looks so cute trying to decipher the subway map.

I left all the navigation in her capable hands. I was still recovering from my stupid vertigo crap. As you can tell from how horrible I look in all the Germany photos.






We went to Check Point Charlie, and saw pieces of the wall decorated with graffiti.








This memorial-type display has been put up in the place where the wall used to be. In souvenier shops all over town you can buy quarter-sized pieces of the wall, covered with a thick coat of spray paint.



I spotted an advertisement for the current show at the Guggenheim, so we stopped by that as well. It was close to an ice skating pavilion, so Blake was especially good inside the boring museum. :)
I really loved the show. I was in heaven with the delicate drawings and beautifully textured materials... The first thing that strikes you is the amazing comparisons made between such seeminly different artists. Unfortunately, absolutely no photos were allowed, or I'd show you what I mean.
















We wrapped up the afternoon with iceskating, and then headed back to Schweinfurt.








Good-bye Supercool Berlin

Berlin

Amy and I decided on a last minute trip to Berlin. We headed out early in the morning, and arrived 4.5 hours later, finding our hotel fairly easily. We were only staying one night, so our plans were to walk around and get a feel for the city. We loved it. Definitely a city I could picture myself living in.






















It was such a welcomed treat to be back in civilization: good food, good drink and a clean, organized city.






I ate sooo much pork and enjoyed many different types of beers during my week in Germany. ahhhh.

Blake was beginning to tire of my documenting every moment.



It snowed while we were in Berlin. Amy said most areas of Germany still had not had their first snow fall, so it was a treat for us all. As we explored the city, Blake entertained himself by scooping up what he could to make snow balls.

Christmas Morning, whether you like it or not

Some of us were more excited than others to be opening gifts so early. Blake woke me up the first time at 3am, with a breathless, heartpounding wisper of, "HE CAME!"

I tried to lead him through some deep breating, relaxation techniques to calm his nerves and get him to fall back asleep. As you can imagine, that tactic worked real well with a 9 yr old. Finally I gave up and asked him if he wanted to watch a DVD I brought with me, some classic PeeWee's Playhouse episodes. They did the trick and freaked him out enough that 30 minutes later he had crawled into bed with his mother.



Later that day he told me the PeeWee episodes were "too weird". hmmph, kids these days. :)

























Look how cute Blake looks holding his resin-suspended scarab beetle! Actually, I think he was a little grossed out by it. "It's reeeeaal?"

The rest of Christmas day Blake spent playing with his new gifts and Amy and I spent trying to ignore the fact it was Christmas. I think we both just wanted it to be over. We both were lonely for loved ones that were too far away.



I thought these canopic jars were pretty cool, so brought them along for Amy and Blake. Probably not a very Christmassy gift though. During the mummification process, each jar was used to hold a different organ.