Day at the Cairo Bazaar

I spent most of my day walking the narrow alleys of the Bazaar.  The place is remarkable and full of incredible sights and smells.  All sorts of spices, perfumes, silks, and jewelery are being hawked here, its hard not to walk out of here without parting with your hard earned money.

I was amused to hear the vendors address me in Spanish or English as I walked past their wares.  If my eyesight lingered for more than half a second on their goods, they would see this as an invitation to become my new best friends and start hawking anything and everything in their store.  I quickly learned to look at their wares out of the corner of my eye if I wanted to make it out of there before sunset.  I foolishly thought that if I told them that I spoke Spanish then they wouldn't be able to communicate with me, but it seemed that every vendor spoke Spanish and had at one time lived in Spain.

• I met a young guy who spoke perfect Spanish and was very eager to take me to his "dad's" perfume shop.  As much as I tried to shake him off, he was more determined to stick with me.  Before I  knew it he was showing me pictures of his little baby girl and telling me about his life and family.  Eventually I found myself inside a whole in the wall full of perfumes and wonderful glass bottles in every shape and color that can be imagined.  My constant mentioning that I was here only looking and not buying anything fell in deaf ears as the shopkeeper pulled out all types of oils and perfumes.  After a long time in the tiny little shop and once the dust had settled, I found myself walking out of there $10 poorer and with a small bottle of the most wonderful scented oil I  had ever smelled...  and with the word "SUCKER" stamped on my forehead, I'm sure.