Cairo
Sabah El Khair from the City of a Thousand Minarets! I am in Al Qahira , a noisy, bustling, historic city along the banks of the timeless Nahr Al Nil . Hanaa Soudan, my Egyptian sister, has helped me find just the right apartment, located in the very heart of it all. I can gaze down busy streets, elegant buildings, cars winding their way around, people hurrying to work, or merely standing under a shady tree to chat and smoke. A gas station is right below with a great view of cars being serviced. It serves as an important landmark for me as I weave my way through Kasr El Nil, Bab El Louk, Mohamed Mazloom Streets . A car dealership and a restaurant take turns to share the space. While new cars line up in the daytime, the restaurant claims the street in the evenings with Cairenes relaxing together with food, drinks and shisha . Even a TV is wheeled outside for additional entertainment! Egyptian Arabic is the lingua franca, and I realize my first assignment as a