Luxor....A haven for Egyptian history, crafts and Mara's house!

I arrived in Luxor today!....After almost a full day's meeting yesterday with my main jewelry maker in Cairo I flew early this morning to Luxor. 

Yesterday I had the chance to see my reorder and check all the merchandise for my specifications and quality.  As usual, Raghda did a great job and is well on the way to beginning the work on the new Fall/Winter collection. 



The full meal for lunch!

Now yesterday I wrote about all the food that I either ate or bought and of course as part of the Egyptian hospitality...I was invited to lunch for a typical lunch during Eid (the feast) so I'm seeing a pattern here ! 

Raghda's mom cooked a delicious meal with chicken, beef, salad, bread and something that looks like Shepard's pie but instead of meat at the bottom it has vegetables.  Really delicious and then we finished with the traditional Eid dessert called Kahk.  Kahk is a cookie made with lots of butter, milk, sesame seeds and nuts finished off with powdered sugar.  Another dietic thing to eat !



Kahk and other cookies

 



Now in Luxor, my goal for the next few days is to search for more beautiful scarves like I bought last time and to see what else I can add to items I'm currently selling.  But first arrival at Mara's house.  Still as beautiful as ever and I would highly recommend it to anyone thinking of going to Luxor.  Nothing beats it for the price, comfort and cleanliness of the rooms and of course Mara's and Amer's hospitality. Truly they go out of their way in meeting their customer's wishes. 

 

 

My room was as lovely as always with beautiful royal or lapis lazuli colored curtains hanging from the top of my bed, a lovely reception area and kitchen and a nice sitting area in my bedroom , which is where I'm writing this blog right now.  The detail to her accessories are fantastic as Amer would say ! A custom made wooden chair sits in my reception area of which there are 48 in the hotel (more like a fancy Egyptian/Moroccan Bed & Breakfast really) and the most beautiful wooden mirror interlaid with mother of pearl pieces. Hmmmm I think I'll be taking one like that home with me....

 

 

After settling in my room, Mara calls me down for a late lunch that Amer has prepared.  Breaded chicken with a sweet and sour sauce, French fries, feta cheese with olive oil and cumin spice and pita bread of course!...Delicious...I'm telling you I will be rolling back home !...

 

We then head off to the Souk (the Marketplace) and I mentally prepare myself for the haggling and negotiating that I will need to do....Patience & Breathe deeply....1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ...........

 

I'll let you know how it went tomorrow !!...:)

 

Traveling Redheaded lady !

It's all about Food !....I'm in trouble !

Yesterday was a day of food.  Whether it was buying food at the groceries or eating food at restaurants, it was all about food....Hmmm I though I came here to work !....Anyway....

After going to sleep at 4:30 am (it was 10:30pm Miami time!) Mohamed picked me up (thank God late!) and we first stopped off to have lunch before we went to buy food.  You know what they say, don't go grocery shopping when you're hungry or you'll end up buying more than what you really need. 
We stopped at a very nice restaurant called "Abou Shakra".  It is very very hot in Cairo in the month of August so it was great to be inside with AC !!



Shish Tawook

Fatta

I ordered Shish Tawook, which is grilled marinated chicken with yellow bismatti rice & peas and grilled vegetables.  Mohamed ordered Fatta which is a very traditional Egyptian dish of rice & meat with a tomato based sauce and toasted bread on top. 

I finished my meal with a traditional Egyptian desert called Umm Oly which was delicious!  It's the Egyptian version of bread pudding.  The bread is soaked in milk, cream, & sugar,  then golden raisins & nuts are added  and then baked until golden brown.  I'm telling you it was sweet!..:) Can not have too many of those for sure or I'll be rolling back to Miami !
  


Umm Aly

 

After this great lunch , off we went to buy food and the things I needed for the time I'll be in Egypt. Since I'm staying at a "flat", (that's what they call apartments here) I'll be doing my own cooking a lot of the times so I needed to buy my supplies. One of the places I liked to go to is the "western style" supermarkets that are available in Cairo.   
A good place to get all these things is at the "Metro Supermarket" chain which caters to foreigners.

We ended up going to two different ones as I was on a hunt for a specific cheese I liked and Mohamed obliged me by going to another Metro to look for it. 

Groceries - Bismatti rice, mango juice, milk, hibiscus tea, yogurt, honey among other things 

We were almost home and I forgot to get bread so we stopped at an Egyptian style supermarket and picked up some bread...3 supermarkets...oh boy, Mohamed does have a lot of patience with me.!

Now I needed to rush as I had other friends that had invited me for dinner and I was already late. I needed to shower, get dressed and go ....to eat again!...ay ay ay!

This time my friends ordered meat and cheese pies and we had the traditional cakes for Eid that were delicious too.  The pies are sort of like pizza but the crust is different.  It's similar to a pan pizza but the cheese is baked inside and then topped with tomatoes, black olives, spices .. a blending of flavors that's very good.  All of course highly dietic.....NOT !....
Suffice it to say, I will not eat for the next 3 days!

Cheese Pie

Then it was back home to have my cup of tea before crashing!.  I felt more tired than the day I arrived but its the jet lag and that happens.  Today is a day for business and probably more food !...oh boy !  Catch you later !

Traveling Redheaded Lady

Finally in Cairo!

Jordanian Aiport

After 24 very long hours I finally arrived last night to Cairo.  I had a connection in Chicago, then Amman, Jordan, and then final destination Cairo. 

Espresso at Jordan's airport

Cairo from a plane's eye view

I was met at the airport by Mohamed.  What a difference from my first arrival in Cairo where I semi panicked when I didn't see anyone with a sign with my name waiting for me and I exited without getting my luggage !...LOL....This time around I was cool and spotted Mohamed from far away and waved at him.
I was asked by customs what are you bringing to the country, as he eyed all 3 of my bags and my purse..lol.  I said clothes, shoes and lots of gifts!... He smiled and let me through!

Mohamed took me to the apt I'll be staying in while in Egypt. On the way we passed by Tahrir Square but it was all celebratory no protests tonight as it is a holiday in the Arab world.  It is Eid Itfar, "feast day".   Kind of like our Christmas/New Year's eve rolled into 3 days of celebrations with fireworks, gifts of toys and clothing for the children.   Once we get to the apt, I do my inspection of it,  It's not Mara's apt but its comfortable and very affordable.  Just needs a few "touches" here and there to make it more like home for me.




my living room

My blogging/work station



View outside my balcony

Then off we went in search for my internet USB drive and get my local phone credit.  Stopped to get fresh bread for tomorrow and then it was time to call it a night.  The problem was although I was extremely tired, I was on Miami time which meant it was 11pm here but 5pm back in Miami and there was no way I could fall asleep.  Oh well !!

Tomorrow I'll go food shopping and explore the neighborhood a bit with Mohamed and then meet my friends for dinner!

Travel Day !

I'm doing my last minute travel things before I leave this afternoon to Egypt !...Most of them "girly" things...First stop, hair, then mani & pedi...then stop by CVS and grab last minute items...Then go back home and try to close my 3 suitcases !!!...Hey ! I'll be gone for more than 3 weeks and I need all those shoes , clothes and bling!....:)

 I have 3 flights before I get to Cairo...First its Miami to Chicago....(sooooo close to Kenny and I can't see him !...)  then off to the long trip to Amman, Jordan the finally I land in Cairo 27 hours later !...

My always reliable Mohamed will be picking me up at the airport and taking me to my apartment in downtown Cairo and then the adventure begins again!...I can't tell you how excited I am to begin the hunt for the gemstones and charms, the scarves, all the things the wonderful markets in Egypt carry.  I need to hone my negotiating skills!  

I'll be back later tonight or tomorrow morning with more posts and pics....
Ciao everyone !

xoxoxo
Traveling Redheaded Lady

Back to Egypt !!!!!

Here I go again!...off to Egypt once more...!
What started as a long standing dream of traveling to Egypt has become now an integral part of my life.  From that first trip the seed was planted to return and in a few days I'm off again for the 3rd time to Egypt.  The land of the ancient pharaohs, exotic tales and stories and wonderful markets to shop!

This time I'm back not on a vacation trip but on a business trip for the company I started when I came back from that life changing first trip.  This time I'll be meeting with suppliers, manufacturers and vendors, to line up what I need before the holidays.  It will be a hunting expedition for new materials, possible new products to add to our line and new suppliers.

Hmmm will this all fit in 3 suitcases !!

Of course there will always be time to reunite with friends such as Mohamed and his family who have become like my family too. Then there is Mara in Luxor and her beautiful house, simply gorgeous and Samar. Any my wonderful friends in Cairo, Raghda, Mohsen, Tarek and their families.

I'm excited and a little nervous as things have been ....shall we say......active in Egypt??? But I'm really not worried, as I know I have friends that will take care of me and keep me safe.

Ok, now back to packing...let's see I have Mohamed's Magic Jack, Yara's Minnie Mouse outfits, Yousef's car, Raghda's wedding gift, Mohsens...................