We took a long walk after school Wednesday through an area called Bakose. This area features a very active open market section where one could buy nearly anything. One butcher shop we walked by had cow hoofs hanging outside the shop as well as other parts of cows that one would not easily identify as edible. We spoke with one of our long time staff afterwards and he said a real delicacy is spine marrow from a cow. He also said that “cow’s head” was a real treat. Both of us thought back to our days growing up on farms with our cows and got a little squeamish about that one!
Alexandria is in the midst of a major public works project – replacing city sidewalks – especially in heavily traffic areas. This project is carried out much differently than in the states. Most of the work is done by hand. Sidewalks here are usually in blocks (a foot square) and laid like one would lay a tile floor. So when they are replaced, the old pieces are broken up and laid on the side of the street. The city takes a while to pick those up, allowing any resident to come by and take what they want first. Piles of sand are placed along the curbs and then the work begins by hand. Workers actually mix a base to put down before laying the new blocks in piece by piece. Obviously it takes a while to complete the project but time is really never an issue here.
Thursday evening, eleven of us went on another “Grill Club” outing to a restaurant in Green Plaza to eat. One of their specialties is pigeon. The local staff says it is a real tasty – so Denny tried it. Both Pat and I weren’t as adventuresome so we had grilled chicken. Denny had a little skin but not much meat at all. There wasn’t much there so Pat gave him a little chicken. This will probably be the last Grill Club outing of the year – we have really enjoyed them as it gives us time to socialize with the local staff in a non-work setting. The local staff here is very warm and open to sharing their culture with us. Next weekend several local staff have organized a trip to some of the oldest monasteries in Egypt. We are very anxious to go.
Saturday we accompanied Denny downtown on his trip to the dentist. We took the tram from school. On the way back, we took several pictures of the neighborhood. We always ask people if we can take their picture and most of the time, they really enjoy it and love to see it afterwards In today’s entry are three photos, one of Pat with our pharmacist, one of me with in the shop where we usually buy our water (right behind our apartment) and one of the famous “Chicken Man” open grill on Schutz Street.
