Podcast Cairo (transcription) For this week's podcast on English.com, we're talking about our trip to Cairo. When we arrive in a new place, the first thing we like to do is visit the street markets. And in Cairo, all the streets are a market. Yes, there are lots of stores where you can buy fruit and vegetables. And when we were in Cairo, it was the orange season, so there were loads of oranges for sale, very tasty and very cheap too. And there's one street that we found that sells only shoes, hundreds of shoes. Not just shoes but boots, sandals, slippers, everything for your feet. Richard, are all these shoes new or second hand? I think you can get new ones, second-hand ones or even you can get them made new. I really like the markets which sell dried herbs and spices. Along the streets, which are usually very narrow, there are huge open sacks of herbs and spices, it always smells really nice. There's cinnamon, cumin, all sorts of peppers, dried flowers, tea, nuts. Yes, and many things we don't even know the names of. But for the tourists, I think that the most popular market is the Khan Ali-Kalili bazaar and it's not difficult to see why. Because as well as loads of shops with lots of interesting little trinkets, the backdrop is of some very, very old buildings, mainly old mosques over five hundred years old. How many mosques are there Richard in that area? Oh I don't know, there must be hundreds. Hundreds? Yes, I think so. There's one at every street corner. And they're all beautiful? Fantastic, they're all really, really nicely carved and … I think the oldest are from eleven hundred and even most recent ones are very ornate up until the twelfth century. And you can buy everything here, can't you? Hand-made carpets, vases, tables, coffee pots. Yes also of course statues of the pyramids, camels, pictures and lots of small wooden boxes. And glassware, lamps plus gold and silver jewelry. Yes and also the streets are full of people all pushing, pulling and carrying things. Yes and I love the guys on their bikes who cycle along with trays of fresh bread on their heads, it's great.
