Podcast Cairo Fill in the blanks. 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 markets. And in Cairo, all the streets are a market. Yes, there are lots of stores where you can buy . And when we were in Cairo, it was the orange season, so there were loads of oranges for sale, very and very cheap too. And there's one street that we found that sells only shoes, hundreds of shoes. Not just shoes but , sandals, , everything for your feet. Richard, are all these shoes new or second hand? I think you can get new ones, ones or even you can get them made new. I really like the markets which sell dried herbs and . 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 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 . And you can buy everything here, can't you? Hand-made carpets, vases, tables, coffee pots. Yes also of course statues of the , camels, pictures and lots of small wooden boxes. And glassware, lamps plus gold and silver . 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. Vocabulary In the text, you have a lot of words referring to shoes (boots, sandals, slippers). Can you find other words? Look up all the words you don't understand in a dictionary and learn them by heart! They're all very useful! Essay Have you ever been to Egypt? If you have, tell in five sentences what it was like. If you have not, tell me if you would like to be there and why.
