Egyptian Gymnastics Federation President ‘Bebo’ took some of the foreigners out to Khan el-Khalili (Arabic: خان الخليلي‎),  a major souk in the Islamic district of Cairo.

We sipped mint tea and bubbled shisha  at the same table where Putin and Saddam Hussein once sat.

Before I traveled to Egypt in 1994 all I knew about the nation was Naguib Mahfouz‘s novel Midaq Alley (1947) set in an alley in Khan el-Khalili.

 

Dinner was exactly my style. A tiny side street local joint with paper table cloths and feral cats waiting for leftovers.

First course was rice stuffed pigeon!