Korba

Korba is a burst of excitement. Great cafes and shopping. Beautiful and elegant architectural style (almost reminds me of Jaipur the "pink city" of Rajasthan). With the proximity of the presidential palace it has also been transformed and back again into a small war zone of barbed wire and barricades and rows of gunmen to a return to the usual cacophony of daily sights and sounds of life in Cairo

Buying Clothes for Eid

Every Eid, Egyptians go shopping ahead of time to have new clothes to wear for the holiday. It is also a chance to do an annual (or bi-annual if you do it for both Eids) "spring-cleaning", getting out with the old and in with the new, not just clothing, but bedsheets, towels, etc. The below are scenes from downtown Cairo Pre-Eid Shopping.

Window shopping

In Egypt, they take window shopping seriously, as you can see from the below storefronts.

Maybe a bit hard to see with the photo minimized,
but these are shoes on display (click to enlarge photo)

Fabulous Tailors

I always love going to these open shops in Egypt full of piles and piles of fabric and sometimes a sewing machine halfway into the street. You can get your curtains sewn, buy cushions for your sofa, fix broken zippers, reupholster all of your furniture - or at other tailors, have entire suits and evening gowns made, wedding dresses, or just get your pants hemmed. I've even seen one that sews "imported hair" together to make ladies wigs. It's easy, its inexpensive, often its quite nicely done.

Fabric/sewing shop in Heliopolis.
Note the stacks of cushions for outdoor patio furniture.
I had some made for my balcony.