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Climbing from the cab late on Saturday afternoon, dust whirled against storefronts and around dirt parking lots and sidewalk.
From this brown and dusty haze emerged a little girl in a bright pastel party dress. My translator asked if I wanted to take a picture, and, as I was saying no, he walked over and asked her mom. The mom smiled, the girl posed, and I took a picture and immediately showed them.
 Robert Johnson/Business Insider |
Next stop, following encouragement from my translator, was an Egyptian barber shop for my first-ever straight razor shave.
Five pounds for Egyptians, I was asked to pay 10 EGP, which is about a buck-fifty. Full-face and ear threading service was an added surprise.
The barber had taken over the shop when his father died in 1988 and still worked beneath the man's photo nearly every day of the year.
I learned that my translator's father was also a barber in the area, as are his brothers. He explained that the position is held in very high esteem throughout the less privileged parts of Cairo. It's important, he said, that when families don't have much they take real joy in looking their best and coming together to share time with one another.
When the barber was done, he beamed with pride and bragged about his expertise and renown.
 Robert Johnson/Business Insider |
 Robert Johnson/Business Insider |
 Robert Johnson/Business Insider |
When we were done, there was no stopping my guide's hunt for a favorite local meal. We sat down plates of meat I asked him not to explain (I recognized one as sheep head, as I'd seen it on "Amazing Race").
We sat with two 23-year-olds living at home with their parents. One had an IT degree and had just found a job following a 12-month search working in a cell phone call center.
All three of them had college degrees and all of them longed to put them to use, anyplace they could, though local jobs are limited and Egyptians face a high barrier to travel outside the country.
 Robert Johnson/Business Insider |
 Robert Johnson/Business Insider |
Finally, here's a picture of a striking workshop I found after trying to track down a strange noise.
"Why would I need a mask?" this man asked after we inquired.
 Robert Johnson/Business Insider |