December 12 -- Opera, Musum, Cocktail and Music (Lou)

Previous Egypt excursions focused on ancient history visiting exciting places like the Pyramids or Valley of the Kings.  This Cairo only trip earned the moniker Valley of the Crowns as it was essentially paid for by the dentist visit it was planned around, and Roger's whitening sessions as well.  Scheduling as noted earlier has its challenges but we were off and running this morning once Roger's last dentist visit ended.  

With the list of last appointments in hand, we planned which evenings ahead were free, then headed to the Opera ticket office to discover musical events that would catch our attention.  This sort of thing should be easy to do online but to sum up up the Cairene online experience: it is not.  Catching a subway to the Opera complex and pantomiming through selections and ticketing however, is.  There appears to be some sort of arts network, perhaps state run, where tickets to venues outside of the actual opera complex itself are only available, two of which are within easy walking distance.  We snagged performance tickets focused on Arabic music then, headed over to the outdoor cafe for a "white" lunch.  Rogers teeth whitening regimen called for a 72 hour period where he could only imbibe white food and drink and that does not mean coffee con leche.  Tiring of plain water with meals, he discovered that the 7UP sold here is not as sweet as in the US, so we both ordered what was called a Potato Sandwich, Plain Yogurt, and 7UP.  The potato sandwich turned out to be french fries served on a bun, and the plain yogurt turned out to be a light and delicate drink, akin to a smoothie.  Who knew.  It was a lovely al fresco lunch in a topiary garden under an amazingly blue sky.

Before we ventured out, it poured.  Rain was predicted, but this was more a downpour of epic proportions.  We're used to walking under slightly hazy skies here in the bustling city but a fast passing front made our walk from the over the Nile from the Opera complex across the July 26 bridge under brilliant bright blue skies extra pleasant.  Soon we were in Tahrir Square, across which was our second destination of the day, the Egyptian Museum.

Under no pressure to see Everything, we split up to seek out exhibits we'd hoped to rediscover.  Roger focused on Old Period portraits while I hoped to find an odd combination of common everyday life objects followed by the Hellenistic period sculpture hall.  Aside from its fabulous treasures, the Museum is a time capsule in itself.  Opened in 1902, it was a precedent setting museum structure that hasn't changed a lick since its opening, other than to be stuffed to the gills with more and more recent finds.  The GEM, Grand Egyptian Museum being built out in the desert near the pyramids was designed to take in all those recent finds and much more. Roger astutely speculated over that moves impact might have here on downtown as other than being on the Nile, major hotels might leave for Giza, since most tourists these days travel in organized groups.  The GEM may ultimately supplant this grand old place as stacked moving crates and empty vitrines imply.  To me though, it will remain the real gem and I'll easily visit it several more times before heading home.

With the Windsor no longer available to us let alone it's martinis, we ambled over to Ritz Carlton's terrace bar for "white" cocktails before Rogers longed for fondue dinner with it's "white" cheeses.  Though sounding very Warholesque, both were lovely treats and left enough time for a pre-concert nap.

Our evenings program suggested an Arabic ensemble which, as the curtains rising revealed to our delight, a 48 piece orchestral and choral group and as the concert progressed, featured 6 different soloists.  The soloists ran the gamut from adequate to good and the familiar popular songs had the audience engaged, often clapping along to the beat.  Alas, while really enjoying the pre-intermission portion, the rest of the presentation seemed ever so slightly long, and the clock showed it as well, though the Qanun solo was rather dazzling.  It feels unfair to suggest it was an average concert what with how little we know about Arabic music but last year we went to several concerts that felt extraordinary.  Perhaps tomorrows concert will be more of a delight..