Masouf Street

No prizes for gussing where I am - the picture shows me with a couple of delegates from our current course at Giza yesterday. Today I was wandering the back streets of Cairo, where I came across Masouf Street. This is one of those streets that provides a reminder that not everywhere is the same as western Europe - practically every shop specialised in bearings - mainly SKF and FAG (arch competitors in the same shop). At the other end of the street all the shops, which were little more than lock ups, were car dismantling and repair shops. How they all survive is a good question - though maybe it is because of Cairo driving. I have never heard the expression as scary as a Cairo taxi ride, but I would like to stake a claim if it is new. How I have not seen an accident I will never know. The way they manage to make 5 lanes out of a 3 lane highway is a wonder.

Eqyptian civilisation is 5000 years old at least, and appears to have spent most of this time perfecting the hard sell. I am considering sending my negotiation course delegates out on the street with 10 pounds and telling them to get some practice in haggling!