The streets of Cairo are a very different world to the world that most of us antipodeans are used to. There can be no doubt that here I am somewhere that is delightfully exotic.

So far, in this blog, I guess I have been somewhat “retentive” about the traffic here. But putting the motor vehicles aside for a moment, what is unique to Cairo?

It depends on where you are. I took a long walk on last Friday night (remember that is equivalent to our Saturday night). I walked to the bridge near the Sheraton, across to the island, Zamalek (Zam-mar-leck), past the Opera House and across the second bridge over the Nile to what is referred to as “downtown”. Probably the most notable feature here, apart from some very flash hotels (Nile and Ramses Hiltons, and the Intercontinental), is the imposing presence of the Egyptian Museum of Antiquities. A massive pinkish domed structure, it houses the mummies and treasures of the Pharaohs (including Tut Ankh Aman’s trove) that have not been previously plundered from Egypt. It is a work of art in itself that oozes some sort of “Indiana Jones”-like charm. It has a delightful garden at its entrance but a much wider space in front of it is now a vacant construction site. I am told the non-air-conditioned space is hot and not the best for tourists or treasures and a new museum is under way – but it would be sad to see this old institution not being “the” museum.

The downtown area has the feel of being designed to be a London or Paris. It contains a number of road junctions that see six or seven roads coming together, with “pie-slice” buildings fronting these roundabouts, some centred with fez-ed, bronzed “pigeon stands” of clearly famous Egyptians of yesteryear that mean nothing to me. I certainly had the feeling that I was in the central part of a European city.

Downtown is a major shopping centre – some mall-like spaces within buildings but mostly, for Cairo, wide footpaths and shops with windows and entrances that are more familiar to us. These tend to be specialist shops that congregate in areas. So there will be store after store of ladies shoes, then children’s clothing, then menswear. I am assured that the choice of menswear is better than ladies clothes here – and there will be a number of reasons for that. I (again) became a little disoriented in the walk in and took a wrong turn that saw me in the “automotive repairs and parts” area. This had plenty of small shops with various parts, some aligned to just one or two brand names – Fiat, Peugeot etc.

Add to the normal shops, a bevy of temporary stands and of goods laid out on the footpaths and side streets and you have something, a little like our weekend markets, but more essentially Cairo. These small vendors will generally be “themed” also. So you will see laid out an amazing array of headscarves, for instance. Further on, a similarly wide display of bed linen. This is more like the souks or bazaars we have come to expect. I am not sure if these vendors are licensed or if they just set up but they seem a very acceptable part of the fabric of life here.

What do the people look like? Well, they certainly look Egyptian but most of the men are in western-style dress. A smaller proportion will wear the traditional long, loose garment (galabiya – no doubt the wrong spelling), usually along with a scarf tied around the head and/or draped over the shoulders. The fez is no longer in fashion – it is more something that will be worn by a hotel waiter or by a doorman outside a large hotel.

The situation with the women is probably reversed with western dress as we know it relatively rare. In keeping with the notion of modesty, teenage girls and older will wear long dresses and long-sleeved tops covering all but their hands. The vast majority will also wear scarves that cover all of their hair – the hijab. A few, wear the black garments more common in the Arabian Peninsula countries with a veil covering the face except for the eyes, and some also wear black gloves.

So, I presume the ladies clothing shops are obviously restricted in demand for a range of clothing types. The younger women will wear jeans and more trendy clothes so I guess there must be outlets for them.

Again, given the local standards for modest behaviour, there is little affection shown in public between men and women. Young couples walk hand in hand along the Corniche on a Friday night and some will slip an arm on a shoulder or waist but this is regarded as “poor form”. My English-language paper has run a series of articles and letters to the editor about the decline of moral standards. Yet there has been a lengthy and heated debate here about veils on women.

In contrast, for both women and men, rather more affection is shown between same sex friends who will commonly walk along arm in arm or hand in hand. I have not noticed particular greetings between women but men have a range of greetings dependent upon the closeness of the association. Formal meetings between strangers (such as I have) involve a standard “how do you do” and a handshake, much like that in Australia – except the style here is much gentler than in Australia and I have to remind myself not to squeeze “as is my wont”.

You can tell when friends meet because that handshake starts some distance away with the hands coming together from the side with a slap and then a shake. And really good friends, old friends, will greet with kisses. Something like the continental kiss but these tend to be much more audible. Such behaviour is not seen in Australia expect within certain sub-cultures, so it is clearly a difference.

I have mentioned the sweet potato roasters previously but there are also other vendors operating from barrows and stalls. There are sweet corn cookers. There are bread sellers with their puffy loaves on wooden frames, and sellers of what looks rather like a bagel – a ring with a bar across it, all hung out on a frame with wooden “dowels”.

And, of course there is the Nile and the work and entertainment that go on there. The fishers trolling lines behind their small boats as their wives row earnestly; the net fishermen; and the rod fisherman from the banks. And there are all sorts of cruise boats from the very large and permanently parked on the banks to smaller cruise boats with their bright coloured lights and music blaring out. Old-style horse-drawn taxis taut for work beside the Corniche and it is not just tourists who make use of them.

The scene is delightful as the sun sinks over Giza and the lights begin to stand out in the twilight, reflecting from the blackness of the Nile. Add to that the evening call to prayer and you have the quintessential Cairo.

In a week I will be joined by my darling wife and I will be showing her, in person, some of what I have seen on the streets of Cairo.