Blue hotel on lonely highway...Blue hotel that don't work out my way ...aaaaaa

Friday noon, listening to NileFM Flashback Cafe. All their dj's sound like Downtown Jule Brown, and mideast accents are not heard. Lots of DuranDuran. As for other radio, before coming I planned to buy some Um Kulsum--never got the chance. When I arrived I found her on the radio constantly. At first it was charming - Um Kulsum and Naguib Mahfouz everywhere - now...

First Friday I've been in Cairo awake before 3pm. When I went outside for cake I found almost all the shops closed. The sidestreet had turned into a mosque, carpets on the ground, cars pushed back, and 100 men sitting crosslegged facing an empty shop being used as a preacher's dais. Some were praying, latecomers I imagine, but most listened to the preacher's amplified voice. He was giving quite a sermon.