Souk Al-Gamaal

[Tribunus]

As you might imagine, Christmas is not that big of an event in Egypt. So I decided to amuse myself by taking a trip to the Cairo Camel Market, which is actually in Birquah, about 40km northwest of Cairo on the edge of the Western Desert.

The camel market is the terminus of what is called the 40 Days Road, which begins in the Darfur region of northwest Sudan and makes its way to Cairo. The 40 Days road was and still is, one of the more famous caravan routes in North Africa. The road and the Cairo market have been in existence for centuries. Goods of all sorts, to include slaves, were transported on the camels to Cairo and then sold, along with the camels which had carried everything.

The slave trade stopped with the arrival of the British in the 1880’s, and the trade goods dried up as more efficient transportation means were developed. So all that remains now of this famous caravan route are the camels. A few are bought to be used as beasts of burden, but most are being purchased for their meat.

The market itself is a sprawling area right on the edge of the desert. The camels are sold at auction, so as you can imagine the place is a riot of sights, sounds and smells. But for all of that, this is a place for conducting business and everyone was focused on the task at hand.

The first order of business is to find an area to herd your camels to. Then they will tie up one of the front legs to keep the camel from wandering off.

Once a convenient spot for the camels is located the, the men go off to drink tea and make the initial arrangements for their auction. The camels are left under the watchful eye of the boys of the family.

The auctions for the smaller dealers usually take place right on the road. The bigger dealers rent court yards where they conduct their deals. Young camels like in picture 12 can cost around $350. Older ones like in picture 13 can run up to $700.

I had really good time at the camel market. I am no longer surprised at how fast you can go from metropolitan Cairo, to a place like this that has a raw and gritty feel to it. You really get the feeling that you’re in a frontier town, with all that it implies. Such as the guy in picture 15, who was just strolling down the road with a shotgun slung over his shoulder.

It was good trip.

[FoolTrottel]

Thanks Tribunus!

Rather strange to see them pictures, at Christmas time, with the snow flakes over the forum pages, and over here, outside, all is white, and its freezing!

Is that hay, or straw on top of those buildings/cabins/huts? Safely stored out of reach of the Camels?

[Kimosabi]

Rode a camel in Turkey once. Fascinating animals and once I figured how to "roll with it", it was pretty relaxing. I don't get seasick though.

[Blairgowrie]

Great pictures Tribunus. Don't see any hamburger stands!.

[Tonar]

Reminds me of when I was young in Riyadh Saudi Arabia.

The camel souk was next to the Mercedes souk.

[T_O_A_D]

Interesting to see, thanks Trib.

Hey did you pick one up?

I could use one for packing around all my Hunting equipment.

[Tribunus]

Thanks Tribunus!

Is that hay, or straw on top of those buildings/cabins/huts? Safely stored out of reach of the Camels?

~S~ FT

You are correct sir. The hay bales are stored on the roof tops to keep the camels from being able to get to it.

Here are a couple of things that everyone needs to know about camels.

First of all, Camels are not domesticated animals.

Camels only pretend to be domesticated, so that they can get close enough to you to bite or kick you.

Secondly, Camels do not spit.

When a camel is under stress, they regurgitate the contents of their stomach. So what you get splattered with is vomit, not spit.

[Tribunus]

Great pictures Tribunus. Don't see any hamburger stands!.

~S~ BG

You are definitely not going to find a hamburger stand out here.

But if you are in a hurry, you can easily get your camel butchered while you wait.

[Tonar]

Those other camels are bummed

[Tribunus]

Those other camels are bummed

None of them were very happy.

[Sweper]

Thanks for sharing Tribunus. Really good pic´s, with a nice atmosphere over it. If it werent for the trucks and lamp-posts, it could have been in the seventeenth century.

[Tribunus]

~S~ Sweper,

Mate, once you get into the rural agricultural areas, it’s more like the 8th century.

They plow their fields using water buffalos to pull the plow, and they irrigate their fields using water wheels powered by donkeys.

Then they haul their crop to market using donkey carts. The only thing that tells you that you are not in the 8th century are the old rubber car tires on their carts.

It’s amazing to see how primitively these people live.

But the weather is great. We were 23C today. Tomorrow and Wednesday we are supposed to be 24C. But they are forecasting cold weather for the upcoming weekend. By Friday they expected it to drop down as low as 19C.

From what I read about the weather you are having there in northern Europe, I’d say that you need to take a winter holiday and come visit me.

[Cold_Gambler]

It's always a great read when you post your Egyptian photo-essays. Thanks, Tribunus!