What a disappointment - no foreign spirits of any sort, and only one brand of Egyptian whiskey. LE 55 is a good price for this, but I decided to try Karnak again.
This time we parked at the temple ticket office and I took the longer walk to the DF near the corniche. Of course all the traders recognised and greeted me like a long-lost friend, but they were polite and did not hassle me. At the DF there was again to Scotch Whisky, but I was able to find other western spirits - Bacardi, Smirnoff, Gordons, Woods, etc. It was only a matter of selecting from this limited choice. Memo to self - next time visit the airport DF on arrival.
And so to Sindbads. The board announcing ice-cold Stella at LE 10 (plus tax and service) is not there, and beer is not officially available owing to some "problems". I suspect that this is a licensing matter. But being recognised as a regular I was able to obtain my favourite tipple, the bottle being removed from view. The price has increased to LE13 + tax & service (up from LE10), so LE16 in round terms. Friends of mine report that there had been no Stella here for a few weeks so I guess I was fortunate. As usual, all the world and his son were looking to change foreign currency - I don't know why they congregate here, and I find it somewhat annoying. Also the newspaper touts and operators of the nearby shop and bookstall were looking for my business. As you can see, below, they have trimmed the trees at the front of Sindbad, opening up the view of Luxor Temple.
Very few birds around today, so I offer this distant view of a hooded crow or jackdaw.
In the evening I dined at Cinnamon Kitchen, a very new restaurant opposite el-Mesala hotel. Very good, very keenly priced. I have submitted a review to tripadvisor, and will post one here in a later blog. I'm closing today's posting as it is getting too warm and I need to move out of the sun!