Tourists and/or Antiquities?

F0llowing our historical fun in Luxor, we took the night train to Cairo.
A constant background presence in Egypt is the Tourist and Antiquities Police (an interesting combination of jurisdictions, especially having seen some of the tour groups here!). As we arrived at Luxor Station, we were spotted as foreigners and ushered politely past the metal detector where all the locals were having their luggage scrutinised. We were duly escorted to the 1st class buffet lounge, and when our train arrived our escort reappeared to make sure we boarded the correct carriage.
Usually we manage to escape their presence as soon as we step off the trodden coach tour path, so when we entered the Cairo Underground Metro system we once again became as inconspicuous as any blond British family travelling the Cairo metro!
We checked in at the children's favourite Windsor Hotel again, and after a wee nap were welcomed back at our favourite local restaurant, Gad.
Suitably refreshed with sweetened freshly squeezed lemon juice and lentil soup with Egyptian bread, we gave the children some Egyptian pounds and set off to Khan el Khalili. This famous Cairean souk, established in 1382 around a caravansary, is a maze of small stores and coffee shops, which now features heavily on the tourist itinerary. The children promptly started haggling for Cleopatra heads, pyramids and sphinxes. I can only hope that their taste improves with age!! Andy and I settled for mint tea at one of the
numerous tea/coffee houses in the bazaar, while the children recovered from their business efforts with even more freshly squeezed juice.
In an interesting twist to the Tourist/Antiquity tale, when Andy tried to send these treasures back to the UK he discovered we would have to pay a 40 quid tax for the privilege, as they were Egyptian antiquities?! As this was way more than the meagre price paid for the assorted plastic and lurid antiques, I'm afraid they are still being lugged around in his back pack.