Egypt : Asfour...

Asfour...

The next morning, we got ready by 8.30 am and started our journey to Asfour Crystals, just outside Cairo around 9 am. The journey took about 30 to 45 minutes. FYI, Asfour operates from 8 am - 8 pm.

On my way there, I saw how big Cairo really is. Can you believe that there's 25 million people in Cairo itself? The whole of Malaysia's only 26 - 28 million. The roads are modern, where in certain places there's a three-tier elevated highways. The roads were certainly busy with a die-hard attitude from most drivers, including our own...hehehe. Here, the doa for boarding a vehicle is a must, not a recommendation :)

When we arrived at Asfour, I made my way in with a skip and a hop in my mind...hehehe. After the security check at the entrance, I entered Asfour. FYI, Asfour crystals is one of the famous producer of crystals in the world. They're most famous for their chandeliers and some of our mosques in Malaysia are graced by Asfour crystals. I went in and I gawked...hehehe

Look at all those cystals...

Actually, I must confess that I didn't take pictures in the beginning. Most of the pictures here were taken after I've made my selection...hehehe. The system there was quite systematic, like when we shop in Argos or even Ikea for bigger items. You're given a card and a pencil, you just need to choose and write down the item. Later, you pay for your items at the counter at the back and pick your items at another counter on your way out. Simple and effective :)

Customers were given the pleasure of walking around the showroom, unassisted and most importantly 'unbothered' by sales assistants. The showroom was quite huge, with varieties of chandeliers overhead and arrays upon arrays of shiny crystals in many colours and forms in cabinets all over the place.

At first, I didn't know where to lay my eyes... up or down...hehehe. I craned my neck trying to look at the chandeliers, but since I didn't plan to buy any, I trained my eyes just looking at those items in the cabinets. Some were a bit too expensive for our budget, so I kept on walking around. I just chose a few small items and started looking for items 'ordered' by Kak Shidah and Kak Adik.

Kak Adik wanted two aeroplanes while Kak Shidah asked for the 'grapes' lamp. I found Kak Shidah's lamp upstairs and got interested in a modern chandelier. When the assistant switched on the lights, I was captivated... truly, truly hooked. But the problem was, the items I wanted were not in stock. It would take about 25 days to arrive...sigh. So, we decided to just buy the small items in our list.

How they made the cystals...

Asfour employed more than 28,000 skilled workers...

Can go 'crazy' in here...hehehe

A traditional Egyptian boat...

Up close...

Hadi loved this... underwater world...

Beautiful crystal flowers...

Colourful...

Dangling chandeliers...

Beautiful...

One view...

Another angle...

I'm sure you're wondering why I took the pictures of the toilet...hehehe. I just want to show you one of the cleanest toilet in Cairo. If you want to 'go', you'd better do it here. Not only Asfour provide you with clean toilets, but they also provide you with a musolla too. So, you do not need to worry about missing your prayers over there :)