“Bikya! Bikya, bikya, bikyaaa! Beeeekya, bikya, bikya, bikyaaaa!”
It goes on for most of the day, the calls varying in intensity and persistence, but always with the quality of stirring Cairo’s kitty population.
When we first heard them, we thought it was an Egyptian-variety Hadeda.
But these weren’t birds, rather men in bakkies or carts looking for old things to buy.
Zakiya and Zaheer told us about them when we first got here. She said it sounded like they were calling out her name. I can’t disagree:)
Clicking through wikipedia and blogs, I learnt that bikya is taken from the Italian roba vecchia – “old clothes”. Egypt has had Italian presence since the Middle Ages and the ‘clothes’ bit has since evolved to include anything that could be re-used. I can imagine the tenacity and resilience of the bikya call puncturing the waking dreams of generations upon generations.
Still, it’s a pretty cool way to upcyle your clutter.
Naeem’s been looking at classified plug-ins for some of his wordpress blogs and tossed the idea of a book swop/sale listing at me. Not even a few seconds into the install when what should we hear from the streets below but the universe speaking to us in the strong and clear directives of “Bikyaaaa Bikya, bikya, bikyaaa!”
So with that, I bring you “Books&Bikya“, a free space for you to list:
- book/bikya swaps
- book/bikya sales
- pre-loved books/bikya to pass on to others
- interesting things you’re looking for
- crafty things
- upcycling initiatives
- book club/thinky meet ups
- events
De-clutter. Share. Upcycle. Make a clean buck. Make good clean friends. Get creative. Be thinky.
See what I've pinned
In gujarati BIK means charity
I didn’t know that:) Perfect.
I think your digital goings-on are the niftyness, and i hope ye bikyerthinger works out well:) I’ll be keepin my beady lil eyes onnit:)
Thanks Sham:)
Your own digital wonderessness ain’t exactly bikya, but it could be crafty yes?