Bones turned to look at Alan. "Long time no see, Alan. It's been a few years, and I almost didn't recognize you."
"I've just grown a bit taller. You, on the other hand, Mr. Bones, are still as energetic as ever," Alan said with a smile.
"Don't call me Professor. I left Hogwarts years ago, and you're an adult now. Just call me Edgar," Bones said, patting Alan on the shoulder in appreciation.
"You are my mentor, after all. Even after graduation, that remains true. I'll still address you as Mr. Bones," Alan replied politely.
Bones nodded indifferently, then noticed the young husky at his feet. "Eh? Why did you bring a dog abroad? It looks quite cute." He crouched down, preparing to scratch Hog's head, but the wolf nimbly dodged. Hog had no desire to be fondled by this bearded man.
"Sorry, Hog has a bit of a temper. I was afraid that if I didn't bring him along, my furniture would be chewed to pieces," Alan replied helplessly. He gave the husky a nudge with his foot, and only then did Hog reluctantly lean his head forward to let Bones ruffle it.
"You traveled a long way by Portkey, so you're probably not feeling great. I'd better take you to your accommodation first," Bones said, standing up after playing with Hog for a while. He led the way, guiding everyone out of the alley.
Once they emerged, the view suddenly opened up. The surroundings were bustling with pedestrians, all of whom were wizards. Most were dressed in Arabic clothing similar to Bones's, while many wore standard wizard robes. There were also figures with exotic flair; a group of wizards not far away were bare-chested, with necklaces made of animal teeth hanging around their necks.
"This is Cairo's most prosperous wizarding district, called Karahei Bazaar. Its function is similar to Diagon Alley, but because of the International Alchemy Conference, many foreign wizards are visiting. Once you've settled in, you can come back for a look," Bones introduced, gesturing toward the street.
Everyone suddenly realized why the Portkey's arrival point was set in the city. Usually, to avoid discovery by Muggles, arrival points are set in remote areas, but this was a dedicated wizarding district.
With Bones's introduction, the group, including Alan, began to look around with excitement. Like Diagon Alley, this was a bustling pedestrian street, but the architectural style was Arabic. The buildings were generally low, with exquisite hollowed-out patterns on walls and windows, and the ground was paved with mud bricks.
Unlike Diagon Alley, where each shop occupies a building, the shops here were more like street stalls. Each stall was slightly elevated on a wooden or stone platform, usually separated by beautifully crafted carpets. Some didn't even have partitions, merely spacing to indicate they were separate. Above the stalls, these wizards usually held up huge umbrellas or white linen to shield themselves from the sun.
Inside each stall, a wizard sat cross-legged and barefoot on a flying carpet. When a customer approached, they would maneuver the carpet forward to greet them. In the center of the street was a circular open-air plaza with rows of stalls distributed in an arc. From above, it looked like concentric circles with a road running through the middle.
The items sold were varied. Some stalls sold flying carpets; they stacked over a dozen directly on the platform, each floating above the other, reaching one or two stories high. Others sold weather carpets. Like selling curtains, they spread them out one by one around the stall. Carpets representing winter emitted cold air, those for extreme heat radiated waves of warmth, and those for thunderstorms featured lightning and rain on the surface.
Service shops like bars, restaurants, and cold drink shops were located in the buildings behind the stalls. Naturally, there was a bank run by goblins. On one side of the plaza stood a three-story domed building, but the dome was crooked. This reminded Alan of the tilted Gringotts in Diagon Alley; the aesthetics of goblins were truly unfathomable.
There were many stalls selling herbs, potions, clothing, and even animals, all displayed openly. However, this habit had a downside: the odors of various herbs and animals wafted out directly. This mixture was a bit hard for the newcomers to accept.
Alan noticed an extremely large number of stalls selling alchemy tools. Nearly half of the stalls on the entire street were dedicated to alchemy. Besides the regional specialties like flying and weather carpets, there were shops for Sneakoscopes, magic toys, cameras, and even kitchenware. He also saw a stall filled with various alchemy carving knives; it was clearly a specialty shop, and business was booming.
This was much better than in Britain. He had once seen a set of basic carving knives in Hogsmeade that were covered in dust. *This place is simply a paradise for alchemists,* Alan sighed inwardly.
Seeing these stalls sparked Alan's desire to shop, especially for a new set of knives. The ones he used were the same ones Bones had bought him years ago. However, he knew he couldn't rush. Stopping now would mean falling behind the group. With deep reluctance, Alan followed Bones out of Karahei Bazaar.
The way this place connected to the Muggle area was different from Diagon Alley. After passing through a circular arch at the end of the road, they exited the market. Alan sensed a very strong magical reaction around the arch. The Confusion Spells and Shield Charms were twice as strong as those at the Leaky Cauldron. This was likely why they dared to leave the gates so openly; the protection was formidable.