To make amends he put me in the driver's seat coming back, but I'm sure the horse could not appreciate the gesture.
Incidentally, striking up a conversation with a regular car cab driver usually is no big thing in major tourist sites. However, speaking with tourists had been strictly verboten before the Jan. 25 Egyptian revolution. Police would stop any exchange observed. If anyone was found to have said anything against the authorities, stark punishment could follow. Conversation consisted of guarded generalities. Now they can have opinions and can't wait to express them.