From Coptic Cairo to the Pyramids of Giza, Cairo is a total must-visit city.
Anticipating the long weekend, my friends I met in Istanbul while studying abroad and I bought cheap tickets to fly to Cairo, Egypt—my first trip outside Turkey since arriving in January. A lot of people I know have been scared off visiting Egypt due tofear-mongering about scams, but I’ve tried not to let those biases get to me since people also warned me against coming to Turkey. That said, I still think it’s important to stay safe no matter where you go.
However, as a student travelling on a budget, Egypt was nothing short of delightful. Filled with sunshine, history, and delicious eats, Egypt offered me many new insights. It was different than any country I’d ever been to before—a medley of heat, history, rich culture and enduring hospitality accompanied by a dark underbelly of poverty.
As the plane rattled into Cairo, a baby began to cry—a common annoyance and source of complaints on North American flights. I have permanent baby fever and am therefore never bothered, but I was surprised to see the Egyptian men around me breaking into grins, each taking turns waving their hands and making faces to soothe the infant.
This warmth and emotional intimacy from men is something I noticed upon landing in Cairo . I frequently saw men holding each other’s arms to cross the road, playing games face-to-face, and clutching their hearts while speaking to one another. The physical touch between men was a stark contrast to what I’m used to in Canada, where if you see two men holding hands, it’s assumed they’re a romantic couple rather than close-knit friends. The idea of being perceived as homosexual may be what makes straight men in Canada uncomfortable with the idea of physical closeness between friends.
Casual physical exchanges between men aren’t something I commonly witness in Canada, so this was refreshing to see in Cairo. Perhaps men in North America would feel less lonely if they were with one another and increasingly open to friendships.
I also don’t think I properly understood noise and heat until Cairo. They were both phenomenon’s that I would ively acknowledge in my day-to-day life, but in Cairo, noise and heat battled for my full attention.
As my friends and I sat outside a restaurant on our first night eating koshari—Egypt’s national dish of lentils, rice, chickpeas, and pasta—I paused to take in the sounds around me. There were dogs barking, pots clanging, and the cars on the roads communicating in their own language of constant honks. I’ve realized Cairo is truly a city that never sleeps, always pulsating with noise and activity.
As a Canadian girl, I’m used to cold weather—I don’t love it, I manage it—but Cairo exists on the opposite side of the weather spectrum. Reaching 45 degrees Celsius during our trip, Cairo’s heat is oppressively hot and almost seems to sit on you.
During our stay, we visited The Great Pyramids of Giza, and given that I’m a history nerd, it was a dream come true. To see the pyramids that I’d read about and gazed at in awe since early childhood was a surreal experience. As we traipsed to the edge of the Sahara Desert and slithered up ramp stairs into the pyramids, I was so hot I thought I was going to out. I often had to keep my head down because it was too bright to look up, especially with the sun reflecting off the gleaming sand.
If Cairo were a colour, it would be beige. The buildings—from old castle walls to newer homes—all blend together in a cohesive smear of light brown sandstone and limestone. This became clear upon visiting the Cairo Citadel, where city sprawled before me in a jumble of tans and chestnut browns.
After a weekend flurry of mosques, museums, churches, and ta’ameya (Egyptian falafel), the weekend ended.
On the taxi ride back to the airport, I found myself lost in that familiar drift of reflection that taxis seem to invite. I realized then that traveling only to places that feel like home—places that never push against your comfort zone —dulls the very essence of what travel should be: a pursuit of wonder, enrichment , and the unfamiliar.
ﺷﻜﺮﺍﹰ, Egypt! Until next time.
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