4 years of happiness, swimming at will in our
compound, overlooking the Black Sea, a sight breathtaking to any visitor.
And then, in the blink of a move, visiting
stopped and the lights that had once burnt with panache were extinguished at
the sound of the new destination: the dreadful Cairo.
What would we do, if you, my dear friends,
would come and visit?
Well, you would have to embrace the cultural
impact, because unlike the lovely comfort of Europe, there are several things
that will certainly upset you.
Indeed, the roads here and the driving
culture are horrendous, all around Egypt. We could sit and argue about it until
the end of time, yet there is nothing we can do. So, as you would arrive at
Cairo airport, stepping out of the baggage gate, and once you have crossed the
innumerous amount of concerned taxi drivers offering you a taxi, you will
probably find Ahmed, or Mahmoud, or Ashraf, the drivers we use daily. They will
be expecting you at the door with your name on the sign and I trust they will
take good care of you until you reach my home, after about an hour (Inshallah)
from the airport. On your way back, Cairo will reveal itself to you, with all
his sandy coloured buildings and welded wires sticking out - its garbage laying
around, where the donkeys share the highways with cars and mini buses and you
might catch a glimpse of Khufu, my redeemer.
Once you arrive, we shall relax and enjoy the
tranquil and quiet welcoming party that my Buls will throw you and we will
discuss your first impressions.
A good plan would be to visit Giza, as a
starting point. After a thirty minutes taxi ride, we could enter the belly of
Khufu and descend into several other tombs or stare at the Riddler eyes
together. You will like that, it would give you awe, for a few minutes but those
are precious. If we are lucky, we will be followed around by a bunch of local
children, wearing the most colourful garments and curious to hear your name,
eager for you to photograph them with their friends.
The best suggestion is to come for 2 weeks,
so that we can organise a 5 days Nile Cruise for you, which would be very
enjoyable, since most tourists have deserted Upper Egypt (with the exceptions
of the birds, who have nested every temple's wall, singing in unison) and most
of them will be empty, for your full appreciation.
And after your visit, why don't we plan a
brunch in the desert, near Saqqara, the first pyramid ever built! You may meet Hossam,
who has the most amazing smiling wrinkles ever granted to a man's face.
I would insist we visit Mokattam, in other
words Garbage city. You will need to prepare yourself to witness another level
of living, another mean to an end and welcome the brightest smiles. We would
visit the Association of Protection for the Environment, the training areas,
the recycling units, the sorting out, the shops where your money supports a
group of working ladies, and their education. As we exit the Zabaleen area, it
is a sense of satisfaction that will wrap itself around you, for agreeing to
leave the comfort of your first world and discovering how things work here in
Egypt, in an unpatronising way.
If you wanted to, Dahab and the Rea Sea would
also be on our agenda, for you to feel the weightlessness and the quietness
that your whole soul can experience under water; I would recommend a sunrise or
sunset dive in the Canyon, for you to see another beauty of this country.
Once we have experienced the liquid element,
a night in the whale bone desert would be a wonderful addition, to reflect
under a sky lit with stars at the incredible signification of our lives on the
planet and how little time Chronos has granted us.
But would you like this, my dear friends?
To dwell in garbage to fully appreciate what
you have? To be stuck in traffic and fear for your lives during some rides? To
be unsure of the possibility of Health care emergency services, as the pace of
this country is unknown, even to its own people? To experience the third world
inconvenience of power cuts, water shortage and internet complete unreliability?
The incredible frustration of not being able to read or make sense of the
language? The frequent reminder that you are a foreigner, by the way people lay
their eyes on you or try to get to your money?
My friends, how would you have reacted when I
saw a little boy's leg being slashed by a rope that was supposed to mark the
streets (that are being destroyed and rebuild in front of my compound) and was
pulled away violently by a car?
Will you judge us for having agreed to come
here and stay, returning to your safe heavens, pitying us?
So, how's life in Cairo? Why don't you come
and see for yourself...!
