El-Qahira... (Cairo)

Six years ago I was in Cairo for my 21st birthday. It was the first weekend of MESP, everything was still new and I was bright eyed and eager. Six years later I was back for my 27th birthday-- still bright eyed and eager, but full of the sweet goodness of familiarity and return.

Mike and I walked around Zamalek- down familiar streets finding my old flat and numerous other landmarks... the ice cream shop, the book shop, the funny little itallian al dente place, coffee shops, the ruzz b'leben place...

looking up at my old flat...

We found several cool spots along the way to stop at for mango smoothies... books... pizza.... and ended up on a nice patch of grass at the Marriott- which was lovely spot just to chill and chat. Good conversations... We met up with the rest of the gang later at this crazy shisha place that was going strong into the wee hours of the morning... Ahhh Cairo- where it bustles at 1:00 in the morning like its 8 am rush hour. The city does not sleep!

So Cairo- hot- but heat thats infused with the grit of the city, the exhaust and dust- so that it coats you and makes you feel like a sticky, slobbery mess even though somehow you know its not as hot as all that... the flame trees were beautiful- striking red blooms against the bright and deep greens of the leaves, woven in between the dusty sandcolored buildings and framed by the Cairo blue sky...

Walking through the streets of Cairo is a full body experience... The side walks could qualify as an aerobic step class, stepping up, down, up, down down, up, around... into the street -HONK- swerve to miss getting plowed down by a car- back up onto the sidewalk...over a pile of this, skirting a puddle of that... up, up, down, around, and back again... nothing lines up, curbs are high, and every store front is at a different level. Air conditioners drip...The smells are thick- frying tamaia (falafel) fish, rotting fruit, exhaust... you can't get away from it... with Ramadan starting in a couple of days- the decorating process has begun- bright colored hafla cloths were hung... lights strung up... gaudy lanterns glinting in the sun... excitement building. Bodies bodies brushing as they bustle by... faces... eyes...

Some photos of Cairo:

Meeting up with Sandra for the day and going to the Khan el Khalili

A faluca ride on the Nile one evening... escaping the insanity...

Cramming into taxis going here and there...

And a few of the streets of Cairo wizzing by from the inside of a taxi...