Ole Abroad (Dan): From the desert villa to downtown Cairo

 

This past week was Eid al-Adha vacation. After celebrating Eid during the weekend, it was time for relaxation in Cairo. While the majority of the population was gone, whether in Ain Soukhna, Sharm El-Sheikh, Alexandria, or Dahab, or even abroad, Cairo became a desolate place. It was crazy to see the city – which is normally running ten times faster than New York City – calm and practically empty. But I really enjoyed it.

This past Tuesday, I went to a party that my friend was throwing. It was a huge party with four DJs and it started at around 11 p.m. and went all the way until 6 a.m. It was a lot of fun. The only negative aspect of this party was the location – it was in an enourmous villa near the AUC campus, which is practically in the desert. It was a bit out of the way for me to get there because I live in Zamalek, which is in the center of Cairo and it was about a one hour drive to the AUC campus…and then another hour with my friends to the villa. But either way it was really worth it to go. I met a lot of Egyptians and just some incredibly cool people. (I also got to see two good friends that I hadn’t seen in quite a while, as they live on the AUC campus!) 

 

On Thursday I went to downtown Cairo. I really just wanted to see more of Cairo, and go explore areas that I hadn’t seen before. So, I took a cab from the dorm in Zamalek and I went to Tahrir Square. I took the cab to the Egyptian Museum and then I spent time taking pictures of the museum. I was going to go and actually visit the museum but I really was not in the mood to be inside a museum that day. Instead, I decided to walk around downtown Cairo.

I walked around many neighborhoods with these narrow streets, beautiful old buildings, and although it was evident that they were not the nicest areas of Cairo, they had an alluring charm about them. I walked from Tahrir Square to the Sayeda Zeinab Mosque, then I turned back to Tahrir, ate lunch in Tahrir, and went back to the dorm.

[This picture is of the Sayeda Zeinab Mosque in downtown Cairo. Since it is election time, the mosque area is covered with politicians and their slogans.]

It was really nice to finally see more of the authentic Cairo. Zamalek is extremely nice, but it has such a large expatriate community that it sometimes feels like you are not in Cairo. It was also nice to just be hearing Arabic and to listen and try and understand what people were discussing. It really was a taste of the real Egypt.

 

Ma’asalama!

Dan   

P.S. The picture is of the Sayeda Zeinab Mosque in Downtown Cairo.

P.S. The picture is of the Sayeda Zeinab Mosque in Downtown Cairo.

P.S. The picture is of the Sayeda Zeinab Mosque in Downtown Cairo.