I’m currently writing this post in an airy chain boulangerie called Eric Kayser, a short walk from where I’m staying in PARIS, FRANCE. I left Cairo less than a week ago, and I’m only just getting a chance to process the experience I had and all the things I learned here in my next destination (Where better to tackle bread from the culinary perspective than Paree, dahling?) Cairo was a whirlwind, and my first few days in Paris have been equally eventful (but in a different way, of course) but now, as the workweek begins and I’ve settled in to my flat, I’d like to go back to Egypt before any of the memories begin to escape me.
Cairo is a wonderful place, and I’m so grateful to all of the people I met during my too-short stay. Amira, Hany, Farah, Nesma, Jana, Prof. Abdel Aziz; I’m so grateful to you all for guiding me through your city, letting me learn from you, and making everything so easy for me.
Like the foolish westerner I am, I pulled up to Cairo not knowing a word of Arabic, and Cairo really could have played me! It is not the Western world, and although a historically international/cosmopolitan city, the African nation’s strong ties to the Arab world are unmistakable, and you will struggle, and/or be tourist-trapped, if you don’t speak Arabic. Finding “point people” on the ground for my stay was essential to making my experience as fulfilling as it was. This post isn’t actually about bread-stuff though; for that, check out @chisgetsthisbread on IG!
Do ya’ll mind if I pen a quick love letter to Cairo? Cairo deserves a love letter, and I’m in Paris and feeling a bit romantic.
Off the bat, Cairo appears to be a city of convergence, and therefore a city ridden with inherent conflicts.
The powerhouse of Northern Africa, nestled between the shores of Western Europe and the edges of the Middle East, Egypt has entertained “foreign” influences and occupation for as long as it has existed, while somehow managing to preserve its uniqueness, thus forcing the cultures and aesthetics from different times and regions to mesh together to form something rather disjointed, yet fascinating. And, of course, unmistakably beautiful.
Although officially under British influence under 1922, the French, in classic French-imperial style, have left their mark on Cairo as well. It was Napoleon’s discovery of the Rosetta Stone during his conquest of Egypt in 1799 that is credited with launching the field of “Egyptology”, and although his efforts were likely a cover for his political intentions, the French endeavored to create scholarship on many parts of Egyptian life, a trend that continued for decades (strengthened by consistent allyship between the two nations against the British in later years, and Egyptian scholastic “missions” to Paris, and). Parts of Downtown Cairo were designed by French architects in the mid-late 1800s, and the style is hard to miss:
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I like this photo so it gets to be blown up full size!
Look at the right side of the shot in particular; the quintessential french balconies were found all over the place! This is close to the Khan El Khalil Market. I also like this picture because you have the “French” balconies, the “Arab” dome, and the tall gate next to the half finished/half destroyed building on the right side reminds me of Nigeria (that sounds unfortunate but hey).
The convergence and conflict continue past imperialism and architecture. The mostly-Islamic country has tangoed with the Muslim Brotherhood in the last several years; yet the Holy Family themselves allegedly passed through the Coptic Christian section of Old Cairo, and approximately twenty percent of Egyptians are Christian (and this number could be even greater).
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“New Cairo”, where I stayed, is about twenty minutes away from downtown on a day with no traffic, and reminds me of Dubai with its smooth, new roads, the apparent opulence, and the proliferation of “Western” brands in the area. Yet on the way there, you might catch a horse drawn cart on the outermost lane of the highway, or swerve to avoid some crushed melon that surely fell off the back of one of these same carts.
It’s a mish-mash of a city in all the best and worst ways; cultures from all over the world come together, as do religions, but there is wealth and poverty within inches of one another, and slums next to billboards for luxury apartments. On my drives from New Cairo to Downtown, I often thought about how the country became what it is today. Egypt is historic in the way many places aren’t, yet I still know so little about the country. I’m looking to change that, and have made some strides in the last few weeks-
Here are some things I can tell you I know for sure though:
The aftershocks of uprisings/ revolutions in 2011 and 2013 are still being felt today. The words to describe the events change depending on who you’re talking to, and talking about the President, the government, and even bread in relation to the government subsidy can be a bit controversial. This mural created during the 2011 protests is on the side of the old campus of the American University in Cairo, and was considered graffiti by the government-
In other Arab countries, bread is called “khabaz” which is pronounced sort of like “Hobbes”, but in Egypt bread is called Aish; which translates to life or “livelihood”
The University continues to paid to keep it from being erased, preserving it for visitors and passerby to see and remember the uprising, and who it was for, and what it’s aims were. This boy is eating Tameya (falafel made from fava beans) which is served inside the ever-recognizable aish baladi bread (traditional Egyptian bread).
If you’re black with braids, or kinky type 4 hair, you’ll be presumed to be from Sudan; they’re neighbors, were once ruled over together, and the revolution in Sudan has left many refugees. But when the woman in the market founds out you’re Nigerian, she’ll still call you her sister anyway (Call it progress, or Cup of Nations fraternity, but the Pan-Africanism I experienced in Egypt was real. Fellow Africans were charged less at many tourist destinations).
Traffic lines are suggestions in Cairo, as are seatbelts, and the car horn acts as a turn signal, a greeting, a thank you and a curse. The crescendo created by an Egyptian traffic jam was unlike anything I had heard before; until I was introduced to a celebratory car horn crescendo after Egypt won a Cup of Nations match.
Koshary was meant to be eaten with friends; and if you weren’t friends before a meal, you’ll be friends after.
There’s more to Cairo than a day trip to the pyramids and photo-ops at a mosque; if you skip downtown you haven’t seen the city, and you’ve definitely missed my favorite part: a small island called Zamelek, where you can catch hipster vibes and a boat ride on the nile for 50 LP per person if you speak Arabic and get a bit lucky (that’s about $3).
And on that boat ride, as your trip comes to an end, you’ll plug a phone in and play someone’s favorite song. You’ll look out into the water illuminated with the neon lights of your boat and others, reflect a bit, breath in the fresh air peppered with bits of that kerosene/gasoline scent you just can’t escape in Africa …
And you’ll look at it and you’ll know “it is good”.
Grateful to God and all those who have enabled this trip to be what it has been for me so far.
As always, Peace and Blessings!
P.S.: So there’s someone who I GUESS deserves a shout-out in this post as well: I’d like to thank my younger brother Toby for coming along on this segment of the trip. Despite some bickering and me dragging you up and down the city, thanks for being a good sport and cheers to sibling bonding! Cairo is quite a safe city in my estimation, but it does help to have a 6ft male by your side who has thankfully outgrown his Kids-Next-Door phase:
Kids Next Door Phase: The point in time (typically around ages 12-16) where one’s head, hands, and feet are actively out of proportion with a long/lanky body, and particularly skinny ankles.
A Love Letter to Cairo I’m currently writing this post in an airy chain boulangerie called Eric Kayser, a short walk from where I’m staying in PARIS, FRANCE.
