Five days ago, I came to Cairo from Dahab. I opted for the day bus since I heard there will be many checkpoints along the road. They would wake me up asking for my passport if I took the night bus. The ride was eight and half hours long in a Gobus minibus. There were at least five or six checkpoints along the way. We also had our bags scanned at the checkpoint in Suez.
I arrived in Cairo at 6:30 PM. I was glad my hostel, Holy Sheet Hostel, is in walking distance of the bus station. The most interesting thing about Cairo is all the cars zipping on the roads honking their horns like it’s some kind of language. I sensed the intense pollution from the cars. The motorcyclists also don’t turn on their lights most of the time and I rarely see them wear helmets.
I didn’t do too much in Cairo except going on several dates with Marina, a woman I met through a dating app. Marina is a single mom with a five years old son. She works as an English teacher and is also a Couchsurfing host. In fact, right now she’s hosting a Mexican American girl named Liz.
Anyway, Marina and I spent two days in downtown Cairo. We went to Al-Azhar Park at night and had a good time chatting about life. The next day, we met at Coptic Cairo, a place in Old Cairo that has many churches. One of them is the Hanging Church, which is built on top of a Babylon fortress. We had a late lunch at Saheb El Sa'ada restaurant on Al Moez Ldin Allah Al Fatmi street, a historical street that’s one of the oldest in Cairo. We sat on the rooftop for about three hours dining and watching some performances.
The next day, I was so tired that I slept for most of the day. At night, I went to meet Marina and Liz in the Open Air Mall in Al Shorouk City, which is about 50 minutes by car from downtown Cairo. The three of us watched a movie called Trap House in a theater. We didn’t get back home until 1 AM.
I slept more the next day and was feeling very tired. My head was hurting from all the sleep I did. Marina came back from work around 3:30 PM. I took another nap before getting dinner at McDonald’s at 9 PM.
Today, I will get an Uber to Giza. I want to see the pyramids and the newly opened Grand Egyptian Museum. I plan to stay a minimum of two nights in Giza.
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| The Gobus minibus that took me from Dahab to Cairo |
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| The Hanging Church |
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| Inside the church |
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| The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization |
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| Inside the museum |
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| Al Moez Ldin Allah Al Fatmi street |
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| Statue at the entrance of Saheb El Sa'ada restaurant |
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| Dancer performing |
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| On the rooftop of Saheb El Sa'ada restaurant |
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| I think this is a Sufi dance. |
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| Stayed until dusk |
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| Abou Tarek, a famous place for koshary |
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| Koshary |
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