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Goodbye to Cairo

8) 05.04.08

This is the last entry I can make in this journal and still be truthful about it being the Egyptian journey. It has been a holiday that has taken me across two continents, two seas and one huge river. It has taken me to places I love and, briefly, allowed me to discover places I didn't remember.

As I am leaving and will not be returning for a wee while, I should thank those who made this trip a pleasant and fulfilling experience.

Andree, for shouldering the travel expenses and bearing with me for the time I spent with her.
Helmi, for his tireless driving, friendship and patience. Rawan, for keeping him awake, arguing and happy on the long night trip to Sinai, and for the walk along the Alexandria Corniche. Mihaela, a South African traveller I met on the trip back for letting me taste the dead sea. Oliver is to be thanked for putting Helmi and myself up at such short notice. The kids who drew in my journal should be mentioned, for the added joy the brought to this trip. Especially Fares from Basata, whom I had a good long fight with (he's ten and virtually indestructible). 


Professor Helmi at the helm.

Rawan, or R.One, on the corniche.

Invincible Fares

As Oliver as he ever was.

I am not going to thank the cats. They'd just meow.

As I sit in Cairo airport, I realize that I have,unless something very unexpected occurs, breathed the last Egyptian air I will inhale on this trip. 

In retrospect I have run and walked on paths that I have known well. Over time they have changed and evolved, but the basic shape remains the same. 

When I return, the paths will be new. I will, in all likelyhood, arrive at a new, unfamiliar Cairo airport, built by Turks, instead of the one I have known for all of my life. I hope to return as soon as possible, to familiarize myself with the things I don't know yet:
Concerts at Sakyet-El-Sawi, Cairene graffiti, the Oases, both to the east and the west of the nile. I hope to finally explore the city of the dead. 

I also hope that I will return to find the time I have spent away has brought improvement, if not revolution, to the vast majority of the population, that the new political movements in this country may bear fruit. 

A general strike has been called for tomorrow, to demonstrate against what might be called "The Egyptian Condition" of rising fruit prices, miseducation and political repression. May the masses be plentiful and peaceful. It may be the beginning of change for people in this country. But it is going to happen while I am not here. 

Me, as I would like to remember this trip.
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