And chaos created a city
Chaos is real, and it is even the major or one city, Cairo, the capital city of the Arab Nation. If someday Arabs unite in one country
, Cairo will be the capital and there they will celebrate their achievement there. However, that day is far far away, and from the time being, Cairo is “only” the capital city of Egypt, that 80 millions inhabitants country where everything can and had happened.
From Amman to Cairo is possible to go by land, heading south to Aqaba, taking a ferry there crossing the red sea and then taking a bus to Cairo, however, it takes almost a whole day, and Cairo deserves more than just a glaze, it deserves all the time you can give her (and i use her as the Cairo’s population). Cairo is that woman full of mistakes, messy and impolite that, for some reason, you cannot stop looking at.
Touching down in Cairo is already extreme, you flight over a huge city, spread around several kilometres and arrive to a pretty modern airpot, clean and cold…but Cairo is waiting outside, when you cross the automatic door and a warm welcome slap your face for the very first time…welcome to hell, its 35 degress during the night. Jump into a taxi after half an hour looking for a bus nobody knows about and I dive into the massive gridlock that the city traffic is. No corner is free of traffic jams, everything moves in a way barely possible by physic laws, but it moves…its Cairo.
Cairo is many cities at the same time, its an old islamic city, traditional and designed in the islamic style, with minaretes dominating the landscape and the skyline of it. But it is also a arab-socialist city, with some stalinist-arab buildings, big avenues and Midans (rounds). But of course, Cairo is also a old egyptian city, although no really important during that time….still, Cairo was lucking enough to grow until it included in its border the three Giza Pyramids.
Its 2200 and the streets are full, families, young unemployed guys, h
ijab-covered Channel-dressed teenagers giggling and strolling. Street-food sellers screaming around to catch some hungry client. The people making their life around the Nile, as always, as it has been the last ten centuries, as it was during the Pharaohs time. The same river Salah Al-Din saw, the same one that Nasser or Napoleon looked at some point in their life. Stroll around, see what people do and how the do, eat what they eat (mmm….wonderful falafel there!) and cross the streets as they do (not an easy task)..thats the way to get along with Cairo, to cope with the oppresing pollution, dust and heat that will sorround you during all your time there. If you do it, you will either love the city or hate it with all your will…think you can guess my opinion
