Cairo

Cairo is the city of chaotic peace. You may be wondering what the hell I’m talking about but for those of you who have been can probably agree with me. Upon landing in Cairo the entry way for me to Egypt I had to first buy my visa off a shady dude. What I mean by this is that there were random guys and guys in stores who would sell you entry Visa and you could bargain for the price. Coming from Canada is this my first huge shock. The second was as I get out of the airport I notice that the white lane marking on the road mean nothing. Everyone in Cairo drives like you would in Mario Cart. The shoulder of the roads are considered lanes and there are very few traffic light but rather the honk and go system. This makes it a great mission as a pedestrian to cross crazy busy roads. Did I mention that the population of Cario is the same as all of Canada’s population (30 Million or so)?? In Egypt they do not believe in movers…. if you need to move your 14” tube tv… you just carry it on your head without any hands while trying to weave and walk through traffic. Yes that is a true story. So this is the chaos.

Now for the peace, this is a little harder to explain and I doubt I will do it justice with my words. Outside on the roads you can hear constant honking, there is crazy amount of pollution, making it both hard to see and breath. There are people everywhere. Somehow the architects have been able to block out this chaos in the local mosques and Al-Azhar Park (among other places). Picture yourself weaving through traffic, trying to breath through heavy smog, all you hear is noise and honking. Then step 300 meters into Al- Azhar park. The only sounds you hear are the water fountains and birds chirping. You smell, grass and flowers. Where did all the chaos go? There are no high walls, no bubble domes, it is not higher or lower than the craziness outside. All that surrounds you is peace.

For me this is the best part of Egypt. Sure they have Pyramids, tons of tombs, shoreline, the Nile…etc. But for me this is the real gem of Egypt.

http://www.alazharpark.com/historical.htm