Cairo

Cairo is the capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate. It is home to more than 9.8 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world, and the Middle East. 

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I came to Cairo from Giza and was immediately reminded of India. The city has a very worn-out look about it, not helped by the fact that most buildings have not been painted since the 20th century. There’s rubble everywhere & the cars are all old and worn-down. There’s also garbage, more than Delhi, but less than Kolkata. In fact, the bylaws repeatedly reminded me of North Kolkata.

Either way, I don’t get off on poverty and dirt, so I headed for some place chic.

Zamalek

Zamalek is an affluent district on a man-made island which is geologically a part of the west bank of the Nile River, with the bahr al-a’ma (Blind Canal) cut during the second half of the 19th Century to separate it from the west bank proper.The northern third has been developed into a residential area. The southern two-thirds are mostly sports grounds and public gardens, a stark green reserve in the middle of Cairo. 

Unlike the buildings of proper Cairo which are just worn-down and ugly, the buildings on Zamalek are old in a fashionable way.

Even the cars are old but still better than in Cairo proper.

Walking along the waterfront of Northern Zamalek in the later afternoon was probably the best part of my visit to Cairo.

I also found this chic bookstore with English books.

Felucca Cruise on the Nile

No visit to Egypt is complete without spending some time on the Nile, the river that has sustained a civilisation in the desert for thousands of years. I took a Felucca cruise. I always thought the Nile looked weak in television shows, but its quite imposing in real life. Luckily, my cruise was during sunset.

The river is bustling during sunset.

You pass by many cafes and restaurants next to the river.

Of course, there are many beautiful boats on the river, including other Feluccas.

I didn’t want to leave the river so soon, so I had dinner on Qasr El Nil street, adjacent to the river, which has many restaurants and cafes, while watching sunset turn to dusk.

Ramses Station

Soon, it was time to leave Cairo and I headed for the Ramses station for the next part of my trip. The station reminded me of New Delhi Railway station.

The cafe upstairs reminded me of movies from the 1960s, shabby, but surprisingly clean.

I liked how each train is surrounded by 2 platforms, so that passengers can get on or off from either side.

The Talgo train to Alexandria was surprisingly modern, well kept and comfortable.

As the train departed Cairo, crossing busy areas of the city, I am reminded of a quote from a friend: “It looks like there was a bomb dropped on the city”.