Cairo, the 7th May, 2011

Turkish delights!

On my way back to Cairo I stopped by Istambul, fascinating city where I had already spent a mean, FUN vacation some years ago (vacation which included a "Sultan deluxe" turkish hammam that let me without skin and with an aversion to fat ladies in bathing suit).

At that time, I could already feel that turkish do not have much in common with egyptians, except for their fierce commercial sense and avid willingness to make money out of the air.

As I stopped by Istambul this time, I simply missed egyptian funny remarks and kindness.

Make no mistake. Life is hard in Cairo and everyone seems to live as if they were, indeed, struggling in the middle of the jungle. People get turned into machines very easily. No space for HUMANITY around the Nile.

And yet they manage to have a spontaneous smile to strangers, they do KNOW how to make a good joke and have some fun simply for the joy of it.

Turkish seemed to me to be hardened by life but without the FUN, KIND side egyptians kept so well, so far...

Turkish delights (sweets), a cappuccino from "STARBUCKS" that cost me a fortune and some really annoyed people made me long for Cairo more than ever.

As I landed in Cairo, a friend was waiting for me with a huge smile on his face.

As we drove home, I saw the usual smiles, craziness, unrully traffic and spontaneous remarks from everyone. I knew I WAS HOME and smiled to myself because so much of me is already egyptian and you cannot avoid being soaked with all this sweet madness of the city that never sleeps...