La Citadel

A somewhat literal translation of this Abdel Halim song proposes a conversation between your mind and your heart. Your mind, pragmatic and realist, tells your heart that you will never see your love again. Your heart, in response, tells your mind that you may see her always. Her image lies in your heart. In fact, you love her and there is no one else you can love. At least, that is how Abdu explained it, snoozing in and out of sleep at the back of the taxi.

Adel was our driver and Tante Leila was our guide. The white taxi took us from Maadi to the Muhammad Ali Mosque, inside the famous citadel. There we found an extravagant masjid dating back to the time of the Albanian ruler -it was also home of the Egyptian military and police museums. Overlooking Cairo, the citadel is surrounded by the former gates of Cairo. Just below the citadel, Sultan Hassan's mosque was just as beautiful. After convincing the curator and the security personnel that we were both Muslim and part Egyptian, we got in for free. The Mosque was astounding - the ceiling embroidered with gold, the air was filled with serenity, and the Islamic calligraphy was masterful.

It was almost Asr. We met up again with Adel and he took us to a kufta and kabab restaurant - meat with more meat. With the Athans ringing out throughout Cairo, the sky lit up with sound. My stomach was full. In the background, Abdel Halim was playing. In the street, taxis honked as old women and their granddaughters tried to cross the street. With one breath of automobile exhuast, I bluntly realized I was in Egypt -I was in Cairo. I know, a weird epiphany to be having considering I have been here for a week. In my defense, this week was packed with planning, anticipation, meetings and protests. I stood 3 feet from traffic turning in circles photographing the atmosphere. My stomach gurgled and indeed this confirmed my presence in the Middle East.

The Egyptian museum is as run down as many of the artifacts inside it. I compared it to a storage facility for some of the world's most ancient treasures. This museum was also a bee hive for tourists; they arrived from every corner of the globe and easily outnumbered Egyptians ten to one. They wore short skirts, yellow polos and versace sun glasses. A difficult scene to swallow considering I am now in Egypt!

With Adel, Tante Leila, and Abdel Halim leading our way back to Maadi, the sun was setting over the Nile and Garden City. In sum, tourists from Canada had a very pleasant day visiting Cairo.