A Canadian Girl in Cairo: My Flat

Sunday, August 22, 2010

My Flat

I arrived at my flat at 4 in the morning. It was down a very quiet street with lots of cars (now that I see Cairo, there aren’t that many cars) and the door was wide open…not too secure! The marble entry way was not well kept, so I was a bit worried about it all but the flat itself has recently been redone, and we have marble through-out, as well as wooden floors. Everything has worked out and I love where I live! Nothing hugely different, other than the marble bathroom and granite counter tops!

We have been taken very good care of. Dalia and Mahmoud, who both work for the school in admin areas have been amazing. They spent our first week in Cairo running us around to banks, shopping and to find cell phones, as well as helping us to sign our leases and sort out any work needed in the apartments. They are locals, and live in our area of town. We even went to Mahmoud’s birthday party!

The other expat teachers and I have all banded together. We live within a block of each other, and it’s nice to be close since we have spent so much time together.

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Information About Cairo

The Lonely Planet says: “The crowds on a Cairo footpath make Manhattan look like a ghost town; your life will flash before your eyes each time you venture across the street, and your snot will run black with the smog”. All true!

The Lonely Planet also says: “This city has an energy, palpable even at 3 in the morning, like no other. It’s the product of 20 million people simultaneously crushing the city’s infrastructure under their collective weight and lifting the city’s spirit up with their uncommon graciousness and humour”. Again, all true (try finding water in any tap in my flat around 6 pm during Ramadan- EVERYONE is using water to cook!)

“So blow your nose, crack a joke and learn to look through the dirt the see the city’s true colours. If you love Cairo, it will love you back”. So far, so good!

The ancient Roman city of Babylon is where Cairo started. The core foundations were started in 969 AD by the Fatimids, who conquered the old city and began a new one. They named it Al- Qahira after the planet Mars (the Europeans butchered the name and it became Cairo). There are many buildings that still exist that were built in that time, and in times before that. Cairo is considered the Mother of the World, as it survived dynasties and Pharaohs whims as the city grew larger than its walls. The effects of each ruler can be seen in certain areas of the city. Cairo continues to grow today, with suburbs now reaching the pyramids. The estimated population for Cairo is 20 million people!