My 1st Trip Back Home, to Egypt, in 12 Years

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(Edited)

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After being nearly 12 years away from Home, I had a lot of catching up to do. I had left Egypt before the Revolution, and much in my outer/inner life had changed since then. Which is to say, I was not the same, nor was Egypt.

As the Ancient Greek philosopher, Heraclitus wisely put it: You can never step into the same river, twice.

And, speaking of The River, my first breakfast back home was overlooking the Nile, where I had spent so many wonderful days, sailing up and down, when I lived there :)

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Before heading off sight-seeing --to the museum or market-- we would have a breakfast of champions which, come to think of it, was not too dissimilar to what I'd been eating during my stay in Colombia :

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I'm happy to say that the joy of returning home after so long far outweighed the shock. It was a thrilling, impression-rich trip! Most of the time, it felt like packing 3 days into one—so that by the time I hit the sack, I was blissfully incoherent.

Here are photos to give you a flavor of the place:

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Yes, it's lunchtime, already, and it's deeelicious! Feast your eyes on this spread!

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Aside from the pleasure of showing off our many splendid sights to my wife, as it was her first visit, it was heart-warming spending quality time with family and meeting up with old friends I hadn’t seen in ages.

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At the famous Khan el Khaleeli bazaar, in Cairo, one is transported back in time. This old market is the best place to buy souvenirs/gifts, such as the ones below.

Piece of advice from a local: Never give them the first price they ask for; bargaining is expected!

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But, really, what's a trip to Egypt, if you do not pass by the pyramids and sphinx to pay your respects? So, off we went, for a camel ride around one of the world's wonders.

Much gratitude goes to my young cousins, who were gracious, generous and well-informed tour guides around the historic sights ✌🏼

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Here is a poem that I wrote for Cairo:

I hope you've enjoyed this virtual tour of my Motherland, vicariously, and that you might consider one day visiting the Cradle of Civilization.

Peace 🙏

Absence diminishes commonplace passions and increases great ones, as the wind extinguishes candles and kindles fire.

―La Rochefoucauld

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14 comments
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Good morning, welcome back from Egypt. Please enjoy your home food. God bless you.

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Bless you, too, for your sweetness, @peckypeace :) I tried to eat Egyptian food in the US from time to time -- I, especially, love refried beans! Hope this finds you in good health and your heart is at ease 🙏

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I loved Cairo when I visited.

Really liked that poem you wrote as well. The imagery spoke to a story of a long seperation from homeland.

It is nice to see you enjoying time with family and freinds Yahia. Those pyramids look as majestic as when I first layed eyes upon them; heavy with the wieght of more than 2000 years, shimmering in the heat of the desert.

Thanks for sharing thes pics and blog. They took me skipping back down memory lane 😂

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How wonderful, @raj808, that you've visited Egypt and had a positive experience!
With your love of scuba, I'd imagine that the Red Sea would be a treat for you, too :)

Thank you, for your kind words about my poem--a love letter that doubles up a heart-break piece...

By the way, don't mean to sound like a stickler, but as a proud Egyptian, Rowan, I feel compelled to point out that the pyramids are (at least) twice as old as the figure that you mention...

Talk about heavy with the weight of history!

Since you enjoyed skipping with me down memory lane, here's another fine experience I just posted:
My Day at the Egyptian Museum

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Rowan, I feel compelled to point out that the pyramids are (at least) twice as old as the figure that you mention.

Ha ha, don't worry, I knew that the pyramids and the ancient Egyptian civilization was well before Christ (BC), but I just wasn't sure 'off the top of my head' exactly how old.

With your love of scuba, I'd imagine that the Red Sea would be a treat for you, too :)

Yeah, I visited Sinai three times in total, one of those times me and my girlfriend at the time visited Cairo for the weekend where we visited the pyramids at Giza, took an evening cruise on the Nile and visited the museum. Lol I think we did the tourist special 😉

You're soooo right about the diving in the red sea. One of my trips was a week long liveaboard dive trip in the deep south of the redc sea and to a sea mount dive site called Elephantstone. I've dived in Thailand, Mexico, the UK, Malta and Belize but that liveaboard trip in the red sea was the best diving I've ever done. Maybe if I win the lottery one day and make it to the Maldives it might be beaten 😂

I shall check out your blog about the museum when I get a minute m8.
Take care.

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Cheers, mate! I hope you do win the lottery, get to the dive in the Maldives, and tell us all about it!

I admire your passion for diving and am gratified to learn that the Red Sea was an enjoyable experience. I remember my days there, as a humble snorkeler, being wowed by the colors and diversity of forms--worlds within worlds. And the trippy part was thinking how the underwater "sky" was the surface of the water. The way that our sky, on land, leads to other worlds, and so on and so forth...

Wishing you a lovely weekend around the bend :)

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Egypt is on my travel list. I wish to be there someday

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I hope you make it, too—maybe, not in the summer, if the hear bothers you 😊

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