What gives soul to a place?

This piece was published in the Oasis Magazine in Cairo.

I remember how, while I lived in Cairo and I was emailing family and friends, I always used to say to them that life in Egypt happened at such frantic pace and usually so much happens and changes within a day that it is hard to actually keep up, share it or describe it the way it is… I felt I would either end up writing them long stories or I would simply not be able to put into words everything I saw and made an impact on me on a daily basis. (a blog would have come in useful!) I always opted for sending lots of photographs accompanied by brief descriptions such as ‘Playing hide and seek in Karnak Temple…’, ‘Dancing like an Egyptian in front of Giza pyramids…’ or ‘ Enjoying the sunset on a felucca, on the Nile…’ and hoped that they will imagine the rest and get an idea of what Egypt was like. And I also remember the numerous times after a special trip or a special event in Egypt, when I really wanted to write it all down so that I could feel I captured all of it and it’ll stay with me forever but somehow words never seemed right or enough; or the thoughts would come to me at such speed that I thought I would end up with a new version of the hieroglyphic art I saw on many of the temples I visited there. And here I am now, a few months after leaving Egypt for another sunny and desert type of place, (however completely different), and all I talk about is: Egypt. The new people I’ve met over here have got to the point where they roll their eyes and sigh with a ‘ here we go again…’ as I start with: ‘In Egypt we did that…’ / ‘ it’s not like Egypt’/ ‘ I met such wonderful people in Egypt/ ’Egypt was much better’…’Egypt had soul’ etc. If in my first few months in Cairo I got asked whether I was enjoying my new ‘home country’ my answer without hesitation would be ‘I am loving it! ‘. And that would be after taking into consideration the many adjustments - good and bad, that one goes through when moving from a place like the UK to a place like Egypt. I somehow felt I was in the right place when I landed in Cairo. I felt a powerful positive energy that was going to guide me towards new and amazing experiences. As a child, I always said I wanted to see Egypt but later on, somehow that dream faded away or I forgot about it and was replaced by other dreams and more urgent travelling destinations. But then there I was, many years later, not only getting to see Egypt but actually living there and calling it ‘home’. I also remember many occasions, when I struggled to tolerate the gloomy skies and the never-ending rain in London, saying that I would love to live in a place where it’s sunny and hot most of the time. In this respect, please be careful what you wish for because I have proof that it does come true! Since I put that wish out there loud and clear, it seems that I am destined for the desert and sunshine. There is definitely a reoccurring conversation among expats in Egypt. And that is about how much everyone loves being there; how they end up staying much longer than they anticipated or how they go back years later, when they realize that Egypt is where they want to be, despite triggering raised eyebrows from family and friends. It’s about what great energy the place has - that ‘je ne sais quoi’ that no one can put in one word but which keeps most people fascinated and not wanting to leave, despite all of the unrest, the struggle and the not so beautiful aspects. It may be that these conversations and mind set are contagious and we all start repeating the same thing, as if struck by a ‘love-for-Egypt’ epidemic or it may be that this place truly has a magical energy that keeps us all enraptured. I don’t think people passing through or holidaying in Egypt would get that! They’d most probably look at you as if you’ve lost your mind! And I wouldn’t blame them, it doesn’t work for everyone and there is a lot that’s blocking your view before you get to see the great energy I am talking about: rows of unfinished dilapidated buildings, mountains of rubbish, armies of stray dogs and cats and even these may be hard to see through the dust and excessively polluted air. The chaos is seriously hard to describe, the noise is relentless, the contrasts are loud: it’s a mix match of Africa and Europe, of Islam and Christianity, of old and new, of desert and seas, of poor and rich, of people with traditions and those who’ve lost them or are not interested in them. In my personal view the history of Egypt doesn’t agree with the New World. I believe Egypt should have stayed the way it was when the temples were built and the people cherished the Sun and the Nile and then its beauty and uniqueness would have been preserved. The blind ‘hunger’ of wanting to make it fit in the new world has stolen away a lot of its pure, unique beauty and magic and has left it un-belonging, unfinished and overexploited. But at the same time this whole chaos exudes freedom (in a good sense), there are no barriers, it’s the place where you can be whatever you want to be without banging your head onto regimental walls and being forced to follow the ‘process’. And I loved that about it! You can experience so many different worlds in one day. Everyone carries a story and somehow the people I’ve met there are more ‘human’, open, sincere, raw, vulnerable and wise. I must have left Egypt at the right time (didn’t see it as such when it happened), but it wasn’t on my own terms - once again it was one of the great universe’s well thought plots. Not every single day in there was pure bliss (obviously not fully struck by the ‘loving Egypt’ virus) but it’ll always be one of the places I’ll be talking about and feeling a very special connection with. I am happy I got to experience it for as long as I have, it’s been a tremendous life lesson. The quality of the time I spent there outweighs the period of time and that’s all that matters. As one of my dear friends who visited me, while living there, said to me: ‘It’s one of those places where you LIVE MORE!’. That’s where the magic energy of Egypt lies and that’s what gives soul to a place.

Me.