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Egypt Revisited After 39 Years
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Egypt Revisited After 39 Years

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    🇪🇬 Giza, Egypt
    Speak, WorldEgypt Revisited After 39 YearsSpeak, World
    1Al Azhar Mosque
    Hussein MosqueMint tea!Falafel and Egyptian breadDown from Damietta for the dayNational Museum of Islamic Art3An old stately home contrasted with a modern apartment blockTahrir StreetAhmed Amin Street (mine)

    Old Cairo: Fondly Remembered Mosques

    November 13 in Egypt ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    En ingles y español:
    I began a nostalgic exploration of my Cairo of 39 years ago on November 9. I went to the holiest mosque, that of El Azhar, in the great complex of El Azhar University, a world center for Islamic studies. It has a stunning internal square, paved with pure white marble tiles, which are replaced every year. Then, nearby, was Al Hussein Mosque, where I went to the women’s prayer area. This is a particular favorite for foreign Muslim women, who were hard to match for pure piety.

    I rested afterwards in a small street restaurant, with mint tea and falafel. So delicious! There I had a friendly meeting with two friends down to Cairo for the day from Damietta, a large city in the Nile Delta. Khan El Khalili is a giant market maze nearby, and I skirted the edges. The salespeople were so tenacious in their invitations to enter their small shops that I didn’t dare take any pictures!

    My final stop was the National Museum of Islamic Art, which I didn’t visit 39 years ago. A lovely place with rooms of lanterns, ceramics, calligraphy, arms, etc., which also showed the history of each category, though briefly. I was with a guided tour in English given by a museum volunteer, along with a family from India. Afterwards, I went back to look at my favorite works.

    The two videos at the end show the ultra-busy Tahrir Street (note the couple crossing lanes of oncoming traffic) and my street, parallel to Tahrir, one block up: so serene and quiet.

    El Viejo Cairo: Mezquitas Queridas y Más
    Empecé una exploración nostálgica de mi Cairo de hace 39 años el 9 de noviembre. Fui a la mezquita más sagrada, la de El Azhar, dentro del gran complejo de la Universidad de El Azhar, un centro mundial de estudios islámicos. Tiene un patio interno impresionante, pavimentado con losas de mármol blanco puro, que se reemplazan cada año. Luego, muy cerca, estaba la Mezquita Al Hussein, donde entré al área de oración para mujeres. Es una favorita especial entre mujeres musulmanas extranjeras, que eran difíciles de igualar en pura piedad.
    Después descansé en un pequeño restaurante de calle, con un té de menta y falafel. ¡Deliciosísimo! Tuve un encuentro muy agradable con dos amigas que bajaron a El Cairo por el día desde Damietta, una ciudad grande en el Delta del Nilo. Khan El Khalili es un enorme laberinto de mercados cerca de ahí, y yo sólo bordeé los alrededores. Los vendedores eran tan tenaces en sus invitaciones a entrar a sus tienditas que ¡ni me atreví a tomar fotos!
    Mi última parada fue el Museo Nacional de Arte Islámico, que no visité hace 39 años. Es un lugar encantador, con salas de linternas, cerámica, caligrafía, armas, etc., que también mostraban la historia de cada categoría, aunque brevemente. Fui con una visita guiada en inglés ofrecida por una voluntaria del museo, junto con una familia de la India. Después, regresé para ver mis piezas favoritas.
    Los dos videos al final muestran la ultra concurrida calle Tahrir (fíjate en la pareja cruzando los carriles del tráfico que viene de frente) y mi calle, paralela a Tahrir, a una cuadra: ¡tan serena y tranquila!    Read more

  • Speak, WorldEgypt Revisited After 39 YearsSpeak, World

    Cairo after 39 Years

    November 8 in Egypt ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    An Apartment in Dokki (written Nov. 7-8)
    En inglés y español
    I arrived in Cairo five days ago, on November 3rd, and settled into a “desirable” part of the city called “Dokki.” Kathy Kamphoefner, my friend from 39 years ago, came to Cairo International Airport at 6:30 pm to meet me. In the hour-long nighttime drive to Dokki, I saw a different Cairo: gleaming, shining, huge, inviting—with enormous buildings covered in neon. When we arrived at 4 Ahmed Amin Street, we took the elevator to my 5th floor efficiency apartment, I put the luggage on the bed, and we kept our reunion catch-up going until 1 am!

    In the daytime of November 4th, I ventured out in the afternoon along Tahrir Street, a main thoroughfare, to buy food. I passed the Dokki metro station; 40 years ago, the very first station was being built, and now there are 3 lines with 84 stations! I soon found the neighborhood market street, 10 blocks long, and I could buy all needed household and personal supplies, plus my staple vegetables, fruits, salt, and cooking oil. It was the Cairo of 40 years ago, but the street was paved, and the garbage was swept up neatly for the daily collection, instead of being strewn in the street.

    In the following four days, I did the daily food shopping, ventured out alone one mere kilometer toward the city center (I was afraid and intimidated to go out at first!) studied Arabic like crazy in my apartment, and got mentally and physically settled. I also met Kathy and her husband Paul for breakfast one day, earsYears
    in which I received a gentle orientation to present-day Cairo.

    November 8, I joined Kathy for a luncheon meeting of a recently-formed ex-pat group of ladies in their 60’s and 70’s in beautiful Azhar Park, bordering on the famed Islamic University of El Azhar, and the heart of Old Cairo. Somehow I couldn’t relate what I saw to the Cairo of 40 years ago. At all. I wondered how I could possibly have felt it all so familiar way back then. And how could I get re-acquainted? That will be in the next blog post!

    Please enjoy the photos. The one video shows what it’s like to be surrounded by adolescents who were all dying to talk to us and have their photo taken with us. They had to be chased away by park security, eventually…

    Llegué a El Cairo hace cinco días, el 3 de noviembre, y me instalé en una zona “deseable” de la ciudad llamada Dokki. Kathy Kamphoefner, mi amiga de hace 39 años, vino a buscarme al Aeropuerto Internacional de El Cairo a las seis y media de la tarde. En el trayecto nocturno de una hora hacia Dokki, vi un Cairo diferente: brillante, reluciente, enorme, atractivo… con edificios gigantes cubiertos de luces de neón. Cuando llegamos al número 4 de la calle Ahmed Amin, subimos en el ascensor hasta mi pequeño apartamento en el quinto piso. Puse el equipaje sobre la cama y seguimos poniéndonos al día hasta la una de la madrugada.

    Durante el día, el 4 de noviembre, salí por la tarde a la calle Tahrir, una avenida principal, para comprar comida. Pasé por la estación de metro de Dokki; hace 40 años estaban construyendo la primera estación, ¡y ahora hay tres líneas con 84 estaciones! Pronto encontré la calle del mercado del barrio, de unas diez cuadras, donde pude comprar todo lo necesario para la casa y para mí, además de mis básicos: verduras, frutas, sal y aceite de cocina. Era el Cairo de hace 40 años, pero ahora la calle estaba pavimentada, y la basura se recogía ordenadamente para la limpieza diaria, en vez de estar tirada por todas partes.

    En los cuatro días siguientes, hice las compras diarias de comida, me aventuré sola apenas un kilómetro hacia el centro (¡al principio tenía miedo y me sentía intimidada al salir!), estudié árabe como loca en mi apartamento, y logré establecerme mental y físicamente. También me reuní con Kathy y su esposo Paul para desayunar un día, y recibí de ellos una amable orientación sobre el Cairo actual.

    El 8 de noviembre me uní a Kathy para un almuerzo con un grupo de recién formadas expatriadas, todas mujeres de entre sesenta y setenta años, en el precioso Parque Azhar, que bordea la famosa Universidad Islámica de El Azhar y el corazón del Viejo Cairo. De alguna manera, no podía relacionar lo que veía con el Cairo de hace cuarenta años. En absoluto. Me preguntaba cómo era posible que todo me hubiera resultado tan familiar en aquel entonces. ¿Y cómo podría volver a reencontrarme con esa ciudad? ¡Eso lo contaré en el próximo blog!

    Disfruta las fotos. En el video se puede ver cómo es estar rodeada de adolescentes que morían por hablar con nosotras y tomarse fotos con nosotras. Al final, el personal de seguridad del parque tuvo que dispersarlos…    Read more

  • Speak, WorldEgypt Revisited After 39 YearsSpeak, World
    1The terrace on the 6th floor of my Cairo apartment
    1Egyptian cats are pharaonic! Note the tall ears and triangular faces1My standard vegetable mix, with local traditional breadThe Nile, facing north, at the tip of the island of ZamalekThe Cairo Opera house, built by the Japanese during my stay 39 years agoIn beautiful Al Azhar ParkI started speaking VERY ELEMENTARY Arabic from the start, trying to stick with only ladiesA group of young students who wanted to speak with us--small at first, but grew alarmingly!With my friend from long ago, Kathy Kamphoefner3Setting up Arabic study in a cafe overlooking the Nile

    An apartment in Dokki

    November 3 in Egypt ⋅ ⛅ 25 °C

    I arrived in Cairo five days ago, on November 3rd, and settled into a “desirable” part of the city called “Dokki.” Kathy Kamphoefner, my friend from 39 years ago, came to Cairo International Airport at 6:30 pm to meet me. In the hour-long nighttime drive to Dokki, I saw a different Cairo: gleaming, shining, huge, inviting—with enormous buildings covered in neon. When we arrived at 4 Ahmed Amin Street, we took the elevator to my 5th floor efficiency apartment, I put the luggage on the bed, and we kept our reunion catch-up going until 1 am!

    In the daytime of November 4th, I ventured out in the afternoon along Tahrir Street, a main thoroughfare, to buy food. I passed the Dokki Metro Station; 40 years ago, the very first station was being built, and now there are 3 lines with 84 stations! I soon found the neighborhood market street, 10 blocks long, and I could buy all needed household and personal supplies, plus my staple vegetables, fruits, salt, and cooking oil. It was the Cairo of 40 years ago, but the street was paved, and the garbage was swept up neatly for the daily collection, instead of being strewn in the street.

    In the following four days, I did the daily food shopping, ventured out alone one mere kilometer toward the city center (I was afraid and intimidated to go out at first!) studied Arabic like crazy in my apartment, and got mentally and physically settled. I also met Kathy and her husband Paul for breakfast one day,
    in which I received a first gentle orientation to present-day Cairo.

    November 8, I joined Kathy for a luncheon meeting of a recently-formed group of ex-pat ladies in their 60’s and 70’s in beautiful Azhar Park, bordering on the famed Islamic University of El Azhar, and the heart of Old Cairo. Somehow I couldn’t relate what I saw to the Cairo of 40 years ago. At all. I wondered how I could possibly have felt it all so familiar way back then. And how could I get re-acquainted? That will be in the next blog post!

    Please enjoy the photos. The one video shows what it’s like to be surrounded by adolescents who were all dying to talk to us and have their photo taken with us. They had to be chased away by park security, eventually…    Read more

    Trip start
    November 3, 2025
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