Cairo: The Middle East of my Dreams | Meganotravels
Author: http://www.facebook.com/meganotravels1
Description: When I left Jordan, you’ll recall I felt a bit disappointed by the country. I wanted and needed more. I needed my senses to be challenged and I needed some kind of shock to the system after working insane hours for several months before taking time for this trip. I needed to feel alive. I
Date: 2019-04-22T12:00:10+00:00

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#### EGYPT

# Cairo: The Middle East of my Dreams

When I left Jordan, you’ll recall I felt a bit disappointed by the country. I wanted and needed more. I needed my senses to be challenged and I needed some kind of shock to the system after working insane hours for several months before taking time for this trip. I needed to feel alive.

I touched down in Cairo and got through security pretty quickly. I was traveling with Intrepid there, on only my third-ever group tour. On these tours, I typically book the airport transfer on arrival so that I get where I need to go quickly and I don’t have to haggle my first day (when I travel without group tours, obviously this is what I do though). When I got into my van to take me to the hotel where I was to meet my group, I was immediately in awe of the city of approximately 20 million people.

There were crumbling buildings and goats on rooftops and laundry hanging out of windows and marketplaces teeming with people buying everything from clothes and jewelry to food and animals. Some areas were dirty and stinky while others were beautifully manicured and maintained. The call to prayer echoed across the city, urging people to stop what they were doing and make time to go to the mosques. The horn honking was incessant and people were shouting. Minarets and occasional high-rises dotted the skyline. I was exactly where I needed to be and I felt alive after less than an hour in the city.

As I finally got out and explored the city with our group, it became even more evident that Cairo was what I’d been wanting in a city for a long time. It reminded me of cities in India in some ways because it was just so overwhelming and in your face in the most perfect way possible. The souks were amazing and I wanted to spend a lifetime wandering those labyrinthine paths, buying lamps and rugs and scarves (as it was, I ended up buying so much that I had to buy another suitcase for all of it). I felt intoxicated by all of it, and I think probably annoyed my tour guide that first night, badgering him with incessant questions, wanting to learn everything I could and not wanting that feeling of wander to stop.

Luckily, it didn’t stop. Every place I visited in Egypt was exciting and fun. (It also didn’t hurt that I had an amazing tour guide and one of the best groups I’ve ever traveled with on that trip.) By the end of my trip in Egypt, I very seriously asked my guide about the expat population there and finding a school where I could learn Arabic in Cairo. It’s still very much on my radar for the future.

### Author: Megan

Megan is an ordinary girl who outgrew her small town and decided to try the world on for size. She's on a mission to travel, photograph, and write about the world.

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### Who is Meganotravels?

Hey, I’m Megan! I’m a full-time consultant and run
a non-profit on the side. And when I’m not doing those
things—I’m traveling! I’m on a mission to travel,
photograph, and write about the world.

Hope you’ll follow along!

### What is “Megano?”

An “Italian” name (rhymes with “Figaro”) given to me
by a friend before I studied abroad in Rome. I had to be
more Italian, you see. It’s stuck ever since.

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