Cairo Time...

One of the best parts of being overseas is being able to reconnect with old friends and old places. We decided it was time to take our girls and go back to Cairo, where we had lived and worked from 1998 - 2000. Ten years later, Cairo was so different and so much the same.

We flew in to the new Cairo International Airport, which is state of the art. A totally different experience than the tattered, two baggage carousel, dusty and dank terminal that we remembered from years before. We had arrived back then with two suitcases and a few boxes, wrapped in rope and tape. Back then, we wound our way through the darkness and the City of the Dead, with only the incandescent green lights from the mosque minarets lighting our path. Our taxi driver didn't even turn on his lights back then and there were no seatbelts. What a difference a decade makes.... Now, we found ourselves on a new super highway, fully landscaped and lit by modern lights. The area we drove through is called New Cairo and is full of modern villas and low rise condominiums. The development spanned for miles and truly took us by surprise.

When we turned off the highway and headed into Maadi, the roads became more familiar, more rambly and ramshakle, with the familiar black and white striping. A few horns beeped, but not like the incessant honks from years ago. It seems that Cairo has become a more orderly and convenient. Modernernity has crept in over time. For those living in Cairo everyday, this may be a welcome change... or maybe not. The Keevy's have moved into a building we remember from long ago, a low rise just down the street from the school. They have balconies on almost all sides and are right at the tree line. We quickly dropped our suitcases, hugged one another and soon were sitting out together, reminiscing about the past and catching up on the present.

After a great sleep, we arose to the sun streaming in through the windows. Cairo in the early morning is one of the most beautiful places on earth. You can watch the city come alive.
Two ladies on the corner, one feeding her child, and the other keeping them company. CAC students playing soccer on fields afar. Taxi drivers chatting with one another, while they wait for their next fare. Roger and James peered out over the laundry, talking about all the changes that had occurred. Juleen and I enjoyed a cup of coffee together, while the girls began to make waffles. Sydney taking the lead, stirring like crazy and feeling right at home. It felt like we had never left. We picked up with our friends and with Cairo, right where we had left off.

After a leisurely breakfast, we all decided it would be fun to walk through the streets of Maadi, visiting the places that had been special to James and me. As I walked, a feeling of nostalgia swept through me. The smells were the same and brought back so many memories. James narrated our walk, telling the girls stories of our times spent at Cairo American College, making memories as a young couple. It was magical to relive those moments and to share them with the girls.

Egyptian people are still so friendly and so willing to give you a smile and to share of themselves. We enjoyed exchanging a few words in Arabic and seeing life being lived in the neighborhood.... the mother playing with her baby by the curb, the old shopkeeper telling of his favorite antiques, the coffee shop filled with locals and expats sipping on lattes, the mashrayba makers whittling away, the fruiter selling pomegranates fresh from the farm.... everywhere people were out and about... Cairo has always been so alive!