My journey to Egypt

by sefer gul (Turkey)

A leap into the unknown Turkey

My Journey To Egypt My wish to travel the world began many years ago in Istanbul. I wanted to see the world but a lack of money was holding me back. I had to do something, to start somewhere. Where I went wasn’t important – I wanted to go abroad and change my point of view, somewhere that would remind me that for life money, things and property weren’t everything. And why couldn’t I do it? Only fear was holding me back. One day I found an internship in Egypt and applied for it. To my surprise, I was accepted. I was 24 and until that point, I’d never been abroad. I was filled with excitement. Great pyramids, mummies, sarcophagi and other mysteries were waiting for me. It would be as if I were in an Indiana Jones film, everything would be so different from my country and so far. I was filled with excitement. Could travel by a way of life? New cultures, new people and new tastes. Every experience would help me to discover myself. Who knew what I would encounter? I would see the pyramids, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and Al-Azhar University, one of the Islamic world’s cultural centres. Two months later I found myself in Egypt, the start of my journey. A couple of days later a thin, frail and short young man said: “I can take your photo if you want”. “If you want money, no,” I said. But he didn’t want money and he took my photo. His name was Ahmet and he was a journalism student. Despite being my age he had a whole weight of responsibilities, difficulties and a raft of struggles to deal with. I wanted to get to know him, because he seemed different, not like the Arab stereotypes I had in my mind. He wanted to be a good journalist and he had different ideas for the future of his country. At that time he was filming a documentary about local handicrafts, copper working and so on. He guided me around Al-Azhar University and invited me to meet his friend Tariq. They suggested we eat a local delicacy named Koshari. We entered a traders’ restaurant and ate this cheap yet nutritious and delicious meal of pasta, rice, bulgur, lentils dried onions and chickpeas. It was a bit like Italian pasta but with 5 extra carbohydrate types and more sauce, more flavour and more spices. We also sampled hummus, something unheard of in my country. Surrounded by flies and cats, we finished our meal and left the restaurant. Like in my country in the past, every street had a drinking water fountain. They suggested I drink the water and as I knew I probably wasn’t going to return to Egypt, I drank. I wanted to try everything. They were going to film the remaining scenes for the documentary and invited me to go along. I readily accepted and finally, I would discover the hidden backstreets of Egypt. It was like a labyrinth and we were turning this way and that continuously. Ahmet even had to ask where we were going a few times. I’d never seen such old and dilapidated buildings in my life. We walked down an unbelievable street. I don’t think there could be such a contradictory street anywhere else in the world – so full of contrasts between rich and poor, light and dark, hot and cold. We ate prickly pear from a street seller. I had always had an affection for street sellers and now I would taste a new and exotic fruit. I tried one and it had no taste, just like a dry pear. They gave me another and the same result. And another. I didn’t even know myself anymore. I couldn’t eat the fourth they offered. We continued and after a long walk, we found ourselves in the backstreet copper workshop. Ahmet and Tariq started to film while I sat in a corner watching and musing about what else I would uncover in this mysterious city…