Tom in Egypt // توم في مصر

Sat in my lounge I am well wrapped up, fully dressed, in my sleeping bag wearing an "Ice Cap" as they're known over here - a beanie to the rest of the world. I have no idea how it is this cold here. The wind is literally whistling through my flat making my music barely audible. I remember a few weeks ago sitting on a beach in Sharm on the 3rd of January, and now I don't even want to go outside. Last night as I walked Andrea to a taxi the heavens completely opened and by the time I'd found a taxi I was so soaked that there was no point in running back as I couldn't have been any wetter.

Saturday and Sunday, however, were another story. On Saturday morning it was pleasantly sunny and I spent the morning wandering round the Souq in Manchea, mostly buying Frankincense and Sandalwood, which smell delicious when burned on hot coals. I also managed to find some better coals for my beautiful new sheesha which I purchased in Dahab, all very important. After that I went down to Cairo with a few of my fellow Mancs, I was going to pick up my passport from the Pakistani embassy on Sunday and a few of us were going for various reasons so we made a little trip of it. We spent most of the night in a bar in Zamalek that is reminiscent of Cape d'Or in ALex in many ways, not least how the waiters tack on countless extra beers to the bill hoping that you're too drunk to notice - rarely the case. The next morning I shot over to the embassy where I became the proud owner of a Pakistani visa. I was slightly worried/irritated that they gave me a visa for 10 days in spite of the fact I had told them I was staying for 15, but I've been reassured I can get an extension easily enough in Karachi. We then went up to the Citadel, somewhere I'd tried to go with my parents but had been closed. The views of the city from up there are amazing and extend all the way to the pyramids (I'll upload pictures as and when Clarabelle gives me them). The Muhammad Ali mosque looks like it has seen better days but is still very impressive from the inside, even if the constant plague of tourists take something away from the spiritual atmosphere. The same can be said of places such as Coptic Cairo, and I find myself getting irate at tourists who seem to show an ignorance bordering on disrespect in such holy places. I suppose I'm a tourist too and therefore as guilty as anyone else.

Back to TAFL today and this week I hope to confirm a few more dates re: the summer as I try and book flights and find jobs etc. I'm still thinking southern Spain, have half-applied for something which I think will be very cool if it comes off. I'll let you all know in due time! I'm also trying to find time in my hectic schedule to go to all the places here that I've not been able to get to thus far, they are many. I definitely have to make it to Luxor and Aswan, I think Petra is important, the Libyan desert would be wonderful but perhaps impractical due to all the entry restrictions, and I'd still love to get to Syria. So little time and money and so much to see! There are also places here I'd kill to get back to, but given the tight time frame I probably won't make it to, Siwa instantly springs to mind. It was also really sad to leave Dahab knowing that it will be at least a few years before I make it back to a place that holds so many wonderful memories for me. The year feels like it's flying at the moment, and it almost feels like it's winding down as we hit the last 3 months. At the moment I think it would be very hard to resist the urge to come back to the Middle East after I graduate as the opportunities and life here tied to my knowledge that if I want to get really good at Arabic there's really only one way to do it.

Adios for now.

Txx