Adventures in the Middle East – Part 1

Alexandria Airport. I just couldn’t believe I was standing there! After months of learning Arabic and convincing people that I could travel around Middle East all by myself, I felt most relieved once I sat on the plane. My COVID test and passport were checked three times at the airport and then a steward walked up to my seat and asked me if I was sure I was flying to Alexandria.

After getting a visa at the airport, a new challenge awaited – finding a driver who would take me to my hostess’ place.

I decided to couchsurf at an Egyptian woman’s place in Alexandria, and her friend had to pick me up at the airport. The day before my departure, we exchanged photos on WhatsApp, so we’d recognise each other more easily. And my hostess sent me the plate number of her friend’s car just in case. It was in Arabic script, of course! The driver and I got around quite well and without any major problems, and we started chatting right away. He didn’t understand why I would want to stay with the locals when I travelled. He earned the money for his car in Oman where he had met a Filipino woman, with whom he has two children, but they divorced not so long ago. She didn’t like Egypt.

Egyptian hospitality

I entered the apartment and, instead of the hostess, was greeted by her whole extended family. Her mom, dad, brother, niece and her kid. They were so welcoming, I immediately felt at home.

The hostess just happened to be in Alexandria at the time. She couldn’t go back to Japan due to COVID. It’s where her husband works and where she spends most of her time. She waited at her parents’ house with her three-year-old daughter for Japan to reopen its borders, so they could go back. Her father named Ali was the happiest of the bunch to see me. He was thrilled when I greeted him in Arabic (one of the few things I learned from the course). He kept wanting to talk to me, even though his English wasn’t so good and neither was my Arabic. But he really helped me out. I was quite lost the very first couple of days and all the warnings I got about Egyptians not being good at English were confirmed in the streets. Ali accompanied me to the city centre and helped me find Vodafone where I bought a local SIM card. It’s simply a must-have in Egypt!

Our walk there looked like this – we stopped on the street every ten metres. When Ali made sure I memorised the way back, we continued. I’d already forget all his instructions and markings along the way after three turns and I would simply nod: “Yes, yes! I know the way back!” In my head, though, I said to myself: “The only things that’ll save me are a new SIM card, internet and GPS. Otherwise, I’ll never find my way back!”

Visiting the neighbour and Egyptian dance

My hostess and I didn’t see each other often, since she rarely got up before twelve o’clock. And I was already walking around the city then. But if the opportunity arose and I had a chance to spend time with her, I took advantage of it.

“Ida, I’m going to look after the neighbour’s child today, so the mom can wash her hair. Once you have a child, completely mundane things become impossible.” And, of course, I replied: “Can I go with?”

And I went. We took a lift from the fifth floor. There was constantly a strange melody playing in the lift. “Ooh, nice song,” I said. And then I realised it was a prayer from the Quran. We walked to the neighbouring block of flats wearing our slippers. The neighbour was a childhood friend of my hostess and they both had daughters of the same age. They’d visit each other often to pass time. None of them were employed, so taking care of the children was their priority. At first, I thought we’d make a short visit, just so the neighbour could wash her hair. But we first treated ourselves to macaroni with meat, and then we started practicing Egyptian dance. Of course, I mentioned I liked dancing and I was happy to join in on the hip shaking. The neighbour took the whole dance thing very seriously. She put on bright neon orange leggings and a tiger t-shirt, tying a bell scarf around her hips. A phone, YouTube, Bluetooth and a speaker. And the Haba haba song and we were ready. It was quite a little party!

I got really tired at nine in the evening, after walking around the city the whole day and all the dance lessons. I was waiting for the magic sentence: “Well, let’s go home, time to go to bed.” It was something I expected what with the three-year-old kid and all. But I didn’t know the locals had a different sleeping pattern. Kids would usually go to bed around two or three in the morning. And then they would sleep in until twelve o’clock or even later. Unemployed were quite happy with such a pace.

Five baguettes and a goodbye

Ali prepared hearty breakfast for me on the day of my departure. Five baguettes! With kaymak and fig jam. At first, I thought he made breakfast for the whole family or that he made a mistake or something. Five baguettes? I started planning on where I’d hide all the baguettes when I came to realise based on gestures that it was food for the road, specifically for the journey to Cairo. Ugh, was I relieved!