Adventures in the Middle East – Part 4

And then I rolled around the blocks for another half hour, because I did not know which one was the right one from the navigation. "I'm standing in front of a shop with a lot of chips. They also have Coca Cola!" I was very helpful to the host with my descriptions.

Aja opened the door of her building in her sleeping coat. What an energy and knowledge of English! I was absolutely thrilled.

Aja lives in the centre of Cairo with her father and brother, whom I have not met, her mother and two cats, Cookie and Chocolate. After two weeks, I finally took a normal shower with her and washed the laundry in the washing machine. Such luxury! Her life story was incredible. Due to overactive posting on social networks, she was in prison for 12 days, after which she stopped wearing the hijab. Today, she fights for the rights and freedoms of Egyptian women.

In the evening, we went to the city with the metro, which also has a women's carriage, and I tried the famous Koshari. This is an Egyptian national dish and a very popular street food. A mixture of pasta, rice and brown lentils topped with spicy tomato sauce, garlic vinegar and decorated with chickpeas and crispy fried onions. Because I was foreign, we were both also served mango juice.

Egyptian Fitness

I love it when my hosts involve me in their lives and activities. After all the Egyptian indulgences, sweets and ice creams, I joined Aja for a fitness session. I had a lot of prejudices in my head about Egyptian fitness. The gym was modern, with the latest equipment and workout instructors. It was mostly men, with a woman in a hijab here and there. They explained to me that women work out in the later hours.

During our guided workout, they filmed new reels for instagram and I showed some salsa moves. It was a lot of fun. A young instructor with a moustache could not stop talking about beautiful Russian women and his favourite country. I do not even know why I asked which one and why. Russia, because of beautiful girls, of course! "My ex is from Russia." And apparently I, with my blonde hair, blue eyes and accent, reminded him of his ex.

Antinal - lifesaver

I said goodbye to Aja for a short time, as I saw her again after visiting the Siwa oasis. This time in slightly worse condition. I got water or street food poisoning in Siwa. I am not sure exactly. I barely survived the ten-hour bus ride back to Cairo. Then, at six in the morning, I walked five kilometres to the host's home and searched for open cafés to use the toilet on the way. Stomach problems were resolved by calling Aja to the pharmacy, and the medicines were delivered to her home.

Antinal - lifesaver!