It was all too easy to spin out the list of things I won’t miss . . . but there is definitely a healthy set of “will miss” things in this world I am about to leave, too. Here they are:
1. The big, beautiful, always-a-bit-startling first call to prayer of the day. I have never regretted lying awake at 4:25 in the morning (or being up) and hearing the lovely cacophony that briefly passes over Cairo when the city is still dark and another hour or so away from its chronic state of loudness.
2. The culture of craftwork that remains, despite modern conveniences and the proliferation of crap. I like the alabaster, iron candle-lamps, rough wall-hangings, woodwork and silly figurines, but mostly I like the amazing skill of tentmaking and appliqué. I like that men as well as women are skilled stitchers, and my favorite place to visit in downtown Cairo is the Tentmakers’ Bazaar.
3. The Tentmakers’ Bazaar is about half-way through my favorite walk in Cairo, from the Kahn el Khalili to the Citadel. The sights, sounds and smell of the trek are unforgettable — you pass by the ancient Fez maker; donkey carts trying to squeeze past small trucks; austere chador shops located next door to sexy lingerie merchants; important, decorated mosques; all manner of fruit and meat, the latter being both dead and alive; bales of wool, stacked high in narrow shops; and always something else that you didn’t notice the last time you passed through.
4. The drive west from Maadi, over the Nile and south toward Saqarra and a chain of other “lesser known” pyramids. I love how rural life marches right up to urbanity, and I like seeing the date farms, the young boys driving donkey carts, the painted homes (you know someone inside has gone to Mecca), the colorful stacks of produce for sale, and the water buffalo.
5. The metro. It always impresses me that this very simple system, for pennies a ride, will get you downtown from Maadi, much faster than by car and with far less chances of delay or breakdown than the Red Line at home.
6. The antiquities at Giza, Luxor, Aswan, and Abu Simbel. Seriously, everyone should visit Egypt at least once in a lifetime. The treasures of this country’s history are incomparable. Also, I recommend taking the train from Cairo for your journey to Upper Egypt.
7. The tragic, amazing Nile, the true mother of Egypt. Best viewed from the above-mentioned train.
8. Cairo American College, which has been, for both girls, a precious and remarkable learning environment, as chronicled in this blog over the last four years. It has also been a treasured source of community for me.
9. The dynamism of the expatriate community — smart, nice, interesting people who do not bat an eyelash over professional peculiarities or dramatic changes at the very last minute. Everyone is used to living this way, and feels the richer for it.
10. The warmth and silly humor of most Egyptians. Despite the rampant unfairnesses of the country, even the poorest Egyptians will greet you with a twinkle in the eye, an unbegrudging smile and sometimes even a joke. If you have a flat tire along the side of a road (and we have been there), someone will always stop to help. I have visited many places in the past several years, and the Egyptian tendency toward good humor is truly distinctive. We will always consider ourselves lucky to have lived here.
As it turns out, naming ten things to miss was easy, too.