People of Cairo

Note: Please do click on the images and enjoy them as an album!

… or a smile veiled in a higab.

curly as Dina ...

two kids in the City of the Dead

the colours of a sand storm

Each photo comes with a story, maybe a deep conversation sharing a sheeshaa or an amusing encounter on a street corner.

More often than not, my subjects have broken the ice. The usual "Welcome to Cairo" is often heard, or maybe just a look and a giggle, making me be the first to speak. Invitations to participate in peoples selfies are very common. Egypt is experiencing a selfiemania at the moment, much as the rest of the world, it seems.

The fact that I am such a sought photo object myself, has a sad explanation, as there are not many tourists in Egypt these days. In the areas and the hours I am out and about, I see extremely few, if any at all.

I know my way in these streets. The rubble does not distract me and the cats amuse me. What I appreciate is the multitude of businesses, faces, activities and the make-do-attitude in the old part of town. It is a mystery to me how people cope on incomes as low as the standard here. But they apparently do, and many with grace, in spite of truly hard conditions. I will give examples later in the blog.

buddies

grandma

A hot group selfie.

A hot guy in a group. 

A group of hot guys.

a teasing hat vendress

One thing is bumping into spontaneous social craziness and fun, another is to really get to know people and making friends. I am privileged to know people here that I very much care for. Esraa's family is one of them, and Sunna's another. They live in the old town and in the cemetery, areas that several of my other friends in Cairo  have never ventured into. It's the hard core Cairo.

she made me her friend

This is my fourth visit here, and each welcome is as warm as the previous. Sunna never seems to get used to me never getting married, but greets me with the greatest smile in town. Esraa's mother and sister are both full of fun, even if they follow a slightly more conservative path than the youngest daughter seems to choose. Esraa is going for president, backed by me!

Sunna in the City of the Dead

Esraa in Darb al Ahmar

Aya, Awatef and Esraa

Meeting people is what travelling is all about. Do it!