Egypt is the place...

People constantly ask me, “…but why do you love Egypt so much?” And it’s a question I’ve always had trouble answering, because I never really knew why. It was not something to be put into words; it was a feeling. But over time, the reasons have crystallized in my mind and I will tell you exactly why I love it.

There are a million little reasons, a million little moments, and the sum of their parts make up the whole. 

I love it because of the sense of community that is ever-present in a country of 90+ million people where, even when I didn’t know a soul, I felt as though I belonged. Because if my car breaks down there will be a handful of people pushing it to give it a clutch start without even having to be asked. Because the fruit seller tore open a pomegranate with his hands to show me how to eat it. Because the young guy in the kiosk offered my son his hawawshi sandwich when he randomly commented how much he loves hawawshi. Because the parents in the park invited my boys to play ball with their children and then insisted that they keep the ball at the end of the game. Because my boys now know what it means when someone has a white heart. Because when I told the waiter in a café that I need my coffee really strong and really hot, he tapped under each eye to say, “Min einaya”. 

Because when my children give someone with nothing a couple of pounds they receive heartfelt blessings for God’s protection. Because being a mother is not only enough, it is revered. Because every time I speak to anyone they wish me peace. Because every time I talk to someone on the phone they ask if I need anything. Because when I order shay bilaban in a coffee shop they heat the milk for me. Because when I speak Arabic with an accent the taxi driver asks if I’m Lebanese. Because here I learnt that sometimes bad things happen to prevent something worse from happening. Because I left a jacket I loved in a taxi and was told that it happened because somebody else really needed that jacket much more than I did. Because my boys have learnt that the bawab’s kids are often kinder and more polite than the kids who have everything. Because here I finally worked out how to reconcile the concepts of fate and freewill. Because the little things can mean everything. Because being in Egypt makes me see life in its proper perspective. 

Because Egypt is the place where I feel more like myself than anywhere else.