Life shows itself in all its diversity through travel. What kind of different rooms I was allowed to call my home. An accommodation for skippers in Tunisia. A catamaran on the Mediterranean. A finca in the mountains of Italy. A boat in France. A pension in Tunisia. An Airbnb apartment and a one-family house in Egypt. And now in Egypt an apartment near the pyramids.
Despite the smog, the pyramids can be seen.
The diversity that I experience through traveling is particularly evident in Egypt.
I don’t know where to start. So I start with what is most obvious: the houses.
The most diverse areas of life of so many different people.
Cairo. The cityscape tells of its inhabitants. The different parts of the city are shaped by the people. From high class to the poor district. There is everything in Egypt. And that is clearly demonstrated in Cairo. So many unfinished houses. One-floor, two-floor, three-floor – with no end. Because it can still be increased. It is a tradition that the man “brings” the accommodation to the marriage. Some families build a floor when the son marries. He then lives there with his own family. Generations of a family all under one roof. Only there is no roof. There can be another generation. People build in every place. Even if it seems impossible to build. Far from German regulations: Without building permit. The multi-storey houses are exposed in some parts of the city. Satellite dishes on the building indicate that they are occupied. In the meantime, the “wild” building has grown to such an extent that the city now wants to contain it. It is planned that entire residential areas will be relocated. Tearing off many at home. In some cases houses with torn out floors can already be seen. The city is preventing from living in this house. After all, it was created without a building permit.
As if it’s not bizarre enough to destroy houses so that nobody can live in them. So even more bizarre stories take place in the houses. Again, far from German regulations. This is how I hear a story that is not uncommon here in Egypt. A comedy like no other: an Egyptian was abroad for a few months. He came back and has no bedroom. The neighbor just hit the wall. And thus expanded his apartment by one room. And now instead of a door, there is a wall to the former bedroom of the Egyptian. There are no outline plans for his apartment. It looks like the Egyptian has to live with the downsizing of his apartment. Not the only case.
It goes on. In a district of Cairo, which is unofficially only called ‘Garbage City’. A whole district to which the waste from Cairo is transported. A district whose job is to separate the garbage. A district that lives with the garbage. Inconceivably. Apartment buildings. Shops. Street food. Cafes. And mountains of garbage. Sorted and bundled. A bunch of garbage bags. And children play in between. Men are talking. Families have lunch. Women selling fruit. One car, fully loaded, after the other. The garbage is embedded along the streets and alleys. The smell hovers over the streets. Pushes his way into the lungs. And the people of Garbage-City: living there, as if it were so natural to enjoy your coffee surrounded by garbage, as if you were sitting in the park.
A contrast to this is Beverly Hills in El Sheikh Zayed City. A compound like a small town. De luxe. A residential complex where everything is possible. You don’t have to leave. Walled. Barriers and security personnel regulate access. The houses in which people live sometimes look like small palaces. Shopping malls with everything you need to live. And much more. A golf course. Gyms. Hairdressing salons. Cafes. Well-kept lawn. Palm trees. Fountain. Walkways for strolling. A special kind of living oasis.
We continue to Giza. To the city I currently live in. Here are the famous three pyramids. Here is also “wild” building. However: there is a construction stop. Arranged by the city. Preventing people from living on the pyramids. For one thing, this ban may be to protect the pyramids. Secondly, because the area around the pyramids could still hide treasures. In any case, these were discovered here and there when building a house. I am amazed that the streets, apartments, restaurants and hotels are so close to the pyramids. A barrier that leads to the parking lot. From the parking lot, through the security area. And you’re already in the realm of the pyramids. With the Sahara sand under your feet.
The Sahara sand is also under my feet when I leave the house. No paved roads. Clouds of dust as soon as a car whizzes past. The cars in my street drive rather slowly. It is the tuk tuks that whiz through the area and stir up the sand. When I left the house, I heard construction work. As if someone in my house is tearing down a wall. I hope my bedroom will still be there when I come back after shopping.
