Germany. What a nice feeling it is to turn on the tap and drink the fresh water directly from it. At least we can. Even if there is a lack of quality in one or the other region. It’s drinkable.
Giza, Egypt. I haven’t found out exactly yet, but the tap water here is probably from the Nile. And you really don’t want to know what is floating around in the Nile. So drinking tap water is a thing of the past. Sometimes it smells strongly of chlorine. And after showering, the skin feels like it went through the car wash. With special cleaning program. One chemical shower please. So that all bacteria are really killed. What do I long for back in Germany at such moments. And I don’t even want to think about Switzerland. Fresh mountain spring water. No matter where you turn the tap on.
And in Egypt I can be happy that water comes out when I turn the tap on. For example today, there is none. I haven’t discovered any logic in it yet. In Brazil, I experienced that the water is turned off at certain times and days because the resource has to be saved. So you can’t wash down the tropical climate three times a day. Only once. But what’s the reason here in Egypt? It rained. For two days. And there was no tap water. Three days long. But that’s fine. It is part of everyday life. And I’m well prepared for it. The apartment is home to an army of countless bottles. Filled up with water. So I was welcomed by the crowd of water bottles. In the bathroom. And in the kitchen. I suspected the reason for this before the water failed to appear for the first time. It’s great when people think along. So there is enough for washing in case it does not come back. There is provision.
I also don’t use tap water to cook. So you see me from time to time dragging a water can from the supermarket home. But whether the water is so much better than what comes out of the tap is doubtful. After all, the smell is neutral. Some of it is just treated tap water. And what comes from the source belongs to a certain brand. It has its monopoly here. As in so many other African countries. And once you have read about this topic, you know which brand it is and what measures they are taking. Unkind. Do I want to support this brand? No. So I use the ‘no name’ product. Cheers!
North coast, Egypt. The tap water tastes slightly salty. No wonder. We are only a few meters away from the sea. It is extremely practical to cook pasta because it is already salted. Also the water from the plastic bottles must be used for tea and coffee.
Since I’ve been in Egypt, my plastic bottle balance is gone. There is no balance. Just a rising of using plastic. As simple as not having plastic in Germany – compared to it a joke – it is one of the biggest challenges here. I have not mastered this yet. If I had a green footprint, it will be gray again. Gray, like ashes. Gray, like a strip of bare concrete. Gray like the sky over Germany. As I have often seen it in winter. Although it can also shine so beautifully blue.
And the water of the sea is so beautiful blue. Which I can enjoy every day. A blue that invites you to dream. A blue that holds fairy tales. A blue that tells of the beauty of the world. Our blue planet.
What seems so normal and natural in Germany makes me think here. I once heard that access to drinking water will trigger wars in the future. Oil is no longer the reason for warfare. And now I hear that Ethiopia is planning to build a dam. A dam that stops the natural flow of the Nile. The Nile that feeds all of Egypt. Egypt’s agriculture is mainly along the Nile. A look at Google Maps makes it very clear. And now I don’t need a lot of phantasy to imagine what happens when Egypt is cut off from the source.
And so I think to myself: there are so many ways to treat water. To make salt water drinkable. Build sources. I am looking for such projects. I wish that innovative processes conquer the country.
A country, such as Egypt, where it is a natural thing to buy drinking water in a supermarket. A usual natural thing. However, this is far from nature. Nature is generous and cares for everyone. Nature provides us with water. Us beings. Which are 60-80% made out of water.
