Cairo to Karaoke

Bed bugs and waterfalls

A picture I took at Khan el-Khalili, a market in Cairo.

I saw a man with no legs sitting on a pile of rope and soiled rags, hands outstretched for change. His clothes were beige and brown from head to toe, his pants tied off in thick knots at the thighs. Brown from the sand of the Sahara, which infects every crack and crevice of Cairo.

When walking down the street, I would often trip on piles of brown sand which had crept up over sidewalks like a living creature, or half-choke on russet plumes, blown up by heavy traffic. The man on the pile of ropes seemed not to notice the sand.

Dogs perched on the rags all around him, also brown. Think, brown dog, and you’ve got it. Some of the dogs were missing legs too. Mistreated or mangy canines seem to be a common thing in Cairo. Not cats though. The Cats are well taken care of.

I spent two months living in Egypt. Not that long in the grand scheme of things, but long enough to get to know at least a portion of Cairo and a handful of people. There is beauty there. Sound and life and action. But there is also mistrust, desperation and anger.

CAIRO

I flew to Cairo from Greece, and had arranged accommodations through a travel app. Perusing lodging options for Cairo is a trip. The range of styles and prices is something to behold. I will admit, I leaned towards the…