Refreshed

Well we just arrived back from our holiday in Siwa Oasis and I cannot begin to explain how nice it was to get away from the city to spend a few days relaxing and seeing a totally different part of Egypt. We were all excited to get away, but once we found out we would be spending 10 hours on a bus I began to get a little nervous about whether or not we would be for better or worse after the road trip. Reading my Fodor’s on the way to Siwa, it described the oasis as a “pleasant little town centered around a market square, where roads lead off into the palm groves in nearly every direction.” After hour five of nothing seeing nothing but the desert I wondered how anything in the middle of this hot wasteland could be described as “pleasant.”

But sure enough 10 hours later, out of nowhere appeared a pleasant little town centered on a market square with roads and palm groves leading off into every direction. Dodging donkey carts and motorcycles, we made our way down one of the roads to our resort-like hotel which I can only describe as what you would imagine celebrity rehab to be like. The cabins were scattered around a massive cold-water spring and fire-pit that we used each day and night. I can honestly say I had the best nights sleep that I’ve had in years—It was nice to go to sleep each night and not hear dogs barking, cars honking and motorbikes zooming by our apartment.

I wish there were words to describe the people I met and the places I saw in Siwa, but I literally do not think they exist. Words cannot do justice when describing the feeling of standing in the middle of the Sahara and only staring at sand and blue sky as far as the eye can see, taking a dip in freshwater lake in the middle of the desert, eating freshly cooked Siwiian food, riding a bike down dirt paths, swimming in cold springs and staring at the Milky Way counting shooting stars during a nighttime Bedouin party.

The weekend was just what we had wanted and needed, and our return to the city, newly refreshed, was just what we had expected—hot and crowded. But this hot and crowded city has now become our home and the little things that once seemed so foreign are now strangely normal. We now know the neighborhood and its regulars, how much to pay in cab fares and can speak broken Arabic when hand-gestures fail. After the trip, and with the end of Ramadan, I think Cairo and I are both giving each other a second chance—Insha’Allah!

Enjoy the pictures from Siwa and I promise now that I’ve settled in I will get better about updating with pictures and stories. Miss you all and as always, thanks for checking in and checking up!