(Nomad: Day 1388),
Maadi, Cairo, Egypt,
Two days have passed in Cairo.
Since Yesterday there was less haze. Because the wind woke up, I think it chased away the bad smoky air. This made the city more comfortable to wander around. But here anyway is a very fussy busy city. Walking around the city can feel very intrusive and aggressive, getting a constant flow of loud noises, smells, hectic traffic, and chaotic scenes every 10 meters.
Also, I believe Cairo can be better enjoyed at night time when the shade begins to hide the scars of the city and the lights start to bring excitement to the scenery. In the evening, people are more joyful, enjoy more their time, eating or chilling out with friends. It is the time when you forget about the hard harsh reality of life.
Yesterday I went to the Egyptian Museum, it is loaded with so many artifacts, and they all are so old, it’s almost unbelievable! I was in awe in front of all these ancient arts, the objects from Toutankahmon’s tomb are just out of this world! They are in a perfect state of preservation and so refined and colorful, it’s a true marvel!
I also explored the urban area on the island of Zamalek, a famous neighborhood in the city, it has more large spaces, green areas, and cultural places, along with many cafes.
Today I finally was able to send the hard drive I have been trying to send for a few days now. I feel relieved. In fact, lately, it has been always complicated when I tried to send or receive anything, be it on Canary Island or in Egypt. Many other countries are easier for these kinds of stuff.
My journey in Egypt is almost gone, I am leaving on the 16th. It went fast, and to my surprise, I liked it much more than I thought I would. In fact, before I was assimilating Egypt with Morocco, and since I did not feel great traveling in Morocco, I would have thought Egypt would be in the same vein, but I changed my mind. They are both different, and Egypt is more than just the famous ancient history. It is at the center of the Arab world hence has a powerful cultural position. I would certainly like to come back as it is probably the best place to learn Arabic. But if I come back, I would probably choose a different place, less busy than Cairo, less touristic than Luxor, and less dry than Dahab; and also at a different time of the year (less cold).
Tomorrow I am going to a very interesting place, doing one of the most interesting and important recording session projects. I will be recording lions almost all day long. It’s a place a little away from the city at 1h30 drive a little North West of Cairo. They have what they call a ‘lion farm’, I was able to book a session there with the owner. It’s a little adventurous as I don’t know exactly how it will unfold, and what will happen exactly. I believe there are around 30 lions there but not sure. I never solely recorded such animals before. It will be a new experience for me. I will use the short shotgun Sennheiser MKH8060 along with the wide cardio. Unfortunately, I do not have the figure-8 mic I was supposed to have from the Canary, as it was stuck in the custom. I have however a microphone that can record up to 384 kHz !!! This is the bat microphone I got for my bat project in Sri Lanka. I think it will be useful for capturing all these high frequencies. We will see how it goes.
