Chapter 4 - Hurghada and the Return to Cairo Hurghada
After weeks of dust and stone, Hurghada was a shock to the senses.
The Red Sea shimmered in hues of turquoise and sapphire, and the
air smelled of salt instead of sand. We traded temples for tidepools,
tombs for coral reefs. It was a pause, a breath, a chance to let the
whirlwind of Egypt settle in our bones.
But even paradise has its limits. On October 21, we returned to Cairo,
looping back to where it all began. The city hadn’t changed—but we
had. We’d stood in the shadows of pharaohs, floated above the Nile,
argued with taxi drivers, and traced the footsteps of gods and
queens. Egypt had tested us, dazzled us, and left us breathless.
It was maddening. It was magnificent. It was unforgettable. And with
a day to spare, we decided to make one final pilgrimage to the
vibrant Khan el-Khalili bazaar. The air was filled with the enticing
aroma of spices and the sounds of bustling market life as we
meandered through the colourful stalls. We couldn’t resist stopping
by the legendary El Fishawy Cafe, where we settled down with
steaming cups of fragrant mint tea. The atmosphere buzzed with
chatter and music, the perfect backdrop for reflecting on our
adventures in Egypt.
Egypt didn’t offer comfort. It offered confrontation—with history, with
chaos, with my own expectations. But in that friction, something
shifted. I learned to let go of control, to laugh at the absurd, to
marvel without needing to understand. In the land of gods and
ghosts, I found a strange kind of clarity: that beauty and frustration
often walk hand in hand, and that wonder is rarely tidy.