It’s 4 am. The streets are bustling. The blend of food, noise, and the hubbub of the masses conflates into the forefront of the Nile. Families, children, newly-weds – all are out enjoying the coolness of the late, Cairo air, and the soup of bustling that takes over Egypt’s capital during the midsummer nights. Egypt serves as the touchstone of almost all forms of Mediterranean contact and culture – the nomenclature of locations such as Alexandria, the citadels of former Pashas, the continued prominence of the minority Coptics, and of course, the grand opulence of the Pyramids which remain the most dominant symbol of the Ancient World existing today.
Yet what is it about Cairo, the metropolis of this quasi-cultural and historic country? The headscarf in neo-european secularity serves a symbol of dogmatic oppression; however, in the midst of shwarmas and pyramids, one immediately recognizes the wearing of it in the capital as some manifestation of femininity and individualism. The ‘Jewel of the Orient’ (Cairo, that is) provides further visuals of astonishment as one visit the Antiquities Museum. Here lie the splendours of Tutankhamen’s treasures, artefacts more commonly associated with primary school folklore in year 2! The amalgamation of such history and Islamic culture make the ancient land of the pharaohs an intriguing place of visit, and indeed a mystique that is unique.
Cairo is also home to the second oldest degree-granting university in the world, Al Azhar University, believed to have been built in 971, as well the highest authority on Sunni Islam in the world. Founded by the Fatimid Dynasty, it came under Sunni jurisdiction during the reign of Sultan Saladin. The historic Sultan also provided the capital with one of its great structures, the Cairo Citadel, whose efficacy as the fundamental vein of Egyptian governance was proved until the 19th Century. Indeed it is the juxtaposition of the Cairo Citadel alongside the magnitude of the desert Sphinx which heightens the fascinating feature of North Africa and the Mediterranean - an example of the ancient empire of the Pharaohs and the relatively recent religious culture of the Caliphate amalgamating as one, and producing a rich cultural heritage that should be revered and indeed celebrated.