Unexpected Journey

14:54

The wind blew hard that day and Belle, Pie and I had to held tight onto our coats, trapped the body heat inside. It's nearly two-hour journey to Moez Street in Old Cairo to track Al-Hakim Mosque : just because we followed the wrong direction. The metro was cramped in the early morning, we can barely breathe when a sea of people came into the coaches at the same time.

That was interesting. Belle almost trip on the platform on her way out because a middle-age lady decided to stuck her umbrella out of nowhere.



We got off at Bab-El Shaariya Station, heading to Al-Hakim Mosque, located almost a kilometre away.

I'll be honest now. I didn't set out to document every single thing that we do here in Cairo. I just made sure that my GoPro was fully charged and recorded the journey, I occasionally turn off the camera too. From the starting point in Zagaziq to the hustle bustle city of Cairo, we travelled here to look for a famous mosque here : Al-Hakim Mosque.

On a wet street brimmed with people and stalls all over, I had an acute realization that we were actually in the wrong direction. The stores and the street looks the same, but there was a slight difference.

My gut was telling me to asked Belle and Pie to turn around, but they were confident that we were right on track. I kept doubting, believing my instinct when they finally realized that we were really at the end of the wrong alley. 

I wasn't mad, really. Even though we walked for almost two kilometres only to discover that it was the wrong direction. But we finally found the right way, and here we are.



The mosque itself boasts a huge wall (more like a fort), covering from the front till the back of the street. In front of the building, there were lines of candy stores, plenty of restaurants and also a string of old cafe that you don't wanna miss.


The trip there went smoothly overall, though it was certainly a test of our endurance. It nearly broke us apart when we were lost the night before in the maze-like streets that was connected to Khan El-Khalili (Souq Hussein). But we made due, greeting and asking few very kind folks along the way, talking to each other while walking for miles. 

Pie and I even Google-d the place for a few times, making sure that we know where we are going that time. Belle had an idea to use Waze but it was no use. Waze incorrectly led us to another mosque that was quite far, it took us two metro stations to get back to Moez Street.


"Thank you for being patient with us, Nash."

I nodded slowly while my eyes feasted upon the breathtaking interior of the mosque. 

"No problem. It was worth it, Pie."


I think back fondly to the time we argued in the middle of the night when it was cold outside and we were stranded in the middle of nowhere. We were thinking doomed thoughts, only to find that our journey was actually exhilarating. 

And I got to experience that with my best girlfriends. 














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