“It's a bad time to leave!” Everyone told us that in Italy.
The war between Israel and Palestine had resumed more ferociously than ever, at the beginning of October 2023.
On the contrary, Egyptian friends and colleagues stated that in their country, nothing had changed, that that war had been happening next to them for decades, only this time "the slap ” had started from the other side.
As it was when I arrived there for the first time in 2021, among yellow, orange and red codes that in Italy closed our lives (and our minds) forever, arriving in Egypt was "coming home", where "home" means a relaxed, welcoming place, which "suddenly opens the heart", which corresponds to a world, difficult, but still inhabited by people of flesh and blood.
So one morning that October we woke up in Livorno, reached Milan, flew to Cairo and back in the sky to Luxor.
And we did it by bringing our children, Karim and Niccolò, with us! Ashraf's colleagues confirmed that all the tourist facilities were full, the Farnesina on the other hand gave no information to the contrary, and we only wanted one thing: after so many difficult years, to let our children experience a period of discovery, joy and trust .
And we did well.
The legendary architecture of the temples of Luxor, Karnak, the Valley of the Kings, the sovereign Hatshepsut, some wonders of Ancient Egypt, heat, sand and stunning were the baptism of the boys with this country. They were incredulous that all this didn't only exist in school books!
Passing along an internal road carved into the desert, dotted with small villages in deep Egypt, we arrived in Hurghada at night, where the 40° temperatures allowed us to enjoy days of sunshine , rest and water, barely overshadowed by a passing intestinal discomfort typically caused by travel, fatigue and air conditioning.
Despite this, we had some magnificent swims among hundreds of colorful fish and a coral reef which, although in my opinion less rich than that of Sharm El Sheik, made us I was treated to a part of the journey with dolphins who played and vocalized with us!
After this day in colored waters, salt and sun, the day in the sand has arrived: a safari inside the desert, among dromedaries, motorbikes and Bedouins, a night dressed in stars!
Back on the plane to reach Cairo and the last stage of a long-awaited journey; and therefore Pyramids, Nile, Dance, Music, Friends, Family and... the legendary Shobra, the neighborhood that is Egypt itself!
Travelling is a gift to share, it is something we want to wish to the next generations; maintain contact with reality, what you see, hear and touch with your body; get to know other ways of living and other people, identify, tune in, lose yourself and find yourself, richer and more in love than before.
