| 79 LanaGedogoševićisalong-servingjournalistofBelgrade-based daily Blic andprobablythemostcompetentpersontofamiliariseuswiththeEgyptiancapital of Cairo. Her adoration for this city is so great that she’s returned to it onmultiple occasions. “My rst visit there was my choice, while the next time I visited forwork. Somewill agree that it’s anattractivecity,whilesomewon’t, but it is undeniably special.With around 20million inhabitants – it is lively, fast-pacedand interesting, but if you’reused toeverythingbeingarrangedand“spotless”, youcertainlywon’t experience thathere. Nevertheless, that “chaos”, as many would call it, makes the city attractive and interesting,”says Lana, adding that the best way to start getting to know the city is from the Nile. “TheCoptic quarter is a very pretty andquiet old town, with the beautiful Churchof theVirginMary fromthe7th centuryandthenearby Church of St. Sergius and Bacchus from the 6th century. The architecture around theseplaces is also interesting, with the streets in the quarter tiles and narrow, with a special atmosphere, while there are also plenty of cafés where you can take refreshment with tea or coffee, and then continue your tour of the the city.” She describes Cairo as a city that only appears to be in a rush, while its energy is a lot tamer. “Egyptians like to “chill out”, so they sit in parks, on benches, in thestreets, cafésandtaverns, chatting, socialisingor simplyobserving thecityandthepeople in itwhoareoccupiedby theirownthoughts. They arekindandkeen tohelp, explainanddirect, as longas youcan manage to achieve mutual understanding with them.” As for the pyramids, she says that the option of not visiting was out of the question for her, although she heard that the internal passages are extremely narrow. “I realised intheendthat thatwasagooddecision, because I got acompletelydi erent impressionfromthe interior: itwasneither that warm nor stu y, one could move normally, though in a half-crouch in certain parts. The pathway leads from the entrance to a chamber thatwas a tomb, andwhichcontainnothingbesides stone, thenyou headanotherway togetout. It’sagreat feeling justbeing insidesuch a wonder as the pyramids,”continuing Lana, before adding that another must-visit is the city’s Khan el-Khalili market. “If you’re used to visiting shops where everything is in its place, with xed prices and no comments from the traders, this is not the place for you. On the contrary, here you will nd everything but the kitchen sink, especially if you allow yourself to explore. It is interesting that there are no xedworkinghours, withmerchants operating from the morning until tomorrow.” And when you tire of walking, she recommends that you take a seat and try the traditional Egyptian speciality of ful medames, a dishmade frombeans and the simplest ingredients. “Thebest fulmedames canbeeatenonthestreet,but ifyouwant to try it ina restaurant, do soat oneof thosenear theAl-SayedaZainabMosque in the historic part of Cairo. Afterwards you’ll most enjoy the traditional Egyptian hibiscus tea known as Karkadeh, which can be found on every corner here.” You must try the traditional Egyptian hibiscus tea known as Karkadeh Obavezno probajte tradicionalni egipatski čaj od hibiskusa karkadi Kada se umorite od pešačenja, po njenoj preporuci sedite i probajte tradicionalni egipatski specijalitet fud mamis, jelo koje se pravi od pasulja i najjednostavnijih namirnica. – Najbolji fud mamis se može pojesti na ulici, ali ako želite da to ipak učinite u restoranu, probajte ga kod El Sajed Zainab džamije, u istorijskomdeluKaira. Posle će vamnajviše prijati tradicionalni egipatski čaj od hibiskusa karkadi, koji se ovde može popiti na svakom ćošku. Lena opisuje Kairo kao grad koji samo izgleda užurbano, ali mu je energija mnogo pitomija Lana describes Cairo as a city that only appears to be in a rush, while its energy is a lot tamer iStock / Joel Carillet iStock / Leonid Andronov iStock / fmajor iStock / Yulia_Kotina
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