it must be fate

As the clock on my Delta itinerary page ticks down day-by-day (only 15 to go!), my attitude about the next semester seems to change hourly. One minute I can't be more thankful to be taking a break from USC this semester and I'm picking up my Egypt travel guide to read it over for the hundredth time; the next, I'm scared out of my mind and all I want to do is cling to Atlanta and my friends here and never let go. The fact that I'm currently having to make appointments for rabies shots (seriously??) doesn't help the latter. So imagine my excitement when I opened the New York Times Travel section this past Sunday to find a full above-the-fold spread on my destination city: Cairo.

(all photos courtesy of the New York Times)

Well, that doesn't look too bad at all, does it? Author Jennifer Conlin visited during Ramadan in the fall of 2009, so she experienced a somewhat different Cairo than I will-- during that holy month, the city is quiet during the day as the 90% Muslim population fasts; after sundown, the streets erupt in parties, celebration and lots of eating. My favorite anecdote of Conlin's was this:

"One drawback of visiting Egypt at this time of year is that regulations against alcohol consumption are more stringent. As a result, nearly every restaurant and cafe becomes temporarily dry. When I stopped by the Sequoia restaurant to make a reservation for iftar, the headwaiter interrupted me before I could even give my name. “Are you aware, madame, that no alcohol is served during this period?” he asked, looking nearly as forlorn to deliver the news as I was to receive it."

This is the best part: the restaurant Conlin mentions, Sequoia, is the famed Egyptian sushi hot spot I've heard so much about. Located on the same island in the middle of the Nile, Zamalek, as my dormitory on the old AUC campus, Conlin calls Sequoia "a place to visit as much for the people-watching as for the view of the Nile." And it looks amazing!

In conclusion... I fly to Cairo in 15 days, and I couldn't be more excited!