Finding Friends in Alexandria’s Castle

We’re in Alexandria, a city or rich history founded by Alexander the Great and at the former site of one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; Pharos, the lighthouse of Alexandria.

The lighthouse has long since been destroyed, its ruins used in part to build the Citadel of Qaitbay (The Castle of Alexandria) and it’s here that a couple of jokes leads to a friendship that highlights the essence of Egyptian culture.

“Hey, where are you from?” asks one of the Arab guys we’ve seen taking photos in the castle. “Egypt”, I reply jokingly. This sets the entire group off laughing. “Well Mr. Egypt, can we take a photo?”.

Who are we to refuse? We take turns posing for photos and tour the entire castle together, laughing and joking the whole time.

The gang are from all over, Brawy, Zanun and Food Captain are from a small town between Cairo and Alexandria. Samra is from Kuwait and is amazed when he finds that yes, we know where it is and can point it out on a map. Muhammed is from Saudi Arabia and develops a crush on my sister.

When we leave the castle to find my dad, the guys tells us their story. It’s the first time they’ve managed to find time off together, they don’t have enough for a hotel and they don’t need one. They are out partying and enjoying life, they spent two days in Cairo and are now in Alexandria before Samra and Muhammad leave the country. They haven’t slept at all yet!

We talk about the differences between Arab and Western culture; these guys were brought up with the utmost respect for their parents. Every morning, they kiss their parents and tell them how much they love them. Prior to going anywhere, they ask their parents permission. This is how it’s been for centuries and they don’t want life any other way.

Our conversation leads to lunch, lunch leads to tea, tea to dominoes, games and more photos. Egyptian hospitality dictates that one must always look after their guests. The problem is, so does ours. The guys consider us guests in their country, we consider them guests for lunch, so we spend some time taking turns justifying why we should pay for the food.

Tea and dominoes with (L-R) Dasha, Zanun, Brawy, Food Captain, myself and Mr Dad.

At the end of the day, when everyone is too tired to stay awake and the guys still have a long drive ahead of them, we call it a night.

For the rest of our time in Egypt, we keep in touch with our new friends as Brawy makes sure to call every day and check-up on how we are. He considers it his utmost duty to ensure we have a great time in his homeland, Egypt.