Maghrabi's Camp مغربي كامب
Beautiful things are never perfect. Egypt has taught me this very important lesson.
Egypt is hard work, it’s no vacation, and far from love at first sight. If you are looking for luxury, you’ll rarely find it here. Due to lack of tourism, most places are run down and facilities are poorly maintained. The roads are dusty and often dirty, covered with plastic litter.
But that is the exact journey and experience that I often seek. My heart and curiosity took me off the beaten path to a small village in Aswan, where I met the Nubian tribe. I stayed at a tiny homestay in a room that was barely the size of my kitchen back home, with a family who showered me with friendly and overwhelmingly warm hospitality.
The homestay was run by two brothers who wanted to keep their oldest brother’s dream alive after he passed away from a heart attack several years ago. While we spent nights by the campfire, they taught me their language and shared some of the greatest home cooked meals with me. They shared memories of their older brother who took out many loans (which they are still paying off), to build this homestay from the ground up. His ambitious, yet humble goal was to be able to share their local traditions and beliefs with travelers who happened to stumble upon this town that is so often overlooked, and the history of their tribe, that so many people have never heard about. They didn’t have much but would offer me free rides across the river for groceries. They even gave me a free tour of a colorful Nubian village nearby and even invited me to a traditional Nubian wedding ceremony where locals shared various treats and showered me with such unexpected kindness and made me feel right at home!
The two brothers introduced me to some of the greatest friends. One of which was a young teenage girl named Sarah, who welcomed me into her home for tea. She wore a tee-shirt and jeans, unconventional for a Nubian girl. But Sarah had big dreams! Her goal was to travel the world and learn different languages from travelers that she encounters, simply by welcoming them with open arms and sharing her culture with them and learning about theirs in return. A dream that was incredibly inspirational for a girl who has never left this tiny village and had no access to the internet or social media. A dream that was born from ambition and curiosity alone, to prove that you are bigger than the place you came from, even though your roots define everything that you are.
I was also introduced to Captain Sanlousi, who took me on an epic adventure on his tiny falucca, a tiny boat, powered only by wind and a colorful, patched up sail. Where I was able to experience changing landscapes, shower in the icy water of the majestic Nile River, eat delicious Egyptian meals that were cooked on a tiny stove right on the boat, and experience some of the most unbelievable sunrises and sunsets! He welcomed me to their village in Edfu, where I met his wife and children and played soccer with the local children by the river bank, smoked hookah with the villagers, and learned how to kayak and fish from them.
To this day, I find myself smiling when I think about the time spent with the Nubian people. They have shown me so much kindness and made Egypt feel like home. To the day when we’ll meet again, insha’Allah!
