I haven't moved yet, but I just found an apartment to move into when my month here in Zamalek is up. This is my new neighborhood:
Those are houseboats! I'm not sure exactly from this view, but I think mine is second from the right. The Kit Kat houseboats (named for the cabaret that used to be where the mosque stands today) have a long and storied history. They were the (supposed) scene of WWII espionage, bohemian debauchery, and political intrigue. I'm sure that while many of these stories have been spun into mythical renditions more than precise history, the houseboats also hold many secrets and more than a few legends steeped in the truth.
My future roommate, Ryan, is a Fulbright scholar studying at the American University in Cairo. This did give me pause, since Egypt is a fairly conservative society and women living on their own invite suspicion, let alone women living with a male to whom she is not related or married. I was assured by the current tenants (Ryan's current roommate is a woman working for the British Council in Cairo) and the landlord that the rules are not the same here, and that given their history, Cairenes dismiss the boat tenants with a resigned shrug rather than angry disapproval. The houses are highly private as well, so its possible people won't even make the connection that I live with a male (since there are other females in neighboring apartments on the same boat). The boats are moored about 20 ft below street level, and hidden by trees and foliage, so people walking by won't be able to see the goings-on down below.
Anyway, I think the benefits highly outweigh the risks - I get to wake up and have my coffee and breakfast on the Nile! I get to see egrets and crocodiles and sailboats every day! I get a cool breeze off the river at night, and a daily respite from the hot and dusty streets of Cairo.
Those are houseboats! I'm not sure exactly from this view, but I think mine is second from the right. The Kit Kat houseboats (named for the cabaret that used to be where the mosque stands today) have a long and storied history. They were the (supposed) scene of WWII espionage, bohemian debauchery, and political intrigue. I'm sure that while many of these stories have been spun into mythical renditions more than precise history, the houseboats also hold many secrets and more than a few legends steeped in the truth.
My future roommate, Ryan, is a Fulbright scholar studying at the American University in Cairo. This did give me pause, since Egypt is a fairly conservative society and women living on their own invite suspicion, let alone women living with a male to whom she is not related or married. I was assured by the current tenants (Ryan's current roommate is a woman working for the British Council in Cairo) and the landlord that the rules are not the same here, and that given their history, Cairenes dismiss the boat tenants with a resigned shrug rather than angry disapproval. The houses are highly private as well, so its possible people won't even make the connection that I live with a male (since there are other females in neighboring apartments on the same boat). The boats are moored about 20 ft below street level, and hidden by trees and foliage, so people walking by won't be able to see the goings-on down below.
Anyway, I think the benefits highly outweigh the risks - I get to wake up and have my coffee and breakfast on the Nile! I get to see egrets and crocodiles and sailboats every day! I get a cool breeze off the river at night, and a daily respite from the hot and dusty streets of Cairo.
Congrats - your houseboat-to-be sounds awesome!!
ReplyDeleteWow, that is just too cool! I wonder how much you will feel the boat move though? I would totally live there even if I could feel the boat move, love the perks!!!
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