Egypt sat quietly on my list of places to visit ever since I began toying with the idea of trying to see the whole world. It wasn't a high priority though or somewhere I thought I'd experience anytime soon. Then, after a series of events, plans fell into place and within a few weeks I was there experiencing its wonder firsthand.

I don’t think Egypt is the kind of place that can really be described. Learned or mastered? Not that either. Rather it seems to ask to be surrendered to, just experienced. It’s ancient, vibrant, culturally rich, warm, delicious, beautiful, alluring, spiritual and deeply hospitable. It's also intense, chaotic, dusty, loud, and at times unnerving because of how aggressive and overwhelming it can be. Time seems to fold in on itself there and beauty and contradiction definitely live side by side. I've come to suspect that's exactly how it likes to be though. There's a magnetic, Scorpionic, je ne sais quoi energy that pulses through everything. The kind that let’s you believe you've figured it out, only to wink, smirk and remind you that you haven’t. I tried my best to uncover the country’s layers while I was there and, in doing so, found it helped me reveal more of mine, too.