Nadin Helmi I 24 hours in old cities

September 13, 2018

CEU Residence center

5:30 PM

My head is spinning ?? Why?

Let's get back 24 hours earlier.  

I was in Cairo, trying to finish packing my bag so fast, so I can go to Alexandria to say goodbye to my sweet precious daughter SOPHIA.

I live in a very interesting neighborhood in Cairo called "Heliopolis" the area had been established on 1905 by a really wealthy Belgian industrialist called Baron Empain where he built his magnificent palace. The area is known for its unique architectural style " Heliopolis style" where you can see Neo-Islamic Style combined with Baroque style architectural. Heliopolis was the home of upper-class Egyptians and foreigners who lived in Egypt, although the area had changed a lot, yet you still can enjoy a wonderful walk there as you will see a beautiful building in each corner.

Catholic Basilica church in Heliopolis from my Instagram account 

Before hitting the road, and leave my sweet cozy apartment and say goodbye to the city I stopped in front of The Catholic Basilica church and sometimes we call it the Basilica of the Virgin Mary where you can enjoy the epic sound of the restored pipe organ, the original pipe was brought especially from Belgium in 1914 however it had been neglected for a long time until a famous Belgian organ builder (Gerard Pels) decided to restore the original pipe in 2002 so we get to be part of an amazing musical journey inside and outside its doors.

After 3 hours' drive, I can see the tip of Pompey's Pillar that’s mean I am home, the pillars are a Roman triumphal column located at the Serapeum of Alexandria, Karmouz district, they named it after the Roman general Pompey who had been murdered by Queen Cleopatra's brother. beneath the pillar you can find the stairs which leads you to the ruins of the great temple of Serapis and outside its gates the local market.

After my trip to Alexandria I went directly to the airport to start my adventure in Budapest.

I was happy when  arrived to Budapest, I can finally concentrate on this beautiful city. After a short process of searching and finding a companion to show me around, I asked my nice and dear friend Serkan 1^st year student at medieval studies to show me a part of the city since I missed the orientation week and I missed all the interesting tours.

He planned our short but concise discovery of the city’s Pest section, which contains quite “Müemlek”s (historical monument) to finish in one day. Thus, we draw a route that begins from St. Stephen’s Basilica, continues through to Liberty Bridge and follows to Danube coast until the Parliament Building, which was a quite fascinating monument especially during the night time thanks to birds flying over the roof!

After a fulfilling meal near to Deak Ferenc, we went to St. Stephen’s Basilica. The basilica was completed in 1905 and dedicated to King Stephen, the first king of Hungary (975-1038). I have already known that the square and the basilica itself is a prominent center for tourists and tours, but did not expect to see at least five different tourist groups from literally all continents! After entering the basilica, I have started to compare there with St. Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Church in Alexandria unintentionally.

After surviving from a huge tourist raids, we moved toward the Synagogue that was the biggest in Europe and probably the most impressive. Next station was the Hungarian National Museum. This neoclassical building was built between 1837 and 1847 by the architect Mihaly Pollack. From prehistoric ages to end of the communist era, there are lots of themes and periods are exhibited in the museum. Unfortunately, we could not visit the museum since it was already closed, however, I added it on my “must” list! Then finally we arrived to beautifully illuminated Liberty Bridge. I was quite shocked after hearing that the bridge was the shortest one in Budapest. However, I was super excited with it and took the photo immediately to send Nouran, my friend from Cairo!

Liberty Bridge

By the way this is how I met with the wind of Budapest that blows from the Danube… Along the coast, we have seen lots of classical buildings like Corvinus University and Hungarian Science of Academy. Both Corvinus University and Hungarian Science of Academy with Eötvös Lorand University were and still the pioneers of the Hungarian academy.

Until that day, I had no idea about Hungarian cuisine and it was also time to start discovering it. Luckily, we managed to find a place that cooks Goulash. Goulash, as one of the main dishes of Hungarian cuisine, was a bit intense for me but I feel like it will be one of the best companions here.

Furthermore, the variety of international restaurants in Budapest, mainly Turkish and Italian ones, is also something that attracted my attention. After having our soups, we hit the road again and reached our ultimate destination, which was the Parliament Building! Comparing with the political and social contexts of Egypt, the fact that they allow tourists to visit the parliament building from that close distance seems also different to me. So, after a short walk in the backyard of the parliament, we have returned to our dorm with metro!