CAIRO

The scent of jasmine permeates the gardens of Heliopolis and rose sellers take their spot along the coast road, where lovers walk hand in hand in the evening. The night is warm, redolent with the aroma of shishas. On the terraces, the sound of clinking glasses mixes with the call to prayer of the muezzins, and the incessant cacophony caused by honking cars.

Cairo never seems to sleep, never seems to stop living. The nightlife in the Egyptian capital only ends when the sun rises. If dancers and singers have gone home, the underground retains its unlikely places and chic clubs. The day always starts with a brunch and the eternal replay of those old black-and-white movies where Farid al-Atrash is singing. Is it to help prevent us from forgetting the past? As you explore the city, you will pass thousand-year-old sites, bazars and medieval mosques in the old Coptic quarter, Tahir Square and ancient necropolises. Yet Cairo is not a nostalgic city; it moves forward, sprawling into the desert.

Each visit brings about a lot of surprises. A brand new neighbourhood has risen up, as well as a new fashion, a restaurant here and a hotel there. The Grand Egyptian Museum has risen from the ground close to the Giza pyramids, which still defy time. The traffic is always dense, almost oppressive, yet it is fun to ride with all the windows open in a 'black and white', the nickname for the ramshackle taxis, to go to dinner for Maadi or Zamalek. Everything is forgiven in Cairo, as there is something that soothes, calms all. It is the nourishing Nile River, rising from the heart of Africa. If you follow this green ribbon that flows towards the desert, you are promised unforgettable discoveries and a journey through time to one of the most fascinating ancient civilisations to have lived.