Following the recommendations of our Egyptian friends, we purchased our tickets from “Go Bus”, which is said to be the best bus company in Egypt. To ensure we were on time, we arrived early at the company’s private terminal to board our double-decker bus scheduled to depart at 3:00 AM. Since the lower deck of the bus could not accommodate our entire group, four of us had to travel on the upper deck. Finally, our bus arrived at the terminal, and we eagerly got up to oversee the loading of our luggage before taking our seats. Despite the late hour and the prospect of a long bus journey, everyone was wide awake and in high spirits like children. Regardless of age, traveling seemed to bring out the child in us, transforming our identities. I was quite surprised by the other passengers on the bus. To be honest, I had expected to see women in veils or traditional Arab attire, and men with dirty feet in slippers, unkempt and bearded. However, the passengers were not much different from us. There were young people listening to music with earphones, others watching movies on their phones, and well-dressed families, which made us all happy. I believe it had been three or four hours into our journey when a foul odor, leaking through the cracks of the toilet door next to my seat, attacked my nose and shattered my sleep. But I needed to sleep to be fresh in the morning. To escape the smell, I went upstairs to the upper deck, where I found an empty seat next to a young man watching a movie. I asked in English if I could sit there, and he responded affirmatively. Perhaps due to the fresher air or the relief of escaping the psychological pressure, I fell into a deep sleep in my new seat. I was abruptly awakened by an explosion. The window next to the seats in front of me had shattered, scattering glass particles inside. Initially, I panicked, imagining scenarios like a terrorist attack, being stoned by Palestinian youth, or an Israeli missile strike. However, there was no significant commotion, no blood or smell of gunpowder. Once the initial shock passed, I went downstairs to find out what had happened. The bus had stopped somewhere, and the doors opened, allowing all passengers to disembark. Although I couldn’t understand the Arabic conversations, the situation soon became clear. The driver had dozed off briefly and missed the turn he was supposed to take. While reversing, he got too close to an electric pole, causing the upper window to break from the friction. Thankfully, no one was injured, and my worst fears were not realized. We continued our journey with the broken window open and the curtains flapping in the wind. We had no idea what the driver would do next, so we continued without questioning. After a while, we entered a back neighborhood of a settlement and stopped in a narrow street. This was very surprising. As my mind began to conjure up new bad scenarios, the doors opened again, and we all spilled into the street. Our travel company’s bus was also parked there. We watched over our luggage as it was transferred to the other bus. We then took our seats in the new bus. This unfortunate incident brought us closer to the Egyptian people. We felt like comrades in adversity. We later learned that the company had directed the driver to the nearest available bus. Instead of bringing the spare bus to us, we went to the spare bus, parked in the street where its driver lived. Such contradictions made sense only in Egypt. Our journey to Cairo had begun with action. An hour later, we reached the border of Cairo. Although the term “border” might seem surprising, it was the only way to describe the situation. It was like arriving at a customs checkpoint. Passports and IDs were collected, and the police had our luggage lined up and sniffed by dogs. I was relieved I didn’t have any deli products like sausages or salami in my luggage, imagining a comedic scene where the dogs attacked my suitcase, and the police, thinking they had caught a terrorist, opened it to find two pieces of salami. Thankfully, the check was uneventful. Shortly after, we arrived at the Cairo terminal. We called six taxis. Considering our group’s size and the number of suitcases, this led to a comedic situation. The taxis’ small and old models could not accommodate all our luggage. It seemed that inadequate luggage space was a common issue, as the drivers quickly brought out thick ropes to secure our suitcases on top of the taxis. This reminded me of my childhood, 40-50 years ago when suitcases were tied to the tops of vehicles and buses. We arrived at our hotel shortly after. Thankfully, despite the nostalgic scenes, our hotel was modern. After collecting our suitcases, we lined up again for an X-ray check at the entrance, where navy-uniformed tourism police were diligently at work. Our hotel was very high-quality, even better than the resort in Sharm El Sheikh. The group was very happy and rushed to their rooms. Having missed breakfast, we rested for a few hours before having an early dinner at the hotel. The food was simply superb. We then met with the host team and had a rehearsal at a studio. The next day, we visited the Cairo Museum, the pyramids, the Sphinx, and the newly opened Mummy Museum. Despite our hustle, we couldn’t see everything in a day and a half. We couldn’t fathom how other choirs, who had come from Sharm El Sheikh for the festival, managed to visit all these sites and return in a single day. Finally, the day of our Cairo concert arrived. We were all very excited. The hall was packed with Egyptians, and we were going to sing ten songs in their language. Although we had already passed the initial test in Sharm El Sheikh, this was the big one. In Sharm, we had a large Turkish audience, but here we were performing for native Arabic speakers. The concert hall was not much different from the older ones we had back home. Although the backstage facilities were inadequate, the experienced Cairo choir had prepared tea, coffee, and water for us. We did our sound checks and rehearsals with the musicians, who were fantastic and very experienced. When introduced, we learned they were well-known musicians in Cairo with extensive stage experience, though the rhythm artists were young and also very talented. The curtains opened, and before we knew it, we had performed all ten songs. The audience’s enthusiasm and participation were amazing. Although I couldn’t see their faces from the stage, I could read the happiness on my choir members’ faces. As we finished our performance, the audience gave us a standing ovation, shouting “bravo.” We exchanged plaques and made our way to the seats reserved for us at the back of the hall to watch the host choir. As we moved, the audience reached out to shake hands or touch us, shouting Arabic words of appreciation. We struggled to move through the crowd. This scene, one I had only seen on screens with famous artists, was now our reality. I was very happy to give this experience to my choir members, students, and teammates. The Cairo concert of my artist friend Hadzam followed. Their choir was also incredible, and the audience’s reaction to them was similar to ours. The choir’s voices and the polyphonic music in the songs were marvelous. An interesting event occurred that perfectly illustrates the saying “It’s a small world.” One of our friends who traveled with us but was not part of the choir thought the female soloist in the following choir looked familiar. She wondered if they had met during Umrah. After the concert, she asked the soloist if she had been to Umrah, and she confirmed, saying it was 11 years ago. When asked if they had met there, she examined her closely and remembered. They hugged each other. One from Egypt and the other from Istanbul had met during Umrah 11 years ago and reunited at a concert in Egypt. Whether you call it a small world or destiny, it was a touching moment that I wanted to share. I also want to share some good news. The host choir from Cairo will be in Istanbul this October, and we will have a return concert there. With love, Serdar Taştanoğlu President of Dragos Music Association Conductor of Istanbul Cultures Choir Note: You can check the concert photos and videos on our website.