Egypt

Photo by Spencer Davis on Unsplash

15,000km Egypt! Archaeological and cultural wonders lie all along our route. We start on Route 30, 49m above sea level. We need to keep an eye on our hydration levels and slap on sunblock as the area’s Köppen classification is hot desert.

We come to El Arish first, the largest city of the North Sinai Governate of Egypt. Arish means “palm huts” in Arabic and there are plenty of palm trees along its white, sandy beaches. El Ayrish has a marina, luxury hotels and nine faculties of the Suez Canal University.

15,100km This marker sees us at El Qantara running across the impressive Suez Canal Bridge, also known as the Egyptian-Japanese Friendship Bridge. The bridge links Africa with Asia and is 3.9km long with towers designed to resemble Pharonic obelisks. If you like civil engineering facts, click here…Suez Canal Bridge - Wikipedia

Ironically during our run we received news that a Japanese-owned ship caused a stramash by blocking the Suez Canal. Evergreen’s 400m cargo ship, Ever Given, disrupted 12% of world trade when winds caused it to become lodged across the canal for a week in March.

15,200km We are heading to Bilbeis, a small, densely populated city with over 400,000 residents. Bilbeis grew from an ancient fortress city, is a former bishopric of Phelbes and a Latin Catholic titular see. Bilbeis is also home to the Sadat Qureish Mosque which some historians believe is the first mosque to be built in Egypt, perhaps in the whole of Africa. The rather more modern Egyptian Air Force Academy is also based here.

With Bilbeis behind us, we reach Cairo, “city of a thousand minarets.” Cairo is an ancient seat of learning: Al-Azhar University was established around 970 by the Fatimid Caliphate. Subjects taught included the Qur’an, Islamic law, logic, grammar, rhetoric, and how to calculate the phases of the moon. Today it is the chief centre of Arabic literature and Islamic learning in the world and now includes non-religious subjects in its curriculum.

We might attract interest from the locals while running here, as the sport is still a bit of a novelty. However there is a growing running scene as Runner’s World reports: https://www.runnersworld.com/news/a20815906/the-growing-running-scene-in-cairo-egypt/

So much of interest in this area, but we can’t run past without visiting one of the Seven Wonders of the World. The Giza Pyramid Complex in Greater Cairo was built during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom of Ancient Egypt and comprises the Great Pyramid, the Pyramid of Khafre, the Pyramid of Menkaure and the Great Sphinx,. A 1999 construction management study estimated that the building of the Great Pyramid required a workforce of around 13,200 with up to 40,000 at peak times for 27 years. It has been scientifically proven that the legendary 2021 COGH team is capable of constructing a pyramid in a fraction of that time.