It's like a time machine... An Egyptian woman goes back 70 years in Cairo

- What if you could go back in time to the 1950s without needing a time machine? This is precisely what Egyptian travel content creator Maryam Alaa decided to do, when she went through a different experience in the heart of the Egyptian capital, Cairo, during which she spent an entire day traveling between places dating back more than seventy years, and to this day still retains part of its authenticity and features of the past time (watch the video above).

Alaa explains to the Ofoq News website in Arabic that she was inspired by the stories that her grandfather used to tell her about what life was like in ancient Egypt, pointing out that her passion for black and white films goes back to the golden age of Egyptian cinema, which is the period extending from the 1940s until the late 1960s. She says: “Every time I see a black and white film, I feel a desire to experience living during that period,” adding, “The idea of ​​living a full day as if I had gone back in time 70 years ago was an opportunity for me to experience part of the stories I used to hear from my grandfather, and to see for myself what life was like that I had always imagined.”

To turn this curiosity into an experience as close to reality as possible, the Egyptian travel content creator chose a group of places that actually existed in Cairo during the 1950s, some of which even date back decades beyond that. One of the most prominent stops of her tour was the Greek Club in the downtown area, which was founded in 1893 and is distinguished by its view of Talaat Harb Square, one of the most famous squares of Khedivial Cairo.

From there, I moved to another station that contains more than a century of the city’s history, which is “Agzakhana Stevenson”, which is considered one of the oldest pharmacies in Cairo and Egypt. Founded in 1899 by British chemist George Stephenson, it still stands in the heart of downtown Cairo as a testament to ancient pharmacy traditions and the transformation of the city around it.

The trip to the past was not complete without stopping at one of Cairo's old cafés, where she visited the "Al-Americaan" café, which was established in 1943 and holds a special personal connection for her, as she noted that it was one of the places her grandfather used to tell her about visiting in the past. According to the café's account, the place has lived through a large part of the history of downtown Cairo, and was once a favorite destination for the city's elite and celebrities, while today it welcomes people from all walks of life to enjoy the coffee and sweets it offers.

Between the old pharmacy, the café, and the club dating back to the nineteenth century, the experience for Alaa was not just a tour between heritage places, but rather an attempt to sense a rhythm of life different from the one we live today. She describes the experience by saying: “I felt that it was a beautiful and peaceful life, and not as fast as we live now.”

She adds: "I feel like we are running all the time, unlike in the past days, when there was a greater sense of calm and simplicity." It seems that this feeling was not specific to Alaa alone, as the video clip that she published on her Instagram account received widespread interaction, revealing to her that nostalgia for that era was also present among many of her followers.

She points out that what caught her attention most in the comments was the number of people who expressed their nostalgia for the past, and their desire to go back in time, to experience that calmer rhythm of life. Among those who were surprised by the experience was the Egyptian artist Donia Samir Ghanem, who commented on the video with the phrase, “Take me with you,” a simple comment that perhaps summed up the feelings of many who watched the experience.