Work up a sweat by battling traffic, smog and cracked sidewalks
CAIRO: Strapping on your sneakers and going for a jog in this cramped city of 17 million people is like swimming laps in a shark tank.
The roads are packed with aggressive drivers leaning on their horns, the sidewalks are treacherous and the air quality is worse than the smokiest ahwa in the Khan.
And then there’s the stares and heckles of some people think that a good cardio workout means sucking on a shisha pipe.
Still, that doesn’t stop the odd brave soul from hitting Cairo’s roads and burning off a few calories.
Every so often, if you look through the exhaust from belching cabs and never ending streams of beat up Fiats and Ladas, you’ll spot a brave local or a brightly-dressed khawaga dodging traffic and working up a hell of a sweat in the process.
One of those road warriors is a young guy name Mohamed Amasha, who forgoes the gym pass and the treadmill in favor of Cairo’s downtown streets.
Before you suggest that Amasha, who is 27 and works for the World Food Program, call a psychiatrist, hear him out, people.
“I figured out the best way to jog is to go at 6 a.m. on Friday and Saturday . when the city is quiet and you can enjoy it, he tells me.
“It would be much easier to do it in a club, but I like it downtown, says Amasha, who notes that he digs the classic architecture and the heavy vibe of sprinting down deserted streets as the sun rises.
He says the surroundings give him something to look at, which helps his pace stay quick, and he uses his early morning jogs as a way to explore Cairo’s nooks and crannies. Some of his favorite routes include swings through Islamic Cairo, Coptic Cairo and the Citadel.
“It gives me a good opportunity to think about my life. It’s something spiritual, he adds, noting that his Friday morning jog usually follows morning prayers at his mosque.
Others, however, prefer to play it safe.
“I’m afraid to break my ankles. I find it hard to dodge the cars and the broken sidewalks, says Nermeen Mouftah, 25.
Instead, she heads to the Al Ahly club, where there’s a great jogging track.
“I’m the only jogger . everyone else is walking, she says.
Plus, she says hitting the streets on the street would cause a commotion, and she wouldn’t want to contend with constant “looks.
While jogging on a track is a great way to do time trials, keep a steady pace and stay away from crazed taxi drivers, jogging Cairo’s streets during the day does have some advantages.
For example, dodging cab drivers and street peddlers is a great way to burn fat. For one, you’re constantly forced to change your pace, and the occasional bout of sprinting to outrun an angry driver is a phenomenal way to increase your heart rate.
Also, jumping over cats, changing direction to avoid junk peddlers yelling out “bik-yeah and navigating uneven sidewalks – which is task on par with hiking Peru’s famed Inca trail – will help you build leg muscles and improve your flexibility and bone density.
That’s what I tell myself, anyways.
I also manage to get the best of both worlds by heading to the Gezira club, where joggers can gain entrance to the track, which is a comfortable 2 km loop and has lots of space.
The price? A mere LE 3.
If you’d like to check out the track, head to the western entrance alongside the Corniche and slip the door attendant some baksheesh.
Until then, see you on the road.
