The first time I visited the Cairo Institute of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CILAS), my Uber driver decided to kick me out in the middle of Old Cairo. “This is as far as I can go”, he said ominously, and told me to get out now. Before I knew it, I found myself in a stuffy street, cars racing past me unconcerned, music playing over men talking loudly in street cafes. As I stepped out of the car, I crushed a bunch of chicken feet under my soles. I typed ‘CILAS, El-Darb El-Ahmar’ into Google Maps, and stared at the arrow turning, mirroring my confusion. Of the approximately twelve people I asked for directions, some of them told me to go left, and some of them told me to go right. When I finally made it up the hill from which the institute overlooks a world of small streets through which indeed a car cannot drive, CILAS founder Karim saw my desperate face, laughed and said: “So I see you made it through El-Bahr El-Ahmar?” In Fatimid Cairo, facing the twin mosques Hassan Sultan and Al Refai from its seat…
