I may be understating things a little, but it sure does get hot in Egypt during the summer. Now, if you are among the privileged few who can afford to continuously blast the AC, well, you can go ahead and keep wearing sweaters indoors in August. You’ll need them. But as for the rest of us – we are hot. Really hot. By June we are longing for relief, and we aren’t likely to find it until October November.
Some of you have club memberships. I know who you are. I’ve seen you from my balcony overlooking the Maadi Club. I’ve heard your children laughing as they splash in the cool water of one of the club’s three Olympic-sized swimming pools during the dog days of summer. But as for the rest of us – have I mentioned that we are hot? Hot and unamused. We have lost our laughter. We long to dip into the refreshing coolness of a pool. At this point, any pool will do.
(King Farouk’s palace at the springs of Helwan)
It was the peak of summer some years ago when a friend mentioned the springs of Helwan. How King Farouk would retreat to his summertime palace at the springs in order to beat the heat. Now, I love Egyptian history as much as the next person but I pretty much stopped listening after I heard the word “springs.” Springs? As in, cold water? I tuned in again in time to hear even better news: the spring is also home to a public pool. Public pool? Cold water? Sign me up!
(Spring water is pumped into the Helwan pool – but don’t ask me what this facade is all about.)
Thus began my love affair with the Helwan public pool. You, too, will love it, if you are desperate for cool water, or a little adventure, in the deep doldrums of summer. I must make a few disclaimers, however. This is a popular pool, and by popular, I mean it is packed. Jam-packed with local children and youth who find foreigner girls in western-style bathing suits to be astonishing and endlessly amusing. Bursting to the seams with timid kids who gawk and bold kids who come over to test out their English. This can get tiring after a while, but if you come with a sassy Egyptian matron (which we always do), she’ll tell those kids to move along. Eventually, everyone settles back down to what we all came for: cooling off and finding our laughter once again.
(Yep, it’s a couple of foreigners at the Helwan public pool)
The official name of the pool is al-Waaha (The Oasis), and is easily reached by private car, Uber, minibus, or the metro. If you decide on the latter, get off at the Ain Helwan metro stop and backtrack just a bit along the same side of the street until you come to The Oasis. The entrance fee is only 25 LE/person, making it the most affordable city pool on the planet. You do pay extra, however, for a table, chairs, and sunshade. Believe me, you’ll want them.
I’m not going to lie: this particular outing will take some guts, but I know you’re motivated by the heat and your desire to experience Egypt to its fullest. So when the heat next summer grows intolerable and you find you’ve lost your smile, get on over to the springs of Helwan. I’ll see you there!
(No suit, No problem at the Helwan public pool)
