Frustrated from not being able to get on top of a building in Zamalek, I packed my camera into my bag for work and set a plan in motion for January 8. After work, I traversed the ongoing construction site that is AUC's sports facility and made my way to Mobinil Tower (seen below).
Flashing my staff/faculty ID at anyone who raised an eyebrow, I reached the tower and began the slow climb up the spiraling stairs to the top. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, I was confronted with a locked door and a sketchy ladder of tiny metal rungs (seen below).
Looking down the sketchy ladder
Not one to give up after all that effort, I grasped the first rung and started to pull myself up. At the top I had to stretch to reach the next landing, and I only had the briefest moment where I was hanging above a whole lot of nothing before I was back on solid ground. After that it was a few more metal rungs and I found myself above the highest part of the wall. The aerial view of the campus was certainly worth it.
The colorful outdoor recreational courts
Looking down on the central part of campus
Great view of the soccer field
Looking out on still very much undeveloped New Cairo
Descending required a little bit of cleverness (Mom, stop reading and skip to the next part), as I had to hover over the gap and blindly reach for the ladder with my foot, but other than that, it was smooth sailing. There was no brilliant sky or sunset to capture but it was great to see my workplace from a different perspective.
