Thoughts amid high summer in Cairo

Cairo, Egypt

AS the fireworks went off in Marina Bay during Singapore's National Day celebrations, I was in a grotto in Egypt, contemplating the rise and fall of civilisations.

Fighting a queasy stomach from having drunk from a Cairo water dispenser and exhaustion from walking around in the 40 deg C summer heat, I stumbled on what looked to be an aquarium in the middle of the city.

At least, the sign read "Aquarium". I paid 20 Egyptian pounds (S$4), steep by their standards, to get in - only to find out that the aquarium had fallen into grand disrepair.

There was not a single living exhibit. All that remained in the rock caverns that once held fish tanks were empty cavities. On…