I don’t know how to start this or from where I should begin because, for me, this trip was the most amazing of my entire life! It all started back in world cup 98. I was a little boy who was fascinated by all big teams competing against each other and I was taken away by the spirit of the supporters from all over the world, that’s when I decided that one day, I have to attend a world cup event.
Every world cup passed by, there were constraints preventing me from attending but once Egypt was qualified for Russia 2018, I didn’t think twice. I just went online and booked my flight ticket on the spot! Shortly after that, I convinced 4 of my friends to come along with me and we applied for the FIFA ticketing 1st phase where luckily we had a hit for most of the tickets we applied for.
I spent most of my time between the stadiums and the FIFA fan fest which was a place prepared for all the fans to gather every day and watch all the matches on massive screens accompanied by parties and competitions for the whole day. Everyone was wearing something that represented their culture or country, so my friends and I dressed as Pharaohs. I never knew that this would make us superstars! Whenever we set foot anywhere dressed as Pharaohs, heads would turn, people from all over the world would line up to take photos with us and ask us to sign their autographs in Arabic. They were very interested in Egypt and fascinated by the ancient Egyptian history.
For me, the stadium experience was incomparable, the moment I set foot in the stadium and heard the fans cheering was a feeling like no other. Not to mention that seeing all the world’s football superstars in real-life playing meters away from my seat was beyond sensational!
Russia had the perfect weather this time of the year. And with all the excitement, my friends and I didn’t get much sleep which allowed us to have some extra time to explore the superb architecture and ancient buildings there. I visited many magnificent places like the Red Square, Kremlin, Gorge Park and Nikolskaya street in Moscow. And in Saint Petersburg, I visited Nevsky Prospect street, Neva river, Fontaka river, Kryukov canal, the Naval Cathedral, Cathedral of Saints Peter & Paul and the Trinity Cathedral.
In the end, I learned that all people of the world genuinely love each other when unified for something they love.
