From January to February 2025, I had the wonderful opportunity to intern in the „mother of the world“, Egypt. The Orient-Institut Beirut – which derives its name from its geographical location – is part of the German Max-Weber-Stiftung and has a second office in Cairo, Egypt. Due to Israeli strikes on the Lebanese capital from September to November 2024, the institute was forced to close temporarily and was not reopened until January 2025. Of course, the closure prevented me from travelling to Lebanon. Therefore, I was given the choice between a remote internship or an internship in the Cairo liaison office of the OIB. For me, that was an easy decision – so I booked my flight for Cairo in early October and travelled there on January 1.
Application process and preparation
I applied for the internship roughly one year prior – as the OIB website had indicated an application deadline at the end of March 2024 for my preferred internship period. Shortly after I was contacted by the vice director of the institute via email and got invited to an online interview. The interview went smoothly and resembled a casual chat rather than a formal job interview. We agreed to keep in touch regarding the security situation in Beirut. When, over the next few months, the situation in Lebanon got progressively worse, it became clear to me that I would need to start looking into Cairo housing options and how to secure a visa for Egypt. This was then confirmed to me by OIB – and the real preparation began.
In October, I officially applied for the Erasmus+ internship grant offered by the university, with whom I had been in contact for about a month by then. I heard back from the Erasmus office about a week later, and was informed about the next administrative steps (e.g. missing documents) in order for them to distribute the grant to me. Flight tickets were quite expensive. Finally, I decided to fly with Turkish Airlines with a stopover in Istanbul. Since designated housing Facebook groups had not yet proved to be valuable for my apartment search, I resolved to booking a hostel room downtown for the first week and was determined to view as many rooms and apartments as necessary during my first week.
Arrival
I arrived at CAI airport, where I bought an Orange SIM card and could easily order an Uber to my hostel. Uber prices are relatively inexpensive and saved me the trouble of having to bargain prices with the local taxi drivers. At the hostel, the kind employees soon offered to help me in my apartment search. In that very first week, I viewed five different rooms or apartments and then took a room directly next to the metro line that I would have to use to commute to work. It cost about 5000 Gneh per month (equal to 109€ in February 2025) and was shared with a Mexican girl. Be aware of scammers in those Facebook groups. I know a girl who got scammed and, I personally had two viewings where I felt something was off. Trust your intuition.
The internship
The OIB is a well-known German research institution within my discipline, Arabic Studies and regional studies of Political Science. The Cairo office is much smaller than the Beirut institute and graciously hosted on the premises of the DAAD Cairo branch – which also happens to be the former residence of the then-GDR ambassador to Egypt. As a liaison office, the Cairo branch is entrusted with establishing scholarly ties between Germany, Egypt and Lebanon and well connected in the Cairo academic scene. One of its assets is the COSIMENA lecture series, which I had the pleasure of working on, as well. For this purpose, every month a professor from an Arab or German-speaking country is invited to Cairo as a speaker. During my internship, I was responsible for overseeing progress on the annual report, got to enhance my editing skills on academic texts, could give editorial support to both the annual report and OIB publications and learned from experienced researchers along the way. Through weekly online meetings, we kept in touch with the Beirut department. I could not have asked for a better experience in my first non-university research internship.
Come to Cairo, Habibi*
Lastly, Cairo is not only the capital of Egypt, but also one of the most amazing cultural hubs in the world. Have you even been to Cairo if you have not visited the pyramids of Giza? As one of the ancient world wonders, it is probably one of the most prominent tourist destinations. I particularly enjoyed my day trip to Alexandria as well, though. Unfortunately, I had to admire the famous library from outside as the library is closed on Fridays. The huge open-air market (or labyrinth) Khan el-Khalili was quite impressive, too, especially before Ramadan. It felt impossible getting around, though, as the place was even more crowded than usual, keeping in mind that Cairo has approximately 23 million inhabitants. Be sure not to miss the Cairo Citadel or Al-Azhar park, they are located a bit east of the city but I could see most of the town and even the pyramids in the far distance. My favourite museum is the civilisation museum, which exhibits twenty royal mummies from the old kingdom to the new kingdom period. Other amazing spots include the Coptic quarter, the Aquarium Grotto Garden on the Nile Island, Zamalek.
*phrase from Arabic pop culture
Tips for other Interns
Visa application
It is preferable to sort out the visa situation at the embassy in Berlin, as it is the cheapest option. The on-arrival visa at the airport is only valid for up to 30 days. Once in Cairo, you can, however, apply for a residence permit, which allows you to stay in Egypt for another six months, but costs you around 150€.
Search for an Apartment
Mostly on Facebook. Beware of scams and listen to your intuition.Insurance
I went with Signal Iduna, as it was the cheapest insurance provider for students I could find online.
Weather
Temperatures in winter might not drop as much as elsewhere, however, homes are often badly isolated. Do bring warm clothing.
Telephone-/Internet
SIM cards are available at the airport upon arrival. Keep in mind that Egypt does not allow WhatsApp calls using mobile data. You can make calls only when connected to WiFi.
Bank/Kontoeröffnung
Other
Weekdays from Sunday to Thursday, Weekends from Friday to Saturday