Cycling solo from Egypt to South Africa—that’s the challenge I’ve set for myself
By Aïda Djoupa
A bike trip from Egypt to South Africa—that’s the challenge 33-year-old Moroccan Noura Iffa has set for herself. She talks about the significance of this adventure, which she’s sharing on social media, as well as the hardships she’s faced as a traveler during the COVID-19 pandemic.
NOURA DURING HER BIKE TRIP IN MOROCCO / PHOTO COURTESY OF NOURA
My name is Noura Iffa; I’m 33 years old, and I’m Moroccan. I’m a government employee, but I haven’t been working since January 2020: I took a two-year sabbatical to devote myself to a very special project.
Cycling Across Africa, Solo
On my 32nd birthday, January 6, 2020, I decided to Set out to explore Africa by bike ! My original itinerary started in Egypt and headed toward Sudan and Ethiopia, before taking me to see, among other things: Kenya’s flora and fauna, Tanzania’s idyllic beaches, Victoria Falls in Zambia… And finally, on to South Africa.
A special gift I gave myself, which bore a meaning far broader than my simple love of travel.
Admittedly, this is an opportunity for me to discover my limits and my potential, all while exploring my continent in an approach purely eco-friendly, and without damaging it. But it is also a tool for changing the way the world views Africa—and African women.
Changing the World's Perception of Africa
To many people, this project sounded like a completely crazy challenge. Because when people hear the word «Africa,» the collective imagination tends to conjure up images of civil wars, terrorist attacks, diseases, or dangerous animals…
When I started planning my trip, people’s reactions were always worried: they told me to do something like that in Europe, or that I’d be putting myself in danger. That’s absolutely not true! The reality isn't that simple, and these fears are often rooted in long-standing prejudices.
Through this journey, I wanted to showcase other facets of my continent: its beauty, its riches, its diversity… And to show that it was possible, to do all that on my own and by bike—as a woman! I wanted others to feel confident enough to give it a try, if they feel like it.
Preparations for the trip
To be honest, even though I'd never traveled by bike in my life, I didn't plan any special physical training for this trip. I bought my bike 6 months before departure, and tried to go for a ride of between 30 and 40 kilometers every day after work. Just enough to get used to being in the saddle for as long as possible, and to let my body adjust to it.
I also did a little working out at the gym… I was nowhere near doing any extreme training!
While making these preparations, I spent a long time searching for firsthand accounts online. I came across accounts of similar trips written by men, which were helpful but didn’t necessarily reflect what I could expect. In fact, the challenges of this kind of adventure are very different depending on whether you’re a man or a woman.
I realized that…’It was very difficult to find North African women who had experienced these adventures. Of course, there were similarities when a French or Italian woman told me about her journey. But we come from very different backgrounds and cultures! And having someone who’s like us and who’s already done it helps us feel validated and gives us the courage to take the plunge.
Since I couldn't find anyone else who had done it, I did it myself so that there would be a reference. I hope this will help women from the Maghreb feel free to travel in Africa.
In fact, ever since I started sharing this adventure on social media, four or five women—as well as some men—whom I’ve met along the way have’said they had taken the plunge, too. I'm so happy about that!
It all began in Egypt
So on January 6, 2020, I set off for Egypt—the starting point of my tour—with my bike stowed in the plane’s cargo hold.
I arrived in Cairo, where I spent a week, before hitting the road for almost a month. I was so excited to finally start my trip, I rode 100 km on the first day ! I was sore for three days, but I saw some beautiful places.
I stopped in Dahab, an international diving destination, and then took the road to Saaid—known as «The Agricultural Road»—along the Nile.
During this trip, I was escorted by the police. When I realized this, I thought it was because I was a woman, and that what I was doing was forbidden. In reality, I learned that this was a mandatory escort for tourists traveling by motorcycle, bicycle, and even tour bus!
From what I understand, a long time ago, some tourists were kidnapped by terrorists. Since then, oNo foreigner is left to cycle alone in Egypt, at least on this road.
The Unpredictable Nature of Traveling Under Escort
It annoyed me—even made me furious—but a pretty nice law enforcement officer promised me they wouldn't bother me, and that they'd be 1 km ahead of me on the road.
As my trip went on, he started stopping to act as my tour guide, introduced me to people… and even took pictures of me along the way, whenever I asked him to!
When I reached the town of Qenna, near the pharaohs’ tombs in Luxor, This escort has ended: I had arrived in a more touristy area, and the police explained to me that it was no longer necessary. I never really understood the point of all that, since along that entire route, I met nothing but very friendly people in the small villages.
But I imagine that, just like everywhere else in the world, You can never be completely safe from a bad encounter. Next, I crossed the southern border to explore Sudan and its vast desert.
Sudan, Ethiopia… And the End of the Journey
It was very difficult to get a Sudanese visa, but I managed to get one. After I entered the country, I had a few surprises:You can't use a credit card unless you're a resident of the country! I had no idea, and I found myself with the equivalent of about sixty euros on me, thinking I was going to be in a bind until I reached the next border.
In the end, thanks to the people I met and the help they gave me, I pulled through.
I went camping a lot; sometimes people would let me stay at their homes, and we'd have dinner together… I felt very safein this country about which we hear so many negative things. But I also know that in the southern part of the state, there are conflicts and that things are very different there.
And then, in early March, I entered Ethiopia, the third country on this adventure. But everything changed suddenly: the whole world started talking about COVID, and Countries closed their borders one by one.
Two weeks after I arrived, Morocco closed its borders and stopped letting anyone in, including its own citizens. So I could no longer return home, but I wasn’t even thinking about that: I wanted to stay in Ethiopia until the situation improved.
As we all know, the situation has lasted much longer than expected, and I stayed there from March through August. In July, I caught COVID-19, which caused me to lose my sense of smell—and it still hasn’t come back! My visa expired, and I had to return to Morocco after a layover in Turkey, where the airport lost my luggage.
Well, I'm not exactly a lucky traveler… But In late August, I managed to return home to Essaouira.
Cycling in Morocco for Women's Rights Day
I was hoping that this horror movie called Corona would end with the year 2020, and that I could resume my journey. Unfortunately, that didn't happen, and I spent several months at home, subject to travel restrictions very strict.
When the restrictions were eased in March, I felt like traveling around my own country by bike—a first for me. And what better occasion to do so than International Women’s Day?
To draw attention to the struggles of Moroccan women for their rights and to honor them, I decided to try my hand at 1,977 kilometers by bike, in reference to the year International Women’s Day was established. I traveled from the Atlantic to the desert and the Atlas Mountains. It was a journey rich in scenery and full of fascinating discoveries and encounters.
But today, there's only one thing I want to do: get back to my travel plans. Its significance is all the more important to me because, after visiting those first destinations, my own perspective changed.
«I had no idea how rich my continent was before this journey.»
I had no idea just how rich my continent was—both in terms of its natural and cultural heritage—before embarking on this journey. All over the world, African women are often portrayed as submissive or oppressed, and people believe that certain countries pose great dangers. I discovered a very different reality!
In Ethiopia, women are free to wear whatever they want, including miniskirts, and no one harasses them on the street. In Morocco, We're not there yet ! I’d also heard that women in Egypt are harassed everywhere, and I went there feeling apprehensive. Yet, even when I was alone on public transportation in Cairo at night, I didn’t have a single bad experience.
Of course, I’m not downplaying other people’s experiences: I know full well that when you’re traveling, you never know what you’re going to run into. But it’s important to to qualify the one-dimensional descriptions we are given.
What happens next?
After a one-year, three-month hiatus from my bike trip, I decided to complete part of my project and resume my journey from Kenya to South Africa. But since I wasn't able to find a sponsor, after that setback, I no longer have the funds to continue. So I started a fundraiser on GoFundMe, so that we can to relive this all-female African adventure just a little longer!
The reason I’m so determined to finish this trip is because I think that‘Is it possible to change people's prejudices?" that weigh so heavily on Africa.
Thanks on social media, we have the power to to present a new kind of imagery to the rest of the world. It’s also the fastest way to find information! When you look up certain African countries, the results only show problems, diseases, and negative things… that’s the kind of information that gets the most attention. By documenting my adventures, it’s possible to see other things.
Africa offers an immense wealth of landscapes, cultures, and experiences. As for me, I didn't know there were pyramids in Sudan until I went there on my bike, or that there were incredible diving spots in the Red Sea. And if you don’t like cycling, depending on your budget and destination, anything is possible! You just have to dare to see things differently.
Find Noura
If you'd like to help Noura Iffa continue on her journey, you can support her financially through his GoFundMe fundraiser.
You can also follow his adventures on Instagram, and on Facebook !
