On the 7th of February at 14:30, I took a walk on the boardwalk at Victoria Park in Charlottetown. So many thoughts crossed my mind while walking on the edge on that cold day. The water was frozen and the snow covered everything;, however, the scenery was still spectacular as shown in the picture above. Throughout my life, I have been enjoying walking on sea shores, riversides, lakes and ponds where I get to do nothing but meditate through looking at the water and the horizon. I always preferred beautiful views of open seas and oceans, where the water is endless and it meets the sky on the other end. I believe that urbanization and human intervention around beautiful sceneries kill the natural beauty of it. 

On that chilly Tuesday at Victoria Park, I was looking to find a spot where I would not see houses or buildings on the other side. I know one particular small spot there where I can look at the infinity;, it is in the middle of the water as in the photo below. Then I began reflecting on the times I have been walking on the edge in different parts of the world, and on the significance they bring to my life.

I’m from Egypt, and as Egyptians we are blessed to have the River Nile, the Mediterranean and the Red Sea in our country. The mMajority of Egyptians live in the capital Cairo where we have the River Nile running through it. People tend to travel to Egyptian cities that have beautiful coasts on the Mediterranean and the Red Sea as an escape from the busy life of Cairo. Those who cando not afford to do that, would drive in Cairo to the banks of the River Nile, where they would take a boat ride, or a stroll on the edge to enjoy the lovely breeze and the stunning view. 

Looking at water or walking on the beach in my home country represent happiness and cheerfulness to most of us. To the majority of Egyptians, visiting those places does not stir feelings of sadness, nostalgia or separation. The reason is we are still considered inside our home country when we travel to those cities. We would actually start to feel unhappy when we are about to finish those trips, because that means going back to the normal routine life in Cairo. Nonetheless, some Egyptians would still feel emotional when they visit those places, because they would remind them of personal incidents or memories that happened to them, or other individual exposures.

I used to get so excited when I got to know that the next day I would be going on a trip to any coast, or even a cruise on the River Nile in Cairo. Being on such visits back home would make you feel so revitalized, fresh and rejuvenated. In tThe picture below, taken was in 2017, I was sitting on the Mediterranean shore enjoying a cold winter day in Alexandria, with the company of a beautiful cat that enjoyed walking on the edge with me. I do understand that life on a mainland is different from life on an island, but I also believe that wherever there is an edge to walk on, these beautiful meanings can still be felt regardless if it is an island or a mainland.

When I arrived in Charlottetown, I visited Victoria Park and I walked on the edge plenty of times in spring, summer, fall and winter. The view was always stunning in all of them, E, even when the water was frozen, it still had its magical beauty. However, I’m always feeling nostalgic and a bit sad when I look at the horizon every time I visit this wonderful place. I start to think that beyond these waters, I have my family and loved ones back home. There are miles, oceans and continents between us. It makes me conjure up those words that I learnt in my island studies such as separation, isolation and boundaries.

I always believe that islanders will always connect in a special way to their islands more than anybody else. Walking on the edge to them is definitely a unique encounter with specific sentiments and emotions that only theym as islanders could relate to. Maybe one day, it would also represent a different and a special meaning to me, and I would get to develop a different type of connection towards it. 

In the meantime, I will continue spending more time on the island and taking the walk on the edge at the different seasons as I usually do, and the photo below is just an example of the beautiful Fall season at Victoria Park. Words cannot do justice to describe the beauty of that photo which is one of my favorites. I took this photo in fall 2022, and I remember that I stayed only in that spot for more than 20 minutes just admiring the view. It is the same spot I went to last Tuesday when I walked on the same edge. It is the same exact location where I get to see the horizon in the middle of the water, however the seasons were different.

I firmly believe that the longer you stay at a place, the more connection and attachment you are going to develop towards it. Time always gives us this opportunity. I’m also aware that this attachment would still be different than that special bond the native people do have for their place. This happened to me when my place of residence changed from Cairo to Abu Dhabi during my previous career where I got to live there for 15- and- a- half years. When I first got there, I did not develop any feelings of closeness towards it. However, as years passed by, Abu Dhabi became my second home.

Therey washad a long coastline on the Arabian Gulf sea that had a sidewalk where I used to visit often and look beyond the horizon. Sometimes I used to get nostalgic as well there, but not as extreme as how I feel at Victoria Park. I guess the reason behind that is the distance between Abu Dhabi and Cairo was only 3 hours by plane. I used to fly home to visit my family and they used to come and visit me often as well. The two photos below were a walk on the edge memories on that beautiful coastline of the  Arabian Gulf sea in Abu Dhabi. They were both taken in the year 2020.

Walking on the edge would be a beautiful experience no matter where, no matter when and no matter which season or time. Each one will have his own personal association with  and ties towards it. To me, I believe that all the edges that exist in the world must be impressive, and I’m glad that I got the opportunity to reflect on that thought in my studies. It makes more sense to me now to reflect on the walks I took in the past, and why I always get drawn and attracted to walking on the edge. I never got to analyze those moments as I’m doing right now. 

My reflective thinking started by a walk on the edge at Victoria Park that Tuesday, on the 7th of February 2023. It took me back in time to remember other places where I had done the walk on their edges. I’m going to end with two of my favourite old pictures of some walks on the edges I had done before. One was taken in 2014, during the beautiful sunset in Boracay island, with many sailing boats in the endless horizon. The other photo was taken in 2013 while walking the edge at Lac Leman in Geneva, as Switzerland is my favourite place in the whole world till now. I was quite young back then, but it is clear to me now why till this very moment walking on the edge is my favourite thing to do.