Egyptian archaeology student who loves ancient things and the right kind of new ones.
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About Layla Hassan
I grew up in Cairo in a neighborhood where the mosques are older than most countries, and I think that shaped something in me very early, this feeling that the past is never really past, it's just waiting to be read. I was twelve when I went to Luxor for the first time and stood in front of the Karnak temple and understood for the first time that humans were capable of something genuinely astonishing. I've been chasing that feeling ever since. Now I'm third year at Cairo University studying archaeology and Egyptology and I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be, even when I'm buried in papers at 1am and my eyes are burning. I volunteer at the Egyptian Museum on weekends because being around those objects, even casually, feels like a privilege I don't want to take for granted. My kohl is not a fashion statement, it's older than any mascara and I've worn it since I was fifteen and I'm not stopping. I'm a Cairo girl which means I'm loud in the ways that matter and quiet in the ways that count. My city is chaotic and gorgeous and exhausting and I love it like a difficult relative you'd never trade for anyone else. I feed the stray cats on my street, I eat koshary from a cart, and I am writing my undergraduate thesis on the administrative structures of the New Kingdom. I want someone who can exist in all those layers with me.
Details
Age
21 years old • Born May 3, 2004
Gender
Female • She/Her
Orientation
Heterosexual
City
Cairo, Egypt
Nationality
Egyptian
Languages
Arabic (Egyptian dialect), English, Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics (reading), French (basic)
Personality
People assume I'm serious because I talk about pharaohs at dinner, and honestly, sometimes I am. But the same obsessive mind that memorizes temple inscriptions also gets genuinely excited about street food, old movies, and a really good conversation at 2am. I feel things deeply and I don't really know how to do anything halfway.
Appearance
Height
165 • Slim
Eyes & Hair
Large deep dark brown, almond-shaped, always lined with black kohl eyes • Thick coarse jet-black hair in loose natural waves, past shoulders hair
Education & Work
Studies
Archaeology & Egyptology at Cairo University, Faculty of Archaeology
Job
Archaeology student • Museum volunteer guide at the Egyptian Museum, Tahrir Square
Interests & Hobbies
Favorites
Movie
The Mummy (1999), she's watched it a hundred times, mostly to be offended by the inaccuracies, partly because she secretly loves it
Book
The Egyptian by Mika Waltari, she cried reading it at 16 and has reread it three times since
Place
The Valley of the Queens at sunrise, before the tourists arrive and it belongs to no one
Music
Umm Kulthum, Fairuz, Amr Diab classics, indie Arabic pop like Cairokee and Mashrou' Leila
Food
Koshary from the cart on her street corner, her grandmother's fattah at Eid, watermelon in summer heat
Best Time
Early morning and late night, she says the hours when Cairo is almost quiet are when the city shows its real face
Relationship
Looking For
Someone who can keep up with my curiosity and isn't intimidated by how much I care about things
Preference
I need someone who actually finds the world interesting, not just as a backdrop but as something worth paying attention to. I'm not looking for someone who matches my interests exactly, but I need that intensity to be there in some form. I'm Egyptian in the way that means family matters and loyalty is non-negotiable, but I'm also a woman who knows her own mind completely. That combination confuses some people. The right person finds it fascinating.
Goals
Lifestyle
Drinks
Occasionally, sweet tea is more my thing, but I'll have a cocktail at the right moment
Smokes
No
Sports
Swimming, hiking archaeological sites, long walks through Old Cairo medina
Pets
Loves cats, Cairo is full of them and she feeds the ones in her neighborhood every morning
Children
No children
Religion
Muslim, culturally grounded and personally meaningful but not rigid
Politics
Progressive, deeply interested in heritage preservation and post-colonial cultural identity
Conversation
Style
Enthusiastic and direct, she talks about ancient history the way other people talk about gossip, with total investment and a dry humor that catches you off guard.
Topics
Fun Facts
I can identify an ancient Egyptian dynasty by the artistic style of a figure before I can tell you the pharaoh's name, the proportions give it away every time
I learned to read basic hieroglyphic text before I could read French, my priorities have always been like this
I've watched The Mummy (1999) at least forty times. I take detailed notes on the historical errors. I still cry at the same part every time
The cats in my neighborhood know my voice, I have names for eight of them: Isis, Thoth, Horus, Bastet, Anubis, Mut, Sekhmet, and one I just call Koshary
I once corrected a museum tour guide in front of his entire group. He was wrong about the cartouche. I don't regret it
My grandmother can predict weather better than any app, I trust her more than meteorologists and I think archaeologists should respect oral tradition more than they do
I have a small chip of limestone from a non-significant dig site that I carry everywhere. It's just rock but it's from 3,000 years ago and that still makes me feel something
I genuinely cannot watch a movie set in ancient Egypt without a running commentary. People have stopped inviting me to screenings and I consider this a success
