The Nile River provides history to the people of Cairo — connecting them to civilizations that have flourished here for thousands of years. But it also serves as a lifeline to the largest city in Egypt. Sixteen million people live in this hot, dusty environment, and, amid the tall buildings, it can be quite an overwhelming experience — especially if you’re from Iowa.

But the Nile can save you from the madness of the city.

You can’t swim in it without risking parasites — the river is ridiculously polluted — but it does provide some relief, serving as a highway of air by bringing cool, refreshing wind into the heart of Cairo. For me, it also serves as the border to my new home, a river island called Zamalek.

Zamalek is an island in more than one way. Besides being physically separated from Cairo and being enjoyable to live on, we are also separated from other features of large Arab cities. The constant honking of car horns is not quite so bad, and there are many trees in this residential district. But the best part for a 21-year-old college student is that Zamalek — and its many clubs and cafes — is the place where anyone with money or a sense for the trendy comes to hang out.

But being on such an island, with its high-priced residential flats and expensive cafes and sports clubs, students living in residence halls at the American University in Cairo are separated from a bitter reality that Egypt and all countries face: poverty.

For example, just about the only places we find on Zamalek are either tourist areas or spots mentioned in guidebooks. It seems the only reminders of the dire situation facing some Cairenes are the beggars on the street. They ask for money, food or anything we may be willing to part with.

My heart is wrenched every time I walk past and hear their pleas. More than once, I have stopped and offered food or a small bill.

Egypt has been called the capital of the Arab world, owing this title to its political power and influential entertainment industry. Egypt beams movies and sitcoms across the Middle East, much like Hollywood and Bollywood do for their own respective areas of the world.

But upon closer examination, the poverty in Egypt is stunningly high. The 1996 Human Development Report stated that 22.9 percent of Egyptians live below the poverty line — 13.7 million people living on the fringes of society. And these numbers do not include those living poor lives — only the people labeled as living in poverty.

The unemployment rate is similarly devastating. A whopping 11.3 percent of Egyptians are unemployed, and the numbers vary for the genders as well. Nearly one-quarter of all females are unemployed, according to the Human Development Report.

A mix of a high unemployment rate and a high poverty rate often has violent results. Surprisingly, however, Cairo, and Egypt in general, are very safe places to live.

A few friends and I decided to see the conditions in which a large portion of the population lives. We took the well-maintained Metro to Coptic Cairo.

After visiting the Hanging Church and other tourist attractions, we deviated from the beaten path and walked through the slums of Cairo.

In this world far away from our posh dwelling on the island of Zamalek, we sat and spoke with Cairenes who barely survive each day. To effectively describe the political implications and reasons for this poverty would require a book or thesis.

For just a few hours, we saw how these people, usually seen simply as statistics, actually live and survive as the rest of society ignores them.

As we traveled back to our island, I hoped the people we talked to were able to find food and continue to survive in a world with a widening gap between the rich and the poor. Back in Zamalek, we were once again treated with fancy cafes serving drinks and coffees that our new-found friends only dream of.