Sunboat Suhour

Cairo, Egypt

My CASA cultural guide and fellow RPCV (Morocco), Anita, is leaving Cairo tomorrow. She's one of those enviable uber-extroverts, so naturally she needed a going-away party in a big way, but in Ramadan, you have to get creative with the partying. Anita rose to the challenge with her "Sunboat Suhour."

From Ramadan Kareem fi Musr!

Suhour is the Arabic word for the meal Muslims eat before first light in Ramadan, about 3am local time this year, to fill their stomachs before beginning their daily fast.  Anita invited about 100 of her closest friends to join her on a boat on the Nile to eat and visit all night long, and then hear the call to prayer echo over the water at first light, and watch the sun rise over Cairo.

I didn't bring my camera because I'm not very good at night shots, and I'm so sorry I didn't! One of the most amazing parts of the adventure was walking home at 5:30am. The city was deserted. The only people around were a few police officers, asleep at their posts. It was a vision of Cairo you might never see at any other time!

The Problem With RST

(Ramadan Savings Time)

Cairo, Egypt

As I mentioned yesterday, Egypt dropped their clocks back an hour for Ramadan.  So did all my CASA friends and I.  But we didn't think, when we were making our plans to meet before sunset in search of a Iftar tent where we could break fast with real Egyptian Muslims, about how sunset would now be a whole hour earlier.  We planned to meet at 7:00 for a 7:30 sunset ... only to realize at 6:15 that sunset was going to be at 6:30!

So by the time Emma, Cosette and I got on the Metro to meet up with everyone else in Dokki, the call to prayer had already been called.  The Metro was deserted.  The ticket counters were closed while the ticket sellers broke their fast. Just as we were contemplating whether to reach through the glass and exchange our guineas for tickets ourselves, a man emerged to sell us tickets.

From Ramadan Kareem fi Musr!

By the time we actually met up with the girls in Dokki and got ourselves out on the streets in search of an Iftar tent, everyone had finished their meals and closed up their shops for a little cat nap before their midnight snacks.

It was like we were the only people in the city.  You never see Cairo like that.  It was simply amazing, to walk through the streets and not be hassled by men, taxis or shopkeepers.  It was just quiet, in a city that sleeps even less than New York!

From Ramadan Kareem fi Musr!

So we went down to al-Gazira Park, which is usually packed with Egyptian couples and families enjoying the Nile-side breeze. Tonight, we had the whole place to ourselves and the quiet sounds of the Nile.

From Ramadan Kareem fi Musr!

In the end, we didn't eat for hours more, but it was a beautiful, extraordinary night!

Ramadan Kareem!

In the words of NPR:

Ramadan celebrations are especially famous in Egypt. But this year, the Egyptian government has added a new twist to the holiday by turning back the clock just for Ramadan. That way, people end their fast an hour earlier than they would otherwise, even though the total number of hours they fast will not change.

We had a long conversation about this last night, my CASA friends and I.  Somehow it seems like cheating, to let everyone go home from work an hour earlier than usual, just so they'll have more of their pre-Iftar naptime.  On the other hand, as former CASA student Tim said weeks ago, "When August and Ramadan get together, it's never pretty!"

Ramadan, of course, is the Muslim holy month of fasting, 28 days without food, drink, cigarettes, sex, swearing or arguing (at least in theory) from first light till sunset, followed by all-night feasting with family and friends.  It will be interesting to see how Ramadan is different in Egypt than it is in Jordan.  I have noticed already the Egyptian tradition of Ramadan lanterns, brightly colored glass and chrome hanging lanterns of various shapes and sizes.  Stay tuned for more!

Tonight, we'll be looking for one of those food tents they mention in the same NPR story, so stay tuned to see how that goes!

CASA in the News

Cairo, Egypt

We were interviewed for this article mid- summer, but now it's finally appeared in the Chronicle of Higher Education.

One-Track Minds!

Egypt, Cairo

I've had 3 conversations in Arabic this week, two with taxi drivers, one with the plumber. They all came back to the same topic: sex. Surprise, surprise, I know!

But it's a little (just a little!) more complicated than that. It starts out as a conversation about relationships more generally.

"Is it true that Americans really have boyfriends and girlfriends, just like that?" Cairo is notorious in the Arab world for the growing number of boy-girl relationships you can find here. Find any bridge over the Nile at and after sunset, and you'll find dozens of these couples, holding hands and talking. But it's controversial.

"And your parents know? They don't disapprove?" This is the real sticking point for Cairenes - and Jordanians, for that matter. Despite the rising prevalence of dating, it's almost always done clandestinely. It's okay for men to date, but it's a terrible shame on the family for a girl to be involved in a relationship, however chaste, before marrying. In fact, it can get her killed by family members.

"And American couples ... they have sex?" Because this is the most baffling thing of all about Americans and Europeans dating before marriage. Virginity is still a highly prized commodity in the Arab world, so much so that girls will spend thousands of dollars to have their hymens restored before marriage, just to avoid any hint of shame.

"And what if there's a baby? Whose name will they give it?" Not who will take care of it, but whose name will the baby take. Perhaps one question is a proxy for the other, but it's an indication of the vital importance of family ties, of paternity and acknowledgment in Arab culture.

They're interesting conversations, for sure ... but not conversations I want to keep having with my cab drivers!