Chopin at the Pyramids

Giza, Egypt

Polish embassies around the world are celebrating 200 years of the composer Chopin. In Egypt, they brought some fantastic musicians and dancers to the Pyramids. They started with classical arrangements of Chopin as he himself would have imagined them.

Then there was an amazing jazz pianist, Leszek Możdżer, playing his "Chopin Impressions." He did some really unusual, fantastic things playing with the inside of the grand piano as he played. He dampened some strings with what looked like a big towel. He attached bells to others, and more.

Finally, a group called Rock Loves Chopin performed rock interpretations of Chopin, accompanied by a modern dance troupe. I really enjoyed the latter, but the friends I went with thought it was awful, and walked out, so I had to follow if I wanted a ride home....

Making Tradition

Cairo, Egypt

For the second Friday night in a row, a group of my CASA buddies have hosted a potluck dinner, which I hope is becoming a regular tradition.

Sara cooked Moroccan Tagine, a thick vegetable stew she served us over couscous. We had another fabulous fattoush a la Emma (i.e. in a bag!), a Lebanese salad topped with fried bread. Erin made some Moroccan fried bread I can't remember the name of. Cosette made some delicious potatoes. Rachel made a great yogurt salad. Kristine brought us some premium chocolate ice cream, and I brought cookies.

It was a feast for the stomach and the soul!

Of Mosques and Tea Parties

Cairo, Egypt

It seems America is always doing something to make me squirm whenever I'm abroad. In Switzerland, it was Columbine and Monica Lewinsky. In Germany, it was that spy plane over China. In England, it was the talk about invading Iraq. In Jordan, it was Abu Ghraib Prison and the re-election of George W. Bush (among other things). When I came back to Jordan, it was failing to speak up against the Gaza War. I know my country isn't trying to embarrass me on purpose, and I guess it's hard to avoid when you're the only superpower of your age.

All this week in class, we've been talking about the Cordoba Center, the so-called "Ground Zero mosque" that's not a mosque and not really all that close to Ground Zero, either, according to my friends who live in New York City. Not just the Cordoba Center, but also the locally controversial mosques in Murfreesboro, TN; Temecula, CA; Sheboygan, WI; and others. Not to mention that crazy minister in Gainesburg, FL, who organized a Qur'an-burning party. We're not only speaking about it in class, but it's been a hot topic among my friends on Facebook, too, whether in Egypt, Jordan or the United States, whether Muslim, Christian, Jewish or otherwise.

I just want to put my opinion out there, one that may be influenced by my background as a child of Mayflower families, and a student in William Penn's colony.

The United States is a nation settled, founded and populated on principles of freedom, including the freedoms of religion and assembly enshrined in our very founding documents. I would venture to guess that more than half of Americans are descended from immigrants who came to the Americas seeking religious freedoms: Puritans, Quakers, Catholics, Lutherans, Amish, Mennonites, Jews, Tibetan Buddhists, Uygher Muslims, Shi'ites, Sufis, Zoroastrians, Sikhs, agnostics, atheists, humanists.... They have all faced discrimination in America, too, but one by one they become accepted and eventually pass into complete anonymity. "They hate us for our freedoms," said Jon Stewart on the Daily Show (referring to the terrorists, of course), "so is this any time to be exercising those freedoms?" If not now, then when?

But I would also like to point out, especially to my Muslim friends in the Arab world, the bright side of this controversy. For every protest against the building or expansion of a mosque in America, there has usually been a significantly larger counter-protest. Gainesburg's proposed Qur'an burning party is not the norm for that multicultural, welcoming city. Moreover, pro-mosque rallies tend to be led by priests, ministers, rabbis, and other religious and secular leaders who are not Muslim, but who understand the lesson of the German pastor Martin Niemoller:

"When they came for the Jews, I did nothing, for I am not a Jew. When they came for the Socialists, I did nothing, for I am not a Socialist. When they came for the labor leaders, the homosexuals, the gypsies, I did nothing, for I am none of these, and when they came for me, I was alone, there was no one to stand up for me."

I can't tell you how many times I've heard Muslims say, "America is the best place in the world to be a Muslim," whether because of the freedom to practice whatever their personal interpretation of the religion, or because living in an open, pluralistic society like the United States forces you to examine and more deeply understand your religious beliefs. Feisal Abdul Rauf, one of the Cordoba Center's organizers, wrote a wonderful book titled What's Right With Islam Is What's Right With America, arguing that America's values and religious freedoms are exactly why it's such a great place to be a Muslim, and the American government sends him around the Muslim world to tell people and governments how important freedom of religion is for Islam's future.

I want to see America reach the full potential to which her founders aspired. After all, the first nation to recognize the United States as an independent, sovereign nation was a Muslim nation, Morocco.

PhD Got You Down? Try CASA!

Cairo, Egypt

Quote of the Day

I feel for you...this PhD seems like such a joke compared to the CASA workload...here I actually get to sleep!

- Ilaria Giglioli

I was complaining on Facebook today about the impossible volume of homework we get every night here in CASA, and my friend Ilaria from the CASA summer semester offered her sympathies. And it did make me feel much better: like I'm not such a wuss to be overwhelmed, and like feeling like a CASA failure needn't preclude the possibility of doing a doctoral program in the future.

'Failure?' you're thinking. 'Surely you exaggerate!' In the most technical sense, it's true. I can only think of two or three days when I finished all the homework assigned for the day ... and in all those instances, I had only managed to finish because I forgot several of the assigned tasks!

On the other hand, when I work 6 to 10 hours per day on homework and still don't finish it all, that's hardly a failure! It's merely a decision I've made that getting to sleep at midnight is more important than finishing all my assignments. What good does my homework do me if I'm too tired to discuss it in class the next day? Or too run-down and stressed to enjoy a drink with friends on a Thursday night?

I guess I'm still trying to find my balance between getting the work done and maintaining my sanity!

On the other hand, I'm coming to understand more and more just what an amazing opportunity this is. Whether it's other expats I meet here in Cairo, or friends of friends I'm being put in touch with over Facebook, it seems that anyone interested in the Middle East knows about CASA, and is in awe of its Fellows. It's odd to find someone who studies Arabic or lives here and doesn't know about CASA ... and even odder to say to people, "It's supposed to be one of the best Arabic language programs anywhere." I feel like I'm bragging, particularly since I don't feel like I'm a very good representative of the program, but it's the truth! And I try to remind myself of that instead of berating myself for the homework I don't have time to finish!

Black Desert, White Desert, Desert Fox

Bahriya Oasis, Giza Governorate, Egypt

Andrew and Cosette said, "Do you want to go to the desert?" and I needed no further clarification. I said yes. I needed to get out of the city, away from the noise and the smog and the hassle. And this trip delivered.

I thought we were going upriver (i.e. South), because I knew absolutely nothing about our destination except that it was not the city. In fact, we went almost due West. After a long bus ride, we jumped into a couple of 4X4s and headed out into the desert.

From White Desert, Black Desert, Desert Fox

First we went to the Black Desert, which is black from the basalt of tons of ancient volcanoes, covered in a dusting of sand.

From White Desert, Black Desert, Desert Fox

Then we went to Crystal Mountain, in a part of the desert which rests primarily on quartz and other crystal formations.

From White Desert, Black Desert, Desert Fox

Most spectacularly of all, we went to the White Desert, which Sarah's mother says is probably that way because of gypsum. Most of the rocks felt like chalk ... and came off on your hands like chalk, too!

From White Desert, Black Desert, Desert Fox

We made camp in the desert just in time for a beautiful sunset. After dinner, we shared a delicious dinner with some desert foxes!

From White Desert, Black Desert, Desert Fox

Then we went to sleep under a million beautiful stars. There's nothing quite like sleeping in the open desert air! The sunrise was also worth getting up for.

From White Desert, Black Desert, Desert Fox

There was more the next day: caves, mineral springs, a fantastic lunch, and a long bus ride back to the hustle and bustle of Cairo. It was a great break, and the perfect way to get back into the mood to study!

Back to the Grindstone!

Cairo, Egypt

Despite having a mountain of homework already on the very first day, I'm glad to be back in class. Seven weeks of summer vacation was too much. I feel like I've forgotten everything I learned in our seven weeks of class! It's good to have something to do, some structure to my days to keep my mind off the daily annoyances of life in one of the world's biggest cities!

All in all, I think the workload might actually be more manageable than it was in the summer. It seems that our teachers have eased off a little bit. With 3 months to complete their syllabi, they don't seem in quite as much of a rush.

Best of all is my colloquial teacher, Marwa. Not only have I been moved up to a higher level that will be more challenging to me, and less drilling of grammar that's quite similar to the Jordanian grammar I know like the back of my hand. I've also now got a teacher who doesn't insist that everyone speaks Egyptian in class. If I do, and plenty of local phonetics and phrases have crept into my colloquial, that's great. But if I want to speak Levantine Arabic, it's not a problem. Marwa merely wants us to understand and be understood.

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!

Pre-Finals Fun

Cairo, Egypt

The program director, Dr. Iman, invited us all to her beautiful garden for a delicious dinner. Students from the Music Club performed an Um Kulthum song in Standard Arabic, and another in colloquial Egyptian, and some of the professors also treated us to some amazing performances.

From Dr. Iman's dinner

Coptic Cairo

Cairo, Egypt

From Coptic Cairo

I've written a lot about the Copts in Egypt. Today we visited the neighborhood called Coptic Cairo, starting at the Coptic Museum. Our tour guide, once again, was an AUC Art History professor, who busted a few myths for us about the "primitiveness" of Coptic art. It's her feeling that the proportions are so contrived and stylized in order to differentiate Coptic style from the perfect realism of Greco-Roman styles. This column capital is a perfect example of the blend of stylized proportions and the exquisite craftsmanship of the stonecarvers.

From Coptic Cairo

Then we went around the corner to perhaps the most famous church in Cairo, the so-called Hanging Church because it was built atop one of the towers of the Roman Fortress of Babylon. Long the seat of the Coptic popes, it's been remodeled over and over again, but still retains many of its early architectural and artistic roots.

From Coptic Cairo

Next we went to St. Sergio Church, built over a crypt where Mary, Joseph and the baby Jesus were said to have lived during their exile in Egypt. An Egyptian story goes that the leader of the monastery where they were staying recognized the divinity in Jesus, so when the family was leaving, he hung an ankh around Jesus' neck to protect him, and this is supposedly why the first Coptic crosses were actually ancient Egyptian ankhs.

From Coptic Cairo

Finally, we visited the Ben Ezra Synagogue. Jewish tradition holds that this synagogue is built along the canal (long gone) where Moses was discovered in his basket by the Pharoah's wife. When Jews returned to Fustat centuries later, they discovered certain signs left here by Moses, and built a synagogue in this place. That synagogue was eventually deserted and destroyed, and a church was built in its place, which was later rededicated as a synagogue. It is, however, no longer a working synagogue. Those wishing to go to temple must do so in downtown Cairo.

From Coptic Cairo

Birthday Boat Ride

Cairo, Egypt

From Birthday Boat!

I didn't get steak on my birthday (way out of my budget!) but I got the next best thing ... a falucca ride on the Nile with my friends from CASA. Of course, CASA didn't plan this trip because of my birthday, but the timing seemed perfect. Not many better ways to spend a birthday than on a boat, even if it was a "stink-pot," not a sailboat like my last falucca ride. Apparently the low city bridges make a sailing falucca less fun than they look.

From Birthday Boat!

In any case, about half the CASAween went on the trip, which constitutes almost half of everyone I know in Cairo. Cosette and Emma brought baclava to share with the group ... way better than birthday cake! And the captain happened to have Happy Birthday on CD. In fact, we were treated to about 7 versions of it!

From Birthday Boat!

There were water birds, houseboats and crew teams - not a sport I'd ever associated with Cairo before! And just as we rounded the point of Zamalek Island ... my camera batteries died. It seems Ni-MH batteries and heat don't mix well, and I'll have to start storing them in the freezer. Surely there'll be other falucca trips!

From Birthday Boat!

The First Monastery

St. Paul's Monastery, Eastern Desert, Egypt

From Hurghada and St. Paul

I mentioned before that the Copts of Egypt invented monasticism. Halfway back up the Red Sea Coast, we hung a left into the mountains for a stop at the world's first Christian monastery, St. Paul's. The original monastery didn't have any ground-level doors, to protect it from attacks by marauding Bedouin raiders. Instead, you'd ring a bell and wait for the monks to lower down a basket to lift you up to the top of the wall, or a basket full of food and water to help you on your way.

From Hurghada and St. Paul

The story goes that Paul, son of a rich man, became disillusioned with a life of wealth and exploitation, gave it all up, and went out into the Eastern Desert with only the clothes on his back. He settled in a cave near a spring, fashioned a robe for himself out of palm fibers, and God provided him with half a loaf of bread delivered by a raven every day. We went to his cave and shrine first.

From Hurghada and St. Paul

Tradition also has it that St. Anthony was leading an ascetic life, and was directed in a dream to go to St. Paul in the desert. On that day, the raven delivered a whole loaf of bread for their dinner. But St. Anthony could see that the old man was dying, and St. Paul sent St. Anthony to get the cloak of the bishop for his burial. When St. Anthony returned, St. Paul had died, on his knees in prayer. When St. Anthony, an old man himself, couldn't dig the grave, two lions came out of the desert and dug it for him. St. Anthony buried St. Paul in the bishop's fine cloak, and thereafter wore St. Paul's palm fiber robe on all church holidays. It was St. Anthony who founded the monastery here, and St. Anthony's Monastery at the next closest spring.

From Hurghada and St. Paul

As always, many more details are in the captions of my Web Album.

Kick Back and Relax!

Hurghada, Red Sea Coast, Egypt

From Hurghada and St. Paul

With my birthday right around the corner, it was time for a trip. There just happened to be one organized by American University's Arabic Language Institute to which CASA Fellows were invited, so I took a little advance on expected birthday income and took a well-subsidized trip to a 5 star resort in Hurghada on the Red Sea Coast.

From Hurghada and St. Paul

Tanned and rested, we came back up through the Eastern Desert along the Red Sea Coast, with its islands and gorgeous aquamarine waters.

From Hurghada and St. Paul

Talking About Teaching

Cairo, Egypt

This week's topic was education, which made me really happy, since that's the topic I'm best able to talk about in Arabic! And from bottom to top, the problems in the education system in Egypt are exactly the same as Jordan's: enormous class sizes, under-valued teachers, unhealthy focus on all-important exam results, and every parent's insistence that his children will be doctors and engineers, leading to wide-spread cheating in school and beyond. These are the problems everyone can agree on.

Then there are the more controversial problems, controversy aggravated by the role of American politics and money in these issues. There is genuine concern by many - both Arabs and Westerners - about the role education plays in religious extremism. The American solution, backed by American money, is to increase secularization and critical thinking in Arab national curricula, but these are touch topics in a constitutionally Islamic nation like Egypt or Jordan. Islam calls for government to be guided by religious principles, and to direct its citizens on the right path and protect them from sin. That's why, for example, alcohol is illegal in Saudi and proselytizing religions other than Islam is illegal in many Muslim countries. And as for critical thinking, well, that's okay in secular subjects - the sciences and social sciences - but it makes many conservative religious scholars nervous. It smacks of criticism, paternalism, and even neo-imperialism that belittles Egyptian character, values and history.

Meanwhile, of course, Egyptian kids are sitting 60 or 90 kids to a classroom (this is in grade schools!) with underqualified, grossly underpaid teachers who probably wanted to be doctors or engineers, but were forced into teaching because their exam scores weren't quite high enough. And it's just so hard to see a way out!

I Wish Mum Could've Come!

Fustat, Egypt

Today the CASA students took a field trip to Fustat, a district on the southern edge of greater Cairo, to the Fustat Traditional Crafts Center. First we visited the pottery workshop, where they showed us every step of the process, from mixing the clay to the right consistency, to some amazing artists on the pottery wheel, to the painting and glazing. It took me right back to the 5th grade, the year that we were homeschooled because of a teacher strike, and spent every Friday morning in a local potter's studio learning all those techniques as well as a 1st, 3rd and 5th grader could.

Then we headed across the street to the rest of the workshops. We started in the mother-of-pearl room, where they were piecing together the iridescent designs on those typical Middle Eastern boxes and backgammon boards.

From Fustat Handicrafts Center

Then we went to the copper workshop, where they were tapping out designs on platters and lampshades using a hammer and chisels or pointers. Next door in the woodshop they were doing carpentry, intricate inlay work, and carving designs in relief:

From Fustat Handicrafts Center

And it turns out that quilting is not only a handicraft native to America, but also native to Egypt. The quilting done at Fustat is all applique, not patchwork, but it's all hand-stitched and gorgeous! They make wall-hangings, seat covers, pillows, and more.

From Fustat Handicrafts Center

Because the Fustat Handicrafts Center's Website is only available in English, I've borrowed a few of their photos and given them English captions in my own Web Album. Enjoy!

Islamic Cairo

Cairo, Egypt

For excessive detail and superfluous factoids, check out the captions of my Web Album. We saw a ton of historic buildings today, so many that even my enthusiasm for random knowledge began to wane. I'll just hit you with the highlights here:

From Islamic Cairo

Al Azhar
The first famous universities for Islamic law and its related disciplines were in Basra and Kufa in modern-day Iraq, but the oldest university of Islamic sciences currently in operation, and by far the most famous, is Cairo's Al-Azhar University. A degree from here will get you a job in Islamic jurisprudence anywhere in the world. You might call it the Oxford or Cambridge of the Islamic world. Until less than a decade ago, Al-Azhar University was housed in the complex of madrasas, mausoleums, libraries and other related buildings that have accreted around the Al-Azhar Mosque, where we started our tour.

From Islamic Cairo

A Mausoleum Beyond Compare
The Qalawun Complex includes a mausoleum decorated with unbelievably intricate and monumental craftsmanship the likes of which you don't see anywhere in Jordan! There are many mausoleums in Islamic Cairo, especially on the main thoroughfare known as the Street Between 2 Palaces, aka al-Mu'izz Street, referring to two Fatamid palaces whose foundations lie beneath many of the other sites we saw. We saw several mausoleums, but this one just took my breath away!

From Islamic Cairo

Madrasas, Madrasas!
We saw many madrasas on this tour, schools established by endowments of powerful Muslim leaders to teach the principals of one or more of the five schools of Islamic jurisprudence. My favorite was Sultan Barquq's madrasa, which also taught Sufism, the mystic strain of Islam.

From Islamic Cairo

Cairo's Costco (but live-in!)
Merchant wholesalers traveled by caravan across the vast Islamic world, and when they reached a city, they would have to stay somewhere while they sold their wares. Known as a wekala in Arabic, a khan in Turkish, and a caravanserai in Persian, these structures were part market, part hotel, and could even accommodate a successful merchant's "wife in every port." Other caravanserai were positioned near water sources along major trade routes through the deserts, like Qasr Harranah in Jordan.

From Islamic Cairo

Bayt Al-Suhaymi
As much as I love history's monumental structures, I also adore restored homes, giving a more mundane look into history. Unfortunately, a crew was filming some period piece in the Suhaymi House, so we didn't get to enjoy as much of it as I'd have liked. One of many things to go back for!

...And Much More!
There were many other things we saw that you'll find in my Web Album, but this about covers my favorite parts of the morning. (Was it really just a morning?)

Classes on Copts

Cairo, Egypt

We've been talking about the Copts in Egypt all week, and I've learned that the experience of the Zebballeen I wrote about recently is not necessarily the average Coptic experience. Lest you get the wrong impression of the Copts, I wanted to revisit the topic.

In point of fact, Copts are more likely to inhabit the highest tax brackets. Despite being just 10% of Egypt's population, Copts hold 20% of the country's wealth. Much of it's probably in the church's coffers, which are heavily supported by money from the Coptic Diaspora. Like the Christians of Jordan, Palestine, Iraq and Lebanon, Copts tend to be better educated than a majority of their Muslim neighbors. In those other countries, this is because the British and French gave preference to Christian Arabs in the mandate period. In Egypt, the cause seems to be more like what makes Palestinians in Jordan or Jews in medieval Europe so economically successful. Because Copts have generally had a less than proportionate representation in government in the Islamic period, they've been pushed into the economic sector to support themselves. In any case, it tends to be easier for Copts and other Arab Christians to get visas and lucrative jobs in the West, and they send a lot of money home.

Things were arguably better in the 1920s, when Copts were 20% of the population and held as much as 50% of the country's wealth. Since the revolution that launched the Republic of Egypt, Copts feel that their fortunes are declining. Though there are always a few prominent Copts in government, most of the community feels that they are increasingly marginalized and disenfranchised. One example they cite is that the Egyptian national curriculum requires all Coptic children to learn about Islam, but not vice versa. The history curriculum teaches about the pharaohs and all the Islamic dynasties, but skips the 6 centuries of Coptic history in between.

Coptic Egypt was a vital center of the early Christian world. Monasticism was invented here. The Coptic pope oversaw the First Council of Nicea that developed the Nicene Creed, the description of the basic fundamental beliefs of Christianity that's still in use in the majority of Christian denominations. The strength of the Coptic community has waxed and waned over the centuries, but Copts flourished during the Fatimid dynasty, for example.

And of course there's Boutros Boutros Ghali, my favorite United Nations Secretary General by nature of the fact that his name's just so fun to say!

Egyptian Fashion

First Impressions

Cairo, Egypt

I've been thinking about this entry since I arrived in Egypt, and after discussing hijab in my MSA class all week, it seemed the perfect time to get it out there.

Now, when I discussed this idea with my new roommate Nellie, who has lived in Cairo for 4 years, she took issue with several of my observations. Bear in mind that they are only first impressions. That said, many of my classmates have lived in Egypt before, and the professor has lived here all his life, and they tended to agree with most of what I'm about to say. My search for good photos also revealed this blogger who agrees with many of my observations, as well as expounding quite beautifully on many more of her own.

This is the photograph in my textbook:

The two women on the left are wearing the chimar, the third woman is wearing the niqab, and the woman on the right is wearing the hijab. In Amman, the hijab is the primary mark of modesty you'll see, and rarely falls much below the shoulders. In rural southern Jordan, you see a lot of niqab, but not so much in the places I've lived. Here in Cairo, the niqab is far more prevalent, and even more so in the villages we passed returning from the North Shore. The chimar is rare in Jordan, but very prevalent here, perhaps especially among middle-aged women and under the niqab. The girls on the right side of this picture are also wearing skirts, which are much more popular here than in Jordan; in this weather, I prefer them, too!

I've also seen a lot more chador here, like the women in the background of this picture:

I generally associate these with Shi'ites, particularly Iraqis and Iranians. Our professor says that they are a very new phenomenon in Egypt, only becoming popular in the last few years. I've seen some very interesting use of the chador, too, incorporating it into a headscarf.

There's also a marked difference in style. In Jordan, most women wear their headscarves not much below the shoulders, if not tucked right into their shirt collars. Here in Egypt, however, fashion seems to favor very long hijab, falling to the waist, hip or even knee:

From Moving to Egypt

There are more images in my Web Album, but you get the picture. It makes me wonder if this style of hijab isn't somehow cooler, and thus more suited to this climate. A style that definitely is cooler is the so-called "Spanish style" that leaves the neck exposed:

From Moving to Egypt

I got this image from The Hijab Blog, an interesting site by a Canadian woman who just adores Cairene hijab fashion.

Another popular trend I've noticed is the layered look:

From Moving to Egypt

This I confess to not understanding at all, as this style must be HOT in Egyptian weather.

In general, I would say that Egyptian girls are more likely to wear hijab than Jordanians, and more likely to wear a more conservative style. This was primarily where my roommate and I disagreed, she claiming that plenty of girls wore "hijab in name only," paired with clothes so tight and revealing that they may as well not bother with the scarf. I've certainly seen those girls here, and there are plenty of them, but not nearly as many as I'm used to seeing in Amman, or even in more rural parts of northern Jordan.

A Note On Terminology
What you will not see in Egypt (nor probably in France, England, or anywhere else that it's generating legal controversy) is the burka, a distinctive and comprehensive covering pretty much exclusive to Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan.

This is not a burka; it's a niqab, but with an extra layer of material covering the eyes:

Technology Isn't Always the Answer

Garbage Dreams: The Zebbaleen of Cairo

Cairo, Egypt

My roommate took me to an incredible documentary last night, Garbage Dreams. Not only was it in Egyptian colloquial Arabic so I could pretend it was homework, but it was a poignant, intriguing story.

Until recently, Cairo didn't have a municipal garbage collection service. They had the Zabbaleen. Mostly minority Coptic Christians and all of them very poor, the Zabbaleen saw an economic opportunity, and for generations they've been collecting, sorting, treating and recycling Cairenes' waste. By recycling 80% of what they collect, they are able to earn enough money to live.

Well, they were. And then globalization. Cairo hired foreign companies to collect trash in Africa's biggest city. Now the Zabbaleen face the threat of losing the only way of life they know. Just as bad, those foreign companies only recycle 20% of the waste they collect. An economic and ecological disaster.

The best part of the film is probably when Adham and Nabil go to Wales to see how recycling is done in the "developed" world. While their hostess, who clearly doesn't speak Arabic, shows them with great pride the state-of-the-art facility in Wales, the boys are at times awed by the technology, but mostly aghast at how much recyclable material gets past the machines and ends up in the landfill anyway. Pie in the face of Western liberal green innovation!

If you have a chance to see this film, it's not nearly as grim and grimy as you might expect!

Not My Cup of Tea

Mersa Matrouh & Alamein, Egypt

I understand that a lot of people get pulled into war on one side or the other for geo-political reasons having very little to do with their personalities. They end up fighting for the "wrong" side because it's the side they identify more strongly with. It doesn't mean that I can feel great sympathy for Hitler's famous Field Marshall Rommel. Yes, he fought a "fair" war against Hitler's explicit orders to, for example, immediately execute all Jewish POWs. I still find it difficult to follow along when the tour guide says that Rommel was a great man.

On our way home from Mersa Matrouh today, we stopped first at the Rommel Museum in Mersa Matrouh itself. The museum has been established in a cave where Rommel had his headquarters for the Battle for Northern Africa, and is filled with personal effects brought to the site by Rommel's son. The first thing you see when you walk in is a big Nazi flag. I guess I spent too many semesters studying 20th Century German history to take that flag as mere historical fact.

Then we stopped at the Commonwealth Cemetery in Alamein, where the WWII dead of the Commonwealth countries and their allies, including Jordanians and Egyptians, were buried. As mind-boggling as the numbers are of dead and missing from the African Front, I found it hard to register any sort of feeling for the place. Then again, maybe it was just the overbearing heat....

Sandy Beach, Rocky Beach

Mersa Matrouh, Egypt

This evening, we took the bus further west along the coast to see some of the more famous beaches in the area. The Cleopatra Beach, where the last and most famous Queen Cleopatra (the one who married Julius Caesar and Marc Antoni) supposedly bathed, had great rocks. I could've stayed for hours, photographing from different angles.

From Beach Weekend

Then we went a little further along the coast to Agiba Beach, known for its interesting rock formations.

From Beach Weekend

Messing About In Boats

Mersa Matrouh, Egypt

There's nothing more worth doing than messing about in boats!

- Ratty to Mole in The Wind In The Willows

After too much sun and not enough sunscreen on the beautiful white beach in Mersa Matrouh today, the whole ALI/CASA group went down the street to climb onto a pair of boats and see the city from the water.

From Beach Weekend

The bay was beautiful, the water as blue and clear as could be. Out near the line of rocks that protects the bay from the bigger waves of the Mediterranean, we stopped for some swimming and a backflip contest among the military men in the group.

From Beach Weekend

They made great eye candy!

I only wish we'd had an opportunity to sail on some faluka. Just as much as swimming, I love sailing, and it's a treat I haven't been able to indulge in for a very long time!

From Beach Weekend