Sappy Reflection Time

Well, now that I've been back in the US for more than two months, I feel a little more prepared to reflect on my time in Egypt. I am sure that the longer I'm back, the more I'll realize the importance of my time abroad, but already I'm starting to understand some important things about myself, my country, and the world.

People often ask me what the best thing about Egypt was. Surprisingly enough, the best thing about Egypt didn't really have any thing to do with Egypt. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED Egypt. I still love Egypt. If you bought me a plane ticket, I would go back there right now. But without question, the best thing about Egypt was how I felt about myself while I was in Egypt.

Here in the US, things are fairly easy for me. I live on campus at my university in a smallish city. I grew up outside New York, so I feel comfortable in a large city too. I speak the language, I know the culture, and I'm usually fairly politically correct. But I'm also not challenged daily. Of course there are difficulties. Being back in the US for the past two months has certainly been difficult. Things happen, life changes, and we overcome those obstacles.

But in Egypt, those obstacles were every day. Sometimes it was exhausting and scary and overwhelming. But a lot of the time it was thrilling. And it made me feel really good about myself to know that I could do it. That I could make good friends. That I could hitchhike when I was stuck in the desert. That I could avoid getting ripped off. That I could travel to Jordan alone and spend a week by myself in a country where not only do I not know the language, but I stand out clearly as a white, unveiled female in a country where females of any race or religion don't really travel alone. I learned to navigate Cairo, to make small talk in Arabic, to be culturally sensitive. I learned that I can trust my instincts. I also put up with more anti-Semitism and sexual harassment than I'd ever experienced before. I even worked really hard in school and did more research than I had done in a long time, maybe ever. But even with some negative experiences and emotionally draining challenges, I still found a way to fall in love with Cairo. That's what made me feel good about myself. I felt challenged and capable and confident. Egypt confirmed for me that I can do the things I believe I can do. I always believed I could overcome the challenges and difficulties in life, but now I know I can. I can find a passion for things I previously knew nothing about. I can take the leap and I will find a way to hold myself up. That feeling, that confidence, that was the best part about Egypt.

Of course there were lots of other essential parts about Egypt. I was forced to really reconsider the US, our foreign and domestic policies, and how Americans are perceived in other parts of the world. I learned a ton about Islam, about the Middle East, and about Egyptian history, as well as historical and contemporary Arab art and architecture. I learned about censorship and collective histories.  I gained insight into Egyptian politics, which made me somewhat grateful for our political system, but also resentful of our resigned attitude and lack of involvement in our country's governance. I learned about protesting, the good and the bad. About fighting for a cause. About having a cause. I learned about taking some time out for a smoke or a cup of tea, even in the midst of fighting to save the country. I learned about kindness and hospitality. Egypt was academically, culturally, and personally enlightening for me. I even proved some people wrong because I didn't die, which is great, and only partially because I really like winning.

The Last Hurrah

Well, after four months in Egypt, today is my last day. It's pretty sad actually. As much as I'm looking forward to seeing my friends, being at Lawrence, and eating food that doesn't contain beans, I really wish I was staying longer in Egypt. Arriving here and starting school was a bit of a rough adjustment, but Cairo really grew on me. I love this city. There's always something happening and the people are amazing. Obviously there are a lot of negative things that I've experienced here as well, but overall I'd say that my experience was entirely positive. It really challenged me and let me be independent in a ways I haven't been in the United States. I've grown to be fairly comfortable here and I only hope that I'll be able to return sometime in the not so distant future.

Kittens are the best study buddies.

I don't think it's really fair for me to try to reflect on my experiences in Cairo while I'm still here, But I'm sure I will in the coming months. I need some time to adjust to the cold and the culture, and I'm anticipating that reverse culture shock is really going to kick my butt. So we'll just have to wait and see what happens. I begin school in 12 days and am spending the time between now and then traveling, so it'll probably be longer than that before I really have time to think about this experience. And yes, that's right, I did just finish my semester yesterday, and I do start school again in less than two weeks. Thank you Lawrence. Everyone loves having class on January 2nd.

In the meantime, I'm off to Portugal for a week to see my sister and explore Lisbon. I'm hoping that it will be a nice first destination as I readjust to first world living (and to alcohol). But mostly I'm hoping that it'll be fun! So that's what's up.

Thanks for reading my blog. It was fun. As reluctant as I was at first to keep a blog, it really became a great way for me to think about my experiences, remember them, and keep everyone back home up to date! I'm pretty impressed with geographic diversity of my readership, and if you're reading this from the Phillipines, Ukraine, Sweden, or really anywhere else, or if I don't know you or that you're reading my blog, I'd love to hear from you. Post a comment or send me an email if you want.

So thanks.

Have a lovely holiday season, congrats on surviving the apocalypse.

Deborah

How Many People Can I Piss Off in One Post?

Alright, so I suck at updating my blog. Sue me.

I was thinking that I would keep this post pretty light and fluffy because it's probably my last one from Cairo, but I don't really want to. Maybe I'll write a fluffy post later this week. I might even write one once I'm back in good ol' 'Merica just so I can reflect a bit. We'll see. For everyone who's wondering, my American cellphone will be turned on at approximately 10pm on Friday, December 28th.

I know there are a lot of things going on in Egypt right now, and you're welcome to read about them in the newspaper or on the internet, but I'm not going to address them. Though I will suggest this article from a few days ago. It's a really good look at poverty and politics. I like to read Egypt Independent if you're looking for more up to date info than the NYTimes can provide.

The best graffiti in Cairo.

This post's about Israel and antisemitism and all that stuff all piled into one not very well educated or researched blog post, that could also probably use some grammar and punctuation checks. Sorry. People constantly ask me my opinions on this, and I figured it's time to share. I thought about writing it a few weeks ago during all the Gaza/Israel escalating violence stuff, but I'm not an expert and I hope that both myself and my readers have cooled down a bit since then. If you're one of those people who has a view on Israel and can't possible maintain a friendship with someone who disagrees, you should probably stop reading now, because I'd like to maintain our friendship. There is also a small amount of fairly non-profane profanity. This is your warning.

I've never been super gung ho about Israel. Even though my involvement with both reform and conservative American Judaism has taught me that Israel is the greatest place on Earth and I should forever give money to Israel, my parents never really pushed the whole Israel thing and I was never super interested in just buying the crap that people sell you in school or religious school or really anywhere. Because I have a brain, and I'm a bit sassy, and the combination of those things makes me somewhat skeptical of being fed information or opinions.

And though I've never been overly enthusiastic about Israel, I've never questioned that Israel should exist and that it deserves our support. But I'm not a big fan of unconditional support. And there are some things that are hard to forgive. For the past year or two I've slowly been educating myself more about Israel and Palestine and everything related to Israel and Palestine, and now I've lived in Egypt, and all those things put together have made me even more conflicted about Israel than I ever was before.

Here in Egypt, I have experienced anti-Semitism like nothing I've ever seen firsthand in the US, or anywhere else for that matter. Most people don't know that I'm Jewish, and that's really for the best. As unfortunate as it is, anti-Semitism is a totally accepted, normal part of life in Egypt. You're a minority if you're not anti-Semitic. A student in one of my classes accidentally found out I'm Jewish and immediately stopped talking to me. A different student in a different class asked if Israel was founded "just because some of them got burned." I was so surprised that I wrote it down. That's a quote. And even more horrifying for me was that no one spoke up. Not even the professor. In an academic setting, a modern Middle Eastern history class that discusses political Zionism and the creation of the state of Israel, it is totally appropriate to refer to the Holocaust like that. It's sad, but not surprising to hear that kind of stuff out on the street. But in an academic setting. In a school that wants to be Egypt's best university. Yeah. I mean, you can watch people rant on television about how Jews are destroying society and are morally bankrupt. And many people don't know any better. They're taught this, they can't differentiate between Jews and Israelis and the Israeli government, and they've never met a Jew so they've got no personal experience to change their views. Egypt has very few Egyptian Jews left because they all got the hell out. They had to. Prison, persecution, or leave. So they left.

This has made me love Israel. The US is safe, no one cares. Yeah, there's the occasional horribly offensive joke or slur or whatever, but in general I've never had any real problems with anti-Semitism in the US. Of course stupid groups exist, but we're fairly well protected and supported. But my experiences here in Egypt have confirmed for me more than anything else that the state of Israel needs to exist. There needs to be a place where Jewish people can be Jewish without anybody giving them crap about it. Without being targeted specifically because they're Jewish.

But Israel's policies get in the way of my adoration. This is a country that was created for people who were persecuted and removed from their own countries, people who needed a safe place from the rest of the world. So naturally it makes sense for Israel to remove people from their land and to make them second class citizens if they get to stay. To prevent their spouses from joining them in their own homes, or stop them from coming or going by using checkpoints. Right? I don't think so. Just because people treated Jews like shit doesn't make it okay for Israel to treat other people like shit. People who are just as entitled to that geographic location as Jews are.

And I know there's all this "they attacked us and people died" stuff. And you know, it's true. Israel has been attacked and people have died. But Palestinians have died too. And it's not exactly a fair fight. Israel's got this giant military operation and the unending support of the US government. I'm not saying they shouldn't defend themselves, but if we're comparing who has better resources, who is more able to fight, it's not even a comparison worth making. Think about it for five seconds. But I don't want to overlook the inability of the Hamas or the Palestinian Authority to get their shit together, because the violence does go both ways. I'll say that it's very unfortunate that this conflict is about organizations and governments fighting with each other. It seems to me that they lost track of the people they were supposed to be fighting for some time ago.

And we as involved citizens of the world need to distinguish between people and governments. Between Israelis and Israel. Between Palestinians and Hamas. Between Americans and the United States. Because shit, I don't want people thinking I'm the US. I'm not, and most days the more I can distance myself from the American government, the better.

Obviously this conflict goes back nearly a hundred years and isn't about to be resolved in a blog post. It has a long history of Western involvement and wars and peace treaties and all that. I can't say why it was okay to move in to an area that was already somewhat populated. I don't buy the religious entitlement to the land crap, but I also am not willing to blame modern Israel for its location. But I can blame it for how it treats its citizens. Particularly the Arab citizens. Israel has been called an apartheid state, though there is no agreement on this matter even amongst various UN missions and committees or amongst academics. But the very fact that apartheid status is debatable is a sad and disheartening commentary on the state of social and racial concerns within Israel.

I don't have the answer for Israel and Palestine. I know that escalating violence is certainly not it. I know that committing human rights violations is not the answer. I think a two state solution is probably unattainable at this point, but I don't know if a one state solution is realistic after decades of conflict. And Israel will never give up its Jewish majority to allow that. How can it be a Jewish state without a Jewish majority? This muddled situation is not just Israel's fault. The Palestinian Authority brings plenty of incompetence to the table.

So what do I think about Israel? I don't know. I want to love Israel with everything I've got. I see the need for Israel. I believe in Israel. But I can't possible love a country that is willing to ignore an entire population. A country that continues to ignore the UN. It's hard to overlook human rights violations. Israel can do wrong. It does all the time.

I'm going to conclude by defending myself. I know it's popular to say that anyone who doesn't support Israel 110% is a bad Jew. I have been told this by some lovely American Jews. I am not a bad Jew. Questioning Israel does not make me a bad Jew. In fact, I don't even believe in "bad Jews." I think Judaism really values questioning, engagement, and interpretation, and to give any less than that would be dishonest of me. I do support Israel 110%. I support Israel by staying educated, by questioning what's going on, by showing that I don't agree with the government. I show my support by being invested and educated and making it clear that Israel can't do whatever the hell it wants just because I'll support it unconditionally. I don't need to post an "I stand with Israel" flag on my Facebook. Because there's more to support than being a blind follower. I stand with Israel. If I didn't, I wouldn't bother being engaged or opinionated. It wouldn't be worth my time.

Parents and Protests

Fun Fact # 10
The ancient Egyptians prayed to Sobek, the crocodile god, because they were afraid of crocodiles. It is for this reason that  most of his temples are in places that used to have lots of crocodiles, particularly Fayoum and Kom Ombo. Now crocodiles only live upstream of the High Dam.

Crocodile!

So I realize that it's been a while since I've written a post with, uh, substance. So here it is! With LOTS of pictures too!

Hypostyle Hall at Karnak Temple

My parents were in Egypt last week and we spent a few days in Cairo before heading to Upper Egypt for some hardcore tourism. We saw all the major sites in Luxor and Aswan, and also went to Abydos and Dendera Temples. My favorite was Dendera because it's still in decent shape and has lots of colors. Plus it was in the first half of our trip, so I wasn't completely templed-out yet. By the end of our trip I was ready to avoid temples for a while, but I'm really glad I was able to see more of Egypt and some very cool ancient sites.

First Hypostyle Hall at Dendera Temple

Inside Abydos Temple

While my parents were in Cairo, we hit up PhotoCairo5 to see some contemporary art and I showed them around the downtown a bit. (Contemporary art sidenote: Everyone should look up Shirin Neshat because she's super interesting and some of her art films are cool. I saw her speak a week or two ago and I don't know that I would say that I like her, but I'm definitely interested in her.)  I ate quite well while my parents were here, so that was great! I was definitely reminded that Cairo can be quite overwhelming sometimes. Now I'm adjusted and used to living in this bustling and culturally challenging city, but it wasn't always that way. Helping my parents out was certainly a reminder of how much I've grown.

Egypt's youth forming itself out of stone

But Marc and Kay left Egypt just in time to miss all the excitement! Morsi announced that no one can challenge his presidential authority, and he's validated his new power by claiming it's so they can make a constitution (whoa simplification, but I'm not a newspaper so go look it up). People have started calling him a Pharoah. In addition to last week's protests remembering those who died  at the Mohamed Mahmoud clashes one year ago, there have been serious protests across the country since Morsi's announcement. The Muslim Brotherhood has rallied in support of Morsi and the necessity of this decree, but other more liberal and secular groups have come together to protest it.

People have camped out in Tahrir Square, and yesterday there was a very large protest in which groups marched together from all around Cairo. I went early in the day and left before it got dark, both because I was tired and because I didn't want to take any unnecessary risks. It ended up being mostly peaceful, but you never know. But I did go to the protest earlier (sorry Mom!) and I'm so glad I went. It was quite interesting. The murals on Mohamed Mahmoud street are constantly changing, and watching people protest and listening to them discuss their political views is endlessly interesting. I did feel a bit weird, and of course attracted a lot of attention since I'm so clearly not Egyptian, but even so it was pretty easy for people to ignore me in favor of their cause and I was perfectly fine with that.

I did take a look at some of the damage from Friday and last week. There are a few buildings with clear fire damage, as well as numerous broken windows. Most surprising to me though was the massive number of bricks in the street. I of course assumed there would be some rubble and trash and all that, but there really are tons and tons of bricks in the streets.
 

I check on Nefertiti every time I'm downtown.

I stuck around long enough to watch as the crowd grew significantly and to watch as some kid threw rocks from a building's roof and created a stampede. But I was tucked safely away around a corner, so I had no problems. I shot the video below with my sucky point and shoot camera (definitely one of the best pre-Egypt purchases I made) so it's a bit shaky, but you can definitely get the point. The crowd actually goes back much farther than you can tell just from my perspective.

I'm definitely interested to see what happens next. It's a really fascinating time to be in Egypt, and I'm so glad I get to experience it. But don't worry, I'll make good choices!

Cats of Cairo

I have no fun facts today. Stray animals are too depressing.

I received a request for a post about the cats of Cairo. At first I was excited to have an excuse to share some of the numerous photos I've taken of cats, but the cats of cairo are really quite sad. Many are adorable, and I've seen lots of the cutest kittens ever, but it's still sad. All of these photos are of stray cats that I've seen on my walks, indoors, in trees, etc. 

So Cats. Cairo has them. Lots and lots of them. Cairo has dogs too, but the cats are more visible.

It's really depressing. I've read a bit about abandoned animals during the revolution. It makes sense of course that Egyptians were fighting for their country and animals weren't a priority, but it's also incredibly sad. The massive numbers of street animals across Cairo are generally ignored and forgotten, or worse. Occasionally I see kids chasing or throwing stones at dogs or cats. Most of the AUCians I know are afraid of dogs and cats, or just completely despise them. Cats get hissed at or kicked and people try to scare them away. But no one's taking care of them, and there are few steps taken to reduce the numbers of stray animals. They continue to reproduce so there are probably millions of stray cats eating garbage in Cairo.

 I don't know a ton about animal welfare in Cairo, but a friend of mine did a bit of research into shelters and animal protection laws. She said that there are in fact animal welfare laws, but the police in Cairo are so useless and the government has many higher priority issues, so animals are just forgotten. There's not nearly enough shelter space for all the stray animals, so they tend to live where they can feed themselves, which is usually in less affluent areas. There's less trash in wealthier areas, so the animals are less able to feed themselves. But even in the affluent neighborhood where I live there are numerous stray cats. They're on the AUC campus, in the courtyard of the dorm in Zamalek, on the streets and bridges and cemeteries. They're everywhere. They're even get inside buildings through open windows and doors. 

 Of course, animal welfare concerns aren't limited to just strays. Egypt has tons of working animals like camels, donkeys, mules, and horses. Many of these animals are poorly taken care of or left to starve. The significant decrease in tourism after the revolution has really harmed working animals in the tourism industry (like camels) because their owners can no longer afford to feed themselves, much less care for an animal. If you want to read more about the plight of Egyptian animals and the main group helping them here's a link to the Egyptian Society for Mercy to Animals. 

Mosques and Stuff

Fun Fact #9

Cairo is nicknamed "the City of a Thousand Minarets". (This is my blog so I can ignore punctuation rules if I want to.) I can't tell you how many minarets there actually are in Cairo, but there are tons. Minarets were originally built as a place from which the call to prayer was made, but that was before loudspeaker systems. 

The Mosque of Muhammad Ali.

Well, for me this week is about school. It's a bit annoying, that whole school thing, but at least some of it is interesting. I'm currently working on three research-based papers, two of which require me to go places that aren't the school library or the internet in order to do research. Those two are good and interesting, the other one sucks. I've been to a few art spaces and spent some time in their libraries and institutional records. And I wandered around Cairo with my Canadian friend and his Egyptian friend, looking for the mosque that we're writing a research paper on. The mosque was assigned to us, but it's small and rundown and very few people have heard of it. So it was a bit of an adventure (like pretty much everything in Cairo). We've also been in the rare books collection at AUC looking up the mosque and its history and old photos and all that. Of course I love smelling and feeling the old books, so I'm a fan of the rare books library.  Though it's more time consuming, researching is also way more interesting when you have to actually go places.

Unfinished details on the portal of Sultan Hassan with a Chinese lotus motif.

The mihrab in Sultan Hassan

I had a field trip to the Mosque and Madrassa of Sultan Hassan today. We had a bit of extra time, so we also went to the Al-Rifa'i Mosque, which is where King Farouk, Ismail Pasha (the grandson of Muhammad Ali), and the Shah of Iran are all buried. Al-Rifa'i is pretty impressive, though it's a neo-Mamluk style mosque built in the late 19th century, so it doesn't really compare to the older mosques I've seen. Sultan Hassan is a Mamluk mosque built in the 14th century. It's quite large and has the tallest minaret in Cairo. It's pretty cool.

Kurdish tourists on the path between the mosques of Sultan Hassan (R) an Al-Rifa'i (L).
I don't know anything about the mosque that's straight ahead.

Muqarnas in Al-Rifa'i

This weekend I'm just doing homework and and trying to have a bit of fun too. I do have to attend a few different artist or art-related talks in the coming weeks, so there will be lots of art. I've been asked to teach the environmental group on campus how to make recycled paper, and of course I'm super pumped about that. I'm also looking forward to the start of Photocairo 5 and starting to wonder about the fate of the 13th International Cairo Biennale, which is theoretically supposed to begin in December. And Marc and Kay arrive in only a week! Parents!

With that, here are some recent photos of Cairo. I only wish I could also convey the smells and the sounds.

Piping hot sweet potatoes

This 17th century mosque is an island in the road. They built the road around the mosque.

The interior of the mosque I'm researching. It's built in a distinctly Ottoman style, so resembles many mosques in Istanbul, but has very few references to Cairene mosque architecture. Note the sinking floor...

The mosque we're researching is a bit rundown...

There's something so perfect about the Pyramids through the smog of modern day Cairo.

The INTERNET!

I know I only posted a few days ago, but I have an immense amount of Arabic homework that I've been procrastinating lately, so I've had a lot of time to spend reading and watching all of the internet. Here are some interesting/cool/fun/serious internet things that I want to share with you. Some of these things are Egypt related, some are just things I like. Feel free to use this post to assist you in procrastinating.

This is from Hyperbole and a Half. You can read my FAVORITE post here.

So as I've mentioned before, sexual harassment in Egypt is kinda a thing. A big thing. Last night I walked around downtown Cairo and Garden City alone for like an hour and a half and then took the metro, and I had more than a few people direct comments my way (probably like a dozen separate men/groups). I was wearing long sleeves and long pants and was rather well covered up. I'm lucky because I've never had anyone try to touch me. I like to believe I've got pretty thick skin and I can deal with the verbal harassment, but I wouldn't say it's pleasant. So yeah, sexual harassment. It's been getting a lot of press lately, as have responses to street harassment. This coverage from NPR discusses a group of vigilantes who I'm a bit conflicted about, but I think the author of this article from Daily News Egypt has some good points. Here's an older article from BBC News that's about street harassment. I always think of this article, particularly because of the comment about women wearing tight niqabs being "up for it."

Since this is my blog and I can do what I want, I will now use this as a segue into policy in the USA. While the US has certainly made strides in many areas relating to women's rights, I wouldn't say that things are all good. I've been horrified with some of the things coming out of politicians' mouths in recent months, but I think that Nicholas Kristof has very good points about sound bites and policies relating to women and rape. This (possibly TRIGGERING) article from a former Amherst student has been widely publicized, but I was very disappointed that it was not surprising to me. I've heard from friends both at my own (beloved) school and at other universities that sexual assault is not taken seriously, and is not handled by people who are educated about sexual assault or who know what they're doing. Even in the general population, a victim's attire, sexual past, or alcohol consumption are often called in to question. It kills me that people haven't yet figured out that no man or woman's actions are "asking" for rape. So yes, we might be doing better than Egypt in terms of street harassment, but let's not pretend that things are great and dandy in the US.

Now that I'm done ranting about sexual harassment and assault, here are some lighter subjects that might be of interest.

Here's a link to a cool website with old Arabic pop music. You can listen and download. It's not all Egyptian, but Egypt was and is pretty important in terms of cultural stuff coming out of the Middle East. When I was in Jordan last week, the Egyptian guy I met at my hostel commented every time Egyptian pop music came on the radio. Apparently in Jordan like 90% of the pop music is Egyptian. Also, I definitely stole this link from a friend's blog. Hey, I've been reading your blog. Thanks for the link.

Bahia Shehab is an artist and art historian, as well as a professor at AUC. She's got a TED video about her stencils that she's been spray painting all over the city. It's not the greatest TED Talk I've ever seen, but it's interesting, it's only five minutes, and her point is very nice.

As for things that don't relate to Egypt, as many of you know, I'm obsessed with reading the New York Times. I do read the news and the op-eds, but I have a particular love of things I can't have/can't afford/don't really want but still want to dream about. This naturally includes tandoors (I legitimately want one) and of course homes in Sweden. In that vein, here's a short video that I've now watched like five times. It's a week or two old, but you should watch it. THERE ARE PAC-MAN DUMPLINGS.

This is my obligatory reminder that you should all go vote next week if you haven't already. I voted like a month ago, so now I have plenty of time to annoy you until you vote.

And finally, I'll leave you with a clip of the love of my life, Andreas Viestad.