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Middle East Studies in Cairo Volume 2, Issue 1 October 2005

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Middle East Studies in Cairo Volume 2, Issue 1 October 2005 The American University in Cairo Middle East Studies in Cairo Volume 2, Issue 1 October 2005 M ESC Satellite Image of Iraqi Marshlands, 1973 Photo courtesy of UNEP/DEWA Picture courtesy of Orchard Books. Books. of Orchard courtesy Picture Message From the Director This first newsletter of the academic year 2005/2006 coincides with the beginning of the holy month of Ramadan. Cairo streets are more crowded and animated than normal (if Alf Fikra wa Fikra (AFWF): Fikra 1 our imagination can overstretch itself and visualize such a (A Fledgling Series of Columns by Garth Hall, MES Grad Student) situation). Why is Nothing Labeled But everybody is certainly in a good mood trying to make the best of the different dimensions of this exceptional at the Egyptian Museum? month. NB: This article assumes the Egyptian Museum to be the Some spend parts of it praying or even going on universe’s second greatest museum (second only to San pilgrimage to Mecca. Others enjoy characteristic Ramadan Francisco’s Exploratorium). features like the Khema Iftar and especially Khema Sohoor: (the midnight meal in the tent). My preferred place during NB: The author finds “nota bene” and other Latin phrases this month is still the Khan El-Khalili Bazaar and Al-Azhar extremely snobby. Park. This is where I feel that the different faces of Islamic Of the thousands of displayed statues, steles, and pieces at the civilization cancel the time span and become alive. Young universe’s second greatest museum, only about one third of kids with their lanterns in the narrow alleys that Naguib them—tops—are labeled. Why is this? Surely, with such a Mahfouz eternalized add to the trip back in time. Despite all labor-abundant economy in Egypt, the museum can afford to pay these festivities, which actually started even before a small army of workers to copy statues’ descriptions from Ramadan, normal work has to proceed. MESC is expanding Lonely Planet and glue-stick them onto the wall. (Surely I should as its number of students continues to grow. The new-comers receive extra credit in Economics 511 for using the term “labor- grope in a process of adaptation to a new culture and life abundant economy.”) Some theories for the dearth of informative style. More than any courses they are attending, these displays: challenges (of what the French call “depayesment” or momentary uprooting) is es-sential. It is studying the Middle • Tim Brown, in his May 2001 thesis on Egyptian East through actually seeing and living it on a daily basis. museums, proposes that the lack of labeling on the statues stems from the curators desire to give, “the In this respect, these newcomers (and others as well) did impression that the object is the product of the see firsthand Egypt’s first multi-candidate presidential Egyptians, the entire nation of people” and thereby elections. In this country where pharaonic remnants still promote national unity. bestow semi-godly aspects on the post of the president, this new experience of contemporary Egyptians could have • Brown also references a theory by Al-Ahram Weekly’s significant implications, nationally, regionally, and even Rehad Saad, which he summarizes as saying that the internationally, as our first talk of the year shows. museum’s disorganization “may be in existence in an effort to provide employment for museum guides, who can be hired at the museum’s entrance.” Both are excellent theories. Here are mine: • The curators hate ancient Egypt. Can’t blame them. Americans would be furious if hordes of European tourists flooded the eastern seaboard to stand in awe of a recent Iroquois excavation and then didn’t give a flying felucca about the Statue of Liberty or the Lincoln Memorial. • The curators are still ticked off about all those Discovery Channel specials claiming that the pyramids were built by aliens. I’d be pissed too: you don’t see anyone saying the Greeks needed extra-terrestrial help to finish the Parthenon. • The missing statue descriptions have been stolen by flocks of Cairo’s stray Catwings cats, who shred these labels to line their nests. PS: For more on our first talk of the year, “Elections and Egypt’s Future,” see article and summary on page four. NB: Beware the rabid Catwings. Logo courtesy of Home Box Office, Inc. Inc. Box Office, Home of courtesy Logo AFWF Fikra 2 Who Art Thou, O Middle Eastern Countries? Are Turkey and Iran “Middle Eastern” countries? What about Cairo brought me to my knees the first night here. Afghanistan and Pakistan? My twenty hour flight from the USA turned into a twenty- My political science class recently opened with these questions, eight hour marathon, Air France lost my luggage (it would later which both draw from the alleged enigma, “What is the Middle be returned in mangled pieces some six days later), I had not slept East? What nations comprise this region?” Well, the mystery in over forty hours, and my hotel did not have a working phone or stops now. These questions have a lot of background, which we internet access. will skip here in favor of an over-simplified formula that happens Come two in the morning I had a hunger headache, my to work. If the country fulfils two of these three requirements, tongue was sticking to the roof of my mouth, and I had no idea it’s a Middle Eastern country: what just scurried under my hotel bed (did it have four or eight 1. Is Arabic, Farsi, or Hebrew an official state language? legs?). To my surprise, I even contemplated a ticket back home. But as my mom always reminds me, “Fatigue makes cowards of 2. Is the majority of the country Muslim? us all.” Hey, I am not a coward and I salivate at challenges. If the 3. Is the country located in a former territory of the jungles of Borneo didn’t kill me, neither would Cairo! Ottoman Empire? Yes, my first experiences in Cairo were a bit frazzling. I Some case studies: can’t cross the street without gritting my teeth and hoping for the best, I’m sweating out of every pore, and my taxi driver is as lost • Turkey: fulfils religion and location requirement. Therefore, as I am. Some creepy, unknown person surreptitiously crept into Turkey is a Middle Eastern country. my apartment to leave ripped up pizza and chocolate cake in my • Iran: fulfils language and religion requirement. Ergo, Iran is a refrigerator, while at the same time stealing my batteries and CD Middle Eastern country. player. The Egyptian police thought this to be incredulous and I • Afghanistan: fulfils language and religion requirement. Thus, found it nerve rattling. Afghanistan is a Middle Eastern Country. But out of the corner of my eye, I see the Nile River. Forever • Pakistan: fulfils only the religion requirement. Consequently, chiseled in my mind will be my first look at the Nile River at Pakistan is not a Middle Eastern country. sunset. The coming weeks made everything worthwhile. Ready According to this method there are twenty-six Middle Eastern for my exploration is this ancient city full of history and secrets. countries (Afghanistan, Algeria, Bahrain, Chad, Comoros, I still laugh when I think about my first attempt to speak Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Arabic to the produce guy at the Alfa Market. I thought I was Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, asking him for apples, but with my poor pronunciation skills, I Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, UAE, and Yemen). actually was asking him if he had spit. Little did I know that the There are twenty-eight if one includes Palestine and the Western words “apple” and “spit” in Arabic could be pronounced with Sahara each as countries. Complaints against the method and incredible similarity! theory readily accepted: [email protected]. Only in Cairo can you “otlob” for falafels and cotton balls at NB: Ten countries fulfill all three of the requirements, making the same time. Cipro is my buddy, TGI Friday’s desserts will be them—according to this method—part of the core Middle East as my downfall, and the tune, “It’s a Small World After All” on opposed to the greater Middle East. These nations are: Algeria, taxis’ brakes will always make me laugh. Cairo will test the Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Saudi Arabia, Syria, elasticity of your nerves, sense of humor, and pain threshold. I Tunisia, and Yemen. know the ends and outs of Zamalek apartment hunting, I figured out how far an Egyptian pound can be stretched, and I am NB: If Turkey, Iran, or Israel weren’t considered Middle Eastern, determined to conquer the art of the bargaining “dance” at the how would one categorize them? Do they really fit better in a Khan al Khalili. category like European or Mediterranean or South Asian? Email This is my first semester at American University in Cairo responses written along the lines of, “Why must we always and my first venture into the Middle East. Among the colonies of categorize things?” will not be categorized as questions and will cats, expats, sheesha joints, and study time, I have carved out a be ignored. little niche in Cairo for myself. I’m more than 8,000 miles away from California, but everyday, Cairo feels more like home. n September 28th, 2005, Egyptian scholars Dr. Mohamad El O We Don’t Want to Jump into the Abyss. Mubarak played on Sayed Said and Mr. Bahey El Din Hassan presented their thoughts on Egypt’s first multi-candidate presidential election.
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