A perhaps too-authoritative title for a post that is much more of the beginning of an exploration than an unequivocal pronouncement. I came across a number of readings over the past weekend that have piqued my interest in the subject. The first was a forthcoming essay (by a for-now-unnamed author) on neo-authoritarianism in Egypt and the second a 2003 thesis by Lindsey Wise on the “new preachers”, in which she explores the phenomenon of a new crop of lay preachers of Islam. Lastly, and, most especially, an article in Le Monde dipomatique on the same phenomenon, though much more brief, and with a stronger focus on the ways in which these preachers have enlisted not just the outward trappings of modernity, but the specific modes of articulation of business management. (more…)
October 28, 2007
October 27, 2007
Maggots in the Cherimoya—دبان في القشطة
I ventured out today to get some fruit and vegetables at the Sayida Zeinab Suq. I have to admit that i walked around for a while and then chickened out and just went to the smaller market off of Falaki, near AUC. I barely feel confident ordering food in Arabic, and i definitely don’t feel up to the challenge of bargaining. I always get decent vegetables at a good price at the Falaki market, though, though not on fruit. After getting the veggies, i went to the fruit vendor on the corner of Falaki and Mohammed Mahmud and paid entirely too much for 5 mangos and a cherimoya. Actually, it wasn’t a cherimoya, but rather a similar species called in English a “Sugar Apple” or “Custard Apple”. I have to say, it does not compare favorably to a Cherimoya, at least the kind i’ve had in Southern California. (more…)
October 25, 2007
The Pyromania of Cairo—هوس القاهرة الحاري
Maybe i’ve just been lucky, but i feel like i’ve seen a lot of pyrotechnics here. (more…)
October 22, 2007
Embarrassing my future self
Let this post function as a sort of caveat. I’ve just posted a whole bunch of stuff on this here blog, most of which was culled from emails I’ve sent to people over the last several days. Lacking the time or the patience to fully edit this material and tweak it for a more public audience, the reader is liable to discover some quixotic lines here and there, along with some rather bold leaps of logic, tossed with a liberal helping of generalization and drizzled with the choicest first cold-pressed extra virgin bullshit. Do feel free to call me on any or all of these things and set me straight.
October 21, 2007
Cats in Cairo—قطط في مصر
They are friggin’ everywhere!
At first, we thought that they were actually a different breed of cat because their heads seemed to be a different shape and they were more sleek. Then, we talked to a few people who had adopted local cats off the street and it turns out that they turn into the same lay-about tubsters as American cats when they are given a steady diet. In fact, they get even fatter. We’ve thrown around some theories about this. Maybe it’s because they were raised in an environment of scarcity and so tend to eat too much whenever there is food around. Maybe it’s because it’s hard to find anything but Cat Chow. Who knows. (more…)
October 20, 2007
Desperate Housewives
You know, there’s all sorts of things that i would never do in the US that a combination of boredom and isolation have driven me to do here. Riding bikes with a bunch of petroleum industry dudes is one. Another is watching Desperate Housewives. I was a bit resistant to the idea of getting a television, but it was cheap and i thought it might be kind of interesting to watch local television. We didn’t get cable or satellite or anything, unlike most people in Cairo with any money to spend.
Motor Scooters—دراجات بموتور
Another thing i like about Cairo: the efficient use of motor scooters. I can’t tell you how many times i’ve seen a family of four packed onto a Vespa. Mother and father with kids hanging off in precarious ways, everyone all grins (well, i can only imagine the mother’s grin—she’s wearing the niqab), traveling at speed, robes thwapping in wake, in heavy traffic down the Corniche.
Everyone loves a bidet—يحب كل واحد شطافاً
There are some things about this country that i really appreciate, like the ubiquity of bidets. I have to say, however, that i was a little embarrassed the first time i discovered this. I was in a newly-remodeled bathroom with a fancy toilet that didn’t have the flusher in any of the usual locations. I looked all over for it and couldn’t find it. It seemed like a long shot, but i saw this handle just below and behind the toilet bowl. I couldn’t find anything else remotely like a flusher, and it wasn’t sophisticated enough to flush on its own, so i turned the handle. Of course, i was sprayed hard right in the forehead by a jet coming out of the toilet bowl. I had to contain myself to keep from laughing hysterically. I stood up, wiped my eyes and then finally saw the flush button about five feet up on the wall above the toilet. I exited the stall with a difficult-to-control grin on my face and a very wet t-shirt.
Actually, this isn’t really a bidet, but a toilet/bidet combo. As far as i can tell, there is no word in English for this, although there are a few trademarked terms, like `’Washlet`’ and “Bidet-Loo”. The Arabic word شطاف is for the part that actually produces the rinsing jet.
A couple questions for the Caireens—بعض اسئاة لقاهريين
I have a couple questions for y’all:
WHY DOES NO ONE EVER HAVE CHANGE IN THIS FRIGGIN’ COUNTRY!?!
Gratefully, now that i’m not having to take taxis everywhere anymore (riding my bike is so much more pleasant), i don’t have to worry about this problem, but it’s still a bit perplexing. Is this just a peculiarly American expectation, that you’ll be able to go into a bank and get change? يعمي, i guess that would sort of make sense. If the Federal Reserve is good at one thing, it’s definitely printing more money. Still, the bank staff here seem like they are sincerely put out if you ask for small bills, like they take it personally or something.
Oh, and how ’bout this one:
WHY CAN’T ANYONE JUST SAY “I don’t know” OR “No, we don’t carry that.”!?!
Is it really such a hard blow to arab manhood to say, “I actually have no idea what you’re talking about or where this place is of which you speak.” Instead, they’ll just make something up.
And if you can’t make me an omelette at the moment because your chef is at Friday prayers, could you just say that instead of making me wait for an hour…for scrambled eggs!?!
And if i ask you if you have something in your shop and you don’t have it, could you maybe just tell me so instead of going to the back of the shop as if to get it, only to disappear for 15 minutes while you get it around the block at another store? I swear i won’t think less of you for it.
Biking in Cairo—ركوب الدراجة في القاهرة
[singlepic=607,240,320,,]
Despite not hanging out much with people, i seem to have made something of a name for myself. And it didn’t even require carrying a doll around. I’m apparently now well-known as the guy who rides his bike to school. (more…)
October 19, 2007
Food in Cairo—طعام في القاهرة
The food here is mostly pretty good. The taamaya (طعمية, what they call falafel here) is excellent. In most places, i’ve found the ful (فول, beans) to be pretty good, but it can be pretty bland in some places. We actually haven’t gone out to eat all that much. (more…)
I love Arabic! أُحب اللغة العربية
The language is totally fascinating to me. There are a lot of rules and conventions that are strange and challenging for someone like me who has only studied indo-european languages, but once you learn the rules, there are very few exceptions to them. There is a whole class of verbs called (by European linguists) “defective” verbs, but there is no such thing as an irregular verb. As such, learning to read and write well is an accomplishment i can see on the horizon. Unfortunately, learning to speak and listen well is a totally different thing, as one has to actually internalize many of these rules and conventions—and they are legion—to listen and speak well. Matters are further complicated by the fact that the rules are quite different in the colloquial, and there are significantly more exceptions to them, as opposed to the “classical” or “modern standard Arabic”. Still, it is all very fascinating to me and i’m excited to be learning the language.
If you’ll indulge me for a little while, i’d like to tell you about some of my favorite things about the language. (more…)
October 18, 2007
An uneventful Eid Al-Fitr—عيد الفطر الممل
Last weekend was Eid Al-Fitr, which was pretty interesting. Unfortunately, Adrienne had a 40-page chapter to write and i wasn’t feeling motivated enough to go out much, so we were in the apartment most of the day. We did finally go out on the last evening of the Eid. We walked from Garden City to Zamalek along the Corniche and over the Qasr Al-Nil bridge. It was packed, as you might imagine. Packed with guys in their glittery, long-sleeved black hooded t-shirts and women in their sheer veils, struggling with the blisters that were developing on their heels from the new shoes. We ate at a Thai restaurant with one of Adrienne’s colleagues. On the way back, we took a cab, which was probably a mistake, or at least the route we took was a mistake. The Corniche was completely jammed. It would have been faster to walk. We were full and tired, though, and it made for more relaxing people watching. We were amused by all the cars that had pulled up onto the sidewalk of the corniche to park. The drivers put up the hoods feigning mechanical problems as if anyone would be fooled. That was our big Eid excitement.
Initial observations on the hijab and niqab
Most of the following may be totally off-base, and like much of what i commit to publication on this blog at this early stage, it will probably embarrass me at some point in the future, once i’ve gotten more of a clue. But here goes anyway. (more…)
The Corniche—the Reno of Cairo
In general, things in Cairo are pretty flashy. I’ve described the cabs elsewhere, but clothes are similar, at least wherever Egyptians are conspicuously out on the town. The Corniche, the road that flanks the Nile, and some of the bridges crossing it, is packed most evenings with hip beglittered young people, men and women both. (more…)
