Locals Settling in Egypt for Environment, Education

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Written by Administrator

Wednesday, 03 February 2010 15:30

These days, Egypt has become known in the news for the wall it has built on its Gaza border. Perhaps it is a good time to go over the other things Egypt is known for.

There is a lot of poverty in Egypt. Many families live off of one hundred dollars a month or less. Wages are low, and two hundred dollars per month is considered a good wage for recent graduates. In the wake of the controversy surrounding the wall on Gaza’s border, one Egyptian official commented that Egypt in fact had poverty more than that in Gaza. But peppered in Cairo are modern cities that Egyptians managed to make bloom in the middle of the desert. Al-Rehab city is an example. It is remarkably green with palm trees and grass, and it comes with its own food court, sports club, and transportation bus system. Here, you will learn from the Egyptians how to relax. In its cafes, you will find people sitting back and sipping on good coffee. Whereas an American might rush the waiter for the bill, Egyptians are not so quick to ask for it. They just enjoy themselves and chat.

Al-Rehab is occupied by many foreign nationals who came to Egypt for the religious experience-families from Belgium, America, Britain. There are Azhari schools nearby. These are elementary and secondary schools that are associated with the renown AzharUniversity. The curriculum includes Quran memorization and classic religious instruction. By high school, students are done memorizing the Quran. Students who graduate from these schools are guaranteed a spot in Al-Azhar University. Once known as a bastion of tradition, Al-Azhar is less so these days. Perhaps bending to foreign pressures, the sheikh of Al-Azhar recently issued a bar on women wearing the face veil from entering final exams.

Still, the general climate in society is helpful to religious practice. Naureen Minhas, who moved from Virginia to Egypt one year ago, said that moving here helped her practice her religion more freely, “Like everywhere, not everybody is going to be religious, you have to work to find the right people to be with, but the structure of society is religious.” She said that after 9-11, the Islamic religion came under attack and one might feel like the oddball in American society. She that her kids, who go to Tajjan, an Azhari school, have a “solidity to their environment. They don’t feel left out. Your kid is with their own. At parent teacher conferences, they look around and their parents are like everyone else’s. The Quran and Islamic teachers are almost like they are hand-picked. The kids are motivated to be good.” Naureen, who wears the face-veil, said that some well-meaning acquaintances would comment on her face-veil and suggest she take it off, but the schools for her children, and the small religious circles she regularly attends, have made Egypt a place where she feels comfortable.

Some people come to Egypt for Arabic language instruction. Amatullah Clarke moved here from Virginia two years ago. She studies at Janatullah Mawa, which is a free school, charging only for registration and books. The Center teaches classical Arabic, Quran, and grammar to both nonnative speakers and Egyptians. Both the native and nonnative speakers are mixed together in the same class. There are individuals from many different nationalities –Russian, Somali, Asian, American, British. Azhar University students come to the center to take the grammar with the grammarian, who Amatullah says is very good. Amatullah has three children and she says living in Egypt has been worth it for her kids and her, and that she is delighted to “hear the athan everyday.” Her only complaint is that she found some government agencies, such as the agency for visa renewal, to not be very orderly.

Perhaps Egypt is best known for its bodies of water. There is the Nile River, where Moses’ mother threw him in a weaved basket to save him from the pharaoh. Today, the Nile is lined with restaurants and ferries. You can take a tour along the Nile in a boat rented for less than fifteen dollars. Towering above it is the burj, where you can see the whole city from the top. There is also the Red Sea, where Moses crossed with his people upon throwing his staff and splitting the sea in half. Today, the Red Sea is calm, and its waters are empty of waves. It can be good for swimming when the water is warm. Contrast this with the Alexandrian Sea, whose waves are monsters that roar near the shore. A favorite pastime of Alexandrians is to jump these waves, and you will see couples along the shore braving the push of these waves, jumping over them and having loads of laughter and fun. But to swim past these waves into the depth of the sea is the real treat, and requires strength and stamina. A bonus is the conservatism of the people; you will not see the exposed skin usually associated with American beaches. Most Egyptian women cover, even on beaches. The face-veil is less common.

Now we come to Egyptian fare. There is Alexandrian tamia, which are large falafel patties stuffed with red hot paste. They are much better than ordinary falafel. There is kushari, which consists of lentils, pasta, rice, and fried onions. This is perhaps the best known Egyptians dish, and you should order it from the most “baladi” or commoner store there is, so the sweat of the brow will be mixed in with the dish, as one Egyptian put it. Egyptians also are known for eating pigeons, duck, and geese. If you are someone who is used to seeing a pigeon in the air, or feeding it bread crumbs when it is on land, you might be surprised to see a pigeon, with its meager meat, landing on a plate. Something you cannot go wrong with if you are at a restaurant are grilled meats.

Cairo is known as the city of one thousand minarets. Mosques are densely erected, and you might find two to three mosques in a half mile radius. If you live in a tall building, you might be delighted by the view of these minarets, cascading one after the other. But what is really worthy of a photo-shoot are Egypt’s gravesites. The façades of these gravesites are beautifully ornamented like the entrance of mosques. They are built as underground rooms that bodies are placed in, one after the other, since the soil cannot hold corpses that are buried in it, and pushes them to the top.

There is so much more to Egypt. The mummies in the Cairo Museum, or khan al-khalili, where you can buy souvenirs and uniquely Egyptian products, such as hand-made leather slippers and shoes. Come and take a look for yourself.

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The writer, Tasneem Abu Ali, is from Northern Virginia but is currently living in Egypt.