Egypt Adventure - 15: Istanbul, Turkey...

(Written: 11-11-08)
Well, I am currently sitting in a hotel room in Amman, Jordan but that is not where this story begins. For that, I must jump back 12 days to the day we arrived in Istanbul, Turkey.

What a change in pace! Stepping out of the airport you would think you were in a full-fledged European country and oh how beautiful is the color green!!! As we drove towards the Bosphorus waterfront (our first course of action before heading to the hotel) I felt as if I had entered a state of suspended reality. Gone were the honking cars, trash littered streets, pollution, and barren landscape. Rather, what greeted my starved eyes were cars driving in their own lanes and a beautifully landscaped city rich with a depth that only history can lend! The people also commanded attention, as they all seemed to have newly walked from the pages of a high-end fashion magazine.

Before a dinner of steaming baked potatoes filled with delicious tastes of the region we were ushered to a boat cruise on the Bosphorus in time for the sunset. I can’t even put into words the beauty of the city especially when viewed from the water – it felt like I was in a movie. The numerous mosques in the city with all their minarets and domes seem to have been made with sunset in mind – gorgeous! I’ve never liked a city so much so quickly and believe me, considering my ethnic background I wasn’t totally sure I’d feel comfortable in Turkey at all.
In that first day, I touched down on the continents of Africa, Europe and Asia!(Istanbul spans both the European and Asian continents) You certainly can’t say that every day!

It wasn’t long though before the Armenian issue came up in force and my reaction to it completely blind-sided me. I mean sitting in lectures given by really intelligent people in a context where there’s so much progressive thinking and action to be respected and to have them bold facedly deny any such events or minimize it and distort facts was pretty shocking. One of the hardest moments for me was in a circle of students discussing issues (there were a couple of Turkish university students in the mix also) and the issue came up. Promptly, one of our Turkish hosts denied the events and looking me in the face (probably unintentionally) said “I mean, it didn’t happen. There was no genocide.” That was all I could take and I promptly left the circle and rushed to the bathroom on the verge of tears, totally caught off guard by the strength and emotion of my response. As I’ve thought about it more and as our group has faced these discussions more it has become much easier for me to engage with and I’ve realized that it’s not really an issue of political recognition to me; in fact, in my understanding it would be unwise for the US to continue to press the issue of recognition at this time but what makes me sick is the outright denial of anything ever happening to the point that a Turkish citizen can look me in the face and presume to tell me what did or did not happen to my family. The psychological effect on society of not being able to face your past is no light matter.

There were many fun adventures along the way. One of my favorites was of an afternoon of creating “sensory memories” by walking through the grand Bazzar to get to the Spice market where the sights, smells, and tastes were delightfully overwhelming! After buying legitimate Turkish coffee and being surrounded by the enveloping smell of it I bought and ate (with a friend ;o) Turkish delight – delicious!

Getting out of Cairo and experiencing a different part of the region has been such a breath of fresh air! Particularly in the way a woman is able to engage in the society. It was so nice to feel that I could once again really thrive in my independence, getting around on my own and all that… Also, the differences in leadership, policy, history, etc between Egypt and Turkey are interesting to really get into and probe. The education system in particular intrigues me.

Anyway, obviously this blog can only begin to touch the surface and hardly that at all but I look forward to your questions and more conversations on the issues when I get back since Turkey in particular is such a fascinating country!

Egypt Adventure - 14: getting ready to travel the ME...

(Written: 10-27-08)
The first phase of my semester wrapped up this week which included Arabic final, finals in two of my other classes (Islamic Thought and Practice and Peoples and Cultures), and a Tabla concert for the rest of the students! It was a successful completion of stage 1 and even Tabla wasn’t terrible although the whole idea of performing does NOT thrill me :oP

We are now getting ready to head out on the “travel component” of our semester. We will spend 9 days in Turkey (7 in Istanbul and 2 in Ankara – the capitol), 3 days in Syria (Aleppo and Damascus), 1ish in Jordan (Amman), and 2 weeks in Israel (Jerusalem mainly)… I’m definitely looking forward to it but at this point of exhaustion staring a month of travel in the face with 29 other students, logistics, living out of a suitcase, etc. feels like a drain. We’ll see how things play out - as my mom says I seem to have quite a wanderlust in me and I am sure that once I begin the journey I’ll be thrilled :o) My plan is to do a blog after each country (maybe one for Syria/Jordan), until then – sayiida ma’a salaama!

Egyptian Adventure – 13: meeting Jesus.

(Written: 10-25-08)
Something I’ve been thinking a lot about and decided I want to begin doing (started this morning actually :o) is reading the gospels with new eyes – eyes that focus solely on Jesus, his actions, responses, cares, manner, etc…

Surely this is a “no brainer” but I feel that in the past my emphasis has been on what’s in the stories for me to learn, what’s in a verse for me to lean on, what’s the context and the intellectual side of how that informs my reading and understanding of Christianity. All perhaps worthy pursuits but to some neglect of truly getting to know the character of Jesus. It’s the desire in me to switch from a “me” focused engagement with Christianity and to approach it with an attitude of “Jesus, what was important to you? What will you teach me about the best way to engage in life?”

Some of this interest I think has been prompted from being in a Muslim country where the life of Mohammad to a Muslim is central. They base their daily lives to a large extent on his behavior, sayings, responses, etc. - All that for a man. So why would I do any less for my God?

Egyptian Adventure – 12: Halls of Power.

(Written: 10-24-08)
A couple weeks ago we had the amazing opportunity to go to the Arab League and meet with Hesham Youssef (Chief of the Cabinet of the League’s Secretary General – Amr Moussa). We were very warmly welcomed and had a very informative “conversation” with him.

The other halls of power we visited were in Luxor where the Pharaohs of the New Kingdom built their kingdoms. Among these, Tuthmose III, Queen Hatshepsut, Tutankhamun, Seti I, Ramses II, etc. We visited: Karnak Temple, Luxor Temple, another lesser-known temple (which I have currently forgot the name of but which had exquisite hieroglyphics), and the Vally of the Kings where we entered three tombs and went to look at Hatshepsut’s Temple. For those of you who know my love for history, you can imagine I was soaking up every minute!

Being in Luxor I felt like I was in the Egypt I imagined. The construction of the city of Luxor itself is much more spread out than Cairo, dusty vs. filthy, very closely linked to Pharonic history, on the lush banks of the Nile, etc…That said, the hassling from the salesmen is beyond what you can imagine and CONSTANT. I think we were all somewhat relieved to come back to Cairo.

A theme I’ve been wrestling with at times and to varying degrees while I’ve been here is the feeling that I “fit” – I look the part and can play the part but the cold reality of it is that it’s pretend. I look like an Egyptian and can play that card (I’ve taken to saying that I’m an American with an Egyptian mother because it simplifies things :o) but the truth is I’m not Egyptian my roots are not here. Similarly, at the Arab League I could be comfortable and again “fit” in these halls of power but I left with more of a sense that, for me, politics is not it. Again, I look the part and could act the part of a political figure but I don’t feel the drive it would take to make that happen.

Understanding myself in relation to my experiences has thus been a challenge as I wrestle with why I’m here, and where the responsibility of having all this new information/experiences poured into me will lead. I don’t know.

I do know however that God is faithful and I feel that in subtle ways I’m not even fully aware of he is shaping my mind and my heart for his purposes. One-way I felt this pretty clearly recently was when we had a documentarist show us a new documentary he is working and discuss the issues it focused on with us. The film and his interest pertain to the Israel/Palestine situation. Engaging in that conversation again, after spending much of the semester to this point on other aspects of the region, made me realize that any future involvement I may have in the ME will likely pertain to that issue; because I feel something inside me come alive for it, even if it’s just a broken heart over the seeming futility of the situation. Again, I can only wait and see how God develops this in the near future.

Egypt Adventure – 11: homestays.

(Written: 10-13-08)
Last week, from Sunday night to the following Sunday morning I was living with a Muslim family in an area of Cairo. In short – I loved it :o)

My friend Tara and I were both placed with the same family, which was a pleasant surprise since most of the students were on their own and Tara is a great person to be with in such situations.

My family was made up of Bobba, Momma, (2 Older sons who are working in other regions), Nessma (23yrs old and our “English Speaking” contact), Bessma (15yrs old), Abdu (12 ½ yrs old), and Hela (10yrs old). An aspect that really facilitated how comfortable I felt there was how similar the family was in structure to my own! Mom, Dad, and 6 kids who parallel them in age – what a Blast!

Throughout the week there were so many cultural differences to work with, on both sides I’m sure, and the language barrier was definitely present. That said, I could not imagine a family in this situation being more understanding and willing to meet us more than half way. The language challenge became a game at which we cheered for extensive communication victories and at times just kind of shrugged and let the failure to verbal communicate pass us by. I definitely did learn more Arabic but more importantly I became more comfortable with trying, learning, and listening with the result of hearing their words rather than shutting down in a total panic.

I feel that Enthusiasm is the language of intercultural communication in the ME (probably at any stage but) especially when actual language skills are lacking. In line with this there was a lot of personal effort made in the areas of body language, facial expressions, etc. That said, the most used and necessary phrases of the week were probably: Gameilla awi! (Very Good!), Hellwa giddan! (Very Nice!), Lezeez! (Delicious!), etc…I’m laughing to myself as I write this because even pulling up these phrases brings back so many outrageous stories! I don’t know if it’s just because of my familiarity with ME culture from my own family or what but it was so fun because all the social games we played were extreme versions of stuff I’ve experienced before and so it was familiar enough to make the awkwardness/strangeness of it all hilarious.

There are so many great stories and conversations I could recount but for now I’ll hone in on the Friday following our arrival. Being that it was the weekend we ended up going to a big family Hafla (party) to welcome the arrival of a newborn. In my experience Egyptians are so welcoming, amazingly hospitable, and as enthusiastic a people group as I have yet to meet. This occasion was no different and involved tons of food, lots of being pulled around to “Ohh!” and “Ahh!” over everything, and of course(!) belly dancing! It is the well-kept secret I never knew that EVERY Egyptian woman belly dances and where two or more are gathered there WILL be a dance party. As guests taba’an(of course) we must dance for them :o) Can I just say, absolutely Hilarious! It is like their Olympic sport and they LOVE to have us join in. I really cannot even express in words what it’s like, maybe one day in person we can go over this more, inshaAllah…. :o)

The other love of young girls is make-up (mind you both these things are within the home. The higab comes off and the personality explodes :o). Anyway, one night the neighbor did both of our make up and…wow. Tara ended up with bright red eye-shadow, sparkling pink lips, etc. we were both trying so hard to hold back our hysterics. Then came my turn and to go with my black skirt they started with silver eye-shadow and black liner leaving me to think “hmmm, I think I lucked out here!” Then came the pink blush, and the brightest SPARKLING Purple lip stuff you can imagine! With an Oscar deserving performance of holding it together I took the mirror and exclaimed “Hellwa AWI!” (VERY Nice!!!)

Anyway, this has probably become boring ramblings but suffice it to say that along with these more humorous anecdotes there were some really thought provoking moments as well as self/cultural reflection that I will not soon lose sight of.

How I wish I could better articulate all this! I wish I was sitting before you and able to look you in the eyes and communicate the beauty and intricacy of the lives I had the privilege to intersect with this past week in particular. I love when one begins to understand some of the cultural themes that drive the development of who we become. It’s absolutely fascinating to me.

I will carry on visiting the family, and engaging in the lives I have come to love….
~Salaam

Egypt Adventure - 10: siwa oasis

(Written: 10-8-08)
Most recently we returned from spending two and a half days in Siwa Oasis 11hrs away from Cairo by bus. This was definitely a highlight of my time here so far! If you’ve read the Alchemist – bizopt (exactly)! If not, picture the Sahara Desert (dunes and all) and an expansive oasis of date/pomegranate trees, palm trees, reeds etc. In this oasis there is a village – what you would picture of Egypt in antiquity, this is it. Homes made from mud bricks and dried palm fronds, donkey carts everywhere, once central midan with shops that look like they manifested from the Disney movie Aladdin, etc. The local culture is mainly Berber which is….well, probably best to Google it if you’re interested…

We stayed at a gorgeous “hotel” called the Desert Rose and our group was its sole occupants. They served us breakfast every morning of eggs, bread, cheese, cucumber, tomatoes, shay b-lebin (tea with milk – for me :o), fig jam, etc. The main building (freestanding) was octagonal with one main door leading into a circular courtyard with about 7 rooms leading off it – this is where the girls stayed. From this inner courtyard there was a set of stairs leading up to the roof set with more beds (for sleeping under the stars) and chairs.

I spent the whole of the first day wandering through the village with a couple other MESPers and ironically enough ate some of the best pizza I’ve ever had at a café called Alexander’s Palace. Toward the end of the day we entered a shop where the shopkeeper emphatically explained that he sold antiques – needless to say we were all a little skeptical. Sure enough he brings us over to a couple of large tin buckets filled with junk :o) He explained that many of the items were found in the desert. To my surprise after sifting through I did end up finding some cool stuff. My bartering skills are developing quite nicely –what some call “ruthless” I smile and call sport :o)

Later that night after an evening around the campfire (outside the main hotel building) a group of traditional Berber/Siwan musicians showed up and began to play for us. Every so often one of them would jump into the middle to dance and before long they started pulling some of us up as well. I can now officially say I’ve danced with a Bedouin under the stars and very laughingly but poorly at that!

The next day (Friday) we loaded up in jeeps and headed out to the desert for our Desert “Safari” Adventure! God has a sense of humor because despite the fact that I was one of the more nervous students at the prospect of “hurling off” 10 story high dunes I ended up in the lead car! God knows me though and it turned out for the best and was a Wonderful day :o) After dune-riding for a bit and looking at a fossilized area from where there obviously once was a large body of water we stopped at a place to sandboard (basically snowboarding on sand but with less control). Once we finished boarding we flew down one last dune in order to enjoy a fresh water desert spring as the sun was setting *sigh* really Amazing. That night we stayed at a camp out in the desert and after gazing at the stars for hours I entered the tent and fell asleep to the rhythms of tribal music.

The next morning our jeeps pulled in and we rolled out to pack up and head home - of course that was after one last refreshing dip in the hotel pool (I have never craved to be in water as much as I have in Egypt!)…

Robbina ma’ac
(something akin to “Our Lord be with you”)

Egypt Adventure - 09: Coptic Christian Day, tabla concert, speakers

(Written: 10-6-08)
Some recent activity:

We spent a day with a group of college age Coptic Christians who were such a joy to engage with in both discussion and laughter. Copts are a branch of Eastern Orthodoxy and thus are very similar to Greek orthodox, Armenian orthodox, etc. I really appreciate the simplicity and practicality of their beliefs/traditions and the clarity of conviction they hold because of them.

My tabla teacher, Hany, invited the students in the class to come to a concert he was performing in and several of us went. What an amazing evening! So fun! The music was fantastic and a famous singer from Jordan joined them for a bit lending her captivating vocal undulations to the mix. The concert was later in the evening (because of Ramadan) and the midan (square) where it was held was packed. On one side there was a café with outdoor seating and every once in a while the aroma of strawberry, apricot, or apple sheesha (hookah) would drift by.

All throughout our time here we have been privileged to hear excellent speakers from various career/life backgrounds speak with us on their area of specialty. These are all off the record but suffice it to say that they are enlightening, thought provoking, and fascinating discussions on: religion, the economy, social/political dynamics in Egypt and the region at large, education, etc. I wish I could continue these conversations with so many of you!