Cairo My Love: All about Cairo, Egypt

The Working Women of Egypt - Part 2

2011-10-21T19:18:00.000+02:00

Here's part 2 of the post that I wrote for my Global Business Forum class about the Middle East:

http://faculty.washington.edu/categ/megbf/?p=67

Here's a copy of the post:
The last post was about why women aren't contributing enough to the work force, and where they are they do it temporarily, out of a dire need, or as a means to an end. But i haven't broached the subject of discrimination against women in the work place yet. This is part 2 of that post...

There are many ways in which a working woman in Egypt is at a disadvantage, and I’m sure that if I tried to list all of them, I could go on for hours. I’ll just pick one that Rita Zawaideh mentioned about discrimination against women in the work place. Rita told us about a friend of hers that decided to open a software development company in Libya (I think?), and as part of that he started hiring people but quickly found that he could not hire women since they couldn’t stay late, due to cultural restrictions, so he just hired men. Having been on the receiving end of that discrimination myself, I find it very difficult to sympathize with Rita’s friend. The reason for this is two-fold:

The first part of it is that being someone who works in the software industry, and who actually founded and managed a startup in Egypt, there is no good reason that I can think of that actually requires women to work late nights in the software industry, other than what you might call ‘corporate greed’, but I’d just call it opportunism. Truth is, companies in Egypt are just abusing their employees, without paying overtime, because unemployment is so rampant that employers feel like they’re doing you a favor by hiring you, so they’ll slave-drive you as much as they want to, and there is basically no such thing as enforcement of employee rights (actually, I’m not sure the laws even exist), so good luck with that! Coming from a relatively liberal family, and being ambitious and career-focused, I didn’t have that same restriction with regards to work hours as most other women my age did, only partially because I fought against it with all my might. But I did not expect my employees to abide by my same unconventional hours, which I molded to fit my needs. In fact, I encouraged them not to. Sometimes there would be work crunches, and we would work 12+ hour days, but there was always a way for them to get home at an acceptable hour. And when work needed to be done at strange hours, seeing as it’s the 21st century and we’re computer geeks, we found a technological solution for that, so it’s not like it’s really “impossible”.

The second part of it is that I find the behavior of discriminating against women that way blatantly disrespectful, invasive and unfair, but let me put that into context. I went to an interview once, for a large ISP in Cairo. After asking me some technical and general interview questions, all of which I answered quite well, the interviewer proceeded to quiz me about… being a woman, basically. He asked me whether I was in a relationship. I said I wasn’t. He asked whether I was going to be in one soon. ‘Well err.. I don’t know, I guess, but I’m not thinking about that right now’. He asked whether I would stop working if I got married. I said I wouldn’t. At this point I was starting to feel “whoa.. this is way unprofessional”. But he was just getting started. He then proceeded to ask me what I would do if I got pregnant and had children. Would I stop working? How much time would I want off? When do I think I will do that? When do I think I’ll get married? Can I work late? Or will I tell them “Sorry mommy and daddy said I have to go home”. He *actually* asked it that way, in a sarcastic tone. Needless to say, I was shocked. I felt like somebody just waltzed right into my private space, and gave themselves more right to interrogate me than I gave my own mother (and in Egyptian culture, the concept of privacy between mother and daughter is nonexistent, so creating a boundary on its own is a challenge). I cannot stress enough how demeaning this experience was. I would have much rather have been grilled for 8 hours as I was for my job at Microsoft, on technical and competency related challenges, even if I might have failed, than be exposed to this experience. Now that I think back to that day, I wish I had been more assertive and not put up with this. My experience is not uncommon, I’ve heard of similar horrors.

The Working Women of Egypt

2011-10-21T09:43:00.003+02:00

Here's a post I wrote for my Global Business Forum class about the Middle East:
http://faculty.washington.edu/categ/megbf/?p=63

Here's a copy of the post:

“(In Egypt) Over half of the governmental work force is now female! The women are taking all the jobs yet they still complain about inequality? What inequality! We (men) should be the ones complaining”, complained a cab driver to me, as if he were citing a terrible injustice to men in Egypt. I didn’t really want to get into it with him, because judging by my previous experiences along similar lines, I’d be barking up the wrong tree. I don’t actually know if there is any truth to the statistics he posed as fact, but I do know that the governmental jobs he speaks of are some of the most menial, lowest paying, undesirable jobs available in the Egyptian economy, so even if he were right, that does not mean much with regards to equality. If he were making the same statement 35 years ago, it might have meant something, because back then government jobs were held in the highest esteem, and paid well. But now, the average pay for a government job at a lower ladder position (which are the positions that the women are more likely to occupy) is less than $50/month. It really isn’t enough to live on, and a large portion of that is just spent on transportation cost to/from work. The cheapest mode of transportation will cost you about $0.5 per day, assuming you never take a taxi. Now if you’re a woman who’s lived in a place like Egypt and experienced the incessant amounts of sexual harassment in public, you’d know that this is a very unrealistic expectation. Some of the women I know of who make about $50/month claim that they spend more than half of that on transportation, because they avoid walking whenever possible by grabbing a cab. These conditions don’t make it very desirable for a woman to pursue a job, and that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

The bigger factor is that jobs are seen as ‘optional’ for women, and careers are quite undesirable. You see, women in Muslim societies are not expected to provide for themselves or their families – that is the man’s job. So any work the woman does and gets paid for is purely optional, and she gets to keep all the money for herself. Rita Zawaideh touched upon this in her talk, but while she cited it as a way in which Islam gave women more rights than they had before (which is true), I see its wide-spread application as a curse on the efficient functioning of society since half of your potential work force are encouraged not to work, and that yields a dependency which only serves to hurt women in the long run. Let’s think of it this way: if you’re a traditional man in Egypt, why would you want your wife to work, if a- she’ll make close to nothing (as discussed above), and b- you have no real expectation that she will use that money to help with household expenses as your equal, so you’re better off with her basically being the housekeeper instead. So a lot of women end up being forced to stay at home; and I use the word forced in a very broad sense here, because I recognize “society’s norms” as a force. Many women work until they find a husband, then quit, either because that was their plan all along, or because that’s the husband’s expectation (and you’d be surprised at the amount of pressure that a man can employ due to the societal structure), or because of unforgiving work circumstances for a working mother in Egypt.

According to Shama Kabani, in this post: http://www.forbes.com/sites/yec/2011/07/13/walk-like-an-egyptian-in-heels/ , only 16% of entrepreneurs in Egypt are women, and when she approached some strong entrepreneurial women to ask about this, the response was pretty much in line with what I just described: women are expected to run households, marriage is perceived as the most important thing, and once you get married you are provided for, so spouse wouldn’t understand why you would want to start a company, because society doesn’t expect much of a woman outside taking care of the household.

I don’t know if any of this will change in the near future, but I suspect it will not. If you look back over the years, it seems that Egypt has regressed with regards to women’s rights. That might just be a false impression of mine from hearing about ‘the good old days’ when women could wear whatever they want to and not be judged or harassed for it, but with the increasing influence of Islamists over the, literally, ~50% illiterate population, I would not be surprised if things get a lot worse before they get better. Despite this negative outlook I just gave you, I have hope. Because looking at the younger generations, I see more ‘fight’ in them than the older ones, so people may try to oppress them for as long as they can, but eventually light will burn bright, and the Egyptian women will realize their true potential, and rise up to the challenge. More young women seem to be taking their career seriously, and recognizing the oppression rather than denying it as has been the norm, so there is still hope. Maybe not in my lifetime, but I hope that one day future generations will witness a free, equal and just Egypt.

Bin Laden is finally dead... About time!

2011-05-03T02:54:00.011+02:00

It's extremely frustrating to read comments from people on social media or news sites, especially when they are people you know, that are outrageous enough to claim that Osama Bin Laden did this world an ounce of good overall, was a 'freedom fighter', or anything else worth praising. I mean, really? You should be ashamed of yourselves. Perhaps if they had been your kids killed, or your loved ones, you would not have been so blind-sighted by your hate for the mythical American monster. Or perhaps if you just gave it a little more thought...

In Arabic we say "la shamata fi almawt" (there's no gloating in death), which means that you should never be glad and gloating that someone died.. but this is one unique situation in which I think it's quite fair to be at least relieved that he's gone. You can argue that capturing him would've been better, and I won't object to that, but given that it wasn't an option, I say good riddance. It's not so much gloating that he's dead, but rather a recognition that if dead or alive are the only two options, the former is more useful. He had terrorized this world for way too long, and better him dead than more innocent people as he continues his reign of destruction on the world.

Now you can also argue that the US 'created' him by training him and giving him weapons...etc, but I actually believe in free will. Unless you are clinically insane, you are in control of your actions, so if you can't legitimately make the claim that he was mentally ill (and not in the "omg that guy was so freakin crazy!" way), then please spare me the BS of 'the US created him'. Who cares? At the end of the day he was a cold blooded murderer of thousands. Do you also pardon and praise all the murderers out there because they were 'created' by society due to being abused when they were kids, shunned by people, or born with an aggressive gene?

Then there's the argument that pisses me off the MOST... you know, the one about how the US has killed a lot more innocent people than he did? Even if you could prove that to be true, erm... excuse me, but I don't think it's a "curve". For example, just because Hitler killed millions, doesn't mean another murderer at that same time should've gotten a free pass to kill thousands, does it? Oh yea, justice doesn't quite work that way. You kill people, you get what's coming to you, whether that's 5, 5000, or 5 million. Similarly, just because the US did one thing right, now, doesn't mean they get a free pass either, and nobody is asking you to let go of your anti-war convictions.

If you have a brain, and you chose to use it to kill innocent civilians and children, then twist God's words to suit your cause and brainwash kids to enlist them to eventually kill themselves for your twisted goals, you are nothing less than the worst monster imaginable, and NOTHING anybody can say about his reasons can possibly change that.

That man probably single-handedly did more disservice to Islam than the rest of us combined. He's imposed his taint on our faith, and we all have to struggle daily to clean up the mess he created. Practicing or not, living in the west or not, you've been affected by him just for being a Muslim.

So yes: I'm glad he's dead. Today, the world is a better place and I am grateful for it. Sure, someone will replace him, and I am not naive enough to believe this changes the course of his group, but as far as I am concerned, justice has been served, as much as it can be in this world, and I pray that he rots in hell forever to pay for the rest of it.

Finally, the US army has done something I approve of :-)

Uninspired

2011-04-05T18:43:00.003+02:00

I haven't written anything in a long while. I feel completely uninspired and bored. The revolution in Egypt was overwhelming for a period of time, afterwhich I have just been out of energy, and unable to keep myself interested enough to follow the news. It's just been too depressing.

I think I need a vacation. Maybe to vote? :-)

The tyrant has fallen. Egypt is FREE!

2011-02-11T20:05:00.003+02:00

I never thought I'd see this day. I am ecstatic beyond words, and it is so unbelievable.

For the first time in my life, I plan to, and look forward to, vote in the upcoming elections in Egypt!

Why it is wrong to believe a word Mubarak said by Mohannad Ali

2011-02-02T03:27:00.005+02:00

I was about to write something to this effect, but found that Mohannad did a much better job than I possibly could have, so I'm sharing his thoughts. If you need rights to the text, please contact Mohannad directly on facebook.

Why it is wrong to believe a word Mubarak said
by Mohannad Ali on Tuesday, February 1, 2011 at 3:59pm

Excuse me I know I'm not very articulate, but here's an attempt to explain reality to those who don't understand it. Apologies in advance for typos, grammatical mistakes etc. I haven't proofread this.

First refuting the promises:

1- He wont run for another term: You are all accepting this as if Mubarak has a proven record of honesty, and he does deliver on his promises. Mubarak in 1981 said he will only stay in power for 2 terms, and we call saw how this turned out to be. We have seen the regime sending out a few hundred people in pro-Mubarak demonstrations, not to mention the tens of celebrities etc. who were saying all those nice things about Mubarak. Giving the regime 7 months to regroup and plan, don't you think for example they can't manage to create a massive large scale pro Mubarak campaign asking him to re-run leaving him "with no choice" but to re-run for another term? If I could think of such a cheap an easy plot, I'm sure Mubarak has at least a dozen of those up his sleeve.What happened to the rest of demands regarding elections? Judicial supervision, the right to vote for Egyptians abroad, voting using your ID (raqam qawmy) to avoid fraud, international and civil society organizations supervision?Again there was no mention of Gamal Mubarak not running for president, but more on that later.
2- Looking into court appeals regarding electoral fraud: Looking into those appeals would mean the re-election of many many seats (under no guarantees that the re-election would be fair [read next point about article 88 of the constitution]), plus the large number of appeals basically means the parliament is not legitimate and the proper course of action would have been dissolving the parliament entirely.
3- Constitutional changes: Mubarak promised to ask the parliament to change articles 76, and 77 of the Egyptian constitution. 76 is the article regulating the conditions required to be a presidential candidate, 77 says the president serves a 6 years term with no limit on how many times he can be re-elected. He did not mention anything about article 88 which regulates supervision over the electoral process of the parliament, which means there will be NO guarantee they will be fair and fraud free.

What has Mubarak left out in his speech:

1- Emergency law is still effective, which means oppression, brutality, arrests, and torture will continue. How can you have any hope for fair democratic elections under emergency law where the police have absolute power?
2- Internet is still not working, no talks of lifting censorship.
3- No talks of allowing freedom of speech, freedom to create political parties, freedom to participate in politics without the risk of getting arrested. FYI to start a political party you need the government's permission. How do you expect democracy to come out of this?
4- He said he will put anyone responsible for corruption to trial right? What about putting the police who killed 300+ to trial? What about members of NDP who are the most corrupt businessmen/politicians in the country. Do you think he'll put those to trial? Think again.
5- He didn't even take responsibility for anything that went wrong in the last 30 years. Not even his condolences to the martyrs who have fallen in this revolution.

Why should Mubarak leave now and not a day later?

1- He can't be trusted, and we can't believe a word he says. He's a murderer and a criminal with a 30 years criminal record, and the blood of thousands on his hands.
2- Every day he stays in power, not only are his cronies stealing every dime and every inch of this country, but we're giving the regime a chance to regroup and get their shit together, and if not Mubarak, or Gamal Mubarak, I'm sure we'll get someone even worse from within the regime.
3- Egypt will see the worst 9 months of its history in terms of oppression, arrests, and torture from now till September (and after that). Rest assured the regime (with or without Mubarak), will stop at nothing to stay in power. He has given no real guarantees whatsoever that the situation will improve. None. Not even regarding Emergency law.
4- You should NOT believe that there are any good people in the new cabinet Mubarak recently assigned. No good honest man would work for a criminal and a murderer, especially not in this war cabinet. Many honest Egyptians along the years have declined positions in Mubarak's governments.
5- If protesting stops now, it will never start again. At least not in those numbers, and thus creating no real pressure. And while giving the police a chance to regroup and reinforce their lines, expect more police brutality, and expect more deaths.
6- Most importantly, 300+ haven't sacrificed their lives, so we'd settle for some lame ass promises with no guarantees, and risk all this going to waste. They wanted Mubarak gone, and the least we can do is honor their will and keep going until Mubarak, and the rest of the regime are gone. Not in 9 months, but now.

My answer to the following claims:

"But the country is already in a state of chaos. Lets stop protesting so we can have some security and stability"

Don't be fooled, this state of chaos is mostly intentional. With the economy reaching almost a complete halt, and lack of security on the streets etc, Mubarak made sure you'd eat up whatever he throws at you. Would you rather be ruled by a corrupt and criminal regime for another 9 months (at least), or go through "chaos" for another week, two, or a month until the regime has fallen?

Don't let the blood of our martyrs go to waste. We've seen countries rise from the ashes of war, we've seen countries rise from the devastation of nuclear bombs. We can most DEFINITELY pull through for another couple of weeks. And once we have democracy, once we have freedom, once we get rid corruption, when 100% of our money goes into the country and not into the pockets of corrupt politicians and businessmen, we'll rebuilt this country in no time. What are a few years of struggle in a the history of a free and proud nation?

"If Mubarak leaves now, who's gonna be president? ElBaradei can't be president!! With no one in power we'll be in a spiral of chaos and havoc etc"

This is by far the most naive argument. Do you know what happens if the president has health problems? Do you know what happens if the president resigns? Do you know what happens if the president dissolves the government and resigns? Do you know what happens if the president dies? Do you know how an interim government works? Do you know what your constitution says? No. So any opinion you have on the matter is naive and based on emotion and not facts nor political understanding.

The constitution as it is tailored at the moment, puts on obstacles making it hard to proceed if Mubarak resigns at the moment. In other words the constitution obviously doesn't account for the coup d'etat scenario. You can read articles 82, 84, and 189 to understand what I'm talking about it.

However the scenario we want is:

1- the ousting of the regime entirely: President, government, and parliament.
2- Establishing an interim (transitional) government representing everyone across the spectrum, chosen by the people, to make the necessary constitutional changes and prepare for fair democratic elections in 6 months while providing the necessary guarantees. There are lots and lots of names who can fill this interim government but everyone is concerned about the president of that transitional government, and to those I say: a) Enough with the centralization of power. Its seems we can't think out of the one-man-ruling-the-country box. b) We are a country of 80 million people. Any honest decent Egyptian, who isn't part of the current regime, could be the head of this interim government. c) Whats wrong with ElBaradei? If you know anything about me I'm not exactly a fan of his, but we just need an honest man, who knows the necessary processes, constitutional changes and legislative changes required to establish the basis for democracy. I wouldn't want ElBaradei or any of the current opposition leaders to be president for a full term, but ElBaradei has what it takes to put down the ground work for fair and democratic elections after 6 months. Some people say he's too "soft" to handle the tough reality of Egypt, well you have to keep in mind a leader is only as strong as his supporters, so whichever whoever leader the people stand behind will have the necessary strength to lead this transitional phase. The circumstances of an interim government are different from a normal government. Think of it as a committee temporarily running the country with the primary focus being elections in 6 months.Finally given 6 months of political freedom, freedom of the press, freedom of speech, no emergency law, and with constitutional and legislative changes, not only will we have one strong candidate for presidency, we'll have dozens.

For the reasons above, our goal should be: keep going until we overthrow the regime completely. And if you're bothered by the chaos, remember that the more the people protesting, the faster the regime will fall and the chaos will be over. And once the regime has fallen, we should dedicate all of our efforts to make sure we choose a proper interim government that really represents the people, and everything will go smoothly from there, and the future of Egypt will be brighter than ever before.

Be strong, keep pushing, no compromises, don't forget what they have done, we all know what they will do. The revolution has to go on so the lives of 300+ martyrs, and the blood of thousands other free Egyptians wouldn't go to waste.

Don't be naive. Its time to think politics and not just revolution. True freedom has a price and all of us should be willing to pay it.

حرية وكرامة - كن مع الثورة

The Egyptian Revolution of 2011

2011-01-30T05:21:00.021+02:00

The end is near. And by the end, I mean the end of opression, autocracy, dictatorship, and corruption. I never thought I would see this day come. The day when Egyptians are no longer cowering behind indirect words of frustration, afraid to express themselves, passively accepting censorship and deteriorating life conditions in fear of the repucussions of dissent. Today, I stand proud - proud to be an Egyptian.

Now before I delve deeper into the topic, let me make a disclaimer. If you've read my blog before, you will have noticed that most of my posts point out what I dislike about the state of affairs or culture in my home country. But do not confuse my criticism for lack of affection. On the contrary - I love my country, and for as long as I shall live, I shall love it, and try to open up our eyes to the flaws; for without acknowledging our flaws we cannot progress. I do not believe in blind love.

Today is the first day since I moved away from Egypt that I genuinely wish I lived there. I may sound like a hypocrite when I say I want nothing more than to stand with my fellow Egyptians in unity against the regime today, yet I do not have the courage to give up my job, comfortable life and relationships in USA and head home to Egypt to take part in the making of history. I feel pretty helpless too, but meanwhile I intend to do what I can to raise awareness to the plight of the Egyptians.

If you're not following what's happening in Egypt, here's a briefing:
Some background information:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2011_Egyptian_protests

http://cairomylove.blogspot.com/2011/02/why-it-is-wrong-to-believe-word-mubarak.html
-
A group of young, educated Egyptians started a movement to speak out against the regime, demand that Mubarak step down, and stand up for their rights on Jan 25th - the day that celebrates the much-hated, brutal police. They organized this movement online using Facebook and Twitter. They showed up to find thousands of other people joining in on the protests from all walks of life. They were greeted with tear gas, rubber bullets, brutality and live ammunition - a.k.a. the Egyptian Police.

But the fear is gone. It is too late now. We've seen the light and we aren't afraid any more. Yes, we have been passive for the last 30+ years.

But I have faith. I dream of the day when I can go back to my home country and not think "well, this is a nice vacation for 2 weeks but I definitely wouldn't want to live here". I dream of the day that I can feel respected and valued as a human being by my country.

A friend of mine on facebook just ranted about how Mubarak has done a lot of good for the country, and doesn't deserve this treatment. To that, I respond:

Are you really that disconnected from reality? When's the last time you lived in Egypt? Do you know what it's like to live on 300 pounds a month, when everything has doubled in price? Do you know what it's like for 40% of the population to live on less than 2 dollars a day? Do you know what it means to not be able to get even the simplest things done without bribing someone? Things that are yours by RIGHT and by law! Do you know what it's like to live in a tomb? MILLIONS of Egyptians do. Do you know what it's like to be constantly treated like dirt? To feel terrified as soon as you see a police man even though you have done absolutely nothing wrong? Do you know what it's like to be living in fear, all the time, under emergency law? Do you even know what emergency law means? In case you don't, it means that anybody can be arrested, anytime, anywhere, without reason, and held INDEFINITELY. It means that if you dare speak your mind, that is the end of your life. It means that police are free to torture and kill people as they please, with unimaginable brutality. Seriously, how out of touch can YOU be?! Mubarak is a criminal, and the blood of thousands of Egyptians is on his & his cronies' hands. The Egyptian people have suffered in silence and fear ENOUGH.

So, rock on. The end of tyranny is near.

Passive-Aggressive neighbours

2010-09-30T19:30:00.005+02:00

We have a trash room on each floor in the apartment building I live in. Then we have one recycling room for the whole building, that is accessible from the garage. So you're supposed to throw boxes...etc in the recycling room in P1, but for your trash you can just throw it down the trash chutes in the trash rooms on your floor. A few weeks ago, somebody bought a TV and put the giant carton in the trash room, instead of taking it to the recycling room as they are supposed to. And the thing hasn't moved since then! So here's what somebody put on the door to the trash room:

I didn't really know this, but I was told that this kind of response is very "Seattle-like, passive aggressive"! Hehe. I just think it's funny :)

Here's the trash room with the giant TV box:

I wonder if something like this happened in Egypt, what would happen?

My guess is that some poor sucker would be hired to be responsible for cleaning the building, and would have to just deal with it. It would also, IMO, probably happen a lot more often. Oh, and there wouldn't be a recycling room nor a trash room nor a trash chute... hehehehe :-)

Sexual harassment in Egypt "second only to Afghanistan"

2010-09-13T20:18:00.022+02:00

While catching up on the latest on facebook, I found that somebody posted this:

مصر تحتل المركز الأول عالمياً في التحرش الجنسي : MidNews (translation: Egypt occupies first spot worldwide in sexual harassment)

His comment was "Egypt ranked the first!!! Adeeeeeema :) :s" (translation: 'old news')

I wasn't quite sure what this "midnews" site was, and whether it was trust worthy, so I decided to do a little digging on the site it quotes, and found this article:

In Egypt, Some Women Say That Veils Increase Harassment

The article says Egypt takes the 2nd spot, after Afghanistan. No idea why midnews decided to ignore that part :-).

Now personally, I feel that the title of the Washington Post article is quite misleading. That isn't really the conclusion I'd come to from reading that article. If 80% of the women are veiled, and 72% of the women harassed are veiled.. then... come again? Now, whether it causes harassment to increase in the society as a whole is debatable, and while I acknowledge the plausibility of the reasoning behind that argument, I don't think we can just quote some anecdotal evidence of some possibly-biased woman's thoughts, and random statistics to prove it.

I was personally one of those people, who was harassed on a regular basis any time I dared venture into society to get something done, buy something, or even just cross the street. Mostly when I lived in Cairo, I preferred to stick to areas that I knew were "safe", such as the cafe owned by my friends in an upscale area in Maadi. If I wanted to go elsewhere, I'd usually enjoy the companionship of my male friends which would normally shield me from the verbal and physical forms of harassment, but not from the violating stares.

Last time I was in Cairo, I was walking down Abbas El Akkad street with my best friend, and there was a microbus, which was unloading and loading people. For some mysterious reason, he walked to the left and I walked to the right of the microbus. During that 15 second window till we met up again, I'd gotten one verbal harassment, and countless glares (which continue regardless of his presence). Seriously, TEN STEPS. Heh, it's so sad that it's funny.

Anyway, so back to my point: Is the prevalence of the Hijab really the problem? I can only philosophize about it, so don't expect me to concretely prove anything right here. Personally, I think it's a cultural influence rather than religious opression. I believe that wearing the hijab for the wrong reasons (societal pressure, or to avert sexual harassment) is a terrible and oppressive thing, which I wouldn't wish upon anybody, but I'm not about to blame the hijab for all faults of mankind! The problem really goes deeper, in my opinion.

When I argue that the Hijab isn't the reason for the harassment, I'm not talking about my personal experience of being less subject to the harassment as a result of wearing the hijab, I'm looking at it from the more holistic argument that women covering themselves up causes men to be more depraved, and thus harass women more. While that argument could hold some value if we were talking about an increase in consumption of pornography, I don't buy that if Egyptian women stopped wearing the hijab, the harassment would cease or even be lessened. But perhaps that's because the damage is done, rather than a backwards looking thing to women 50 years ago in Egypt who dressed a lot more liberally and were harassed way less.

To get to my point on why I think it goes deeper, I'll use Australia as an example. I used to frequently visit Australia which is a fairly liberal country, at least in relative terms. Its 3rd largest Church accepts priests who are openly gay, 19% of the population cited "No Religion" in the 2006 census, its liberal party is one of its 2 strongest, and in June 2010 they elected their first female Prime Minister. There is no enforced 'hijab' dress code, Muslims are only 1.7% of the population so the prevalence of the Hijab can't possibly be that high, yet from what I've observed in Sydney and heard from residents and on the radio there are numerous complaints against some of the Lebanese residents in Sydney. Actually this happened while I was there one year: there were protest against the Lebanese (quite violent protests and unfair blanket statements), complaining about their lewd behavior, gang wars, and generally thug-ish ways. The complaints also included that these individuals are also often involved in sexually harassing women on the streets! In SYDNEY! One of the most diverse and open cities I've seen or heard of.

So what do we blame their behavior on? Hijab? Or the lack of it? Because it looks like neither one is satisfying Arab men, and they still feel the need to harass women! I honestly don't mean that in a stereotypical sort of way, I have plenty of decent Arab male friends and acquaintances, and there are good examples to be found, but I feel like people are just using statistical evidence to push their point of view, be it for religion ("hijab protects you") or against it ("hijab causes men to wonder what you're hiding"). Seriously, stop blaming all of society's sickness on religion or lack thereof. Take responsibility for your own crap, for once.

There need to be consequences for harassment. Real, measurable, consequences. Going to a police officer shouldn't yield even MORE harassment! We need to get out of this "7ameeha 7arameeha" (loosely translated into 'its protector is its thief') model. But what hope is there for this particular issue when the model applies to every other corrupt aspect of life in Egypt?

We need to stop putting the blame on the woman for absolutely everything, and realize that people are in control of their own actions and should be held accountable for them. I refuse to believe that men are so un-evolved that they are slaves to their desires and incapable of controlling their actions.

Much respect to the women who took a stand, and took their harassers to court. I can only imagine the amount of courage and determination they mustered to achieve this feat. That happened a couple of years ago, and though the verdict was favorable for the case against sexual harassment in Egypt, I have since then not heard any more of it. It doesn't seem to have started the wave of revolt many of us were hoping for. Would you take a stand? Would I? I may find out soon enough.

Smells like home...

2010-06-28T23:51:00.002+02:00

So you think you can drive?

Funny :)

Hate Mongers

2010-03-24T19:44:00.002+02:00

We have plenty of them. Way too many, if you ask me.

An example in USA? Ann Coulter.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36013193/ns/world_news-americas/?gt1=43001

I found this amusing. Why anybody would want to listen to that woman speek is beyond me. She spews filth and hatred like a broken sewage pipe. It amazes me how human beings with brains could possibly believe in the concepts she stands behind; just as it amazes me how anybody in the middle east can believe in the extreme religious principles often pushed on us by strict, hate-filled hypocrits.

Hatred is everywhere :-( So is love, but somehow those speaking out of hatred -few as they may be- have a much louder voice and cause way too much destruction.

I'd say Heaven save us, but that would probably be unrealistic, so.... let's save ourselves. How? I don't really have an answer, only theories. What do you think?

Holier Than Thou

2010-03-14T10:00:00.012+02:00

Disclaimer: If you're super religious, I may offend you in this post. Try not to take it personally.

I am seriously sick and tired of this attitude.

This extremely detrimental attitude of consistently being judgmental and condescending to those who do not believe in what you believe in, or who do not act as you think they should. And the worst part is the hypocrisy! The mad, glaring hypocrisy of the fact that those who exhibit this type of behavior are also human beings who are prone to making mistakes of the same type that they rebuke others for.

It is a plague in our Egyptian culture. Actually, come to think of it, this isn't only about the culture... this is probably just associated with religions. But let me start with Egypt before I move on to other places of the world.

The excuse the muslims in Egypt commonly use is the Hadith (saying by Prophet Muhammad, PBUH) that says that if you see something wrong you should correct it by action, and if that's not possible, then by speech, and if that's not possible then in your heart (or mind) and that would be the least amount of faith. Now the problem with this is that people use it to justify butting into other people's business, being condescending and judgmental, humiliating others in front of large crowds, and in the end they are self righteous and convinced they are completely doing the right thing. After all, that's what the Prophet told us to do, right?

Bullshit.

I very much highly doubt that this is the meaning of this Hadith at all.

Let me give you an example.

The other day on my facebook, someone I went to university with updated her status to say something along the lines of:

"Does God take a nap during weddings, people?"
Here's her argument:
Many of the people she knows seem to be taking off their Hijab for their wedding (or perhaps the weddings of their closest family), and wearing revealing clothes, and dancing...etc. All of which are things that she believes are sins, and she actually went as far as to call this "MAJOR sins". Then she went on to say that these marriages often end in divorce, because they didn't start out with something "good" but with sin instead. And that it's a "fact" that God sometimes punishes us in this life out of kindness instead of in the after life, by giving us these terrible things, like divorce. So when these people's marriages fails, they shouldn't be surprised because they brought it upon themselves. At other times, God gives us these hard times as tests, to try our faith - such as the palestenian kids and their miserable lives.

And here's mine:
So let me get this straight.... you worship a God that is so petty and trivial that he'll hold one night of NOT EVEN MAJOR sin against you for the rest of your life (oh FYI, MAJOR sins are the unforgivable ones and there are only a handful of them, of which "taking off your hijab and dancing to celebrate a wedding" is not one), and make you pay for it by going through the pains of a divorce? Seriously??? I pity the fools who believe this. Whatever happened to God is "the most merciful" and "the most just"? Fucking bullshit.

And what business is it of yours what people do at their weddings, anyway? Do what you want at your own damn wedding, and if you don't like what people do at these weddings then don't attend them. Oh, and calling people out on facebook, judging them, telling them that their marriage will end badly, and how they're committing a major sin doesn't actually correct anything. Do you really think these people are going to go back in time and change this? Or are going to change their plans for the supposedly-happiest day in their lives because of someone butting in to their affairs? Do you really think that the Prophet PBUH meant that you should go about publicly rebuking them and offending them? Do you think he meant you to think you are better than them because of this?

I take the meaning to be something different. That we should stand up for what's right and fair; not that we should butt into other people's business when it does not harm another. i.e. If you see a child being abused, then don't just ignore it if you can help it. Oh, and if you really had this person's interest at heart, then maybe you should talk to them in private about it - not ridicule them on facebook. Though personally, I wouldn't have that "talk" with them unless they're family or something, and not to be judgmental and tell them what they are doing is wrong, but rather to understand their point of view and show them another point of view. If you're wondering why I choose to interpret this Hadith in the way that the example I gave works, but not in the way the other people are using: it's because I refuse to believe that the Prophet that is so revered and respected is that trivial, nosey and condescending.

Oh and I certainly don't think divorce has anything to do with the wedding celebrations 'angering God'. That's a pathetic argument, and is extremely naive. It's like all the idiots who to date think that the people dying unjustly in the world (such as people dying to tornadoes or whatever natural disaster) must have 'angered God' or be far away from 'God' so He is punishing them or forcing them to see his light. You know what that sounds like? Have you ever seen the show Hercules, or Xena? where they lived in a time long ago where the ancient Gods were 'petty and cruel, and plagued mankind with suffering'? Sounds just like that: a pagan idea from a few centuries ago about ruthless and vain gods.

Okay, i'll stop my angry rave there. But you get my point? I find this extremely frustrating. It's the same type of behavior I saw every single day while living in Egypt. "Aww poor thing she hasn't seen the light, she isn't wearing a veil, she must not be a good person, let's ask her why she isn't wearing it even though we hardly know her at all.. let's try to convince her misguided brain to the righteous path that we are on so that she may be as good as we are". An eye rolling experience every single day!

Turns out, it isn't limited to Egyptian culture at all. The same thing exists in USA, but instead of Muslims it's the conservative Christians especially in the south, with their gay-bashing, bible-pushing hordes of individuals who praise family values then go cheating on their wives, and their condescension to other religions or beliefs.

Sad.

Enough said?

2010-01-28T01:46:00.002+02:00

How to celebrate Egypt's Police Day by Jack Shenker

The Shoe Story

2010-01-25T22:59:00.003+02:00

I bought a shoe. A pretty expensive shoe. In November 09.

I took it with me to Egypt when I was visiting in December 09' and wore it every day for 3 weeks.

When I got home, I realized it was torn!!

I was very angry. It was the most expensive shoe i'd ever bought in my life.

The shoe was yellow, of course, from all the dust in Egypt. It was only a couple of months old, but still looked pretty worn out as anything does that gets used in Cairo.

Plan of action: I'll contact the manufacturer and complain. I sure as fuck am not buying any more Asics shoes!

Expectation: An apology? Don't know really. I guess I was expecting to be turned away and told it was "wear". Was pretty sure they wouldn't take back the shoe or refund my money since I'd worn it for two months already.

Their Response: They told me to take it to the store, and if the store refuses to take it, you'll have to mail it to us. The store said bring it in and we'll look at it.

Thoughts: Crap. The store surely wouldn't return the money. Even less chance than the manufacturer! Ughh, not liking the idea of paying a ton of money to ship a torn shoe.

Actual: The store looked at it and said they'd replace it!! They couldn't refund me the money, but they can give me store credit for it. And since they didn't have that exact same shoe, they had a newer version and I would have to pay the price difference (20 bucks plus tax). Super grateful, I accepted that offer! Now my most expensive shoe has become even more expensive, but at least I won't be stuck with a torn shoe!

Conclusions:
1- Don't take expensive shoes to Egypt.
2- Don't take WHITE shoes to Egypt.
3- God bless America!

A Must Read: The Poison Tree by Marwa Rakha

2009-09-03T01:35:00.005+02:00

This is a book I really appreciate and enjoyed reading. If you're expecting a lot of useless rhetoric, or preaching, then move along. It's just a matter-of-fact day-to-day style book, that exposes some thought that you may not have come accross, and if you did it still may shed some light on the Egyptian society. If you're an egyptian man, it may help you see the world through the eyes of an egyptian woman, striving for equality and succumbing to ridiculous patriarchal rules that make no sense whatsoever. If you're an egyptian woman struggling with some of the society's ideals, this book will be that sweet release of "I'M NOT ALONE!!". Yes, you are not alone. Please take a look, it's FREE to download and read, and spread the word if you like it:

THE POISON TREE - PLANTED & GROWN IN EGYPT (ENGLISH EDITION)
http://www.marwarakha.com/index.php?categoryid=13&p2_articleid=702

The Jesus Wave

2009-06-27T20:43:00.009+02:00

Yesterday, I got on the I-5 from Seattle to Portland, to visit my sister. Somewhere around exit 152, there was this person standing on the bridge right above the I-5 holding a big "JESUS" sign and waving at the traffic. It made me laugh, because i realized that one month ago when i went to visit my sister, that person was also standing there on both my way to her and the way back! Which must mean they either changed sides, or there are two people on the same bridge on opposite sides. I also started wondering whether they do that ALL the time, or it's just something special about Friday nights... and Sunday evenings too I guess!

I'm not exactly sure what the purpose of that was, and honestly I hardly think it achieved anything at all, and is a waste of valuable time, but I guess if it makes them feel better about themselves then good for them! But hey, that's just my opinion and might be because I'm not a Christian and reminding me of "JESUS" doesn't actually make me suddenly want to go to confession or visit a church!

Anyway... my point was, it reminded me of Egypt. If you've ever travelled in Egypt by car, you know that there are these signs everywhere along desert roads with such religious references. Usually it's something like 'mention God', or a series of signs with God's 99 names (one on each sign, and usually not the entire 99 make it to the road)! Honestly, regardless of how religious or not I am, I find those signs very amusing. They make for an awesome guessing game! Test your memory... can you guess what the next name is? :) But I find that the signs give you at least a little entertainment or some thoughts while you drive along enjoying (NOT) the horridly monotonous view of "absolutely nothing" - our beloved desert.

If someone was standing there holding the signs though, I'd think it were at best inhumane :) But our weather isn't exactly "stand outside all day" friendly. So I hope nobody catches the "JESUS wave" on elsa7raawy (the desert road)!

What do you think? Do those signs on "eltaree2 elsa7raawy" mean anything to you?

EDIT: By the way, On my way home yesterday night it was around 9:30 pm and the person holding the sign was no longer there. Yay! At least they are not entirely insane :-)

Roll down your windows

2009-04-21T20:52:00.003+02:00

The weather in Seattle has been beautiful for a few days now. Sunny but with a cool breeze, and not the type of sunny that makes your skin feel like it's about to fall off. When I was in Egypt a month ago, the weather there was similar (at least at moon beach). Just awesome.

So on my way to work, I rolled down my windows, and let my hair loose. It was an extraordinary feeling for me. Driving in the beautiful weather, enjoying the beauty of nature around me, feeling safe because i know that nobody is going to intentionally cut me off, scare me with insane driving or make me angry while I drive to work. No dirt in my eyes, no car horns all around me. No garbage on the sidewalk or pedestrians jaywalking on the highway. Knowing that nobody is going to harass me because my hair is loose, or drive up too close and give me a few sly remarks. Not dreading a stop at a red light for fear of theft, beggars or sexual harassment. Nobody is staring me down from the car next to me, and just.. nobody cares really. Just everybody minding their own business leaving me free to enjoy mine. I felt so peaceful, liberated,... and so grateful.

Try it sometime, if you can. Take a chance to appreciate what's around you, and know that not everybody has that privilege.

Home, "...." home?

2009-02-27T03:13:00.002+02:00

So I'm travelling to Egypt insha2Allah sometime in the near future, to visit. I've been away for 10 months, and I miss my friends horrendously. I saw my family a few months ago, but I miss them as well.

Overall, I'm looking forward to some aspects of the trip - like a hug from my mother, or hanging out with my friends and talking about anything and everything. But I'm also dreading a bunch of things, such as the intrusive questions I expect to be asked about why I stopped wearing the veil, the societal borne pressure, and the unnecessary visits and smalltalk I'll have to make.

So - will my two weeks be a good chance to get my mind off work and relax, or will they be the source of extra anxiety and suffocation? I guess either way is good: if i have a great time then, well... the vacation has served its purpose! If I don't, then at least I'll have something to look forward to by coming home (to my "new" home that is).

I definitely don't look forward to the harassment on streets, and driving.. ughhh..

I'll let you know how it goes!

Fear of Dogs

2008-11-06T19:09:00.005+02:00

As Egyptians, we are not particularly a dog friendly nation. The reasons for that are many, and here's a few of them (from my point of view):

1- We are taught in school as Muslims that dogs are "nagasa" which means dirtyness, and that if we touch them we need to do all sorts of weird stuff to become "clean" of their filth. And we're taught that we can't pray in a home that has a dog in it. And we are taught that black dogs may be the devil!!! Heh.

2- We have many stray and untrained dogs roaming the streets and terrorizing neighborhoods at night :-) We hear horror stories as kids about rabid dogs on the street and that we should stay away from them.

3- You probably know of at least one person that has been bitten by a dog in Egypt.

4- People are too busy surviving to care for a pet. And they sure as hell would rather spend what little money they make on feeding their kids than a pet. Only rich people can afford pets, but many of them will still prefer to donate their money to the poor people in wretched conditions in Egypt than get a pet. It's a matter of worth: we have people living in abhorrently inhumane conditions - why would anybody care for dogs? Now i'm not saying that this is right or that everybody is as such, i'm just saying this is the way many people think of it in Egypt.

5- We mostly live in apartments. Which means no green pastures or wide open spaces for dogs to roam in. Walking dwn the street is a hazard a lot of the time (particularly if you are female - see my sexual harassment post), so the poor creature wouldn't get much attention at all. It would sort of be imprisoned in your 100 sq metre (~900 sq ft) apartment.

So, we're not a dog loving culture. Actually we're not very big on pets in general, but dogs especially. Personally, it goes beyond not being a "dog lover". I am absolutely terrified of dogs, and so is everybody in my family (except perhaps my father). It is irrational, I know. I am scared of even the smallest dogs. I may think they're cute from a distance, but once they get closer, i am shivering in my skin and my knees go week.

When i was 8 years old and living in Australia, I was already pretty scared of dogs because.. well.... you can sorta see why. But i still used to go to my neighbour's place, and she had 5 dogs and 6 cats. I was scared of the bigger dogs, but i was alright with the smaller ones. She even made me carry her smallest dogs and i liked them. But then one day some young "wolf" dog from my other neighbour's place came running at me and i was scared out of my wits. I ran to our door and barely made it in, and it was a semi transparent glass door (you know what i mean? like the upper part in bathroom doors in Egypt so that you can see if the light is on, but cant actually see inside). And i saw him jump onto the glass, which i was standing right behind. And i was freaked out. He may have been a young dog, but i was pretty tiny back then too! Now that think of it, i'm pretty sure he just wanted to "play" (or at least so all dog lovers say) - but that didn't matter. He still freaked me out!!

To date, any dog scares me - it's just a matter of size and distance. So a big dog far away scares me. A small dog too close also scares me. So on. The weird thing is i'm not scared of other miscellaneous creatures that the rest of my family is scared of, such as spiders, cockroaches, rats, mice, cats, geckos (ana asdy bors bas ma3reftesh ageeb the english word for it), weasel (3ersa)... etc. I used to be frightened of cats a bit but i grew out of that, and just became allergic to some of them! And i'm generally not a scaredy cat, but dogs are the one major thing that i just can't get over.

I've considered buying a dog to get over my fear, but i don't think i would be fair to it because.. well.... i'm a geek and i live in a 700 sq ft apartment. Besides, i don't know the first thing about dogs apart from the stuff two of my friends in Egypt told me about (they are avid dog lovers). One more thing is: none of my family would ever visit me :) Some of them are religious and believe in the whole dogs are dirty thing, and as i said: they're scared of dogs too.

In Egypt, when i'm scared of a dog, it's no surprise to most people really. And it sure as hell isn't offensive to the dog owner. But here (USA & Canada) people take it to heart. It's as if you're telling them that you don't trust them on apersonal level. Random people that I don't know at all just walking by or entering the same elevator as me with their dog... they get sort of offended when you are scared of their dog. Which, if you ask me, is ridiculous. I don't know you in the least (and even if i did), and i don't care how well behaved your dog is. I'm freaking scared of dogs in general, ok? It has nothing to do with you or this particular dog, it's an irrational fear - so please spare me the broken record. If you're one of those people, please try to understand that it's not personal :) If you were afraid of spiders and i had my bigass tarantula around with me all the time, i'm pretty sure you'd be freaked out too.

I'd like to face my fear and get rid of it, i really would. I would love it if i were not scared of dogs. I would like to be able to walk in a park here without worrying about that large dog 100 metres away, and get on an elevator without looking carefully inside, and everytime it stopped at a floor not have to look out. I'd love to not be freaked out by the sound of dog footsteps, or the ringing of the chain/leash of a dog behind me. But how? I'm not quite sure yet... but I'll figure it out. If you have any constructive input on this issue, please share it.

Obama Victory

2008-11-05T09:37:00.004+02:00

So since i currently live in downtown seattle on 1st avenue, about 2 blocks from pike place market, i've had the pleasure of witnessing first hand the celebrations on the streets of President Obama's victory. It is so cool. Young people walking, dancing, chanting, cheering, clapping, and even a band playing in the middle of the street (quite nice music too) right under my building. Looks like they're having a lot of fun.

So.. congratulations America and the world. Let's hope that Obama is "2add kelmetoh" (roughly means keeps his promises). I am happy with the outcome of this election, so... I hope that happiness lasts :)

I found this page quite interesting:
http://edition.cnn.com/ELECTION/2008/results/polls/#USP00p1

Some telling statistics :)

What effect do you think this will have on the middle east?

I wonder if he'd manage to make any progress on peace in Palestine/Israel.... Doubtful, I suppose :)

Missing you

2008-11-02T10:10:00.003+02:00

A month ago, I moved from Vancouver BC to Seattle, WA. I am finally settling down a bit after a bunch of movement. But now that i'm having a chance to think about things other than the immediate concerns related to moving, I have been thinking more and more of what I am missing.

I miss my friends back in Egypt so much.... I miss our movie nights, our game nights, our just random chat nights, our ethos cafe painting classes, our debates on strange topics, and I miss knowing that someone always has my back, without feeling like i could be a burden on anybody or that it might cause them any inconvenience to come to my aid. I miss knowing that the people i care about would give me a call if they were in trouble or needed a friend, and knew that i'd always be there for them. But now that i'm so far away, i'm no longer in a position to keep that frendship intimacy. I never had to think before picking up the phone and calling my best friends to ask for help with something. I never worried about how they might dislike helping but did it anyway to be polite, because i knew they would always gladly help me or even just listen to me. I miss siting with people i am 100% comfortable with and who know me almost as well as I know myself. People that wouldn't think less of me for a liberal idea or an unusual gesture, and people I didn't have to worry about appearing silly infront of, or doing something stupid because i never have to prove to them that i'm smart. I miss sitting with people who respected me, but could still laugh at and with me, without ever hurting my feelings or making me feel less than loved. I miss the people who cared about me genuinely, and would call me if they knew i was down and try to take me out even if i didn't want to. And i would go and i would feel better, thanks to them.

I feel so alone, though i am surrounded by many good people. I want my friends from Egypt back, but they are so so far away, and I don't know if they ever will be anything other than that: very far. The thought scares me so much. I've been very lucky, to have found these people in the first place. I know that in general people move on and make new friends, and i have some friends here now too.... but I cannot ever replace my old friends. I'll just wait for them to be a big part of my daily life again, I suppose. Maybe one day they'll live nearby? :(

In all honesty, i don't miss Egypt - and apart from these individuals who were very close to me, i do not miss the people of Egypt either. I hated the pretenses and the society's impositions. I like it here in Seattle, and I like my new job a lot, and the only thing i miss about Egypt is the people that i truly love... wa7ashtoony awy :(

I hope to see you soon: Shady, Hamada, Sherein, Ahmed and Ola.

Funny :)

2008-10-02T22:19:00.002+02:00

I got this on facebook, so I don't know who made it up... but whoever it was, has a sense of humour :) I apologize to anybody that cannot read arabic, but I won't attempt to translate this because: 1- it will lose the humour, and 2- it's very egyptian culture specific, so probably won't make sense to non Egyptians anyway :)

السؤال الأول: اختار من بين الأقواس الكلام الصح:

1- البنت في مصر بتتحجب............ (علشان تدخل الجنة - علشان تدخل وتخرج براحتها - علشان تدخل دنيا وتتجوز).

2- اللي بني هرم خوفو.............(طلعت مصطفي - المقاولون العرب - إعمار - خوفو).

3- اللي بني مصر كان في الأصل......(حلاق - عرضحالجي - تاجر مخدرات - حلواني).

4- البرنامج اللي بييجي ع القناة الأولي كل يوم الساعة 7.00 صباحاً ومحدش بيتفرج.

عليه برنامج.. صباح الخير............ (يا ماما - يا بابا - يا خالو - ياريس - يا مصر).

5 - مصر هي أمي نيلها جوا...........(عبي - بطني - رجلي - جيبي - دمي).

6- رئيس مصر القادم السيد......(جمال مبارك - ابن الرئيس - أمين سياسات الحزب الوطني - السيد النجل).

7- ابو تريكة هو....(لاعب كرة - شيخ -راجل بركة -قديس).

8- يا حضرة العمدة ابنك حميدة حدفني بالـ.... (معدية - السفندية - المية المعدنية - المهلبية).

9- أشهر مغني مصري هو سعد.... (الكبير - الميديم - الصغير - القزعة)

10- تامر أمين........(شرطة - مخزن- بسيوني).

السؤال الثاني: أكمل الجمل الآتية بكلام م الآخر:

1- انتبه من فضلك السيارة ترجع إلي........................

2- ماما زمانها..................

3- من خلال تجاربك السابقة.. البامبرز استيك منه.............

4- طلعت أدّب نزلت أدّب لقيت الدب بيأزز............

5- اسم والد اللاعب وائل جمعة الحاج..............

6- وهيلا هيلا، هيلا هيلا هو، الزمالك........

7- دا شاب هيهي، بيروح و......

السؤال الثالث: ضع علامة صح أو علامة غلط أمام الكلام الجاي:

1- بابا فين؟؟.. بابا هنا.. قوله مين؟؟ قوله عمو ( ).

2- الشرطة دائما في خدمة الشعب ( ).

3- أذان المغرب في رمضان بصوت «طارق نور» ( ).

4- يسرا لا تخطئ أبدًا في مسلسلاتها ( ).

5- الزمالك فريق يحرق الدم ( ).

السؤال الخامس : علل

1- مازالت كرة القدم هي اللعبة الشعبية الأولي برغم إن احنا ملناش فيها.

2- ذكاء الشعب المصري الخارق برغم اعتماده علي الفول كغذاء أساسي.

3-رئيسنا مبارك ورئيس وزرائنا نظيف ورئيس مجلس الشعب سرور ورئيس الشوري شريف ووزير الشئون القانونية مفيد وكمان شهاب ومع ذلك مصر زي ما أنت شايف.

Will Egypt ever change to the better?

2008-08-26T20:29:00.001+02:00

I wonder.....

Thoughts?

Egypt vs Iran

2008-07-24T19:58:00.009+02:00

So, seems we (Egypt) are upset with Iran. Take a look at this article:

Egypt shuts down office of Iranian TV station

So basically the issue is this:
30 some years ago, Sadat made a peace treaty with Israel, a treaty that he offered to help the rest of the Arab countries make as well with the nation of the most controversial existance - at least to us Arabs. All the Arab countries refused, and severed ties with Egypt, calling him a traitor and what not. Sadat had also offered the Palestenians to establish a peace treaty with Israel, in which Palestine would get a large amount of land (compared to what they have now). But they were stubborn and adamant about not negotiating then, just as they remain. So, some Iranian military moron decided to kill Sadat, and so he fired at him in a public ceremony commemorating the 6th of Otober war - the war which put Egypt on the track to negotiate with Israel, retrieve the whole of its land which Israel had invaded - Sinai, and build a stable relationship with it.

Unlike most of the other Arab leaders, Sadat didn't put his arrogance above the best interest of the country (at least not that particular time! hehe), and he did the reasonable thing. And the Arab countries could have all formed a much better position than they have now had they supported him. But his position was fairly weakened by their lack ofsupport, yet he managed to establish peace with Israel and reserve Egypt's rights as best he could, granted, many many restrictions remain on Sinai- but... it still belongs to Egypt, which is a lot more than we can say for several other regions nearby.

So, recently, An Iranian TV channel published a movie deemed offensive by the Egyptian Government, and it is causing some serious escalations.

The movie is named "Assassination of a Pharaoh". I haven't seen it, but I would really love to, just so I know how they really think and so I can have a real and objective opinion about the movie.

To those who do not know how a "pharoah" is regarded in the Arab world, it might seem that this title means no disrespect. But it's ridden with an intricate implication. Pharoahs are known for their arrogance, stubbornness, their slave driving, their unfairness, their unyielding power, and most importantly, their just final fall - getting what they deserved (a miserable death). The reason for this, is the story of the prophet Moses who pleaded with the Pharoah endlessly, and was persecuted severely, then at the end the sea split into halves allowing moses and his people (Jews) to cross, but when the arrogant pharoah was mid way, the sea returned to normal, and he drowned. At his final moment, he realized Moses was right all along, but it was too late. Then his body was thrown ashore, for everybody to see the fall of the great pharoah. In our culture, when we speak of history, the pharoahs did great things and had a very strong and thriving civilization. But when you call someone a pharoah, it is not a good thing. It's an insult. Actually, we have something we say "malak metfar3an keda leh" - roughly translated into, 'why are you acting so arrogantly', where the word for arrogant is derived from 'pharaonic'.

It's not like Egypt agrees with everything Israel does anyway, we still protest a lot about their actions against Palestine and disagree with probably all their politics, but just because one visionary (albeit not a saint) stopped to think, and decided not to walk the path of the rest of the Arab leaders, doesn't mean he deserved to die. But just closing your mind and deciding not to acknowledge that a force exists is like burying the head in the sand: you may not see what's around you, but that doesn't change the fact that it's there - and it sure as hell doesn't change what effect this force will have on you. So, in my opinion, refusing to acknowledge Israel is just plain stupid: it's there, deal with it.

Had Sadat not taken this step, it's quite likely Sinai would have ended up as war torn and destitute as many places in Palestine. And that would be such a shame, because it's a very beautiful & magestic place, and not to mention a great source of revenue for Egypt as a tourist attraction.

Now, while I find the idea behind making a movie that portrays this murderer as anything but a murderer (and this goes for any other murderer), and the fact that they have a street honoring this so-called man offensive & insulting too, I don't think that shutting down their station is a good idea. Mostly, because I believe in freedom of speech. If that's the way they feel about this, then so be it. Shutting down their station in Cairo isn't going to make them change their minds, nor is it going to make the world a better place. On the contrary, we're actually committing the same crime they are: intolerance. They were and remain to be intolerant towards Sadat's views, and co-exisiting with Israel. And now we do the same by refusing to tolerate their views. So we bury our heads in the sand as well, and refuse to hear what they think.

But to me, it's no surprise Egypt acts this way. The Prince of Egypt (a cartoon movie) was banned from Egypt bcause it portrayed that it wasn't the Egyptians who built the pyramids. But I really don't see how banning it helps. Actually, I think it's backwards to ban opposing views from your own country, because all that means is that we are ignorant to what the rest of the world thinks of us, and can thus never take a positive step to change our image. So we live on, thinking that everybody in the world knows that the Egyptians built the pyramids, and unaware that some people out there believe otherwise.

Allah yer7amak ya Sadat :)

Overall, please don't take the information in this post as granted - I am NOT a very politically informed person, and my argument here is more philosophical than political. This is what they taught me at school, so if it's wrong, go sue the Egyptian Government Education System :) But do feel free to correct me if any of the information I provided is inaccurate, of course.

This post is now featured in an article by Marwa Rakha on Global Voices Online.

Epidemic of Sexual Harassment in Egypt

2008-07-22T04:15:00.007+02:00

That's exactly what it is. An epidemic. One that's been festering and spreading for years upon years, and only gets worse. I wonder if a cure will emerge some day for this sickening behaviour.

Check out this article from Reuters

I think the 17% of women who have reported not being harassed on the streets either live under a rock & never come out, or are too ashamed to admit to it, or maybe think that saying it never happened will make it true. Or perhaps they just don't want to worsen Egypt's reputation (yesawa2o som3et el balad aktar mahy menayela). Or maybe they blame themselves for it, just like society does, so they don't really consider it harassment.

98% of foreign women say they have been harassed in Egypt - but guess what? The funny part is, they probably get harassed LESS than Egyptian women do. Why? Because the guys who harass them are cowards. The touristic police actually cares about what the tourists think or else they won't come back to the country and spend some more money, so they handle their complaints seriously - unlike the normal police which just adds insult to injury. So they are afraid. I used to go to khan el khalili a lot, and I would see Egyptian women get harassed,myself included, but never a foreign woman. NEVER.

So if 98% of them have been harassed, my guess is ont hestreets elsewhere not at a touristic place, then how on earth have only 83% of the Egyptian women experienced this? Not that 83% is a small number... but I think the true honest to God number would be well above 90%.

Whatever their reasons may be to not admit this, I have never met an Egyptian woman that lives in Egypt that has not been harassed in one way or another. This harassment varies from woman to another, and location to another, but at the end of the day: we're all harassed. Be it a vile look, a pathetic comment, or an unwanted touch.

I've heard one guy countering this argument with that when he was in school the girls in the neighboring school harassed him as well. Well, I have one thing to say to that: Perhaps they were so sick of getting harassed, they're lashing back the only way they know how - giving men some of their own medicine. Or maybe they're just the bullies in their school, and they harass people... Schools do have bullies usually. Or perhaps they're trying to find out what the hell is so fun about harassing people on the streets. Or perhaps you are just delusional in the fact that you are comparing some 14 year old girls who harassed you in school (and you're the only man I've ever heard claim this) with the millions and millions of women who are verbally and physically assaulted on the streets on a daily basis, well into adulthood, to an extent that makes them hate their surroundings. So while you remember this strange offense against you from when you were 14, I lost count of such offenses when I was that same age. Those girls are no better than any other predator I speak of here, but please, do not insult our intelligence by a sorry attempt to render the matter frivolous.

There's this look in an Egyptian man's eyes that makes me want to poke his eyes out, mutilate his body parts, and then kill him. A psychotic, undressing, invasive and violating look. A look so disgusting that it makes me shiver in my own skin, and wish that the earth would just swallow me up to cover me from it. A look so filthy, that you can see the virtual assault on you in his sleazy eyes. I hate that look so much.

The worst part of it, is that people think it's the woman's fault. That is just sad. That's exactly the same thought path of psychotic rapists who think "she asked for it". It's sick, perverted, twisted, uncivilized, and just plain stupid. And this has nothing to do with religion, as a matter of fact. It's just a sick culture.

In Islam, a woman is supposed to dress modestly, cover her body, not wear tight or revealing clothes. BUT, and this is a very big BUT, a man is also supposed to not look at the women, to be polite in looking. Not be invasive. Yeghod el basar. Somehow society has forgotten about this latter part, or more like... chosen to ignore it, just as it has chosen to ignore many of women's' rights, and all they can do is blame the woman. Same old story, always blame the woman.

Then you find a woman walking in hijab, fully covered, nothing tight, nothing revealing.. and she still gets harassed. You find a 60 year old veiled woman that gets into a cab and gets harassed. You find a 12 year old girl being harassed. Even a women in niqab is not immune to such behavior. These are all things I've witnessed myself or heard of from people i know well, so they are nothing out of the ordinary, just the daily bullshit an Egyptian woman has to live with.

I used to hate walking in Egypt. I really did. I always dreaded going somewhere, and limited my walking to the very minimum. If I were to go out in public, I'd make damn sure i have a male friend with me, and with that I'd avoid the comments and physical harassment, but not the petrifying stares. I couldn't just go shopping in peace. Walk to the women's hairdresser a couple of blocks away, even cross the street i live on without dreading a harassment.

Now mind you, I am nothing spectacular. I'm no beauty queen, on the contrary, I'm on the lower side of that scale. And I wear a hijab. And I'm not physically provocative. But that doesn't matter. We're just pieces of meat walking around some hungry dogs.

So why don't women report harassment? Because the police are worse. Sometimes the harassment comes from THEM!! Who the hell does one report to when they are all filthy and corrupted, and would only lay the blame on the woman. And I'm not kidding when i say that during my lifetime i have indeed gotten harassed several times by the police themselves.

In Egypt, if a woman goes to a man's house and gets raped, she has no rights. Seriously. That is just sad. So if one day you go over to your friend's house for a nice dinner with a lot of other friends, and for your shitty luck something happens and you are there alone with someone sick, that's it. You are pretty much screwed. Not that women would report it anyway in Egypt, many of them just don't report it at all, because in Egypt a woman's reputation is everything. Something I despise to my very core. But you don't even have the option to, because "it's your own damn fault, you're a whore for going to a man's house".

Now, I'm not claiming all men in Egypt are bad. I know very honorable men who would never hurt a fly, let alone a woman. Men who are noble, who abide by their beliefs, respect women and endless other great qualities. But sadly, they are not the majority. They are rare pearls that I've had the honor & privilege of finding in my life. I wish Egypt could fill up on the likes of those men.

The cure? I don't know that there is one. But our biggest hope would be education, I suppose. And not the sort of education that is currently provided. Many an educated man in Egypt have the narrowest and most retarded of minds. Education of Rights. They should add a new course to all schooling systems from year 1. Perhaps if people understood one's right to be treated with respect, and freedom, some of the harassment would cease. But that's just the optimist in me. We are light years away from that.

So, that's all I have to say about this. Let the flame war begin.

Disclaimer:
1- This is how I personally feel about these issues. You are free to agree or disagree, and perhaps your life experiences show you otherwise - but please respect my right to an opinion of my own on the matter.
2- This article means no disrespect to Egypt, my home, and my love. This frustration and embitterment comes out of the love for Egypt and wanting it to be a better place for all people, women and men.

This post is now featured in an article by Marwa Rakha on Global Voices Online.

Just another entity to hate: NSGB

2008-07-11T00:30:00.004+02:00

I have no intention of proof reading this, or being nice nor politically correct in my criticism of NSGB, so if you for some reason like them or work there, then I encourage you not to read on lest you get offended. Consider this my venting angry girl rant.

I am absolutely and entirely fed up of NSGB. Travelling and keeping my accounts with them has proved to be one of the most painful experience in my history of banking since I turned 21. I have a credit card, 3 savings accounts (1 EGP, 1 USD, and 1 Euro), 1 current account, 1 time deposit, and 1 long term investment with them. Mind you, that sounds like a lot, but when I left I made most of thoes accounts almost empty except for time deposit and the long term investment, and I granted my father a written and government approved letter of proxy (I'm sure there's a better legal term for it but i can't recall it now) so that he could perform all banking actions when needed on my behalf. Since I have subscribed to the online banking service though, you'd think that would not be needed... But yea.... the online banking service of NSGB is almost entirely useless. Actually I'd say it is entirely useless if it didn't provide wme with the amount of money in my savings account. They have entirely misunderstood the concept of online banking - and i didn't have to move to Canada to realize that (in comparison with online banking here). It's a matter of common sense.

Before moving here, I noticed that NSGB was at its peak in branches and offices all over Cairo and God knows where else. Every corner you turned, you'd find NSGB ro an advertisement for them, or you'd see a huge building in the distance that belongs to them. Thy eemed to explose into Cairo all of a sudden. I remember when I first created my account there, the branch was brand new and all the people in it seemed to pretty much not know the first thing about banking. Heck, I didnt know the first thing about banking but I was still somehow tutoring them in their own jobs because they were clueless. But I told myself it's just a new branch, they'll catch up sooner or later... but time went by... and unfortunately that didn't improve anyhting because apparently the headquarters themselves are run by a bunch of idiots who don't have th first clue about real and decent banking.

So here's the problem: My credit card statement looks like this:

So what the hell am I supposed to understand from that? How do I know if my card has been stolen online or something? Or am I supposed to turn into an accounting machine, keep all receipts and revise them with the number week by week (and the dates are even inaccurate so wouldnt count on that to be of any help)? What about things i dont get a receipt for (e.g. phonecalls with CC?) A3mel eh ana sa3etha?

The weirdest part is that they USED TO provide this information, and then some day a developer woke up in the morning and felt like pissing off some people, or he accidentally pressed the delete key while having this property in the table highlighted on the page with the code... or something. But serously, why would any sane bank have that functionality and then remove it!! It's like the bank WANTS you to not realize it when you've become a victim of credit card fraud... and tab3an this doesnt cost them a thing because they dont even take any responsibility until you call them to cancel your card.

Then, there's another problem. Let's say that i trust them blindly and i have never used my credit card except infront of my own eyes (i.e. never gave it ata restaurant, never use it online,... etc) - and I want to pay my bill. But then, i used to have 3 credit cards before this one and for some reason, they ALL still show on my account even though they've been cancelled for a very long time. Now, you'd think that since I paid them off before, they would at leastshow as 0 balance, so that i can find the right one to pay.. but no. TWO of them have the balance that I owe... So I haven't got a clue which one to pay off. And knowing their stupidity, I'm worried about transferring 3,200 L.e. into an incorrect credit card.. It would take them forever to fix that! Heck it took them almost 2 months to refund some money to me that I one time preauthorized on my credit card. Bloody morons. I have a bank account here with online banking, and i had 2 credit cards then my wallet was lost, so i cancelled them and they issued new ones. Once i had received the new ones, the old ones disappeared from my interface, and it transferred the balance to the new ones. Makes perfect sense! Then wen you ask NSGB why i cna still see the old ones, they say we cant delete them we have to keep record of your previous cards... Well you idiots i never asked you to delete the records from your database, just make a bloody effort to make the interface useable and hide these entries from my UI!! I don't care about your book keeping! They aren't even accessible, so you cant masalan see your previous bills, transactions..etc online for the old credit cards.. they provide ZERO functionality.. actually negative since they confuse you.

And then there was a time when I started my company back in Egypt when I went to them to open a company account... but that didn't work very well. If they had refused and told me no you need to go get this particular thing to do it, that would be fine.. But you know what they said? We've never heard of this type of company and we can't open an account for it. "There's no such thing as a company with no segel togary"... Yea right. I gave up on that one. Just settled for a bank account in a different bank.

Some other time I made the mistake of using an ATM machine. Right, that's the whole mistake. I attempted to withdraw 3,000 EGP from it and it failed, but it took the money (without telling me). And when i went to another ATM machine it said insufficient funds. So I went to NSGB and reported this, and she said that they'd return the money.. .but it was going to take like 2 weeks. Imagine if that had been my entire salary.... Which is quite a likely scenario in Egypt. What would I have done then? Starved for 2 weeks? Thankfully it wasn't my salary..

So that's all I have to say for now. I hate NSGB, and the moment I open an account in my new location in 3 months, I am transferring everything from there and closing down the damn pain in the neck.

If you're considering opening a bank account, think of this: what will i do with my bank account? If you plan on doing anything reasonably non trivial, then I'd advise you to think carefully about your choice of banks in Egypt. Just because NSGB is everywhere doesn't mean they are any good - a concept that has been proven to me a dozen times over by them thus far.

Breaking Rules

2008-07-05T00:29:00.002+02:00

I feel a very strange thing when I see someone break the traffic rules here... something I did not expect to feel.

Can you guess?

Frustration and anger... just like i felt back in Cairo when drivers would do something really stupid. Except here it doesn't have to be somehting really stupid for it to annoy me. The stuff that is "breaking rules" here isn't really all that bad compared to the stuff in Egypt... I mean... I am used to WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY way way way worse than this stuff. If some guy goes here a second after the red light, that annoys me. I don't know why.. but it's been more obvious recently, because I sudied for the "knowledge test", so i have learnt all the rules for real (when i first arrived, i thought i knew most of the rules, but after studying the roadsense book it turns out there was quite a bit i didn't know still).

So why... why does it annoy me when someone changes lanes without signalling? I don't know! I have a few guesses:

1- maybe i'm so used to being annoyed at driverrs that it just became a habbit. I see what they do wrong and it bothers me, regardless of how big or small it is.. i'm just used to seeing the wrong.

2- or mayb it's because i struggle to follow the rules here so much after studying them and learning what i should and shouldnt do that it annoys me when someone else doesn't... sorta like being at school and studying for an exam then someone else cheats.. that's annoying.

3- or maybe it's because i am so glad hat there are rules -for a change-, that i hate to see them broken...

4- Or maybe i've just become a negative person from my life's experiences!

5- or maybe it's because it's so unexpected. In Egypt I was always alert when driving, and I could "foresee stupidity" as i like to call it... I could feel in advance what this guy driving next to me is likely to do, and take the necessary measures to avert this. But here it is just rather unexpected since it's not the norm for people to break traffic rules. Bu then again this wouldn't explain why i tpisses me off when someone breaks a red light infront of me... he isn't really hurting me in anyy way - so what's my problem!

There's probably a lot of other reasons that would make sense, and I honestly don't know why this is happening to me.. but I thought I'd share the feeling with you. So if you're in Cairo and feeling frustrated with the drivers, just remember that you might feel exactly the same abroad, even though a lot more people follow the rules.

So my Cairo friends, YOU ARE NOT ALONE in frustration :) :)

Change

2008-07-02T07:56:00.003+02:00

I've been thinking lately of how much, or little, I have changed over the past 2 months since I moved to Vancouver. And I'm trying to come up with some understanding of how I am reacting to the new place... There are a lot of things that I miss about home, in Egypt.. but truth is, I now consider my apartment here "home", already.. which is great, but I'm not sure why. Perhaps it's because it's mine to build on my own, and it's the only home i've had that's been "mine" and not something my parents built. Perhaps I feel that I found a place where I can be myself and not... well.... closely scrutinized by neighbours and society, because they mostly just don't care what I am or do. And can't say that it;s a bad feeling honestly... I wish I enjoyed this much privacy in Cairo. But I've grown attached to the place, enough to actually miss it when i went away for 4 days to visit my sister this past weekend. Cairo now seems like such a far away old dream, and I no longer have this feeling of "how will I survive abroad"... on the contrary... it's more like "how did I survive before?"

Strange, but true.

I've taken the chance of the change of moving here to change a lot of other things in my life, hopefully. I'm still struggling with that, but I think it's working alright. I've started exercising some, stopped eating junk food and started a healthy diet, started scheduling social activities every week, and going out as often as possible, not sitting in front of the computer 16 hours a day... etc. These are thinge that I am glad I have changed, and I hope I really do manage to keep the newer, healthier me in motion. I realize that this has something to dow ith the country and facilities here (i.e. there are parks where walking is enjoyable here, and I won't get harassed on the street while taking a long walk... the weather is a lot more exercise friendly in the summer here than in cairo, my building has a gym and a swimming pool... etc), but yes - I'm sure I could've done these things back home too.. they would've just been a lot harder, and since i've prety much uprooted my whole life to move here, these things seem quite minor and thus easier to change while i'm on the ball of change.

Then I wonder.... if I will change with regards to my friends as well.. and when we meet one day again they'll feel like they don't know me anymore? Will it ever get that bad? I've seen a lot of people travel and change in personality or actions, and become... Well... pretty annoying, or seem to be "3aysheen fi el door" (even if they really aren't and they've just genuinely changed). I wonder if I'll ever be like that too. At the very least, I hope to be told about it if I start being like that :-/

So.... Thoughts?

Viva la Vida - by Coldplay

2008-07-02T07:40:00.002+02:00

Not sure why, but I find this song fascinating....

I used to rule the world
Seas would rise when I gave the word
Now in the morning I sleep alone
Sweep the streets I used to own

I used to roll the dice
Feel the fear in my enemies' eyes
Listen as the crowd would sing:
"Now the old king is dead! Long live the king!"

One minute I held the key
Next the walls were closed on me
And I discovered that my castles stand
Upon pillars of salt and pillars of sand

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
Once you'd gone there was never,
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world

It was a wicked and wild wind
Blew down the doors to let me in
Shattered windows and the sound of drums
People couldn't believe what I'd become
Revolutionaries wait
For my head on a silver plate
Just a puppet on a lonely string
Oh who would ever want to be king?

I hear Jerusalem bells are ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
I know Saint Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world

Hear Jerusalem bells a' ringing
Roman Cavalry choirs are singing
Be my mirror, my sword and shield
My missionaries in a foreign field
For some reason I can't explain
I know Saint Peter won't call my name
Never an honest word
But that was when I ruled the world

Crossing streets

2008-06-11T23:30:00.003+02:00

In Cairo, while driving, when I stopped for someone to let them cross the street, one or more of the following things would happen:
1- They'd be extremely surrised... shocked even, that they'd just stand there not understanding what you are doing fora while, then it sinks in and they cross and thank you
2- they don't thank you, and then cross extremely slowly while looking the other side, as if they are looking at a beautiful sunset on a beach.
3- The cars behind you honk at you and start trying to get ahead of you
4- The cars next to you take this opportunity to jump into the lane right infront of you, almost trampling the person you were trying to help cross the street.
5- Very rarely, they would thank you and move on quickly.

So that's about it. Those are the options.

And although it is a LOT more likely here (Vancouver, Canada) that someone would stop for you to let you pass the street (and not even at a pedestrian crossing where they are legally obligated to do so), people would thank you with a smile, and hurry accross as quickly as they can. They even do that on pedestrian crossings sometimes too even though it's their right to cross whenever they want. I've only seen one instance in which a guy jumped off into the street looking the other direction while crossing.. and he was probably fighting with his girlfriend over the phone or something because he seemed quite distraught. Hehe.

It baffles me.. how people are capable of not taking things for granted.. instead they appreciate them and try to reciprocate. How they value not only human life, but its quality as well. Nobody actually wants to slow you down or make you late for your appointment, or is indifferent to what is important to you... They may not know you, and you sure as hell do look different than they do, but that all doesn't matter... they'll still respect you as a person enough to try their best not to get in your way, and make the quality of your life (and theirs ofcourse) better.

Why don't we do that in Egypt! I wish we would :( I'm sure there are complex reasons behind all this, but it's just... very sad. Sad sad sad....

Disclaimer: I understand that not ALL PEOPLE in Egypt behave that way, but from my 6 years of driving experience there, this is the vast majority. And that includes the rich and the poor, the educated and the uneducated.

Tribute to Ethos Cafe

2008-05-03T02:22:00.005+02:00

This post is dedicated to my favorite hangout in Cairo... a place where I've spent many joyful nights, and held many special events. A safe haven for culture and the cultured, a place that smells like art, and THE place where i discovered that I, too, could be an artist. A place where taking a class is actually pure fun even if you don't absolutely like the tutor! A place where I feel completely relaxed and at ease, unlike most other Cafes or venues that i've been to, where I always feel self conscious or sometimes even watched. A place with a friendly and cozy aura, yet elegant and stylish in its own way. The only place in Egypt that I can honestly say has never given me anything but A class service: all the waiters are nice, polite, and don't give you any lame reasons for why your oreo shake isn't perfect, but just politely take it away and bring it back suited to your taste. A place that plays good music, and not some sad 60 minute tape rewinding endlessly. A place where I can read, play, chat, relax, drink, enjoy a band, learn, eat (great and healthy food too!), or just enjoy some coffee.

I felt that I couldn't leave without giving Ethos this tribute. Over the past year since it was created, it has felt like my home besides home, and today as I left, knowing that I would not see this place again for at least a year - and even then it would not be the same with frequent visits, my heart ached and I shed some tears in quiet mourning.

Ethos, I will genuinely miss you, and all those I've met at you.

This is Goodbye, Cairo

2008-05-02T15:16:00.003+02:00

I haven't been writing on this blog for a long while, mostly because i've run out of new things to say. Everytime i think of something to talk about it's either:
1- On a topic i've already discussed before.. e.g. another example of traffic stupidity...
2- Or, not related to Egypt really

Now i'm moving away from Egypt and Cairo.... it's a life altering event for me, and I hope it goes well. As excited and relieved as I feel to be moving away from the hardships of daily life and running a business here, as sad as I also feel for leaving behind things that I've cherished for a long time, and people that mean the world to me. I am also experiencing a huge sense of loss for selling my company... It feels like I've thrown away the past 4 years of my life, and that hurts quite a bit. Still, I am thrilled to be going to a new place, discovering a new way of life, starting a new job and making new friends. I trust that it will be an interesting experience at the least.

To be entirely honest, I can't wait to leave. I know I'll miss a lot of things here, but the things I won't miss are more.

My guess is I will find more to write about Cairo when I move, because that is when I'll really start missing things hat I haven't thought of before, or noticing things that are done in a stupid way in Cairo that I hadn't noticed either. So this is goodbye to Cairo, but probably a fresh page for this blog.

So see you soon, I hope!

Symbolism

2008-04-14T00:13:00.003+02:00

We use symbols in our daily lives for everything, mostly we may not even notice the symbols. For example, when you buy a pack of tissues you see this little drawing on the pack that symbolizes recycling. On a one way street you see the circle with a white line in the middle of it. You understand the symbol so well, that it doesn't really take any thinking for you to decipher it. Every country has its flag which often bears a symbol of what that country likes to think of itself (such as our Eagle), or what the country believes in (such as Saudi Arabia's flag).

A danger sign is a skull, quite representative don't you think? Touch this and you might die and become a skull! Soooo... what exactly are we thinking when we make those HUGE stickers that people put on the back of their car that take up the entire rear window that says "La elaah ella Allah, Mohammad Rasul Allah" (Translation: There is no God but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger)with a giant real-size SWORD right underneath it? Hrmmmmmmm........ And don't tell me it's Saudi arabia's flag, because it is different. If you're saudi and you want to put your country's flag, that's fine by me. But this sticker is just bloody ridiculous, and gives out the worst message possible. Then people wonder why the west think Islam is a bloody religion or Arabs are barbaric. WELL WHAT DO YOU EXPECT?! What on earth is the sword supposed to symbolize? And even if it's nothing vile, do you really think people will get it? In my humble opinion, for a non-muslim or non-arab, the message that gives is: Agree of we'll cut your head off. Yea, reeeeeally civilized, huh?

*sigh* I rest my case.

Ahram Online Olds-paper

2007-12-16T01:39:00.000+02:00

In search of some blogging material, I just went to www.ahram.org.eg to take a look at the news for the past few days and see what was going on since a friend of mine told me that Alaa Mubarak made the headlines a couple of days ago and I wanted to find out what it was all about. So, I went there and scrolled down the annoyingly long, badly designed page with awful colors to find the spot where it says Archive. I picked the date 13/12/2007 and clicked go, and there it was: I can't even find a word suitable enough for such stupid functionality. The page reads (translation):
"Sorry,
The site you are trying to enter is a part of the services of "Ahram On Line" which is only available to subscribers or users of the Ahram Free Dialup number of 0777 0505.

Technical support number: (02) 27703687
Numeric address of your personal account on the internet: 41.234.xx.yyy"

To see the message for yourself: (it's in Arabic, though)
http://0505.ahram.org.eg/

Okay so there are a few problems with this. First of all, to see yesterday's newspaper you must:
1- Subscribe to Ahram Online, through a link which you might have to struggle a bit to find since it isn't even displayed on this error page, and is hidden in some obscure and ugly box on the right side of the home page. The subscription costs 120 pounds a year, so that's just 10 pounds a month which would be worth it if you consistently read ahram news online, but what about us poor suckers who just wanted to check something? Your other option is to.....
2- Disconnect your high (relatively) speed internet and go out to buy a modem to install on your computer so you can login to their almighty and amazing website which I guess is sooooo worth it!

*Sigh*

Then there's the issue of the error page being entirely useless. First of all, what on earth is "Numeric address of your personal account on the internet"??? That is possibly one of the most retarded ways ever to translate "Your IP Address is". Second of all, WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYY on earth would I need you to show me my IP address? WHY?! What use could it possibly be to me when I'm trying to get to the archive? So instead of a useful link that tells you how to subscribe or what the benefits of subscribing are, which would make a lot more commercial sense if you're that hungry for subscribers that you have to block off archive from non subscribers, they give you your IP address. Woohooo!

Thank you Ahram, I don't know what I would do without you!

Same old, just a different day

2007-12-15T01:27:00.000+02:00

Recently, every time I find something that interests me enough to blog about it, I realize that I've already talked about a similair issue. There are just so many examples of, for example, bad traffic, bad manners, corruption... etc that I am worried if I wrote about it each time I wanted to this blog would get a lot less interesting, and more on the repetitive side.

So, what I'm going to try to do instead is read up on some random news paper articles and pick one to talk about. I may not even have an argument to or against anything, but it might be fun to discuss anyway and leave the floor open for comments.

Thanks to anybody who is reading this blog for being patient with me, and checking back even though I only make posts every now and a very long then.

Art Lovers: Please Help!

2007-10-23T17:42:00.000+02:00

Art is a wonderful thing, and being an artist.... now i'm not sure if that's a blessing that you are born with, or something that you can acquire, but whatever it is, it's wonderful! Looking at beautiful paintings makes my heart ache to pick up a paint brush and paint something myself. Unfortunately when I do succumb to that calling, the outcome is far from artistic or beautiful, so I go back to the real world where I acknowledge that I'm not an artist and leave the art up to those who are. When I travel, i love buying little artifacts from other countries. Things that are scalpted, painted, drawn or just photographs of the country's beauty on postcards. I'm not the most cultured or artistic person there is, and for the most part I'm more on the geeky side of town, but I can honestly say that I enjoy going to art galleries and museums, even though when faced with a slightly vague painting, I'll just stare at it blankly, not really understanding it but probably enjoying it anyway. I went to the first art museum ever by chance when I was visiting Amsterdam, and a friend took me to "Rijksmuseum Amsterdam". I remember thinking everything was so beautiful, even the art work (decoration) that was not on display! It had original Rembrandt paintings that were ever so moving, including one of the more 'famous' paintings which was strikingly HUGE: Nightwatch. Unfortunately, I haven't gone to any real art museums since, and I've never even heard of the existance of one in Egypt so I haven't been to any.

The purpose of this article is to kindly ask the readers, if any, if they know of the names or locations of any good art museums in Egypt. I've only seen some random galleries with paintings that were for the most part not all that impressive, and small displays of a particular artist's work at some events (at sakiet el sawy and ethos cafe). But nothing entirely dedicated to art
and paintings. Of course, that is apart from pharaonic stuff which Ive seen plenty of :-)

So, any tips would be appreciated, thanks.

If you enjoy art, you might want to take a look at Deviant Art website. This place is FULL of beauty, and I could spend hours there just staring at images.

Some of my favorites:
1- An artist that goes by the name "Blackeri", whose real name is "Marta Dahlig" (according to her profile). Click here to see her gallery. I only came accross these other artists below through her gallery, which is one of the most famous on deviantart.com
2- Zancan
3- Kyena
4- Henning

The Seven Deadly Sins: VANITY by `blackeri on deviant ART

The Seven Deadly Sins: ENVY by `blackeri on deviant ART

The Seven Deadly Sins: LUST by `blackeri on deviant ART

The Seven Deadly Sins: GLUTTONY by `blackeri on deviant ART

The Seven Deadly Sins: WRATH by `blackeri on deviant ART

The Seven Deadly Sins: AVARICE by `blackeri on deviant ART

Unfortunately sloth didn't have the "embed picture" functionality, so you'll just have to click this link to see it: The Seven Deadly Sins: SLOTH.

Portrait of a Wax - Dragon by *Kyena on deviant ART

Cairo Jazz Club is open again!

2007-10-18T02:10:00.000+02:00

Ramadan is officially over, and everything has returned to the norm. The extra lights have been taken off the streets, Ramadan lanterns put away, people have stopped trying to be more patient with others during the day, and work days are long again. There's one thing I found particularly.... "interesting". I can't think of another word for it really, and I'm not even sure if I should be happy or sad about it. I have mixed feelings on the matter.

During the month of Ramadan, Cairo Jazz Club (which happens to be located very close to my office) is shut down. It does not open its doors to visitors, but instead uses this month off to renovate itself (design? construction? who knows!). According to my sources, some people who are not practicing muslims "convert" this attitude during Ramadan, and thus no clubbing, drinking, one night stands... etc, so I guess the founders of Cairo Jazz Club are either of that kind, or found that many of the people who go to the club are of that kind, and thus shut it down for the month. If you're not going to make money during that month then you might as well do someting useful with the time, eh? At least that's my guess, as I can't think of any other reason to do that. At first I told myself maybe they're just being sensitive towards the society, not inflaming any feelings or so... but that makes no sense as there are plenty of hotels and night spots with half naked belly dancers during Ramadan, and singing/dancing.. etc in Ramadan Tents... so.... that makes no business sense. Personally I don't know many people who are the clubbing type, so I can't tell for sure.

Now that Ramadan is over, it's back in business, and the street is packed with cars parked outside it, making the 3 lane street into a 1 laner or 2 laner at best, and partying through the night every day. Wednesdays are especially crowded, I'm not sure why! There must be some special type of event that occurs on Wednesdays, but leaving the office at 1 am on Wednesdays is a nightmare because that's when the people are pouring in. On some nights, there are literally rows of people waiting to get in.

I have mixed feelings about this, and I don't mean to be critical of a lifestyle that I don't indulge in. I'm glad that some people respect the month enough to not go clubbing and drinking in it, but it saddens me to think that it's all just an act... something we do for the people around us. Any muslim whether normally practicing or not can't possibly think that God ONLY watches you in Ramadan, so why the charades? Who are we fooling?

Thoughts?

Mourning the Sabra and Shatila Massacre

2007-09-24T04:33:00.000+02:00

A good friend of mine brought to my attention that it would only be fair for me to mention the Sabra and Shatila Massacre since I so diligently argued for the mourning of the holocaust victims, and he is definitely right. The Sabra and Shatila Massacres were carried out on the 16th of September 1982 in Beirut, Lebanon, against Palestenian refugee camps killing somewhere between 700 and 3500 people. It may be 25 years ago, but to some people the wounds have not healed, and never will.

I wish I could be more inspired to write in details about this, but unfortunately I have lately been out of inspiration, which you might have noticed from the frequency (or lack thereof) of my posts, and perhaps the quality of their content even, and amount of quoting from othr texts. As uninspired to write as I am, I could not let the month of September go by without posting in remembrence of the hundreds, or possibly thousands of lives that were lost in vain in that massacre.

What happened, regardless of who was responsible, cannot be named anything other than disgusting, inhumane, and just plain horrid.

So, please, take the time to read about this, and understand what happened. Make up your own theories with regards to who was responsible, but don't let the victims go forgotten. Remember them in your prayers or in your thoughts, and spread the word. I'm sure that someone somewhere would benefit from the knowledge or the good prayers/thoughts.

For casual reading:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sabra_and_Shatila_massacre

News reports:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2255902.stm
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/708DECA5-113B-4546-829D-500DA986DEA3.htm

A description of the suffering (not for the faint hearted):
http://www.infoshop.org/inews/article.php?story=20070913231839712

I will try to write more about this if I can, but meanwhile, please read.

Ramadan: The Egyptian Experience

2007-09-24T03:26:00.000+02:00

Before I start describing what Ramadan is like here in Egypt, let me give a briefing to those of you who are unfamiliar with the Islamic culture, on what Ramadan is.

Ramadan is the Arabic name of the month during which the Quran was first revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (praise be upon him), and it is the month of fasting for observant Muslims. Muslims fast from sunrise till sunset, and though some differences exist on the exact timing of when to break the fast between Sunnis and Shi'ites, the concept remains the same.

The Islamic calendar is a lunar one, so each month starts when the first crescent of a new moon is sighted. In Islam, Ramadan is the holiest month of all the months in the lunar year. The lunar year is shorter than the solar year, so every year the month of Ramadan comes about 11 or 12 days earlier. Unfortunately for the northern hemisphere, this means that Ramadan is now starting to visit us in the summer, which means we don't only have to go through the regular fasting issues, but also a lot of heat and very long fasting days.

"Muslims are also expected to put more effort into following the teachings of Islam as well as refraining from lying, stealing, anger, envy, greed, lust, sarcastic retorts, backbiting, and gossip. Obscene and irreligious sights and sounds are to be avoided; sexual intercourse during fasting hours is also forbidden.[Qur'an 2:187] Purity of both thought and action is important. The fast is intended to be an exacting act of deep personal worship in which Muslims seek a raised level of closeness to their God. The act of fasting is said to redirect the heart away from worldly activities, its purpose being to cleanse the inner soul and free it from harm. Properly observing the fast is supposed to induce a comfortable feeling of peace and calm. It also allows Muslims to practice self-discipline, sacrifice, as well as sympathy for those who are less fortunate, intending to make Muslims more generous and charitable." [1]

What's the story with the "Fanoos" (the lantern in the side picture, made of tin and colored glass)? I don't know, I really don't. I'm sure it has a historical relevance, but I just am not aware of what it is (if any of you know, please tell me!) It's a beautiful little thing that every kid (and some adults) enjoy, and get a new one of each year,to light it up and decorate their homes, streets, and buildings with. Some of the new models even sing to you, but those are so incredibly annoying, I wouldn't recommend them!

Alright so now you know what Ramadan is... now that doesn't sound like a very fun month does it? Normally, if you live in a country where you don't have a large extended family, and other people around you aren't fasting, then it would be not much fun, except from a personal serenity perspective. But here... you'd be surprised! Ramadan is the month of gathering, love, peace, kindness, generosity, and dare I say... HUMANITY. All year round you see peoeple living under inhumane conditions, and nobody gives a crap or even empathyzes. In Ramadan, it's different. In Ramadan so many things make me smile, just because people are treating each other with respect.. respect I wish they had for one another all year long, but well.. once a year is better than never I guess? Right before Iftar, or at the exact moment when people start to eat, you'll find many people on the street just giving away food to anybody that wants it. The most commonly distributed "breakfast" distributed on the streets to drivers and passers by is dates. Every single time I stop to take one of those when on my way home, it amazes me how beautiful dates taste, and how harsh an environment they come from yet are full of taste! You also find these random free complete breakfast tables setup for the poor, or even the not so poor if they want to, serving a lot of types of food (not just dates! :)). During the month of Ramadan, the number of harassment incidents any lady goes through on the streets is probably more than halved, which makes it awesome for me personally since I also wear a veil, which already stops about 70-80% of the usual harassment. Ramadan is the safest month for anybody to walk around on the streets, not only because people try to be more pious, but also because tehre's always somebody awake, all the time, everywhere, so you're likely to find some assistance even if it's 3 am.

Ramadan is pretty much the only month of the year that I am 110% grateful to be living in Egypt. Really, it is such a blessing to be here. It just feels totally different from anywhere else in the world. Not that i've been everywhere in the world, but i've experience Ramadan in quite a few countries and none of them compare to what it's like here. This is probably something that any native Egyptian would attest to. People are up all the time! Of course this whole atmosphere has its downsides, such as insanely bad traffic at certain times of the day! Right before or after Iftar -for those of us who are not eager to stay at home and slouch on the couch- everything outdoors is absolutely perfect. Sure there's an insane driver here and there trying to floor the pedal to get home quicker, but still.. the streets are empty, quiet, and serene, and the people standing around are full of compassion and love.

During Ramadan, most people have breakfast ("Iftar") with their families, extended families, friends, colleagues.. etc, so almost nobody ever eats alone. The regular eating at the desk while working thing just doesn't happen, as eating itself becomes an event, and people gather around to do it together. You see people that you hadn't seen for a year or more, and share food and storeis with them, and laughs and make plans for after Ramadan that you'll most likely never implement. But it's still a beautiful feeling to be surrounded by people you love, a lot of the time, for a whole month, with everybody trying to be on their best behaviour, generosity and kindness. Friends sometimes also go to pray together, which adds even more serenity to the general atmosphere as they bond together and with their own personal beliefs.

Now it's not all pink roses mind you, there's a downside to all of this: lack of productivity. As a business owner, this is a nightmare for me. And I'm not talking just about my employees being less productive than normal, i'm talking about myself! I can't get much done in Ramadan at all! Need coffee to function during the day, and I need food to avoid incessant headaches, so I end up waking up really late so I can stay up late and work, then there's the whole dilemma of needing to be home for Iftar, which means I would have to spend around 1.5 hours on the way to the office and back, just to stay there for 2 or 3 hours, and that's never fun. It becomes hard to get to your bank, or any service provider because each has their own set of new working hours during Ramadan. For these reasons I've never been a big fan of Ramadan, but this year I've been rather lucky: no headaches! So I've stopped to look around more often and witness the real beauty of the month in this country, and apperciate it.

What a beautiful month, and what a beautiful place to be... at least until next month :-)

References:
[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramadan

Marina: Way Overrated

2007-08-10T00:48:00.000+02:00

I went to Marina this week, for the first time in my life. I gave in to my family's pressure and went with them to Marina. After all the hype I'd heard about it, I was really hoping it would be spectacular or at least a lot better than the last "north coast" resort I went to (around 4 years ago, back when I was stuck going there whenever my parents did). It wasn't better. Actually, it was just fancier shops and streets, with a lot more people and less peaceful spots straight on the beach.

Unfortunately, only the girls are pretty in Marina. No offense guys, but seriously... most guys there were scrawny, ugly, or old. I see the appeal for the male population, with all the mini skirts and short shorts being worn there, but why is it that families and ladies like to go there too? I don't know. I just found the place extremely boring. It might just be a fad, all the rich kids went there once and now everybody is following them. We tend to do that a lot, follow anybody even when the fad is unjustified or doesn't suit us. The coolest water sport activity they have available is some lame jet skis. They don't have parasailing, banana boats or any really exciting water sports there. The reason for this, I don't know, because these activities are available everywhere in Sharm Al Sheikh. Perhaps we are just not adventurous people? Last time I went parasailing I was the only Egyptian on board, amongst around 10 foreigners, but I blamed that on the fact that it was Sharm and that there weren't that many Egyptians anyway. But maybe I was wrong? I really don't know.

Hrmm... so yea, Marina sucks. It's nothing I'd want in a resort, for any possible mood. It's not peaceful, it's not fun or full of adventures, and it's not unique or interesting. No clue what people see in it. That's my 2 cents on the place. Any place on the red sea that I've seen thus far (dahab, sharm el sheikh/ras muhammad, hurghada, ras sedr) beats Marina hands down.

Apathy Towards Ambulance Cars

2007-07-19T13:38:00.000+02:00

First off let me start by apologizing for the long delay in posting. I'd like to say that it was just a matter of work taking up all my time, but that wouldn't be entirely true, as I have mostly been out of inspiration and patience. For those reasons I'll also keep this post short, in hope that this would allow me to finish it and post it, instead of just saving the draft as I often do lately.

If you've traveled to any county that has an established traffic system that is widely obeyed, you'll notice that Ambulance cars are widely respected. When people see an ambulance car coming they will immediately (and I really mean immediately) move to their right (the left in countries like England and Australia) to allow the ambulance safe and swift passage. They won't stop to think about it for a second or ten, and they most definitely won't just ignore it. Now the reasons for this can be debated: do they do this because they are decent human beings who care about saving the lives of others, or at least helping in that as much as possible? Or are they just following the law so they don't get a fine, license suspension, or worse? Or are they just trying to act civilised? Personally, I'd like to think it's because they care, but the problem with believing that, for me, is that it means that Egyptians are horrible, selfish and self centered people who don't give a tiny rat's bottom about anybody but themselves!! That is hard for me to accept, despite all the surrounding situations that oft suggest it. So I'll try to believe it's a matter of public awareness.

One Friday morning, a few years ago I read in Al Ahram newspaper a letter sent in by one royally idiotic human being who was complaining about ambulance cars in Egypt, claiming that the ambulance car driver had the siren on and demanded free way but had nobody in the back of his car! Luckily, the man who responded to him *God bless his soul* had some sense in him and blew the man to bits (using words and reason, of course). Did this man think that ambulance cars arrive at their destination to pick up sick people by some sort of divine intervention, without being driven at all? Or do the people miraculously fly to the location of the ambulance car, where the driver took it to have his petty lunch keeping the siren on all the way from the hospital to the restaurant because he was in a hurry to eat? Seriously, where do people get off with ridiculous complaints like that? Are they really that stupid or is this their way of justifying their selfish and inhumane actions to themselves?

Another thing people seem to do is only give way to the ambulance if they can guarantee for themselves that they can stick right behind it since it is "clearing the way for them". By doing this they not only increase the chances of risking their lives and that of the people in the ambulance, but they also increase the chaos as they fly behind the ambulance car, breaking traffic lights if they find it possible. I am not exaggerating when I say that I once took to the right to let an ambulance car pass and instead another car saw this as a prime opportunity to take my place, blocking the way for the ambulance (which had its siren on). Beyond pathetic behaviour.

I don't mean to preach, as I realise most of my friends (who read this blog) probably already do so, but just in case you don't or you know someone who doesn't: next time you're in traffic and you see an ambulance car, please step aside (to the right) and try to make it easier for them to pass. Who knows, perhaps those 2 seconds you granted them might help in saving a person's life.

Drink Driving a la Egyptienne!

2007-07-18T00:48:00.000+02:00

We may not encounter the hazards of drinking and driving every day, and we do not have signs on the road reminding us about it every 5 km as they do elsewhere (e.g. Sydney), but we do encounter something up to par, if not higher in dangerousness: suicidal driving.

A few days ago I saw something I thought was very weird, but I thought maybe it's a one off thing. Today I saw it again and I'm thus certain that we as a people are hopelessly chaotic in the driving arena. Suicidal driving is the type of thing that -if you don't live in Egypt- would shock you to the very core. But if you live here this is something you see every day, literally. I define suicidal driving as any type of driving that is just "asking for it", and the most obvious example of this is driving in the opposite direction of a street. I.e. Going face to face with others in their own lane even though there's a perfectly good lane for yourself on the same street about 2 meters away, across that tiny sidewalk, which you refuse to use because you're too lazy to drive an extra 200m to find the U-turn.

Now if you're Egyptian you're also wondering why I was shocked by this, but let me clarify. This is not the part that shocked me at all. The part that shocked me is that it was a "driving school" car with a large sign on its top with their contact info and how great a driving school they are. A man was driving with someone in the seat next to him, and to save himself the hassle of driving an extra 100 meters (really, 100 tops, probably less), he drove about 20 meters in the opposite direction of a main street at a fairly inopportune time in terms of traffic congestion. Unbelievable. Mid day, fairly crowded and chaotic enough as it is, and a driving instructor is teaching his student to do this.

So this is what we're teaching new drivers these days. And not only is this an ethical controversy with regards to the driving guidelines you are teaching a new driver, but most importantly new drivers are not very capable, and if they make a move like that themselves then the probability of them endangering their lives and the lives of others is tenfold!

Just thought I'd mention it: If you ever go to new Maadi, watch out for those suicidal driving school vehicles.

Who Killed Ashraf Marawan?

2007-07-08T03:59:00.001+02:00

Many of us are wondering who killed Ashraf Marawan. Sadly, the matter of the fact is, only the killer(s) know for sure at this point. The rest of us haven't a clue, just 'educated' guesses here and there. For those of you who don't know who I am talking about, Ashraf Marawan was an Egyptian business man, rich and successful. Young and ambitious, he married the daughter of the former Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser and after Abdel Nasser passed away, he became advisor to the next Egyptian President, Anwar ElSadat. There is a lot of controversy surrounding Marawan, especially regarding his relation with Israel.

There are three possibilities to account for his death: suicide, murder or accident.

Being a successfull business man living in his London luxury mansion, I wonder how much motive he had to commit suicide, and if he was depressed at all then why hadn't he seeked help? Surely if he had, the press would have found out about it by now, just as we all knew about Soad Hosny's depression before her death. But they haven't, so that's probably not it. I don't know if he was religious at all either, but suicide in our society is frowned upon vastly, and would forever ruin his "name" after his death. Why would he do that?

So... Accident? Now that'd be interesting. However, I personally find it laughably silly to believe that a sober man could accidentally fall off the balcony of his own home (without it collapsing). So I'm not even going to give that one a second thought.

So, logically we deduce that he was probably pushed or likewise. Strangely enough, this reminds us all of two other deaths of Egyptians, in London, off their balcony! Firstly, Soad Hosny's death in June 2001 when her body was found on the sidewalk of her London appartment. Secondly, General al-Leithy Nassef, who helped President Anwar al-Sadat foil a plot against him, died in 1974 after falling from his balcony in the same building! Getting a little creepy right now.

So the first two times and we can tell (lie?) ourselves that it was a coincidence (albeit unlikely). But come on, another person dying by falling off their London appartment balcony... that's a tad much don't you think? This time it's even more controversial, since the man has been accused of doing much more than just intending to write a book, a thing that many people claim is the only thing in common between these three people. Seems there is a very opinionated and convicted anti-book organization out there! Beware all authors.

According to an Israeli ex-Mossad director, Marawan had tried to warn Israel of the 6th of October 1973 war (or "Yum Kippur"), but they did not believe him then because they thought him to be a double agent or attempting to spread misinformation. Later, when they found his information to be sound, they allegedly recruited him. He is also suspected to have taken part in an illicit weapon business in Egypt. All of this sounds very very scary in my humble opinion. If the son in law of Nasser and the advisor to Sadat was a spy and nobody had a clue about it, then we are seriously in trouble. Were/Are our presidents that incredibly naive? If that's the level of intelligence (of lack thereof it) that is ruling us, then we are doomed beyond repair, and beyond our current understanding of our present doom! How terribly embarassing and shameful.

In Egypt and probably most other countries too, being accused of being a spy is one of the worst reputation ruiners ever. Spies or agents for other countries that are of Egyptian origin are thought of as the lowest form of life, despite the fact that most of us are not overly patriotic as many other nations are. But treason is just, unspeakable!

Then a few days later, the current Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak issued a statement that "Ashraf Marawan was a loyal patriot," adding that "he did patriotic things that it is not yet time to reveal, but he was indeed an Egyptian patriot. He spied for no one." Now that is very interesting. It's not yet time to reveal how he was a patriot. When will it be time? No nevermind, I don't need to know. I'm unimportant and insignificant and it is enough for me that you have issued this statement. What possible reason do I have to mistrust you? Pfft. Silly people pondering and using logic! We don't need any of that! It is DECIDED. No need to think for yourself on this one folks, it's over.

*Sigh*.

Anyway, another theory has it that perhaps this is the work of the Mossad, and that they really did have a huge grudge against him for being a double agent (in the favor of Egypt), and that this is why they are trying to "taint his name", and have performed the murder in the much loved Soad Hosny's death, since her death was suspected to be performed by Egyptian Intelligence.

To be quite honest, I have no idea which one of the theories is correct, and I can't honestly say that I believe one of them strongly or another. I hope to find out one day what the truth is. For now, I'll be waiting for the results of the coroner's report on August 15th to find out if it was suicide, accident or a malicious murder. If you have an opinion or any more theories on this or arguments for/against any of the afore mentioned theories, please feel free to share them. Some of the views and arguments are presented in the referenced documents below.

Through all of this, only one thing is certain: If you live in London and are Egyptian, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD (and yourself) get an appartment without a balcony!

References:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6247912.stm
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/852/op2.htm
http://www.allheadlinenews.com/articles/7007809577
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2003/649/eg3.htm
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/article2007377.ece
http://arabist.net/arabawy/2007/06/28/london-balconies-falling-down-falling-down-falling-down/

Price Survey

2007-06-28T01:14:00.000+02:00

I've always known that it's cheaper to live in Cairo than it is to live in several other places in the world, yet when I travelled to India it was even cheaper there. I heard later that things got a lot more expensive in India, but they have in Egypt as well. Eight years ago a large combo at a fast food restaurant cost a little over half the price of what it costs now.

I would like to know how much difference it is between here and other places in the world, in practical measures: things that we use day to day, regardless of the average income in that country. So, what I plan on doing is surveying as many people as I know (and who are willing to participate). Would appreciate any help on this, so please respond if you can under comments (don't forget to state your country). If you think the list is too long or don't know the price of some of those things, just answer what you can please :-) and don't forget to convert whatever currency your country uses to USD

So here are the criteria I have in mind, if anybody thinks of something else they want to add to this list or something to remove, let me know.

1- 1 month's rent for a 2 room appartment in a decent (not posh) neighbourhood
2- Price of 1 litre of gasoline (for you Americans, that's around quarter of a US gallon)
3- Price of 1 cola can from a vending machine/convenience store
4- Price of 1 bottle of water from a vending machine
5- Price of 1 bottle of water from a supermarket/hypermarket
6- Price of 1 loaf of bread (non-toast)
7- Price of 1 kilo of red meat (beef) - (that's 2.2 pounds for US ppl)
8- Price of 1 average size frozen chicken
9- Price of an average meal at a fast food restaurant (e.g. 1 large combo + desert)
10- Price of an average meal at a decent restaurant (e.g. steak house, chinese restaurant.. etc)
11- Average tip percentage left for waiters/waitresses at restaurants (assuming they don't tick you off)
12- Price of an average haircut for women
13- Price of 4 hours parking in a garage downtown
14- Price of seeing a movie at a decent cinema (normal fare)
15- Price of 1 kilo of decent quality red apples

For your convenience, you can use this quick currency converting tool. To be able to use the tool while posting you need to right click the link for comments and open it in a new tab/window. If you aren't American, then choose your currency to convert it to USD:
Currency Converter

Taymoor we Shafika

2007-06-27T14:51:00.000+02:00

Taymoor we Shafika (Taymoor and Shafika) is the latest Egyptian movie in the theatres by the two young, very popular stars Mona Zaki and Ahmed El Sakka. It is a Romantic Comedy with a little bit of Action. In a nutshell, it's a pretty funny movie but with an extremely poor story line. To avoid ruining the movie for those of you who want to see it, I'll post my review under comments. Just a word of advice to those going to see it, bear in mind what I just said and don't expect too much so you don't get disappointed.

Eulogy of Manners

2007-06-23T21:41:00.000+02:00

Ladies and gentlemen, I sincerely regret to inform you that Manners (a.k.a Etiquette, a.k.a آداب السُّلوك) has passed away. Although this may not come as a surprise to many of you, and may not be news to many more, I ask you to kindly share this moment with me in mourning the deceased. We've all heard about the death of Chivalry a long time ago, but I for one did not know that all Manners would soon follow.

Etiquette was a great addition to our lives, enriching it in so many ways, making us smile at one another on the streets, and treat each other with respect; respect that is now long gone and hardly deserved by most.

Actually, I'm not even sure when Etiquette died, but I do know that it still lives elsewhere in some other societies. Just the Egyptian one has departed. As to why, I can only tell myself that it is the harsh economic conditions that have forced people to be so focused on material things only, and thus made them more selfish and unaware of others. Or perhaps they follow the examples they see, and all they see atop us are self centered wolves, stealing all they can and taking what is not theirs, and disrespecting the rights of others.

Long has it been since we have last enjoyed any politeness from our surrounding society. No one stops to let you cross the street, unless you force your way infront of them (and even then they might speed up just to watch you run - honestly), and no one gets up for 9 months pregnant ladies standing infront of them when there aren't any more seats. No one tries to help a single mother with 2 kids at the airport, and no one cares if you were in line first - they'll cut in infront of you anyway, and if you confront them about it, they'll rudely respond or joke about you with their present friends, and still not give you your rights. Nobody talks respectfully or gently to the elderly when they happen to make the "mistake" of not hearing you the first time (despite the fact that they really were trying to listen). It's all gone and we are left with a sad, sad world void of civility. The death of manners has left us all like selfish hyenas tearing up a prey, or greedy pirates each fighting with all the rest over a piece of the treasure that isn't even rightfully theirs.

I now look at children of seemingly well educated or well endowed people, and wonder if their parents ever teach them how to deal with others, how to respect the elderly and be kind to the young, and how they should respect human beings to be worthy of respect, just like my parents taught me when I was young. But then my bubble is burst when I see their parents: selfish, ill-mannered pigs. How could I possibly expect their kids to have developed any manners if they've never seen any in their short life? I can't anymore. Common courtesy is by no means common any longer.

I feel very sad and depressed about the state of society, and I don't know where to start to fix it. Is it enough for me to maintain my manners, and patiently stick to them when faced by the rudeness of everybody else? Or should I start an etiquette class for free for youngsters, and hope I can pass my message along from there (despite the fact that I am not very good with kids)? I know there are people out there who still have manners, some of them are my friends. Should I perhaps try to collaborate with them to achieve this? But that brings up the tough question: are manners revivable, how do you teach someone to be decent? I honestly have no idea what to do. All I do know is that I can't give up, and the others out there who feel the same way as I do can't give up either. If we all give up, then this place really is no longer worth living in and has no future.

Finally, we will miss you Manners, and we already truthfully do. If any body from this kind audience has any ideas on how to address this, please share them. For now, I need a drive - see previous post.

The Beauty Within

2007-06-22T06:29:00.000+02:00

Driving through Cairo on a sunny spring or summer evening, in an air conditioned car (one that actually works), going at a reasonable speed (60km/h+) with no traffic jams, is a wonderful experience. I feel alive. I feel glad to be alive, even, something I don't normally experience when struggling with my daily commute.

I see beauty and peace, history and progress, and maybe even love within the people. I see so many beautiful things. Streets that 10 years ago didn't have a single green leaf, and are now full of beautiful trees. Areas that were just rock and dead hills are now full of buildings, families, businesses and life. I see the Azhar Park, a place I passionately admire. Formerly a dumpster, that now has sole handedly engraved the concept of parks into our life. It's a beautiful wide space of tranquility that takes you far from the corruption of the city life, right in the middle of town. There's nothing I'd rather do in Cairo on a mild weathered sunny day than go there with my love and relax on the crisp grass, overlooking the city from within a beautifully green and flowery frame. I see the beautiful old buildings too, the Citadel, The old Mosques, and the beautifully architectured new ones too! I see the amazing river Nile, so serene and shimmering with the boats looking like toys spread all over it, and lovers sitting in the boats enjoying the scenery. And suddenly, I feel hopeful.

Now I bet half of you are wondering when this image comes crashing down. It doesn't, I don't let it. This outlook helps me relax and reload my energy to live, my zest, and my ability to cope with the rest of the week's troubles, many of which are brought up by living in this city. I take my 15 or 20 minutes and enjoy them to the maximum, and let go of everything else. This may not solve any of the problems that I know exist, but at least it allows me to keep a grip of what makes this place unique, and why I still love it and put up with it, and try to make it better.

Do you do the same? If not, maybe try it?

Breathe's Blog

2007-06-22T05:57:00.000+02:00

Well, this isn't really so much a post about Cairo, per se, but rather a post to introduce another blog, written by a friend of mine, that has a wider range of topics, but some about Cairo too. I love the way he writes and it has a lot of inspiring content. Please check it out if you have a few minutes. If you like this blog any, then I'm sure you'll like it too.

Privacy, Anyone?

2007-06-20T20:44:00.000+02:00

In Egypt, privacy is not a right. Privacy is a privilege that the people around you will most likely not endorse. Its arabic word is hardly ever heard anywhere ("khososeya"), or understood by anybody. It is something you have to fight for relentlessly if you are really determined to have it, or give up and just play along. Seeking privacy is seen as a flaw, a proclamation that you have something to hide, not as a right for any human being to keep their personal matters to themselves. It is also considered rude because of the way you are FORCED to carry it out. People will continuously pretend that their noseyness is out of genuine concern, and ask very specific questions, and nag, so at the end of the day to keep what's yours private you might have to tell them something they'll consider rude, no matter how nicely you try to say it. And these people are all fakes, they don't give a crap about you, they just want to know what's going on for the heck of it, just something for them to chat about over lunch or gossip about with other family members. This doesn't only apply to colleagues and what not, this applies to family too, sometimes even immediate family! This mostly depends on your relationship with them though, but I can almost guarantee that relatives that are not your immediate family ask just out of curiosity most of the time. Their day won't get any sadder because you are having a bad day, and they won't genuinely think about your problem for over the 5 minutes in which they chat with you, for the sake of really helping you. Neighbours are no different of course, no matter how much you view them as friends. Actually, they're usually worse, because they're in your face more than your relatives who you might have the luxury of only meeting with a couple times a year.

Saying "I don't feel like talking about it" is never even enough, they'll keep coming at you and nagging you and asking more specific questions. It doesn't matter what you feel like! Who the heck are you anyway? Their satisfaction is way more important you fool! It won't add anything to them really, but they feel it is important so you'll be badgered with it on end. Heh. Sad, but true.

The first time I realized this privacy thing was when I caught a family member snooping through my computer files, and when confronted about it I was told that there's no such thing as privacy with family, and that why do I need privacy if I have nothing to hide? This logic baffled me, but fortunately later that person came to their senses, and have since apologized for this behavior and admitted it wrong. Not because of human rights though, but because of what they did being religiously wrong, but well, should I care if the end result is the same?

The days went by, and I started trying to protect my info more carefully, but still when cornered with people's noseyness I would choose to forfeit my position over being outright rude. I later suffered a similair issue, but at work. A petty colleague made his way onto my computer, printed out my personal logs and gave them to the manager to get me in trouble! Luckily, I had already decided to quit the job so it really meant nothing to me. But had this job been my livelihood, this would have been a big deal. I don't forgive him for this, and I undoubtedly never will. I never "trusted" him in the beginning for this to be a betrayal of trust, but it just happens to be a violation of my rights as a human being, to have conversations with my friends or family about whatever I please (not leaking work info).

This doesn't only apply in your own personal matters, but it also happens when it is 2 people in any sort of relationship (married, or even just remote friends). If there is any problem between people and anybody learns of this, they will immediately try to find out all the details and perhaps take a side, or "help" solve it. This, more often than not, will result in making things worse. This has had an adverse effect on how people understand relationships, because the ability to communicate is no longer (was it ever? I don't know) viewed as an essential building stone of a succesful relationship. We're too used to people doing the work for us, and this almost never really results in genuine understanding between the two parties, but rather just a quick fix and a lot of "ma3alesh".

Sometime before this, I met a "fighter", someone who was really determined to not give out any information that he didn't specifically want to give, even if it meant he had to be rude (which he was, most of the time). I always wondered why he was so 'hostile' if you asked him something personal, and avoided asking him anything personal at all costs. It got quite exhausting actually because I wasn't even sure what constituted personal in his book! I've always thought of myself as a pretty trust worthy person, and wondered why he wouldn't tell me anything even though I'm not going to tell anybody else! I thought that he was paranoid, and that he over did it. After a while of knowing each other, he finally gained trust in me, or so it seemed. Now that I look at it more closely it's not just about trust, it's also about "need to know". No matter how much he trusted me before we became really close, I never needed to know anything really and it wouldn't have made him feel any better to talk to me about anything personal or share his life with me. Either way, I stopped feeling like an intruder every time I asked him a question and that was great. We had officially become friends, and I felt a lot better, albeit a tad bitter still about his previous behaviour. I hadn't given it much thought then, or well.. I thought, but I came to the conclusion that it's a matter of trust only. I know that I cared about him before too, but now I ask myself, why did I really ask him anything before we were friends? Would it have mattered to me what he said, REALLY? Would I have been able to help him in any way if it was a problem or so that he was going through, or being someone who isn't very close to him, would it just have been useless to tell me anything? Now that I ponder this issue, I realize that there's a whole different dimension to it. Why share your life with someone who it won't really matter to? Much respect to this person, and thank you for inspiring me to learn something I might not have fathomed otherwise. And good for you, I wish I could entirely control what I will or will not share like that.

Anyway, I started concentrating on what people asked, and the way they responded when I would reveal information, and if they ever bothered to ask about it again even when it's a serious issue, and I've learnt since then that very few people are really our friends. There are very few people out there who don't just ask out of curiosity and a love for gossip (and no, it isn't all women, serously!). In our society Privacy is a sin, it's unappreciated and misunderstood, and most importantly, hardly ever granted. So why is this the case? Is it because we are so many people living in such a small area? Or are we just rotten to the core? Is there hope for us yet?

Feel free to share your experiences with me, and any theories you have about this issue. And thanks for reading.

The New Campus

2007-05-24T05:00:00.000+02:00

I happened to attend a followup session for American University in Cairo (AUC) new campus development; our host was President David Arnold. President Arnold discussed the current stage that the building process is in, different fundraising achievements and plans for the university for the next period. However what specifically triggered my interest was a statement that President Arnold made;. He was talking about the materials used in the building process of the new campus, which heavily relied on Granite rocks. President Arnold stated that the amount of Granite rocks that were shipped from Aswan to New Cairo to be incorporated in the new buildings constitute the biggest shipment ever travelled on that route since the building of the great pyramid. This statement made me think about the position of this educational institution in Egypt, and how it managed in its relatively short life time to get intertwined with the Egyptian social and intellectual fabric; and it made me wonder if truly the project that AUC is currently undergoing, is of a comparable significance to the building of the great pyramid of Giza.

I have always marveled how the AUC has always been heavily involved in Egypt’s cultural, social and intellectual life. Despite being founded by group of Americans in 1919, the AUC has had its remarkable contributions to Egypt and the whole of the Middle East. For instance, the AUC’s Ewart hall hosted the Cairo Opera Company after Cairo Opera House burned down; Ewart hall was the place from which Umm Kalthoum, the renowned Egyptian singing legend, made her first appearance; Ewat hall was the place where Taha Hussien, one of Egypt’s finest intellectuals of all time, broadcasted his “Wednesday talk” show; and it continued to welcome figures of similar calibers through up till now. Other than Ewart Hall, The AUC press is the biggest non Arabic publishing house in the Middle East; the AUC press has helped in keeping a lot of Egypt’s intellectual heritage and presenting it to the west. Moreover, the AUC rare books and special collection library host one of Egypt’s fines treasures; and to the contrary of other government-run similar institutions, the library actively preserve this amazing collection of rare books.

Even more interestingly, the AUC has carried out its main mission of providing liberals arts education in Egypt. I have always been amazed by the quality of professors that this institution hosts. Among the AUC faculty and visiting professors are Nobel prize Laureate Ahmed Zewiel, the one and only Edward Said, and Sir Archibald Creswell, the great architecture historian, the founder of the Cairo Islamic Architecture as a discipline , and the main authoritative source for this topic. Moreover, despite its small number of graduate, compared to other educational institutions in the region, ACU alumni have always occupied significant positions. Among the AUC alumni in public life are Egypt’s first lady Suzan Mubarak, and Jordan’s Queen Rania Al Abdullah; in the economic arena are Mohamed Shafik Gabr chairman and owner of Artoc group, Akil Beshir, Chairman of Telecom Egypt, and Tarek Amer, Deputy governor of Egypt's Central Bank; in arts and performance are the Egyptian actor Amr Waked, the Egyptian signer Hisham Abbas, and the famous tv talk show host Mona el Shazili.

The fact that this institution has maintained an almost always increasing quality educational service in this country, alongside a continuous involvement in Egypt’s public life, is in fact astonishing; and it makes me wonder, given the current situation of education in Egypt, if in dead AUC is the last beacon of hope in this country. National universities have been suffering the consequences of multiple totalitarian regimes; a thing that, to a far extent, rendered them as ineffective as educational instruction let aside their role in scientific research. Other private universities that were founded mainly upon a bare economic model have proven to be a complete failure; and those that are striving to enhance their service are still faced with along path to walk. Even the historically famous and independent Al Azhar, has plunged into a deep comma that could in fact end its rich history.

Looking at this country in different stages, and under different regimens in the last 90 years, and seeing how the AUC has evolved, makes me think that the AUC campus can be of the same caliber as the great pyramid. The difference is that the pyramids were built to commemorate the dead great kings of Egypt, where this institution continues to serve developing the human capital in the region.

That's what it all boils down to...

2007-05-23T17:31:00.000+02:00

I've traveled to many countries (1), some more often than others, and some short visits but some long. I've also landed in the airports of many countries that I haven't really "visited" since I never went out of transit. But even from within the airport, I have devised a method by which one can determine the prosperity level of the country, and how civilized it is. One touch, and you'll know. At the very most it will cost you a few dollars to find out. Why? Because it's a tiny expression of how much this country values one's comfort. Because there are so many more important things that if not present, nobody would bother with improving the quality of this indicator. In a poverty stricken country, people are more worried about surviving than the quality of minor issues. Actually, some don't even have access to or use this tool I am referring to. Whereas in a prosperous country like USA, the crappiest and cheapest type they have is better quality than the best type we have in Egypt. Seriously, no kidding. After staying abroad for a month or so I start getting spoiled and forget how awful the version we have back home is, and I feel shocked when I return to Egypt, again and again, no matter how many times I've traveled. Wondering what this magical method is, yet?

Toilet paper.

P.s. (1) Countries of reference: Australia, USA, England, The Netherlands, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, India, Phillipines, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Malaysia, Spain, Kuwait

Are you afraid of the dark?

2007-05-22T23:47:00.000+02:00

Why is it that we detest everything that we are not familiar with, and battle it to the end of our means? What do we think is going to come out of the dark? A monster (3aww)? Observing life in Egypt, amongst private sector employees as well as public sector ones, it's obvious that we resist change so strongly that it has incapacitated us, made us incapable of rolling with the times and keeping up with other nations. We are just happy to wallow in our bottomless pit and drown our sorrows in cheap humor, afraid that venturing outside the hell hole might lead us to some place even worse. And we apply this understanding to everything, not just technology & social relationships but even politics. It's massively disturbing because it kills any hope of us making any progress as a nation, reforming the corrupt systems, ensuring human rights, or even just improving the quality of our output. It's sad. We also happen to be in utter denial about our frustrating apathy.

The things we say...

2007-05-05T03:41:00.000+02:00

There are a lot of things that just come very naturally to us. Things we inherit from our society, regardless of our personal beliefs. If you observe a conversation between a couple of Egyptians, chances are that regardless of their religion and how strict they are in abiding to it (or not), the conversation will contain a lot of references to God. This isn't a thing about Muslims only, although most of these sentences are pretty "Islamic". Christians do it too, they just use different vocabulary for it.

Here are a few examples of things you are quite likely to hear. I'm sure I could find a whole bunch more if I tried:

- Masha2Allah, gameel awy

- Rabenna yekhaleholek

- Merci geddan Rabenna yekhalleeki

- Ana al7amdulellah, kwayesa

- Rabena ma3ak, had3eelak

- Rabena yewafa2ak yabny

- Nemt kwayes el7amdulellah?

- Allah yesalemek, ana ba2eit kwayes khalas al7amdulellah

- Hateegy emta insha2Allah?

- Ah Khallast shoghly al7amdulellah

- Allaaaaaaaah gameel awy!

- Sob7an Allah 3al gamal dah

- Mennak lellah ya moftary

- Eh el 7alawa dih, rabenna yezeed weybarek

- Rabena yente2em mennak!

- Feeha 7aga dih ba2a insha2allah?

- Rabena yakhdak!

- La wallahi mafeesh 7aga

- Matdaye2sh nafsak rabena 3ayez keda

- Yalla, qaddar allah wa ma sha2a fa3al

- Akeed keda a7sanlek insha2allah

- Matez3aleesh ya benty, allah a3lam el kheir fen!

- Fein el ketab? wallahi howa ana dawwart 3aleh bas msh la2eeh. allah a3lam ra7 fen ba2a.

- Allah yekhaleek, kollak zoo2

- Yalla, ma 3alena, rabena yesahhel

- Rabena yeshfeeh, da ta3ban awy

- Hayroo7o men rabbena feen? Rabbena 3al moftary

- Dol welad 7aram, 7asbona allah feehom!

- La 7awla allah ya rab (fyi, this sentence makes no sense)

- La 7awla wala qowata ella bellah, ya3ny ne3mel eh delwa2ty?

- Rabena yehdeeh weybattal el genan ely howa fih dah

- Rabena yekhaleeko le ba3d

Experiment: try having a 30 minute conversation with a non-religious Egyptian friend living in Egypt. During this conversation have a pen and paper. Jot down one dash for every time you or your friend mention God or anything religious (e.g. qadar, naseeb, eiman... etc) and sum them up in the end. Let me know your results pls.

It's truly impressive how we manage to squeeze religion and a reference to God in everything we say, subconsciously without thinking about it. I'd say it's a wonderful thing if we were doing it consciously, because that means we are actually giving it thought. But unfortunately that's not the case, we just use it as it is granted in our culture and speech patterns. Still, I'd say that faith is engraved in the Egyptian culture. We're by nature religious people, or at least have the potential to be so. A few convincing words here and there from some charismatic people and we are quick to follow them. We have faith, we just don't always use it correctly.

We're not intentionally bad really, we just lack quality guidance and genuine knowledge. It would be great if we could replace all of our superficial speech innuendos that make us seem more religious than we actually are, and probably make us feel better about ourselves, and make people like us more than they would if they knew that we are just regular sinners behind closed doors, with real knowledge, research and understanding of religion. I think it's beautiful that our speech portrays our faith. I just wish it were more genuine and less of an empty facade. Of course if you compare us to any western culture in which any reference to religion is hardly included in a sentence, I'd still rather stick to our facade and attempt to fix it than strike it out completely.

This is Egypt, Ablaa

2007-04-28T02:23:00.001+02:00

The statement, “This is Egypt, Abla”, or "هيه ده مصر يا عبله" and the shorter version “This is Egypt” or "هيه ده مصر " has become one of the new additions to the Egyptian proverb pool. The origin of the statement is an Arabic movie, called "The Ascension to the Abyss" or "الصعود الى الهاوية"; a movie which was first released in the summer of 1978. The movie starred a couple of the most famous Egyptian and Arab actors and actresses at that period; the leading roles were played by Madiha Kamel, Mahmoud Yassien and Gameel Rateb. The main story line revolves around a true story, or so I believe, about an operation of the General Intelligence and Security Services, arresting an Israeli spy. The main character Abla Kamel (depicted by Madiha Kamel) was a graduate student in France, who managed to get her fiancée(an engineer in the Egyptian army) to leak critical information about the building process of the missile wall during the attrition war.

The statement: “this is Egypt, Abla” was mentioned by the Egyptian Intelligence officer (depicted by Mahmoud Yassine) to Abla after arresting her in Paris and bringing her back to Egypt. The rest of the statement gives a rough idea about the context; as far as my memory allows me it was “This is Egypt Abla, this is Egypt that you betrayed”.

Egyptians started using this statement entirely out of context, different from the meaning of the statement where it first appeared. Egyptians have been using it to justify things that do not make sense. It has become the common way of saying that things in Egypt are not going the way they are expected to go. They use it to express a feeling of resentment coupled with a sad sarcasm, when they make fun of their own problems and life conditions. So when an Egyptian says, “this is Egypt, Abla”, s/he simply means, “do not be astonished, this how things work in Egypt”.

Despite how generally meaningless and insignificant the original statement was, and how different the current use is from the original utterance aim, this statement has become very popular. The “this is Egypt” statement has found its way to main stream media, so it is really common to hear it on a TV show, or in a movie; it became the standard way for Egyptians to respond to any criticism of the current situation, whether political, social or economic. It became a common part of every day speech; it is very common to overhear it in a random conversation in Egypt. I even recall reading a book by Nabil Amer, with a chapter titled “this is Egypt, Abla.”

This statement, or more precisely its current use, portrays a very innate feature of Egyptians; it explains, to some extent, how Egyptians deal with their problems. Egyptians tend to survive problems rather than solve them. They make up ways to make problems or their effects more tolerable rather than attempting to eradicate them. Sarcasm is an evident way Egyptians use to face their problems. Not that they cannot face them, they just choose not to. Historically, Egyptians managed to survive all the invading forces; significantly enough, not by fighting them, but rather by surviving them. A clear example is how they face the current crappy Egyptian educational system: not by confronting the government, and definitely not by empowering private educational institutes, but simply through private tutoring.

The question that I have always had is whether such a way of dodging problems is a good or a bad quality to have. It seems that Egyptians indeed managed to survive all the problems that they faced. Since the dawn of history, Egypt has been invaded by foreign powers; I do not know of any historical power in the region that has not occupied Egypt at some point in time. But what shows that the Egyptian strategy is effective is that Egyptians end up where they began and invaders erode as history passes by. What is even more significant and striking is that Egyptian methodology of dealing with their challenges, forced their enemies to adopt their values and embrace their culture. The example that never stops to fascinate me is the Mamluks; the Mamluks ruled Egypt for about three centuries; and what makes this dynasty different from other ones is that Mamluks were slaves imported to Egypt from Turkey and central Asia; they were bought, brought to Egypt, trained as warriers, raised as Muslims, and prepared to govern a community that they were never a member of. So a Mamluk Emir would purchase slaves, train them to be Mamluks, and once he dies his soldiers choose a replacement; this replacement process was not usually peaceful. The most powerful Emir would rule the country, and use the tax money to build the next generation of Mamluks. Egyptians never revolted, they never stopped paying the tax money that bought their future rulers, instead they survived them. The Mamluks on the other hand, despite being unjust and aggressive against the natives, always worked on winning the hearts of the Egyptians; Mamluks have conformed to every aspect of the Egyptian culture, hoping that one day they will become Egyptians. Mamluk kings tried to appeal to the Egyptians by building mosques and mausoleums; they tried to appeal to the Egyptian standard of how kings should behave. They maintained their capital in Cairo, although they ruled most of the area including Palestine, and south of what is now Syria and Lebanon.

Today is not too different from ten centuries ago; Egyptians still wake up in the morning, seek their daily bread, and dodge as mush of their daily problems as they can; whether this is good or bad, I still have to find out; but what seems to happen historically is that this nation survives.

Customer Service... What?

2007-04-26T00:40:00.000+02:00

If you've been to Egypt, or worse yet live in it, and do not work in customer service, then you undoubtedly comprehend the miserable state of our customer service skills. I know that Egyptians have never been known to be perfect at their jobs, but when your job IS to be nice to people and solve their problems, and you fail to do even that, then there is a much more serious problem than just the regular "performing at 50-70% capacity" issue.

If you go to any shop (not in some 5 star hotel), chances are the clerk will treat you like they're doing you a favor by serving you. They'll get annoyed if you ask more than one question or try a lot of things on, and they'll get rude if you show any sign of disliking their inadequate sense of taste when they start showing you things that are entirely inappropriate and irrelevant to what you asked them to find for you. They're likely to get pissed off if you decide not to buy anything from the shop since nothing fit you. They will also attempt to stick you with the crappiest item they have, using ridiculous arguments that are a blatant insult to your competence, such as "that's not a stain, it'll go away, it's nothing!" or "that's the only one we have" so you must take this one or none at all (especially when they sense that you like this piece). And this doesn't only apply to minor things such as clothing, food...etc, but even major purchases! In one such instance some car dealership actually tried to stick my sister with a showroom car (with a km reading that obviously shows it has been test driven around for a while) for the same price as the storage one! This might be more an issue with ethics (or lack thereof it), and conning ("nasb") her though, but still... it's relevance to this topic is due to the way they reacted when she refused to take the showroom car. It was as if she had greatly inconvenienced them, and suddenly they had run out of all the cars in the storage room, even though around 12 hours earlier they admittedly had "plenty". Actually she even wanted a different color, but they told her that this one was the only one they had a lot of in storage. Then when she said no it's showroom, all of a sudden there are none in storage. Such obvious and disgraceful lying! They even went so far as to be pretty rude about her refusal, calling it "a move" (7araka), which in Egyptian slang is quite low. Frustrating. They took it extremely personally when we clarified to them that normally showroom cars are sold cheaper, and that she has the right to a storage car. It was as if we insulted their mother and called them liars (which they were, but we didnt' call them that). Oh dear God, how DARE we call it as it is?

If you go to a restaurant, and they serve you something that tastes absolutely horrendous, and there is so obviously something wrong with it, they will STILL try to make it as if it's your fault not theirs, and will likely try to stick you with it on the bill too. Even when they're polite enough to not argue with you about it, they'll still give you a hurt-but-defiant look to guilt trip you, as if it's your mistake that their food was horrid. Or maybe you don't know what Pasta Alfredo is supposed to taste like. So what if it's your favorite dish and you've even had it in Italy. Screw that, we're Egyptians, we run this store and we know better. I see so many foreign chains, so many franchises opening left and right, but they still do not offer the same level of service that the same brand offers any place else in the world. Never would a waiter tell you "you ordered too many constituents that's why the pasta is bad" in America, the original country of the franchise in question. Why? Because it's just plain stupid to do so. Especially when right on the SAME page there is a pasta of their own making, offered AS IS with exactly the same constituents except for the type of sauce on it (Alfredo Spinach instead of Alfredo).

It's like everybody has become a con artist nowadays. I can tell you that without doubt 9 out of 10 times in which I deal with someone that provides me with a service, they do it wrong. They just have to mess something up, forget to take your order, bring you wrong dish, talk to you rudely, snap at you, ignore you, argue with you, pin their mistakes on you. Whatever. They just have to do it.

I could go on for hours with examples of bad customer service, but it'll get mundane and depressing, so from here on out I'll take a slightly different approach to this topic, and attempt to analyze why it is that we have reached this state. Or were we always like this?

My guess is that we've just always been this way. We've always been taught to be hospitable, and that it is rude to tell somebody the truth in so many occasions, that it's okay to compliment each other endlessly and needlessly. It's just our culture. We think we're being nice and good, but really we're just full of it. The only difference between what we used to be and what we are now is probably that we're losing the good part of the former teaching of culture, the part where we aren't supposed to be rude, should welcome guests and treat them nicely, be genuinely nice to others and like serving them. But we have held on to the disappointing part, which is taking it personally when they don't like what you've offered and get offended. So we end up giving crappy service, and then getting upset when people don't like it! I'm sure that if I gave it further thought I could come up with extra reasons why we are the way we are, but for now I'll leave it at this. I'll add more if I come up with something more concise.

Now how do we get around this? How do we move forward and stop just going downhill with nothing getting solved? I'd like to offer an idea as to how this can be countered. I believe that we need to force a raise in our standards. Yes, dine and whine. If they don't get it right, complain once, twice, and three times if you have to. Don't just let it go and "kabbar demaghak". Seriously, if anything is ever going to get done we have to work for it. It'll be frustrating and annoying but eventually business owners will realize that they have to train their staff better or they'll be losing serious amounts of business. If it's a big chain, it's a lot easier to scare them (especially franchises), particularly if you're good at speaking English. Convince them that you'll contact their headquarters and tell them how lousy they are. Whatever it takes, do it (and most importantly, MEAN it). Just force them into treating you as they should. You'll end up being hated pretty much everywhere, but at least you'll have the satisfaction of knowing that you have taken a step towards the solution. A step towards educating people about customer service, and how it should be done. Convince your friends to do the same, if you dare. Stop putting up with crappy service, rude waiters, forgotten calls and what not. Stand up for yourself!

Or not. Just take it in silence, like we always do. Like we do with everything. Complain to your friends or current company about it a time or two and feel better that you vented, but forget about it. Never take any real or serious self compromising nor self dignifying action. Remain the passive, useless and pathetic excuse for a human being that you are, and let our society rot to hell. Actually, do it yourself too. If you eventually have to deal with anybody, do it to them too, after all it's unfair that it just gets done to you, right? Let everybody get away with their empty promises that leave you in sincere disappointment, and try to numb yourself from it. Live on in ignorance and let others too. Perhaps ignorance really is bliss? But are you ignorant?

Up to you.

Fixing what isn't broken, right before you break it!

2007-04-25T02:45:00.000+02:00

I witnessed a very disturbing reality recently: The 6th of october bridge sidewalk and side bars are currently being re-painted. Now. In April. Amidst the sandstorms (khamaseen winds season). What's up with that? Seriously, are we that THICK? Or are we just being robbed blind, as upfront and easy to see as that?

First of all, the bridge doesn't need repainting. It was re-painted recently and you wouldnt even notice a huge difference between the old and new paint unless you see the people painting or see the paint boxes left there.

Secondly, it does not make the tiniest shred of sense to paint anything that is exposed to open air right in the middle of khamaseen season! Paint it today so that it gets covered in dust tomorrow and looks exactly the same (if not worse) than it did yesterday! Or is this a ploy so that 1 month from now they have a reason to spend another few million repainting it again? Or are they really just that stupid?

It used to be that we were robbed at least behind closed walls, from under the table and what not. But now it's just right there for everybody to see. Does nobody see it? Or are we just ignoring it? It's so sad, it's borderline funny.

If anybody has an explanation that I've missed, please share it, because I'm really running out of theories. All those that have passed through my thoughts have been refuted by simple logic.

El Toktok

2007-04-23T22:46:00.000+02:00

I find it rather hard to find a formal succinct definition of the “Toktok”; it is a pseudo-vehicle; it is some sort of an extension to the motorcycle. The engine usually has a very limited capacity, a thing that makes it hard to group it with regular motor bikes. Moreover, it usually has a covered roof and sides with optional windows, a thing that is foreign to the usual idea of motor bikes. It has three wheels and can fit up to two passengers along with a driver. These sorts of tricycle motor bikes have been known for decades all over the world, and it has been extensively used as a means of transportation in south Asia, particularly in Pakistan and India. What makes this discussion relevant is that this tricycle motor bike has become the newest addition to the Cairo transport system.

I believe I had the opportunity to see the Toktok in one of its earliest habitats in Egypt; this was about ten years ago when I happened to be on a visit to a small village in the delta of the Nile 30 km to the north of Manasoura. The people of that village at that
time were extensively using the tricycle as their main means of transportation; and they were referring to it with its current common name the Toktok. The story as I was told is that one of the village's young men who was employed in Pakistan, imported the vehicle as he returned back to his home town. The strange shape and low cost of operation made it a luring option for transportation within the village, given that the age of using farm animals for transportation was far gone in this rather modernized, and ever growing village. And as usual, the young man started manufacturing this miraculous small vehicle after importing it for a while. After a couple of funny looking, poorly performing models, the Toktok reached a stable production level. It also absorbed the surplus of unemployed village youngsters. The main problem that prohibited the village from exporting its newest finding was that the traffic authorities never licensed the vehicle. The main problem was that it did not match any of the well defined classes of mobile vehicles.

This was ten years ago, I almost forgot about it, until recently. Lately the Toktok has been an evident addition to Cairo's streets. I would not go as far as saying that I have seen it in main streets or in classy neighborhoods, but it became a major means of transportation within the poor areas and the highly crowded sections of the big city. For about one Egyptian pound you can enjoy a short ride in one of these vehicles, it gives you the privacy and luxury of a private cap, without having to keep up with soaring prices. It also allows you to enjoy a speedy trip, as it carves its ways through streets blocked by regular traffic or even ones that are inaccessible to regular vehicles. Another important feature of the Toktok that makes its wide spread even more understandable is the low cost of operation and the low ownership cost, a thing that makes it a perfect venture for unemployed undereducated young men.

What makes the Toktok an interesting phenomenon that is worthy of noting is that it clearly portraits the model of development in Egypt; may be development is not the best fitting word, as in Egypt things do not strictly move forward. How things evolve in Egypt follows a random or a stochastic model; the clearest example of which is residential areas
expansion in Cairo. In Cairo the distinction between the city neighborhoods and suburbs are re-drawn almost every decade; this process is not done as an aftermath of a research or planning process but rather as a reaction to a de facto situation. In streets, bumps spring to existence with no clear reason or any foreboding singes; they are created by people in an extreme and unrestricted exercise of free will. The common features between different cases of evolution in Egypt is that they are drawn by the masses, in an attempt to relieve their problems; they are not planned by the central government controlled or even monitored; and they tend not to solutions to the main problem but rather a patch to some of its effects. Just like the evolution of the transportation in Cairo, the Toktok was created by people in need of means of transportation, as a result of suffering from unbearable traffic, in an attempt to face soaring prices and to counter unemployment. So instead of trying to solve transportation problem, push for better traffic system, or attempt to decrease the population size in the overcrowded residential areas, or even try to confront the education problem that created hoards of inapt, unemployed young men and women; they simply add the Toktok.

The Toktok is has become the newest addition to Cairo streets; and it seems that the new inhabitant came to stay, adding a new player to the Cairo traffic arena. Whether the Toktok really enhanced the average Cairian life or not is a debatable issue; but what I am certain of, is that it never attempted to tackle or even confront the main problems that fill Cairo streets; it does not seem as a strange thing though; as it is always the case, Cairo is a city built on accretions of mistakes, problems, and quick fixes.

The things I love about Cairo

2007-04-21T00:40:00.000+02:00

I love the fact that it's acceptable for work to start at 10am or later, and that hardly anybody I know that lives here sleeps before midnight.

I love that it's ok to call your friends up after 10pm, and usually not considered rude.

I love that it's sunny most of the year (ok maybe I wish there was a little less sun in the summer), but still.. not many days of "bad weather" where you can't go out (excluding the summer).

I love the busy streets full of life, well into the night, weekdays or not, come hail (yea right!), rain or shine.

I love the random stranger that will make conversation with you while you stand waiting for something or someone.

I love that everybody is so eager to help you when you ask for directions, and even though that means sometimes they'll get you lost instead of on the right track, it means they care to help, and I appreciate that.

I love knowing that if I fall down on the street, somebody will help me up, get me a chair and cold water (or ice), and ask me how I am or if they can do anything to help (without expecting anything in return).

I love knowing that if my car beaks down, even in the middle of the night or on a desolate road, at least two cars will stop to help me. At least one of them will do it just out of the goodness of their hearts, not wanting anything in return.

I love that somebody is always awake, no matter what time it is. If you get lonely, you'll find someone that you know that is awake at that time to talk to.

I love knowing that if push comes to shove, my family will always be there for me and love me, and never tire of having me even when I tire of living with them.

I love saying hello and how are you to all the neighbours, porters, security guards.. etc, and knowing their names and them knowing mine, and knowing I can count on them when needed (ged3aan).

I love knowing that people will wish you well when you need it and pray to God for you.

I love feeling alive, and that there are parts of my life that aren't entirely about work, even if I work hard, I can still go out every night with friends, or enjoy something or the other. The day has "baraka" (translation: blessing) that allows me to use it for more than just work. My whole life does not occur solely on weekends as it did when I worked abroad.

I love the warmth of people and how they really sympathize and support you, and even the way they great you.

I love how well educated so many people are, and that any one of my friends is capable of running an intelligent, informed conversation.

I love how educated people (on average) are well aware of other cultures. At least in comparison to other well educated people around the world (that I know of).

I love our food!

I love 24/7 delivery of anything and everything. Medicine, groceries, books, fast food. Whatever. Wish upon a star and you can order it by phone.

I love watching people waving little red flags whenever our national team (or any egyptian team) plays any other country's team: win, lose or draw.

I love how whatever it is that you need done, you can hire somebody to do it (without being a millionaire).

I love the pyramids of Giza.

I love all the pretty looking buildings that don't impress you just by how high they are (skyscrapers) or what not, by but their simplicity, artistic taste or even complexity.

I love the empty streets on an early Friday morning.

I love the people giving out dates at Maghreb (translation: sunset) time in the Holy month of Ramadan (the month of fasting for Muslims).

Cairo Rain

2007-04-19T02:37:00.000+02:00

Today it rained in Cairo. A lot (relative to normal Cairo "rain"). After yesterday's horrid sandstorm, that was a sweet relief, although I wish it had come 24 hours earlier to bring down all the dust from the air. It was extremely difficult to breathe yesterday, and everything smelled like dust, even with closed windows and all.

Unfortunately our city is not equipped to handle rain. There are no drains in the sidewalks, so instead the water just creates puddles of mud everywhere, cars move extremely slow so that they don't splash everybody else, and because if they go any faster they'll likely crash when they have to brake (due to the water remaining everywhere on the street), so traffic becomes unbearable well into the wee hours of the night. It's 1 am on 26th of July street, week day, and the whole street is hardly moving at all... although to be fair, I blame that mostly on Cairo Jazz Club and all the job-less people who are hanging out there on a Wednesday night (seems to be something special) parking in up to 3 lanes, leaving the street with only 1 operable lane.

Despite my love for rain in Cairo, I dislike rain anywhere else. I hate it when it rains when I go to any other country to visit, because then it feels like it's just ruining my day. Can't go to the beach, can't go see out door monuments, can't go to the park and have a bbq.. etc. But here, being stuck with normal everyday life, going to work... etc, it feels like rain is beautiful. It smells great, feels like it makes the air cleaner for the short period of time that i spend between the building door and the car, so it rocks. The downside is the traffic though which is unbearable. But It would be absolutely perfect if one didn't have to drive in Cairo on a rainy day. Then you could just enjoy the rain and not get frustrated. Come to think of it, that's what I'm going to do from now on. Whenever it rains, i'll take a cab. Although that means I have to stand in the rain waiting for one, something that isn't too pleasant either (especially with some unthoughtfull cars splashing you). Oh well, I'll live with the traffic then. Long live rain in Cairo!

Here are a couple of images of the sandstorm from my office window (didn't dare go out onto the balcony):

Mourning the Holocaust

2007-04-17T16:02:00.000+02:00

I just came accross this article which I don't think many Egyptians are aware of, and I've heard no reference to this in any of the Egyptian news. It's about the Holocaust Remembrance Day, which was observed in Poland and Israel just a couple of days ago, with people mourning the 6 million Jews (and many others) that were killed during Hitler's tyrannical rule. So I thought I would share the information with readers of this blog. I know that if any of you are Arabs, you might find it hard to sympathize with any Israelis, as you will probably feel that what Israel is doing to Palestenians now is not much different at all from what was done in the Holocaust by the Nazi Germans, but I ask you to think about it this way:
1- Nazis killed women and children indiscriminantly. Hitler was a cold blooded murderer whatever way you twist it.
2- Nazis killed them in inhumane ways; they were left to rot, starve, and die.
3- Nazis targetted Jews and many other races he deemed inferior, not Zionists. How would you like it if someone killed 6 Million Indian Muslims? Would you feel differently about those 6 million victims if some of the Indian Muslim survivors later went and occupied a part of Russia (per se) and killed people, persecuted Christians.. etc? What if he had killed 6 million black people? Would you have cared then? True, it's harder to sympathize when we are victims of Zionism, but I believe we need to draw the line between judaism and people murdered in the holocaust, and zionist israelis.
4- It's true (in my humble opinion) that the Holocaust idea has been abused (around 20 years later) by Zionism, but that is irrelevant to sympathizing with victims of genocide. Most of them weren't zionists, or even knew what zionism is. Please see references at the end of this post for many interesting articles on this issue.

So, do you really think it is fair or humane of you to be unsympathetic towards the victims of something that was so inhumane? Isn't that rather hypocritical?

I also heard of some people who deny the holocaust altogether, but I really just don't buy that. I came accross this article named "Denying the Holocaust" by Deborah Lipstadt, posted on BBC History section and I found it rather convincing. I can't say that I've studied the subject intensively, but I do know that it seems awfully unlikely that the best documented genocide in all of history is a fake and a conspiracy between thousands of people aiming to gain power (a third of which - the survivors- live in poverty now by the way). It just doesn't make sense.

So, in essence of being human, and appreciating human life, and not believing in discrimination against any race, religion or gender, I mourn the victims of the holocaust. May they rest in peace, and may Hitler and his followers all pay for for their hideous crimes. I pray for peace for all those who have survived. I also mourn the lost lives of the palestenians, dead and alive, who are victims of intense cruelty inflicted upon them by Zionism and the Israeli state, and are being robbed of their rights, land, and lives. May God grant them peace.

References:

a- Book review of "The Holocaust Industry" written the Jewish American historian Norman Finkelstein which deals with the business of the Holocaust and its relation to Israeli strategic interests. Review written by Abdel-Wahab Elmessiri and Omayma Abdel-Latif interviews the author

b- Ways of denial, the opinion of Azmi Bishara

c- Debate on denial of holocaust and its effect on current politics

d- "Denying the Holocaust" by Deborah Lipstadt

Predicting Stupidity

2007-04-15T00:53:00.000+02:00

After a few years of driving in Cairo, I believe I have developed super powers! I can now predict stupidity. I practice this every day so now my super awesome abilities have come close to perfection, although I must admit not quite perfect as I am still sometimes taken by surprise, with some instances of original stupidity (ghabawa originaaal khales ya3ny). Depending on the type of car, the gender, the age of the driver, the way they are driving, their speed, and sometimes just the expression on their face I can predict what their next move will most probably be. Whether they're trying to overtake me through the 1 metre space between my car and the one next to me (which they are behind), or they are trying to occupy the 1 meter space infront of me which i accidentally didn't get a chance to fill for a period of 0.005 seconds in a traffic jam. And so on. Sometimes I can just sense that this fellow is going to go to the extreme right from the extreme left, or this fellow will go super slow or his car might break down and since we're in a jam it'll be hard for me to back out from behind him. Other times I look in the mirror and see a crazy teenager with a parents' car going really fast, and I know they're going to take a pretty huge risk just to get infront of me. It depends on my mood though how I respond to that. Sometimes I let them, if I can't be bothered. But other times I stick to my guns, and just ignore them. They can go find another car to screw around with!

As a more solid example of the surprises, I was standing right behind a mini van in a traffic jam and just as it started moving, and I started following, a fellow from the lane to my right decided that the 1 meter space between my car and the mini van was sufficient reason for him to ditch his lane and jump in line infront of me, and so he did in an act of utter stupidity and complete surprise, with no prior warning signs, and no good reason either (we were at the start of a short tunnel so there were no "exits" that he might have been heading towards). His car literally JUMPED! I couldn't see that one coming though, it surprised me (lucky I didn't crash into him).

Amr Diab

2007-04-15T00:39:00.000+02:00

Amr Diab is a very famous singer in the Arab world, particularly in Egypt (his homeland). Everybody knows him, and almost everybody loves him. Even if you strongly dislike him, odds are that you know at least a few of his songs by heart. Not because you want to, but out of sheer forced repetition. Whenever a new album is out, every single shop in the city (Cairo) has it on. Probably outside Cairo too. Every cab driver or public transportation will at some point put it on, and you'll just sit there stuck listening to it. TV stations? Same. Radio, everywhere. Just all over the place.

When he was younger, he acted in a couple of movies but that didn't succeed as he wasn't quite so brilliant in that arena. I've got to admit, though, that he has a very unique voice, and that along with a wise choice of songs has achieved stardom for him. Even though I'm not a huge fan, I can't claim that his stardom is undeserved, although it's rather annoying (due to the repetition factor, and the crappy "moda"s (translation: fads) he sets). Oh the horror of those modas! Unlike many other stars, his earlier songs did not rely on pretty girls to get him famous, but rather on his voice and music. Which is a good thing, although we Egyptians (or is it human beings?) have a way of putting a twist on everything and slightly overanalyzing it, so this was seen as being arrogant or cocky by some people! Whereas others who used the bikini girls in video clips were also criticized as it took the focus off their talent (or lack thereof it). Tab ye3mello eh ya3ny?? La keda 3agebna wala keda 3agebna :-/ But anyway, he has been singing for decades. Yes, DECADES. I remember his songs from when I was 6 years old! Click here for his biography.

He has (or had?) a unique style which combines both Arabic music and western music so if you try listening to a few songs, you might like him. If you try listening to all his music though you'll probably want to kill yourself out of boredom. For a long while I just hated him strongly because all his music sounded the same and all the songs revolved around one or two sentences that involve "habibi" (translation: my love) and all of it's synonyms. But lately he's improved in that area. I like to think to myself that years of criticism finally might have forced him to get the message. More realisticly though it might just be the bomb-burst increase in competition. Perhaps I just like him more now because I dislike new singers so strongly. Compared to all the crap we see nowadays he just doesn't seem bad at all!

When I was around 10 years old, there was this movie he had acted in (and thank goodness that he stopped acting, that would have been his downfall), and I absolutely LOVED the movie. It was called "3afareet", which translates to "Ghosts". The term is used to describe really naughty kids as well as really scary "skeletons in the closet" type of monsters, so I'm not quite sure which they meant by the title (If anybody knows please post a comment in response, would appreciate it). I loved this movie mostly due to vanity: I was convinced that the really cute little girl in the movie looked a lot like me! Her name in the movie was "Belia" - or well, that's the name they gave her anyway, sort of a nick name. Belia is a colloquial Egyptian nickname, it is used both to describe marbles (the type that kids play with, those li'l round ones), or a young apprentice (usually at a mechanic/any handy man's shop). She was a "belia" for thieves/beggars. The movie talked about this little girl, how she was sort of "adopted" by the richer Amr Diab, taught to be a good young lady instead of the wretched orphaned street thief, and everybody lived happily ever after once they managed to somehow get rid of the wicked stepmom figure (the lady who adopted these kids and used them on the streets to rob people). As silly and mundane as this all sounds, I can tell you honestly that this movie has had a huge effect on my every day life. Sounds odd, doesn't it? How would such a silly movie with bad acting affect a 25 year old lady almost every day?! Easy. I remember how they used to rob people in the movie, and it makes me more careful. When I see young begging kids on the street I not only feel sorry for them and wonder if some day somebody will save them from their wretched wicked step mom, I can't help but be a tad worried too. I know it sounds awful, but I just really don't want to lose my wallet (not because of the cash, but because of the bloody hassle it would be to get a new drivers license, car registration, personal ID... etc). Or laptop. Oh God not my laptop! So I keep my doors locked, and only the window beside me open fully if needed. Any other window that I need to open will be open just enough for air but not a human hand. So despite the flaws, it was to some extent enlightening and something that I would remember for years to come.

So that's all folks. Now you know a bit more about Amr Diab (Diab is close to dheab - wolves), or as some egyptians who dislike him call him: Amr Kelab (translation: dogs). May he keep singing for years to come!

The Egyptian Museum

2007-04-12T15:50:00.000+02:00

I was heading to the museum some hot July day last year with my Non-Egyptian friend, and the weather was really bad. I was looking forward to getting indoors, ofcourse expecting that the fancy Egyptian Museum would have an A/C. To my dismay, the Museum was not at all airconditioned, except in one lousy room (which only had a few things to see so we couldn't just linger there forever), which is a damn shame in my opinion. The museum is full of very very interesting stuff, but we just couldn't take it. Hot and humid, not even a single breeze, no ventilation, no a/c.. nothing. Just halls upon halls of wonderful stuff that I couldn't look at with the sweat pouring down my face. Sad.

Then there was the whole you have to pay 70 pounds to go into room A, and 110 to go into room B... etc. That was just horribly overpriced really. I know the mummies are a grand thing and all, but come on... be reasonable. You'd get a lot more people to go in if the prices weren't so absurd. I mean, how much % of the people that come here as tourists come alone? A family would have to pay close to 1000 pounds to see the entire museum, and it's not like they're going to say "Ok, Tom, you go in, take a look, and come tell us all about it. We'll wait here in the blistering heat". They'll just say "Screw it, just dead people. Let's just take a look with the cheapest ticket (40 pounds each) and go." Or at least that's what I saw when I was there.

I gotta admit though, the people working there were quite helpful. They tried to explain to us stuff, show us around... etc which was all fun and informative even though they couldn't tell us the right way to the exit door (it took us forever to find it, and we were border line suffocating by then).

I thought I'd add a picture to this post of the exterior of the museum, and while searching for one to link to I found that they have a website. A God awful website, with really old information, incorrect prices, and a couple of "games"! That was the biggest surprise. I half expected the website to be stupid, but having a couple java games on the website was the shocker. The website was last updated May 2003. Here you go, take a look at the website yourself: http://www.egyptianmuseum.gov.eg/ . If you aren't bloody going to update the website then at least save yourself the embarassment of openly publishing on the homepage when the website was last updated!! Their links page links to another bunch of really sad websites for other architecural monuments, museums.. etc. *Sigh*.

Click here to see a few pictures of the museum's exterior (on another website) plus some of the items inside, and a bunch of other stuff you can see in Egypt.

Well, Anyway. I really think the museum itself is worth visiting for the items inside it but I would recommend that you go any time other than May through October. It's pretty amazing to look at all those ancient artifacts, weapons, beds (which look so incredibly uncomfortable)... etc and just imagine what it's like to have lived during that time. I'm so glad I wasn't there. I would've been bored out of my wits without a computer and movies + sitcoms! Hehe.

Note: I changed the article's name removing the "of bad weather" at the end because it just seemed a tad too corny!

Cairo Traffic

2007-04-12T14:09:00.000+02:00

Rather Ironic, isn't it, to start a blog named Cairo my love and then mention traffic? Unless you are some sort of masochist, you cannot possibly 'love' Cairo Traffic. It's just a disaster! At least during normal human being functioning hours (7 am - 2 am). Inbetween those hours it is wonderful. And at 9 am on Friday mornings. Then, it's just sweet. A car here and there, hardly anybody to block your way or turn to the extreme right from the extreme left and make you stuck there waiting for the street on the right to get moving, even though the street ahead is empty... etc. However, the risk of running into a stubborn adolescent who "borrowed" mommy's car going at over 120km/hour increases significantly. Or maybe they're just in a rush to get home (hah!)? I'm not quite sure, but I do know that some such moron tried to run me off a bridge one night a couple of months ago while I was going home from work at 2 am on the 6th of October bridge, because I accidentally pissed him off by not being his doormat and allowing him to run all over me with his mom's red BMW. That was fun, though, but mostly only for people like me who love driving and pissing off jerks!

So let me show you a few pictures of cairo traffic:

This is somewhere near Sphynx square, Mohandeseen. It's a pretty commercial area as many companies have their offices there (inc mine).. etc, but it's really not considered one of the worst places to drive. It's reasonably ok (at least that section of the 15th of May bridge is). My camera's zoom wasn't strong enough to capture the horror further back on the bridge, so you'll just have to squint a little and try to make out the rush of cars shown. Let me assure you, though, that going through that every morning, even if not frustrating, just takes a shitload of time. The distance between my home and my office is 12 km. It normally takes me 45-60 minutes to get there, which means I move at 12-16km/h on average for the entire distance! Oh God, just typing that depresses me. The distance between my home and my old office was 22km, and it normally took me 20 minutes to get there. So, no, I'm not a slow driver like many women are labeled in Egypt. Traffic just is really bad. And it's so sad because we don't even have 10% of our population in cars - or so statistics say.

Here's another image (less scary):

This is the lovely Tahreer Square (Downtown) on a not-so-bad day. Well it was bad in terms of weather, but in terms of traffic this is just the regular every day thing, not at high time.

A few months ago I heard an American friend complain about drivers in Chicago. It made me so sad I couldn't help but cry. Chicago? You've got to be bloody kidding me!! That's like HEAVEN compared to Cairo. I've been there (last May), Seen their "highways" which she referred to, and no it isn't bad at all so stop your whining! Just kidding, you can whine (just not to me). But seriously, it's so shocking when someone complains about traffic in USA/Europe. So if you're visiting Cairo for the first time from one of those places that have those things called.. hrmm... "traffic rules" (i think?) then be very prepared for the ride of your lifetime (particularly if you get on a microbus in Cairo). Brace yourself, it ain't pretty.

A little about Cairo

2007-04-10T13:36:00.000+02:00

I thought it might not be a very good idea if I just delve into the subject right away, with posts about Cairo or Egypt when some people may have very limited knowledge about either, so I thought I'd start with a little introduction. If you're a non-Arab, then the first thing that comes to your mind when I say Egypt is probably the Pyramids, Sphynx or the Pharoahs. But there is so incredibly much more to it than that. So let me tell you what it's really like!

The Arabic name for Cairo is al-Qāhirah, but in local conversation we just call it Masr, which is the coloquial pronounciation of Misr (Arabic name for Egypt). In general, Egyptians speak Arabic, but in an Egyptian dialect, which for other Arabs is quite easy to understand. The odd thing though is that it doesn't work quite so well the other way around. We don't really get the Morrocan dialect, gulf, lebanese.. etc quite as much as they get the Egyptian. I wouldn't flatter us enough to say it's because ours is easier/clearer, but realisticly it's more because Egypt has been (in the past, not so sure it still is) a hub for media. Most Arabic movies were made in Egypt, many of the Arabic artists/stars (singers, dancers... etc) are Egyptian, Arabic artists seeking stardom often used to move to Cairo, and so on. So Cairo has been percieved as the Hollywood of the Arab countries. If you're living somewhere far off from Cairo and you're an Arab, chances are you've watched a lot of Egyptian movies, quote funny lines from them, and at least one of your favorite singers is Egyptian. On the other hand, we hardly ever watch lebanese movies, for example, and much less Gulf Countries' television. Call us cocky, but mostly we just have a different sense of humor I guess and find the dialect difficult to understand. At the end of the day, we can all find it very easy to communicate though if we use regular old fashioned Arabic!

I don't want to bore you with the exact statistics, but I'll say that we are roughly 80 million people most of which are living on the thin strip of land that surrounds the glorious river Nile and the delta, avoiding the desert which pretty much occupies the rest of the country. Overall we have 1.02 men for each 1 woman (although women here too live longer so that ration goes down significantly with age, hehe!), yet it seems like women are always the ones who have to settle for less than a man. A bit over half the country is literate, and although education is free, that's pretty much a sham (I'll discuss this in a later post).

We have gorgeous food, short men, and pretty (also short) women! Around 90% of us are Muslims (mostly Sunni), and 10% Christians (mostly Coptic). Religion is a big thing in Egypt. It's not just a small part of each person's individual life, it's a way of life, it's something we include in our speech all the time.. etc. You'll hardly find someone telling you "I'm going to the cinema tomorrow" without adding "Insha'Allah" (which means 'If God Wills'). It's just who we are. Even the not-so-religious people use religious expressions!

Cairo is an amazing city. It is huge in every way. I'm talking about larger Cairo of course because nobody really considers Giza a different "city" anymore really, the whole thing is just Cairo to us. It could take you well over an hour to get from one end of the city to the other, and you're more than likely to get frustrated in some way or another on your way there. But you're also very likely to see something interesting! I'll talk more about that later too.

So, anyway.. enough of this introduction, and I'll get down to business with more focused posts soon.

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