Down the Tube to Egypt

(slow train through northern Sudan)

(Lake Nasser Ferry at sunrise)

(Karnak Temple entrance)

I've been watching many bad American movies on Arabic television in the lobby of this pleasant backpacker hotel in Luxor. Right now, I find it difficult to concentrate on writing anything of substance with the TV blaring. But with free high speed Internet and tea, I must take advantage of my circumstances and write what ever comes out.

Since arriving by boat three days ago from Lake Nasser in Sudan, this journey -- and my corresponding state of mind which is the real driver of everything out here -- has drastically shifted. For a month and half I was fully immersed in Africa. For a month and half the experience was genuinely mine. Even in Ethiopia or Zanzibar where there were many tourists, I never once felt like I was being pegged and pinned by the locals for being one. I travelled with the sense that I was actually discovering something new and genuine for myself and using this blog to report about it. The Africa of Sudan, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya was indeed brand new for me and relatively untrammeled by others like me. In Egypt, it's not only that there are hordes and hordes of tourists, but that the entire country (for me only the cities of Aswan and Luxor) seem to be almost completely designed to cater to the tourist desire. There are rows upon rows of markets with stalls selling an almost identical selection of spices, carved trinkets, clothes, jewelry, water pipes, and the like. Through the rows wander countless package-tour groups that have sailed up the Nile in luxurious cruise ships or sped up the high way in plush air

conditioned buses. Most appear to be Europeans (and Japanese, see above) on holiday. I say more power to them. Come to Egypt and appreciate the heritage. Come to Egypt and give your money to Egyptians. Thus far, it appears I have stumbled upon the true tourist mecca, but of course this not all there is to it and most definitely not the experience I desire.

(Aswan mosque)

I am in fact completely uninterested in visiting the archaeological sites, though yesterday and today I happily ride a rented a bicycle from one ancient Thebian site to the next. When in Luxor, there is really no choice but to do as the tourists do. This is fine, but what I'm really after is Egypt of the present. What is Egypt, who are the Egyptians, how do they see themselves? These questions began to occur as soon as I stepped out of the tube and into the culture. There is a very strange air of confusion about this place. Neither Africa nor the middle east, neither black nor white, but according to one educated Egyptian man I spoke with last night, the culture can best be described as pharonic. I laughed, but this is actually quite true. Egyptian identity is distinct and as a whole, the country can rightfully claim a direct lineage to pharoahs. I'm not sure if this distinction actually has any positive influence over culture and politics in Egypt today. The country is indeed a political force to be reckoned with in the region, and it is definitely the world capital of moderate Islam's mainstream media and education. But all this is in Cairo, and I am not there yet. Hopefully, with the few connections I have in Cairo, I'll gain those genuine windows into the Egyptian reality that I seek more than pyramids.

In Sudan, the windows were sublime and almost entirely inaccessible in a mere five days. Here it's the reverse but ultimately the same. Culture is blatantly lathered on the tourist but in such a way that the authenticity becomes questionable. From the Egyptian men I met in Sudan right through my three days in Egypt, I have run head on into bigotry and ignorance many times. In three or four different instances, Egyptian men have articulated to me the view that black Africans are lazy and Egypt is a cut above not only all of Africa, but the middle east as well. Having this kind of racist small talk so casually thrown out makes me want to dismiss the whole country outright. But then I remember that this is only an obstacle on the path to finding the windows. It'd be like going to Texas and concluding that all of the United States advocates concealed weapons and the death penalty. Unfortunately there are large sections of the population in any country, no matter how open minded and progressive the whole, that convey narrow provincial opinions. Sometimes, these people are even tools of the state, such as the current situation in Khartoum with the 600 "protesters" yesterday demanding death for the British teacher who's students named a teddy bear Muhammad. It is absolutely astounding to me that everywhere in the world, but especially in the Arabic speaking countries, blind allegiance and faith in authority figures overrides all human instincts of compassion. Bigotry and arrogance often wins the majority. People label themselves with this or that religion, nationality, or ethnicity, but so often the labels only serve to confuse.

What makes me happy more than anything out here is when I meet someone who is willing to grapple with these ideas, to engage, not to agree. Of course language can be a major limitation, but somehow, maybe not everyday, but always just at the right times, these folks cross my path and bestow their perspectives and knowledge in such a way that I am enlightened not defensive. Sometimes there is a fine line, such as the case last night in a conversation I had with the American owner of the Oasis Cafe...

(Feluccas on the Nile)