After a lengthy and interesting trip to Egypt during the last two weeks of February, I thought I would write a series of impressions and thoughts contrasting the two societies Family life is culturally defined and it is always enlightening to see another people’s way of handling universal human problems and joys. It is my intention to write several columns on the topic of Egypt, a moderate Muslim society with a 90 percent Islamic population and a secular government that has so far resisted an extremist push to establish it as an Islamic state.
Security
For anyone who has traveled post 9/11 the tighter security and presence of soldiers in the airports is an ever-present reminder of changes we are experiencing. I found extremely tight security measures, politely and competently performed, in U.S. airports. Once past American airports, however, Dutch and Egyptian security was much the same as I experienced two years ago on the same trip. There was a presence of soldiers in Egypt as before and also tight security entering the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and tomb sites in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor.
Most notable, though, was the nearly complete and total absence of American tourists. The last time I traveled to Egypt there were many Americans crowding museums and sites. This time there was about the same number of Germans, British, French and assorted other nationalities. I saw only one group of American tourists in one restaurant and two young women on tour with an Italian group.
Because of this when people asked where we were from and we replied America or USA, their faces would inevitably soften and they would say some version of “welcome.” I only ran into one Egyptian man who wondered what our government was doing with threats to Iran and Iraq. Foreign policy not being my forte, I really had no good answer for him and did not want to get into a political discussion. He was fine letting it go and changing the subject.
The Egyptian character
But other than that I found the Egyptians, as before, some of the kindest, most caring people I’ve ever met. They have no problem asking all about you and concerned about your well being. Mind you, some of these offers of help are motivated by “business.” Never the less it is difficult to feel alone traveling in Egypt.
The owners of the feluccas (Nile sailboats) are very proud. One asked if I could change a $1 American bill to Egyptian pounds. I readily agreed since I knew they had a hard time changing small currency. He would not take the offer of the five-pound note, however, no matter how we insisted, since one American dollar is worth only 4.56 pounds (a difference of about 12 cents).
The family I so looked forward to seeing again, Ahmed Soliman, his daughters and son who own the little hotel on the West Bank of the Nile in Luxor, welcomed me with open arms in what felt like a homecoming. Ahmed told my traveling companion, Scott, “You now have a friend in Luxor.” He means it too. Scott and Yasmine, a Canadian woman who traveled to Luxor with us, were both amazed at the attention they were given for approximately $20 a night for a clean, pleasant room with a terrace. Daughters Menaul and Hala had grown in my two years away. Menaul at 22 is planning a July wedding to the man who owns the Arabian horse stables. Lovely and intelligent girls, they are interested in computers, and Hala is a talented artist. Son Mohammed at 18 is learning the hotel business.
Judy Gibson, at right, with Hala Soliman, 20-year-old daughter of Ahmed who owns the hotel on the west bank of the Nile at Luxor. Hala wears the headscarf by choice she says. She has henna decorations on her hand.
Below the Soliman family from left: Menaul, Mohamed, (friend Scott) Hala and Ahmed