Around TheWorld in Three Lifetimes

Part-II Egypt

Listen to your conviction, even if they seem absurd to your reason.

An Egyptian proverb from the temple in Luxor

Autumn, 2006- AlQahirah, Misr

Strangely and surprisingly, no one uses the original and official name of this capital city, AlQahirah (city of victory) but even the natives use the very popular name-Cairo.It is the largest city in the Middle East and Africa. It links all routes that leadto and from Asia, Africa and Europe. Most countries don’t necessarily change and Misr is a fineexisting example known as the Arab Republic of Egypt to the modern world. Geographically,the country is located in the north-eastern corner of Africa and south-westernAsia. It is bound on the north by the blue waters of the vast Mediterranean Sea,on the east by Palestine and Israel enraged in battle forever, on the south bySudan, and on the west by Libya. Egypt is 50 feet below sea level. The mostsignificant cities, towns, and places are Cairo (the capital), Giza, Memphis,Thebes, Alexandria, Suez Canal, Abu Simbel, Sinai Peninsula, and Rosetta. Cairowas founded on July 16, 969 AD by the Fatimid leader Jawhar Al-Sequilli, by anorder from the Fatimid Khalif Al-Mo'iz lideenellah. It was named ‘the cityof the 1000 minarets’. The muezzin still calls at the crack of dawn allfaithful citizens to pray every day, five times a day. There are no forests inthis partly desert country but there are date palms and citrus groves. Papyrusplants grow only near the Nile. It is on these papyrus paper rollshistorians and Egyptologists discovered records of a dynasty created by SevenQueens named Cleopatra I to VII. Women ruled ancient Misr but sadly today theyare considered anything but royalty. Most citizens reside along the Nile Valleyand the Nile Delta.  Egyptians are a mixture of many races mainlyArabs and Turks, tracing their ancestry to diverse lands and stretching back tomany centuries. Nearly fifty percent of the citizens living on the Nile Deltaare fellahin (poor farmers). Some are landowners or laborers--living on theproduce of the land. The average family of fellahin has four or five children. Childrenstart working as they grow. The women spend their lives working on the land.Some get a chance to visit relatives in the city during festivals. Egypt gainsits forex mainly from tourism. But its economy is run by other industries; tosupport it’s the population. Many young Egyptian men travel to the Emirates inthe Middle East to make money, return to marry and raise a family in thiscountry.

The bustling capitalpresents a multi diversity of Arabic and African cultures. The capital city hasbeen the head quarters to many kings and queens who ruled the country throughcenturies. The country is still stuck in its 5000 year old past. 77 year old HosniMubarak is one of its longest reigning Pharaohs nay Presidents! Visitors are struckwith huge statues of the ancient rulers called Pharaohs right in the middle ofbusy streets of Cairo. Gigantic stone monuments of Rameses I and II have been strategicallyplaced on main streets, giving one an idea about how much the entire country isstill dependent on the power of ancient rulers to run its economy. Tourism isthe eternal sunrise industry in Egypt bringing the much needed forex. Otherbusinesses which dominate this part of the Arab world are conducted bymerchants selling curios, spices, famous cotton and farm produce. Some businessmen have flown westwards to seek better fortunes and a more liberatedlifestyle. The glorious Pyramids, avenues of Sphinx, and the golden river Nilebeckon tourists every year for generations. The mystery lives of the Pharaohsand Queens attract hordes of historians, tourists Egyptologists and businesstravelers to the country. The most admired female ruler was Hatepshut whodressed up as a male ruler! She ruled side by side with her husband. Wonder whyHollywood has still not made a film on her checkered career and mysteriousdeath.  Unlike pet favorite ancientQueens-Cleo and Hatepshut, modern women in Egypt still follow the dictates ofOrthodox Islamic life laid down by the Prophet. At the busy Cairo Museum most tourists have their first brush with Egyptian history and culture. At the moment many guides are explaining toforeign nationals, the ancient and complex world ofPharaohs and Queens- especially, why theyhad an elaborate tradition to preserve mummies5000 years ago. Some tourists ask if they only bury and even preserve mummies now! One exasperated English guide repliescheekily, “yes, in this Cairo Museum.” But humour isn’t an integral part of a guide’s life. The guides havelearnt to parry thesilly questions deftlywithout offending the tourists. Obviously they (mummies) were not preserved because centuries laterthey would be put in plexi glass to be shown to tourists worldwide. But in reality the Pharaohs and theQueens wanted to keep their identity on earth for ever. They wanted to remainimmortal. And in that sense they had achieved theirobjective. Many local tour companies employed guides or hired them depending on the preferred language of thetourists.

Marwah is a young 21 year old English language girl guide. Sheloves her job as a guide and sometimes historian. She is a also proud Egyptian. She wants everyonein the world to know about her culture- Right now she is also some where onthis huge three storied museum which houses antiques, clothes (ancient fashioncomes alive), paintings, stones, sculptures and of course ‘Mummies’-themain attraction of the museum… especially that of Tutankhamen, the 20 year old teenage king whose 24 cart gold in tactmummy case is really amazing. Artefacts of Queen Cleopatras I, II, III, IV, V,VI and VII (seven in all) are awesome. Where thereseven Cleopatra Queens? You bet! And the world was introduced to only one! Incidentally it was the Cleopatra VII that madeit to Hollywood as a screen goddess played by Elizabeth Taylor. But the realqueen achievedimmortality through her role as a queen in ancient Egypt when she got herselfbitten by an asp after being humiliated by the Romans. She died aged 39 yearsafter a chequered career as a bold and shrewdregent. But this controversial queen still rules world history and cinema. Apparently Cleopatra VII,according to current historians, had African or Greekancestry and was not even an Egyptian. There was so much to learn in the museum. Cleopatra I (from where the dynasty began) was truly Egyptian and was calledThea Philometor Dikaiosyne (just mother & loving goddess).  Most of the queens grew up marrying their own brothers andruled the kingdoms. It takes an average tourist the entire day to cover themuseum and get a peakof what life ancient Egyptians lived. It is the perfect way to get acquainted with the chaos of Cairo afterstepping out of the museum.  The history and culture of this unique civilizationstill exists at the banks of river Nile.

Every evening Marwahwaits to finish her work and rush home. This afternoon she is explaining the Pharaoh’s history onthe first floor of the Cairo museum. In between intervals she is also on thecell phone fixing up the time when she will be meeting Gigi and her childhood friend Madiha. She is happy that her elder cousin sister Gigi hascome from the village Shamandeel north of Cairo. They are going shopping in theevening as the festival of Sham al Nasseim is soon approaching. The festival is as important as the Holy month of Ramadan.They have planned tovisit the crowded KhanEl Khalili souk andthereafter explore the district of Shubra for the rest of the evening. At 6 pmthe day ends with the tourists returning to their hotel. The guide asks thedriver of the bus to drop her near the busy junction. The mood is festive. She crosses the busy road and heads towards the café where the triowill be meeting inthe souk. Many locals are already doing their festival shopping, bargaining rather loudly with shopkeepers. Gigi and Madiha havealready done some shopping in Marwah’s absence. They decide to order drinks and continue their shopping. Marwah joinsthem and orders a 7 Up to refresh her. Shopping in any case will refresh her. The two cousins and theirchildhood friend first show what they have already bought.   They need to buy some more stufffor umm (momma). This souk the Arabic name for bazaar or market is centuries old. It dates back to 1382, when Emir Djaharksel-Khalili built a big caravanserai (or khan) right here. A caravanserai was likea hotel for traders. In surrounding area traders did business. The caravanseraiexists in the narrow street of Sikka Khan el Khalili and Badestan.

Sitting in the small street café, the three girls decide to make a final checklist and then travel to Shubra’s Rod El Farag market that can beexplored to satisfy their lust for personal tastes as well. Theyalso call their mother to tell that they would come home a little late. Aftergetting everything they need from the El Khalili souk, they are on their way tothe other side of the town. Half an hour later, the three are on their way toShubra. The market there is equally famous for shootingmovies, farmers selling their produce, traders and vendors making good businessdeal. Nearly five million people commute inthis busy district every day. This district is one of the most active areas in Cairo. The districtcovers north of the city. It extends from the railway bridge behind the Maintrain station in Ramsis Square, to the edge of Shubra Al Kheima at the farnorth of the capital. From East to West it covers the area between the riverNile, and the railway line going north at Ahmed Helmy Street. The area has somefamous personalities also residing there. Because of its liberal roots thepeople living here have varied talents from politics to art and movies and royalty.Some of the famous residents’ include the late French inger Dalida, singerMuharam Fouad. Politicians like former prime ministers Kamal Ganzoury and AliLutfy, head of the People’s Assembly, Rifaat Al Mahgoub, poet Ibrahim Nagi, writerand cartoonist Ahmed Bahgat are also from Shubra. Many Egyptian movie starscome from Shubra, including Nabila Obeid, Madiha Usry, Laila Faouzy, ShukrySarhan and Mahmoud El Mleigy. There have also been many football stars, famousMoslem Sheikhs and Coptic priests from this region.

The three girls happily march towards Kholosy and Teraa Booulakiastreets, a virtual paradise for elite shoppers. Kholosy Street has boutiquesand expensive stores that exchange million of Egyptian pounds daily! Shops for shoes, fashion, sweets,nuts, fish, and department stores are in the south direction. Teraa Boulakia Street has reasonablefashion shops, giving discounts of 20-30 percent. They are preparing for thefestival by buying new clothes and also carrying some fresh cooking ingredients for mother to prepare the special festive meal. In old fellahin families of Egypt, the tradition of making traditional dishes still persisted. They wore loose garments called the galibiyeh then.Not fashionable clothes that are worn today. During this festival, ancient fellahins made salted fish, lettuce, malana and onions for the gods.Still this tradition continues infarming families outside Cairo. This is one of the oldest Egyptianfestivals being celebrated for nearly 4500 years uninterrupted. Old farming stories have beennarrated from the time of the Pharaohs. One of the stories is of ‘The EloquentFarmer’. The enterprising fellahin is robbed but is not given proper justiceand he decided to complain to the king through poetry! He writes to the king inverse-

Look,you are the chief that hold the scales, Do not let it lose balance.
Your tongue represents that of the scales, Your lips the hub.
If you shut your eyes to the oppressor, Who else can rebuff.
It is you that make justice.
You do all good and destroy all evil.
You bring satisfaction; as you come, hunger-vanishes,

Youcome like a calm sky after a wild storm.
You give warmth to those stricken with cold.
You   are like fresh water that quenches thirst.

Perhaps it remains the mostoriginal complain ever in this part of the world. It has nothing to do with the mainfestival of Ramadan. Farmers prepare for this harvest festival and gear up tomake profits by selling their crops in mainland. Modern Cairo may not be in thebling of the festivities but those who had relatives living on the outskirts ofthe city having farms still celebrated the festival. Crops were the only way tomake money for these families. ‘Shamo’ was the old name of an old harvest season in ancient Egypt. But festivals are most welcome. The family table would be alsodecorated with colored eggs, malana (green leafy plants) which symbolise hopein the beginning of the festival. Just like Easter, colored eggs were aharbinger of a new life. Salted fish still is eaten in the family to increasethe fertility. With science approving the salted fish and green onion diet(balance of acid and alkaline), many mothers were continuing the traditional.Marwah’s eldest sister Samia,living in Alexandriawould be preparing such a meal for her in laws. She misses Cairo and the carefree daysof shopping in the Shubra souk. She gets all the news from Gigi and Marwah onthe phone. In the middle of shopping Marwah calls her and asks her if she wantsanything special. There are chances that some tourists would be visitingAlexandria and she would be accompanying them for the day if father allowedher. Her office would confirm this in a couple of hours. Samia says she doesnot want anything but her four year old daughter wants a ball. Marwah sweettalks with her niece and the shopping carries on. There is another call butMarwah switches it off. She smiles at Madiha who understands who the caller is.18 year old Gigi is best left ignorant about this call. She still lives in thevillage and gets scandalised by strangers talking to her! Gigi is alwayssurprised and in awe when Marwah speaks to her about the foreigners and thecultural differences they have. Unlike Marwah, Gigi like many young poor womenhave no exposure to the outside world. 

Cairo’s young and old women have agossamer-like lifestyle of freedom and taboos- A life, where the older women,rue modern life and remember the ‘ayam zaman’ (good old days). Most are now grandmothersand are not happy that the new generation is tossing the traditional galibiyehfor western jeansand tees making bold statements. The younger girls are choosing (read pleading)to work in beauty parlors, stores and even taking exams to become touristguides and getting exposed to different cultures. At least they were wearingthe hijab and purdah. Would a time come when theywould do away with that also? Marwah el Zawarhi being a guide is open to newthoughts. Her life and mindset has changed for ever as she meets people of diversecultures while she introduces them to a slice of ancient Egypt. Her primevalcivilization has taught her to respect other cultures. She tries to balance theold traditions with new thought processes. As a modern girl caught between a contemporarylifestyle and orthodox beliefs her life is a challenge everyday. The 21 yearold guide does not know that she will require a different guide from anotherrealm to sort out the remaining years of her life on earth. Almost every otherday she is also at Giza where the Great Pyramid Khufu has dominated the skylinefor centuries. The other two ancient Pyramids Khafre and Mencaure are equallyimposing to the human eye. The three structures cast a long shadow everyevening as tourists, locals and assorted people walk back to the city withsatisfaction. No modern skyscraper can compete with the marvel of the ancientpyramids that have existed since 2560 BC. Marwah loves to see the reactions andemotions that people feel on seeing the main attraction after landing in Cairo.On alternate days she conducts a tour of the Cairo museum for foreign tourists. It is a regular routine for herand many other young girl guides. She has trekked up the Pyramids, and walkedin and out of the tombs often to know them by the back of her hand now! She isglad to have chosen a career with tourism and not fashion. She did not want toget stuck in a beauty parlor for the rest of her life! Every day she meetsplenty of foreigners. She has been a guide to assorted tourists from SouthAfrica, US, Sweden, UK and also China. She is excited to meet some Indians whohave come on a business trip and doubled up as tourists in their free time. Sheis interested in the Indians. Conducting history tours for global tourists as aguide, she rarely meets Indians. She is sharing her joy as a guide with theIndian couple. She dreams of visiting the Taj Mahal in India with her husbandat some point of her life. These are the carefree days of remaining single andmingling with people. Once she is married she may or may not continue with herexciting job.  While conducting thecity tours, during long drives, she confesses to this couple that she is savingmoney to come to India to see the Taj Mahal with her husband- a lifelongambition! The white marble symbol of love has long attracted souls for fourcenturies and is no surprise that Marwah prefers the pristine marble stoned TajMahal to the sandy stoned pyramids. It does not strike her that botharchitecture marvels are mere eternal tombstones for kings and queens set intwo different continents!

As the 15-day tour continues, thesprightly Girl Guide gives a detailed historical knowledge about the Egyptianmonuments to the interested Indian couple. On the personal front Marwah learnstheir Indian names too-Roli and Samson Memon. As the bonds of friendshipbetween them increases, she reveals her marriage plans to them when the topicis raised. While driving down to the Nile Hilton after an exhausting sightseeing tour to the Saqqarra pyramids, she shows Roli her identity card as anofficial guide. Behind the photo identity is another picture of hers. It is acompletely different picture, where she had loose, cascading blondetresses.  She rarely showed thisstamp size picture to anyone. Roli is so surprised to see that the girl guidehas such long and wavy hair that she naturally ask why she tied it behind thehead gear and a scarf everyday. The young girl narrates a strange tale andrevealed a stranger secret that veiled women hid behind their hijab. As an important custom and anintegral part of their lives, Arabic women always moved around mysteriously,rarely showing their faces to strangers. Marwah explained further that Egyptwas more tolerant unlike other Arab countries towards the black purdah and the hijab. Women were allowed to work alsoin universities, as guides, in shops as sales girls’ and they were treated well.In the west, women had so much freedom that they had turned into radicalfeminists. In the Middle East, their lives were restricted to the family andhome. The women were caught in a society where they hardly could raise theirvoices. Roli was glad she belonged to India where women had the right doses offreedom, restriction and liberation. The world that she belonged to, allowed a woman some form of expressionand identity. India too had its share of idiosyncrasy but it had done well togive women born in the country some basic human rights.    

Marwah narrated a slice out of hersimple childhood, “I had long hair as a child. I went to school with twoplaits. As I grew, my mother told me I would have to sacrifice something to Godon becoming a woman.” Roli said she already was a female what more required ofher to prove her womanhood? She explained, “When a girl gets her firstmenstrual cycle she formally became a woman according to Islam. She would haveto thank Allah and sacrifice something precious. Marwah loved her lusciousblonde tresses. She decided that she would tie them in a bun and scarf till shemarried. She would reveal them only to her husband on her wedding night. The headscarf is called the ‘hijab’ and the ‘purdah’ is veiling the entire body, with only slits forthe eyes. All this information was new to Roli as she never came across suchlabels of womanhood. Nor did she know that once girls come of age in othercultures they undergo more than physical changes in their adult lives. Downsouth in India, young girls entering puberty were felicitated and given gifts.The first day was celebrated as though it was the girl’s birthday. Roli rememberedher school friend Suchitra who had narrated an event in school. The last fewdays she had been thinking of her school days so much. She remembered theschool gym where Suchitra had broken the news to the three friends Naina,Preeti and her. Roli recollected her own coming of age prior to Suchitra’s.Maybe a few months before her Roli had got her first periods but no celebrationtook place for her. She had not even said about this to her friends with whomshe shared every other thing. She had been embarrassed by this ‘bloodshed’ andthought she had contracted a disease. She wondered why her mother neverbothered to explained her all this. When a sanitary napkin company came toschool she learnt that she every girl went through this experience and enteredwomanhood. She was more interested in knowing about Marwah’s ‘sacrifice toAllah’. Marwah continued to explain, “Women here have to choose between theveil and head gear. I chose the hijab. I don’t regret it at all. As though the young lass someother choice! That was a happy ending to the sacrifice! Poor Rapunzel if shehad to sacrifice her golden tresses. Her fairy tale would be so different!

The tourist car was already in thedrive way of the hotel. Marwah accompanied Roli in the lobby. She was greetedby her tour operator and the four discussed the next day’s plans. The Indians retiredto their room and ordered dinner rather than eating down at the restaurant asthey were tired. Marwah returned home to her parents in about an hour from thehotel after six pm. She was equally tired.  She had started her career as a history and tourist guidetwo years ago. As a college student she had been interested in ancient Egyptianhistory. She decided to become a guide and joined the Hatepshut Travel andTours Company. She passed her exams and also got an official certificatedeclaring her proficiency in the subjects before becoming a guide. She was nowofficially qualified to explain the 5000 year old Egyptian historical events totourists. This was her way of moving out of her cloistered life in the city.Hatepshut Tours and Travels gave her an opportunity to use her talents andshare historical knowledge and also make money. She worked for one year as anintern also. She earned 1000 Egyptian pounds every month now. Besides that shemade money with the tips that she got from her ‘tourist friends’. Marwah lovedmeeting new people and over a period of two years she had made friends frommany countries. But she was particularly pleased with the Indian couplevisiting Cairo.

Marwah lived in Muwazafeen, one ofthe middle class districts in Cairo. She lived with her parents. Her eldersister Samia was married five years ago and now lives in Alexandria. There wasa time when most of the families lived jointly. But now that living in Cairowas expensive most youngsters either went to the Emirates to earn money andcome back to marry. Girls usually work locally and collect money for theirmarriage. Although Marwah came from one of the better families she was onlyworking because her father’s friend ran this tour company.  Marwah’s parents had no issues with herworking. Since she had studied history and was interested in becoming a guideher father found no harm in her pursing this career. Once she got a lifepartner she may have to end it all. Her zealous mother was already on thelookout for a suitable boy to get her younger daughter married. She was busytalking to her friends and informing them about Marwah. Until now she had notpressurized her daughter to marry. But she never missed any occasion to introduceher to her friends who had sons.  On reaching home Marwah found her mother Rabbiya cooking dinner. GoodGigi was there to lend her a helping hand. Marwah did not like cooking much andliked it with Gigi came over. She had stayed back much after the festival hadconcluded. She would have to wait for her father to come and take her home.Till then Gigi gave company to her aunt in Cairo. When her cousin was there,mom did not pester her to cook. Other friends and relatives now went back totheir lives and so did Marwah. Her mother Rabbiya frequentlyheard tales from her daughter who had the opportunity to interact with theoutside world. She was happy that her daughter did not go through the troublesthat she went through as a young woman. Marwah told her mother about the headscarf incident and in return heard about the Indian customs with a little bitof surprise and shock. Marwah asked what was on the dinner menu for the evening.Gigi too joined them and said she was making it. There was a combination ofsome mezza dishes (left over of lunch) so nothing was wasted. She would befreshly preparing ta’miyya (Patty), falafel (chickpea dish), chicken rice and moulkiyya(like okra) and aysh (pita bread). Marwah wanted to know if there was also somedessert and her mother said she could have ice cream or baklava which was inthe fridge.  Marwah said she had todo some work and needed privacy. She made herself some Turkish coffee and satin her small room to fix up appointments for the next day. The first call shemade was to her company to say that she had completed her assignment for theday. She was given instructions for the next day. She would have to go toAlexandria with the Indians. That meant she needed permission from her parents.She said she would call back in ten minutes. She went to the kitchen where hermother and Gigi were preparing dinner. Marwah asked her mother if it wasalright if she could accompany the Indian tourists to Alexandria. Her motherhas no issues and she suggested that her daughter could stay back for the nightas well with her sister Samia. But Marwah said she would have to return back toCairo as the Indians needed to be taken to the carpet market and the Copticchurches in old Cairo. Her father entered the home talking to someone on thecell. The land line rang and it was from her office. She asked the operator tohold on. She took permission from her father to go to Alexandria and returnhome at nine in the night. Her father was not keen but her mother said sheneeded her to meet her sister and her brother- in-law too. She wanted to sendher a couple of things following the festival. The father agreed and Marwahconveyed it to her office that she would be at the Nile Hilton lobby by 8am.  She then settled in her roomfor the night. Her mother packed a bag and gave her some instructions. She alsocalled her daughter in Alexandria and told her that Marwah would be coming withthe stuff for her and the baby. Her sister wanted to speak to Marwah but shewas on her cell phone sending a text message. The message was for her bestfriend. She asked him if he had checked her emails. He later called her andtold her about the mails. She told him she was going to Alexandria nextmorning.  The two chatted for alongtill her mother came and scolded her. She wanted her daughter to sleep as shewould have to wake up early morning. Marwah went to bed with the thoughts ofTaj Mahal returning to her. The night was cold and the possibility of a thickfog early morning was not ruled out. She wondered what it was like looking atthe mausoleum on a moon lit night. She also wondered what she should take forthe day long trip to Alexandria. She was looking forward to meeting her threeyear old niece. She also thought about her college mate who had been so helpfulto her. She liked him but he was not what she would seek in her life partner.With diverse thoughts she went into deep sleep. Marwah dreamt she was in space.Holding hands with someone close. She was happy. 

It was not long when the alarmrang at 6 am.  She awoke to a darkmorning, and no sun in sight. The reality wasn’t as good as her short dream.She wanted to go back to sleep. Had it been any other day, she would have wokenup by 7.30 am. This morning was very foggy and cold.  It was unusual for it to rain in Cairo in December.  One hour later, dressed in light greenwarm trousers and a pink sweat shirt, Marwah was tying her scarf in front ofthe mirror. She wanted to leave home before she got any call from her office.It was already 7.20 am and she would ask her father to drop her on the scooteron his way to work. Both father and daughter left for their respective jobs.The mother retired to the kitchen. The fog was still thick making trafficslower. Marwah sensed that they would not be able to leave for Alexandriabefore 9 am. Nevertheless, as a professional she needed to reach the hotel ontime. The traffic was slowing on the main road. Twenty five minutes later asthey reached the Nile Hilton.  Apolice van was standing right outside the drive way. A group of people weresurrounding a motorbike and car which had met with an accident. The argumentswere noisy and in Arabic and hard to understand. But what was understood wasthat the police would be taking someone in their van. Marwah loved theuniformed police but not their brutality. The five star hotel was located on abusy street and traffic was piling. The fog was playing spoilsport for localsand tourists. Marwah decided to walk across the street to reach the lobbyrather than asking her father to take a u-turn into the driveway. Wishing herfather goodbye, she walked across finding her way through a line of vehiclesand people jammed around. One person from her office was waiting for her alongwith the Indian couple. The turn of the weather for bad was sudden. Theydecided to leave at 9 am when the morning sun would remove the fog. They sat atthe hotel lobby till the sun showed up. The lobby was full of other touristschanging their plans of sightseeing also. The slight chill in the air and fogmade everyone noisy too. The office bearer of Hatepshut Tours and Travelsdecided to return to office to clear backlog of other tourists also waiting togo sight seeing in the city.  Roli askedMarwah if she had a good night’s sleep. And the two women struck conversationwith each other as the men wandered off in the electronic store nearby to buybatteries and chips for the camera. Roli wanted to know more about her guideand her interesting life. Marwah was more than obliging and told her many interestingnuggets of Arabic life.

Thirty minutes later they were on the way to Alexandria and they continued their previous day’s conversation inbits and pieces. Marwah informed the tourists that Alexandria was a very moderncity unlike Cairo which had an old town and a new town. She mentioned thatAlexandria was also the city where her mother grew up as a child. Her sisterwas married in her mother’s home town. As the Qualis drove on the highway, thesun played truant continuously. Roli asked Marwah if she preferred her mother’shome town or her own home town. Marwah loved both the towns. She preferredCairo as she would marry and settle here itself.  But secretly she dreamt of living abroad. While the twowomen continued with their chatter, Samson got a call from New Delhi. His friendwas on his way to Rishikesh and he was stuck on the hills. It was foggy and itwas raining as well. He mentioned that nearly 12 cars and other vehicles werestuck on the snaky roads.  Since hehad nothing to do he was catching up with up. He was surprised to know he wasin Cairo. The two friends spoke for long till the Qualis came to halt near theoutskirts of Cairo. The line of cars was very long. The cars which hadforeigners were being turned back into the city. The driver was asked to getoff and enquire what had happened on the road. He returned saying that 52 carshad banged into each other in the fog and separating them was difficult. So thetraffic police were segregating the local and tourist vehicles. All vehicles werenot being allowed out of the city. The rains had been responsible for some carsto skid and create the ultimate traffic chaos. There was yet another delay.Marwah called her mother and asked her to inform her sister about the latearrival. Her sister’s plans had also got upset. Her daughter who wanted to meetMarwah would not be able to meet her, as she would then have to go to thenursery school. Nevertheless everyone waited for the weather to clear as therewas no other choice. On a roadside café the three of them decided to take somerefreshments. The food courts were full of people. It reminded Roli about thehighway inns that they visited on their way to Pune. The Egyptians were so muchlike Indians. Except for the language they were just the same human beingsloving, warm and dirty too. In fact Roli told Marwah that the Cairo airport wasalso exactly like the Mumbai airport. The two had become friends soon. Marwahgot a call from her sister who was asking her about the status of the fog. Asthe traffic authorities started allowing vehicles to leave Cairo, everyone washappy. Some executives were stuck and were rearranging their meetings. Most ofthe traffic was on its way to Alexandria. But some were going further ontowards Sinai. Roli noticed a truck carrying cauliflowers. Amazed to see thegiant vegetables she wondered how much it would cost. She wondered if they werehybrid varieties that were tasteless. In any case the country had 99 percentnon-vegetarians! In fact she was amused when she saw one local staring at a cowsay, “My mouth waters when I see brown meat.” Roli could not understand howlivestock could be visualized as tasty dead meat! It was beyond hercomprehension. And it was beyond the guide’s comprehension how she survivedwithout any meat and eggs. That was the only thing that bothered her coming toIndia to see the Taj Mahal. But she was assured she would get enough animalgourmet variety for her palate.

Two hours of speeding on thehighway they reached Alexandria. The lovely coastal waters crashed ontetrapods. Many local people were sitting on the parapets watching the seawaves lashing on the titled walls. A beautiful cornice surrounded part of thecoastal way. The city reminded the Indians about the Arabian seacoast ofMumbai. The scene was just the same when Roli spotted a Bajaj scooter outside apizza joint and clicked a picture to take back home. It also came as a pleasantsurprise to them that most Egyptians here loved Indians and their screen idols.Recognizing Indian women by their bindis and saris, locals longed to know ifthe tourists knew Amitabh Bachchan. The legendary Indian actor was quitepopular in the Arab country. Just as late actor Raj Kapoor was popular in theSoviet Union fifty years ago, Amitabh Bachchan is a well recognized superstarin this continent. It was amazing to learn that human beings of differentcultures, unknown to each other could connect through cinema. Humans all overthe world reacted to sadness and happiness, anger and fear and a host of otheremotions almost in the same manner. It made Roli wonder, ‘Are we not all thesame’? It was religion and centuries of cultures that separated human beings.But all of them ironically taught the same percepts of love and peace. And ifthere were any connecting spiritual cables, even souls linked with one anotherfrom different cultures. While driving Roli was lost in her thoughts. It was along time since she had been haunted by the conversations of the universalsouls. She was glad she came for this trip. At least for now her nightmare wasover.

Or was it? Samson tapped her andher thoughts broke. She smiled and watched the landscape outside.  The city of Alexandria was well planned,as the guide informed. The city’s mayor was an enterprising official and madesure that the city attracted maximum tourists. Many tourist vehicles were nowentering the city. Some tourists had already started to click pictures of themanicured gardens, Mediterranean coastline and small inns around the sea side.There was no fog here and the sun shone bright all over the second largest cityin the country.  The city was organized,a complete contrast to the capital Cairo which was enveloped in a thick fog andwas also chaotic. The day was spent admiring some of the fabulous sights andsounds of the city. During lunch time Marwah got a call. She answered the phoneand was speaking in Arabic. She was smiling and this made Roli ask her if itwas her boyfriend. Marwah said no, but he was a very good friend as he helpedher with her emails and also helped her when she was in need. Roli asked if shewas so friendly to him would it be a problem with her husband. Marwah did notconsider it a problem. She expected her husband to understand. She had a set offriends and he could not object.  Aftera full day of sight seeing, Marwah managed to make time to give her sister thestuff her mother sent for her. Probably some festival left over and presentsfor the granddaughter. Samia handed Marwah a bag too for mother. She also mether niece in the evening when it was time to return to Cairo. With the day wellspent, the three traveled in silence. The driver put on some local music andthe party returned to the Nile Hilton. The next ten days Marwah spent in thecompany of the Indian tourists. On the day they were leaving, they gave her agenerous tip and a business card in case she wanted to write them any emails.She also gave her visiting card. Happily she walked out of their lives andcarried on with her existence and dreams of meeting her life partner with whomshe would visit the Taj Mahal in India.

Every day Marwah continued withher work which she enjoyed. Every month she would save money in her bank. Shedepended on her childhood friend and college mate Gamel to give her localgossip and what their friends were up to. Gamel himself spent time in cybercafes surfing and playing video games. He knew one day he would have to joinhis father in the carpet shop. Generations of their family had been making andselling Egyptian and Persian carpets.  He was biding his time till his father would make him sit inone of the three family owned shops. He too had his share of foreign touristsvisiting the shop. They had three shops-one large one in the busy El Khalili soukin Cairo, one in small town Luxor and another one (which his uncle ran) in AbuSimbel. He had been friendly to Marwah for long, ever since they met in hisfather’s local shop. It was only there he got to know that she had passed outfrom the same college too. He also knew that one day she would marry someoneelse. But the two were close friends. In fact Gamel had come to Alexandria, theday Marwah was touring with the Indians. He was sitting in a small pizza jointand called Marwah on her cell! But she had refused to join him and other threefriends as she was officially not allowed to leave the tourists. But the cellphone was busy through out the afternoon. They were on the phone every now andthen. Marwah asked him to check her mails too. That day on returning homeMarwah’s father mentioned his sister Aleya was coming to spend a few days. Therewas one more guest apart from Gigi in the house. Even as a young girl Marwahremembered her aunt was the most modern of the entire family. She had seen hermother acquiesce to her father‘s decisions without any argument but not heraunt who drove everyone nuts with her bold decisions. Rabbiya made sure herdaughter were not influenced by their liberal aunt. Her elder daughter Samiamarried five years even though Aleya thought she was too young to be given away.She thought her young niece was also immature. But Samia proved to be a goodhomemaker to her husband who worked as a research assistant in the AlexandriaUniversity. Being a moderate family living in the city, 21 year old Marwah hassome freedom of movement and choice of career. Rural girls were still stuck inthe past where only religious knowledge was imparted till it was time for themto marry.  Marwah was lucky to beborn at an age when society was more tolerant and let the girls hone theirskills.  But she had some limitationsand she was expected to toe the line when her father was very serious aboutsome issue. Their family had not seen many misfortunes except for Aleya auntwho had scandalized the family. She now lived separately. During festivals whenshe came with her American husband the family was very formal with her. Marwahknew what had made her aunt a pariah in the family. She had married an infidel.She led a liberated life in America. But Marwah wasn’t a rebel, so she had fewerconflicts. The touring party returned to Cairo by 9 pm totally exhausted.Marwah reached home and gave the bag of goodies that her elder sister had given.She spoke to Madiha, her best friend, that night in whispers about her auntcoming home. When Marwah retired to her bed she secretly prayed that she wantedto work for another five years before marrying. She also wanted to continueworking as a guide after her marriage. She prayed to Allah that she would get ahusband who would let her work. She already envied Ayesha another guide likeher who had the opportunity to work even aftermarriage. At the age of 32 with two kids and a loving husband, she was allowedto travel as a tour operator even to other cities. There were times when shespent two days away from Cairo in Luxor or Aswan or even a three day trip toAbu Simbel with tourists. But she always kept in touch with her two childrenwho were schooling in Cairo. Marwah wanted a life like hers where she too wouldhave the freedom to work and live the way she wanted to.  Marwah spent the weekly holiday ofFriday with her friends in a café. Every Friday after noon Marwah and Madihamet at the local café. They spoke about what went on with their lives duringthe week. Sometimes they would rent a movie and watch it at home on fridays.Sometimes they went to the Qasr El Nil Bridge or the October 6^thBridge for walks and gaze at the river Nile.

The next day Marwah was told abouther new guests. She would be taking a big group of 38 elderly people who hadcome from South Africa for city sight seeing tours. The friendly South Africantourists were to be taken to the museum on day one of their itinerary in Cairo.Marwah was so proud of her ancient Egyptian heritage that she did not mindrepeating the same information again and again. She loved telling the touristsabout the kings and queens that ruled over the country. It was one of her normaldays at the Cairo Museum. She went to get the group tickets for the tourists.Unlike the Indian couple with who she had got friendly she found no one of thisgroup to get friendly to. They seemed to be all retired old people who weretraveling out of their country. Apart from smiling from time to time theyhardly interacted. Marwah went through her routine around the massive threefloored museum. It had the most stunning artifacts and of course an intactmummy of Rameses II that was now shrunk. The 6 feet tall king was now reduced to a 5.2 inch ‘mummy’. Marwah knewher ancient history well and she was able to offer her knowledge of the ancientcivilization which came alive in the museum. One or two tourists asked her afew questions and she led the group confidently to the next floor. This timewhen her cell phone rang she did not pick it up. She would first complete the 3hour tour of the museum.

Atlunch time she saw the four missed calls. She decided to return the office callfirst. She was informed that she would have to make a trip to the Giza pyramidsin the afternoon with the same group. She was to meet the new driver Atif andco-ordinate with him. She took the details of the driver and called him. Thedriver was new so it would take her some time to locate him and instruct him.She wasn’t worried meeting someone new, as he would be carrying the office cardfor reference. Having taken care of one part of her job of the day, sheproceeded to steer the SA group to the nearby hotel for lunch. She also made anannouncement that they would leave for the pyramids at 2.30 pm. Her job doneshe settled down to order for herself some sandwiches. Marwah called her sisterand mother to find out why they had called her. Finally she called Gamel with who she had the longest chat. He told her thather mail box was still full. She needed to delete some of the mails. She toldhim what mails to keep and which could be safely deleted without her checking.It was not long before the meals were over and the driver came to her. Some ofthe people had already started to board the bus. Marwah sat in the front andinstructed the driver to check if anyone was left in the hotel. One touristasked if he could stop on the way to pick up some camera rolls. She asked himto hop across the road and ask in a store if he could get the rolls from there.He returned without them and asked the driver to stop somewhere on the way.They were soon moving towards the other end of the city where the famouspyramids beckoned every single tourist in the world. On the way back to thecity, Marwah was glad yet another day was getting over. She would be able toreach home quicker. As the tourist bus passed the old Cairo district Marwah hadthe urge to explain the tourists the moving landscape. On approaching an oldCoptic church, she grabbed the microphone and explained to the foreigners aboutit. The next day of course they would return and more details would be given inthe optional tour. The guide informed that Muslims and Christians lived inpeace and harmony despite varied cultural differences. One or two people askedher further questions on faith and modern religion in Egypt. She answered eachquestion to the best of her knowledge. She waited with the mike in hand for afew seconds more. When no one asked any more questions she put the mike back inits place. She picked up her hand bag and switched on her cell. They wereapproaching the hotel and she could now take her calls.  There were four missed calls and twomessages.  She spoke to Madihafirst. The call did not last long. They barely exchanged notes about what theydid for Sham el Nasseim. Madiha then asked Marwah, “Do you know there has been a bomb explosionin Abu Simbel?” Marwah did not know and asked her some details. Apparently the blast occurredwhen some foreigners were sun bathing in a five star swimming pool.  The news was not good for Marwah. Shewould have to reach home and watch the news channel for real reports. Theydisconnected and Marwah thought about the foreigners of this group who were togo to Abu Simbel and Sinai Mountains the next day. And to think that just a fewminutes ago she was narrating how Muslims and Christians lived in peace andharmony! Madiha redialled and asked Marwah, “Do you remember Masiha”? Marwahwas silent. She did not want to speak about her.  Nor continue the conversation. Madiha was obviouslydisappointed. This was the second time that she bought up Masiha’s name andMarwah had clamped up. Was Marwah hiding something from her best friend? Theyall were good friends once. Marwah ignored her next call too.  She took Gamel’s incoming call. Sheexplained to him that Madiha was on the other line. He too informed her aboutthe explosions. He said he would catch up with her later after work. He wantedto share some information with her. He asked her of she could meet him on QasrEl Nil Bridge. Marwah asked why not in some café. He insisted he need moresolitude to tell her about the important subject he had in mind and later theycould have coffee somewhere. Since the tour had ended a little earlier Marwahagreed to meet him. But she said she would not come with him for any coffee. Heagreed and switched off the cell. Marwah had no time to think why Gamel wantedto meet her. It was just a matter of 45 minutes and she would know. She alsoknew that he would not have asked her to come if it was not so important. Thebus was now entering Hotel Giza Royale where the SA tourists would disembark.Each one thanked her and disappeared in the lobby towards their rooms. Marwahwas the last to enter the lobby. She saw Ashaad from office and greeted himwith, ‘Assalam Waleiqum’. She took the green envelope containing the next day’sschedule. After a few verbal instructions later she said, “I heard about theexplosions in Abu Simbel. Some tourists from this group are to go there. Incase they ask me anything what do I say? Ashaad explained, “As the news breaksout the guests will take their own decisions depending on how serious thesituation is.” He also said, “They are scared and may extend their stay in thehotel and prefer local sight seeing. Keep yourself free.” The company had to beprepared for any eventuality. He was already making enquires if the hotel wouldextend the reservations. The bomb blasts created more than the securityhassles. Reservation charts of hotels and airlines went haywire all over thecountry. And the foreigners asked weird questions at the reception desk…especially Americans… Are the hotels safe? Can they get flights out of the cityimmediately! The entire logistics had to be reshuffled and reworked.  Most tour companies faced suchsituations from time to time. Ashad had to return to office to complete thedays work before leaving for his home. It would be another late night for theyoung executive.

ForMarwah, officially her day had ended and she turned to go saying the customary,“Allah Hafiz” and disappeared towards the turnstiles. She checked her watch.She had just enough time to reach the Qasr El Nil Bridge. In the evenings thisbridge was crowded with youngsters out for a romantic rendezvous. In the hotdays in November and December, most people prefer to stay indoors. But in theevenings, they come out for the cool breeze that floats across the river Nilein the middle of the city. Young families and lovers can be found on the bridgestanding towards the flowing Nile. The eternal river Nile has been a witness tomany Egyptians who have come to its banks for centuries. Even today the riverlives up to its reputation of providing food, solace and entertainment to thepeople of the region.  The bridgeover the river is a cheap alternate to air conditioned and expensive rooms inrestaurants. Friends meet up to catch the gossip of the day. At both the endsof the bridge are huge gilded lions that look imposing to the naked eye. Somelovers choose this place to escape the orthodox atmosphere at home. They canwhisper to their hearts contents their feelings to loved ones. Many lovers holdthe bridge as an important part of their lives. They can watch the sunset withtheir beloveds and also hold hands which cannot be done publicly otherwise. Sowhy are best friends and not lovers -Marwah and Gamel meeting here? Why werethey meeting here in a public place where they could be recognised by somenewly married neighbourhood couple? When Marwah entered the gate glancing atone of the gilded lions, she imagined how ferocious her father would be if hesaw her here. She could see far and wide but all the vantage points were takenaway. She was not so disappointed. In any case she would finish herconversation with Gamel and reach home without her father knowing about thismeeting. She saw Gamel parking his Yamaha bikenearby and waved outto him. He smiled andwaved back his keys. Gamel was a typical 25 year old Cairenne, fair skinned andhad curly hair. He would have been a perfect model at 6.1 in height except thathe had a slightly protruding belly. He spent all his time sitting in the carpetshop. The only movement he had was when some foreigners asked him to stretchand reach for some carpets which were way above their reach on the highershelves. And with an appetite like his and virtually no exercise (except forexercising his eye balls and fingers in the cyber café and office), he waslikely to graduate to the plumper category within a year. He strode towardsMarwah confidently and asked her if she would have coffee. She declined and hewas disappointed. Ever since she had heard of the impending engagement she wasrefusing all ‘normal’ courtesies that were once common between them. Naturallyhe was hurt and implored, “Only one cup coffee.”

Nivedita Nagpal