http://thecairohouse.com/blog/index.php The thoughts of Samia Serageldin. en 2009-01-06T01:25:23 ramy@thecairohouse.com hourly 1 2000-01-01T12:00+00:00 http://thecairohouse.com/blog/index.php?p=185&c=1 2009-01-01T07:22:28 samia (mailto:samia@thecairohouse.com) General This past week in Cairo was the week of two new years that never were. First there was the Islamic or Hejira new year, on December 29th, which, paradoxically, tends to pass nearly unobserved in this overwhelmingly Muslim country. Then New Year 2009 was officially more or less cancelled by ... http://thecairohouse.com/blog/index.php?p=184&c=1 2008-12-22T09:32:10 samia (mailto:samia@thecairohouse.com) General Yesterday evening I attended the Centennial celebration of Cairo University, my undergraduate alma mater, but I could hardly recognize the place. The buildings were as grandiose and impressive as ever with their massive architecture and huge domes, but I had never seen them given the Hollywood treatment: bathed in technicolor ... And there was one woman who was posthumously honored above all: Princess Fatma, the daughter of Egypt's Khedive Ismail, during whose reign the Suez Canal was built. When the university project stalled for lack of funds in the early 20thC, the princess contributed her vast estates in Egypt and even her personal jewelry to fill the empty coffers of the construction fund, and thanks to her generosity the dream of a national university was realized. It was good to see the princess' role recognized, particularly since I knew her direct descendant, Prince Abbas Helmi, was in the audience- I had met him earlier in the evening.
For one evening, at least, Cairo University relived its past, and forgot its overcrowded and shabby present.]]> http://thecairohouse.com/blog/index.php?p=183&c=1 2008-12-10T02:32:00 samia (mailto:samia@thecairohouse.com) General This year, Thanksgiving and the Eid, the Feast of the Sacrifice, fall within 20 days of each other. They have much in common: they are both communal celebrations of blessings. But whereas Thanksgiving is still an intensely family-oriented affair in North America, the Eid has changed a great deal over ... When I wrote The Cairo House eight years ago, these traditions were already under attack, and when I described the Feast of the Sacrifice, it was partly in the nostalgic vein. Today, the sacrifice of sheep within the city limits of Cairo is banned, but that decree is openly flouted: take a back street in even upscale residential neighborhoods in the days leading up to the Feast and you will see not only sheep but cows tethered to trees or lamposts in anticipation of the butcher's knife. But the majority of Cairenes who can afford to leave on holiday will not be around on the day of the Feast: they will have delegated their duty of sacrifice to a butcher and high-tailed it out of Cairo, to the popular winter resorts on the Red Sea. The government encourages this great boon to domestic tourism by extending the official Eid vacation as long as possible, this year to five days instead of the original three, which effectively means to two weeks when weekends and "bridge" days are tagged on. The frantic pulse of Cairo life is disrupted as everything from banks to schools and businesses is closed; you cannot find a contractor or a repairman; domestics take a long vacation and leave for the Nubia or the Sudan or the Philippines.
And what of the tradition of families gathering around a laden table to give thanks for their blessings, just as Americans do for Thanksgiving? That essential part of Eid has become a thing of the past, ironically, for those Egyptians best able to afford it: they gather with friends and family instead around a swimming pool overlooking the Red Sea in a cookie-cutter resort. Even I, who as a child was horrified at the idea of slaughter and nauseated at the sight of lamb, who avoided the back door where the charity cases lined up for packets of meat, who yawned through some of the mandatory round of family visits, find myself nostalgic for all of it.]]> http://thecairohouse.com/blog/index.php?p=182&c=1 2008-12-03T04:23:24 samia (mailto:samia@thecairohouse.com) General Over the past couple of decades, Egyptian weddings have been taken over by the tastes of the young: pounding, head-splitting disco music from start to finish, and a very late dinner served well after midnight. The "adults" in the company complained but shrugged with resignation; it was, after all, a ... Not so at the recent wedding of the Prime Minister's son, thanks to the attendance of Suzanne Mubarak, the Egyptian president's wife and the security implications it imposes. The wedding started promptly at the unheard of early hour of 7:30, as the guests were warned the doors to the event would be locked once she arrived. Romantic music at a temperate volume was played throughout, with the bride and groom taking to the dance floor to the tune of "You fill up my senses." The affair was markedly subdued, as there was far less of the uninhibited table-hopping for which Egyptians are notorious, and everyone at the First Lady's table, including the bride's parents, were instructed to stay put in their seats rather than run about greeting their guests. Dinner was served early, at 10:30 pm, and an hour later the First Lady and the entire Egyptian cabinet filed out discreetly.
And what of the bride and groom and their hordes of young friends and cousins, whose irrational exuberance had been damped down for four hours? The minute the officials left, the DJ switched to pounding disco music, and they took to the dance floor in wild abandon.
For the older guests, however, most of whom slipped out shortly after, the civilized wedding was a rare boon!]]> http://thecairohouse.com/blog/index.php?p=180&c=1 2008-12-02T13:36:39 samia (mailto:samia@thecairohouse.com) General Thanksgiving in eighty degree Cairo is slightly disorienting, not to mention a challenge. I have never tried to observe the holiday when away from the States before, but this year feels like a year to give thanks for renewed faith in everything wonderful about America, beginning with the great display ... So, a traditional American Thanksgiving dinner, in 80 degree Cairo. Great big Egyptian turkeys are available, of course, but the American-style popper-prepared frozen ones are a little harder to find. I snag the only one at a gourmet supermarket. Also cornmeal for Southern-style cornbread, although only white cornmeal, not yellow, is available. Cranberries I knew I wouldn't find, so I had brought dried craisins with me, and experimented making cranberry sauce by simmering them in cranberry juice- perfectly presentable. I had not anticipated having trouble finding pumpkin, or some kind of gourd, but it turns out they are out of season, and I am out of luck. On the other hand, no trouble with sweet potatos for a sweet potato puree casserole with bechamel.
The Egyptian guests, not to mention the kitchen help, are bemused by the fuss over the occasion and the menu, but the turkey is done right, the cornbread and cranberry sauce are a great success, or at least a great curiosity. But for me, and the Americans in the group, including my son, it is Thanksgiving celebrated.]]> http://thecairohouse.com/blog/index.php?p=179&c=1 2008-11-10T23:45:37 samia (mailto:samia@thecairohouse.com) General Two days after election night, after each state in turn had rapidly turned bright red for McCain or deep blue for Obama, only North Carolina stayed "too close to call, leaning Obama," which translated to palest blue on the electoral map. Appropriately enough, the baby blue called "Carolina blue" for ... Long after the nation had moved on, with Obama firmly elected, North Carolinians avidly followed the latest count of the provisional votes as if they were watching the outcome of a fight for the soul of their state. Democratic challenger Kay Hagan defeated incumbent Elizabeth Dole; Democrat Bev Perdue was elected governor. The very county Sarah Palin had congratulated for being "the real America, the pro-America parts of the country", went for Obama with a double-digit margin. Still, NC remained "too close to call" for the top of the ticket.
Finally, three days of counting provisional votes later, NC was declared for Obama by 14,000 votes- blue, but only the palest Carolina baby blue.]]> http://thecairohouse.com/blog/index.php?p=178&c=1 2008-11-04T23:38:58 samia (mailto:samia@thecairohouse.com) General Only in America can the son of an immigrant African with a funny name be elected to the leadership of the most powerful nation on earth. It's a good night to be an American, a good night to be proud to be an American. A night when no one could ... A good night to be a North Carolinian: my state soundly repudiated and defeated incumbent Senator Elisabeth Dole, who ran a despicable senatorial campaign ad, attacking her Sunday-school-teacher opponent of being "Godless."
A good night for John McCain: after running a divisive, xenophobic, negative campaign, Senator McCain in his concession speech seemed relieved to put this hate-mongering behind him and graciously endorse his Democratic rival.
Tomorrow morning there may well be a hangover, and even buyer remorse, and certainly it will be a rude awakening to the sober realities of a global economy in freefall and two endless wars in the Middle East and a helath care system in shambles. But tonight is a good night!]]> http://thecairohouse.com/blog/index.php?p=177&c=1 2008-11-01T16:19:57 samia (mailto:samia@thecairohouse.com) General Latest nadir in this vitriolic campaign: North Carolina's absentee senior senator, Elisabeth Dole, accuses her Democratic rival, Kay Hagan, a white Episcopalian former Sunday school teacher, of being godless. Now it isn't only a Barak Obama who can be undermined by false accusations of secret Islamic sympathies; the WASPiest of ... On the other hand, Republican tactics backfire when Sarah Palin's 150K makeover is exposed. Apparently, the American public is not ready for an Eva Perrone moment: Perrone notoriously defended her personal extravagance by inviting the masses to live vicariously through her. "I do it for you," she claimed. Joe Sixpack and Hockey Mom don't seem to be carrying their identification with Palin that far.
Three..Two..One...Election Day! Some optimistic Democrat friends can't wait. More pessimistically, I suggest they enjoy the prospect of an Obama presidency while the hope is yet alive; if it turns the other way, they will have a long four years of disappointment.]]> http://thecairohouse.com/blog/index.php?p=176&c=1 2008-10-30T10:44:14 samia (mailto:samia@thecairohouse.com) General A friend of mine is starting a new job on election day Tuesday- Ginny welcomes the timing because she hopes being busy will blunt the suspense of waiting for the outcome. "I can't stand it!" she frets, fingering her "Older White Women for Obama" button. Everyone I know is suffering from ... Everyone I know is suffering from the suspense. The Democrats aren't comforted by Obama's reported lead in the polls- we all remember 2004. It's not the Bradley effect that worries us; it's the Kerry effect: it seemed in November 2004 as if no one we knew was voting for Bush/Cheney Part II, and yet...
The Obama supporters are almost as worried about a win as about a loss. With the challenges ahead, two endless wars and an economic meltdown, how can a President Obama help but fail? And how will those disappointed expectations translate into an imptatient condemnation of Democrat and African-American leadership in office?
Why would any wise man wish to take on this overwhelming responsibility at this critical moment? If you were a 72 year old Senator McCain, you have nothing to lose; but if you were a young Senator Obama, why not wait another four or even eight years? The answer must lie in Plato's insight: when asked why the virtuous man (the wise, the good) would ever choose to spend his time governing, he replied: to avoid the fate of being ruled by the less wise and less good.
]]> http://thecairohouse.com/blog/index.php?p=175&c=1 2008-10-22T11:57:31 samia (mailto:samia@thecairohouse.com) General The last thing anyone might guess about me is that, twenty eight years ago when I first arrived with my family to the U.S., I spent several years as a hockey mom in the frozen north of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. It is a gross understatement to say that it was ... No one locked their doors, and it was a safe place to raise children. My son played hockey from the age of four on, and we made a practice skating rink in the backyard by hosing hot (not cold!) water onto the freshly smoothed snow after the endloader had cleared it off. On the bleachers at the hockey rinks, I learnt to stamp my feet and clutch cups of hot chocolate for hours to keep warm while I watched my son play, but I never learnt to stop cringing when I heard another hockey mother shout: "Kill him!" "Hook him!" or "Sieve! Sieve!" I took that last chant personally, as my son often played goalee.
I learnt to love cross-country skiing, and to put up with shovelling snow off the driveway every morning, and to carry my dress shoes in a bag when I went out to dinner. But I never really got used to the isolation and the endless winters. When we moved to the suburbs of Boston, it was a fresh start for me. But my son the hockey player was happy to be able to continue to play hockey. It was only when we moved to North Carolina, where no one had even heard of Wayne Gretzky, that I encouraged him to drop hockey and take up soccer, and that was the end of my career as a hockey mom.
So ever since the Sarah Palin nomination, I have nursed my private perspective on hockey moms. By now I turn off the television whenever the oversaturated subject of the Palin phenomenon comes up. So why am I writing about it now? Because of something General Colin Powell said to explain his endorsement of Barak Obama. He said he was moved to do it by the sight of an American mother grieving at the graveside of her soldier son, killed in Iraq: a boy by the Muslim name of Kareem. Muslim Americans die for their country just like other denominations, Powell was saying, and the ugly rhetoric surrounding Islam in this campaign should be denounced. Obama is not a Muslim, Powell said, but the point should be made that there is nothing wrong with an American Muslim child today aspiring to be president one day. Perhaps that would be easier for Americans in general to accept when they realize that their Muslim neighbor may also be a hockey mom.]]>