The Cairo Gyro

Here is an album I uploaded with pics from when these adorable Persian kittens came over to visit. They were a trust given to our neighbor from the local pet shop. She was asked to nurse them to good health for a month or two until they were ready to be sold at the shop. During this time, i developed a strong attachment to them and a newfound love for cats i never thought I’d have! See, I’m very allergic to cats, always have been. I stay away from them in the states and don’t care much for them at all to be honest. But subhanAllah ever since I came to Egypt a year ago would you believe that I’ve had no allergies? It’s amazing…almost like they just disappeared.

Part of it has to do with the desert climate we live in and the lack of pollens and allergens in the air (as opposed to Florida, where I come from. FL = one of the worst states to live in if you suffer from allergies).

Alhamdulillah I was able to play with and look after these kittens without any allergies getting in the way :)

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Savor solitude.   Be Selective about Socializing.

My parents, may Allah preserve them, advised me before coming here not to mix much with people or worry about making friends.. they told me to meet others and keep good ties with them but to rely on myself when it comes to staying motivated and happy…not other people. SubhanAllah they were right, they knew it would pose problems to me being here alone, without family or familiar friends. They knew the best thing for me would be to take advantage of the free time to better myself and stay focused in my studies

Take my parents advice if you know what’s good for ya :)

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The tag line of my blog says I should be writing about food too. I totally avoided this topic the past year mainly because it was the cause of a lot of sickness for me and it was easier not to think about it! Nevertheless, I will finally look back at the things I ate the past year and share with you some of my experiences and lessons learnt.

Lesson #1: Don’t drink the water

It makes you very, very sick. I stuck to Aquafina bottled water (you can buy it by the carton, 12 bottles for 16-20 LE) until I was able to stomach other brands..even Egyptian mineral water takes time getting used to. When people ask me if it’s worth them coming to Egypt to study for a month I usually tell them no. That’s because from my experience and the reviews of those around me, everyone usually ends up sick their first month here and you need to give yourself some time to adjust. It’s not likely you’ll be well enough to study intensely for such a short period of time if you’re sick the whole way through.

Lesson #2: Do not eat at small Egyptian joints on the side of the road

I had the worst case of food poisoning ever from one of those places. It felt like someone was carving up my insides with a knife and it took me a full 6 days before I was recovered. If you happen to be near Serag mall however, there is a small Ta’miyyah (Egyptian Falafel) joint next to the Juice Bar across the road. That’s safe to eat at, I’ve had Ta’miyyah sandwhiches there many times and have never been ill, alhamdulillah

Lesson #3: Keep track of your food spendings

If you’re like most foreign students, you’ll go crazy with all the halal fast food places in your first month(s) but soon enough you’ll realize that it’s far to expensive and unhealthy to carry on like that for the remainder of your stay. When you go shopping, remember that things like fruits and vegetables are cheaper to buy from the side of the road (just soak and scrub them at home and you’ll be fine insha’Allah) whereas everything else can be found at the grocery stores like Mahmal, Spinney’s, Awlad Ragab (Ragab Sons), and Metro Mart

…To be continued (insha’Allah)

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On her “Whazzup Egypt !!!” blog, Kim has compiled a very helpful list of Shipping companies and their prices.

Why ship? You may want to avoid the hassle of traveling back home with 1) weighty luggage and 2) Arabic books that will cost you extra time in the airports.

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Are you book-crazy? You’ll most likely catch the book-fever when you get here. Most of the books I purchased here were out of necessity…until the Cairo International Book Fair rolled into town (January 23 through February 4th). That event was definitely one of the highlights of my stay here. Publishers from around the Middle East and elsewhere come to sell and display their books. There are all kinds things to browse, buy, and eat! Poets reciting poetry from all over the Arab World, Newspaper companies, the World Health Organization, Meet the Authors and book signings, as well as an entire section of the fair sectioned off for USED BOOKS alone! It was an amazing experience and couldn’t help but go to it on four different days.

Tips for those of you who get the chance to attend:

* You can find things in the nahr (river) you don’t find in the bahr (sea).

Make sure you don’t let your eyes overlook the booklets. I’m referring to small books that cost between 1-6 LE and are packed with gems. These won’t weigh much at all and yet you can keep them with you on the go. I recommend the 40 Hadith of an-Nawawi, Imam ash-Shafi’ees Diwan (abridged), and ????? ??????? ???? ??????  by Imam Burhan al-Islam Az-Zarnuji.

* Don’t forget dictionaries!

The Book Fair is the best place to buy that big, fat, beautiful al-Mawrid super edition you’ve always wanted. I also picked up an extra copy of the pocket edition for just 5 LE.

* Be Picky

Don’t buy a book from the first publisher you see that sells it. Stick to the more reliable ones. I purchased Imam Ibnul-Uthaymeen’s sharh of al-Aajrumiyyah from a publisher that wasn’t so great and later on regretted it when I studied that book at Fajr Center. My copy was messy, had typos, and the font chosen was unnecessarily too big so the page layout wasn’t easy on the eye. The rest of the students had a wonderful copy by a better publisher and often I’d have to share with one of them for ease in following along.

* Don’t buy everything right away

Take my advice and use the first couple days to scope out the scene. It’s unbelievably huge and you’ll spend hours just walking around and getting to know the selection and what the prices are like. Just like the ISNA Bazaar, the Cairo international Book fair slashes down it’s prices in the last days. Books that are easier to find are better purchased in that time, you’ll end up saving as much as 75% on them! But be sure to ask a certain publisher what day they’ll be selling until because some pack up and leave earlier than others.

* Take a Backpack

You’ll recognize the Azhari students at the book fair right away. They’re the ones with the push carts, trolleying their STACKS of purchased books around. You may or may not need one of those. I recommend a backpack at least.

* Go Prepared

Have a list of recommended books with you. Remember you can find things in all languages and those will entice you…but don’t forget your purpose of being there. You’ll want to buy material to help you further your studies in Arabic so plan carefully and think about your future. You may not get this chance again.

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I completed level 13 at Fajr Center so…..

I’m done*! Alhamdulillah!

(”Done” in the sense that I’ve completed the Classical Arabic Program at Fajr Center…but this only opens up many doors of Arabic learning opportunities for me so I’m no where near done with Arabic :)

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1. Seeking knowledge: It is narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that he said: The Messenger of Allah said: Whosoever treads a path seeking knowledge on it, Allah will make easy for him a path to Paradise [Muslim: 6853

Foreign students are in constant need of renewing their intention for being here. Remind yourself -to yourself - that you are here to seek knowledge, and everything you go through will seem worth it.

2. Appointing a leader when traveling: It is narrated on the authority of Abu Saeed and Abu Hurayrah who said that the Messenger of Allah said: When three men travel together, they should make one of them their leader. [Abu Dawood: 2608]

Whether you are traveling to Egypt or within Egypt it’s a good idea to put this one to practice when you’re in a group.

3. Being economical with water: Anas, radiallahu ‘anh said: The Prophet, sallallahu ‘alayhi wa salam used to wash with a saa’ to five amdaad, and would do ablution with a mudd [Agreed upon: 201 & 737]: A saa’ is equivalent to four mudds. A mudd is a handful using two hands cupped together, of an average-sized man

Egypt is a desert! If that isn’t enough reminder for you to SAVE WATER then put a sign up on your bathroom mirror. When I was staying in the Sinai desert they had a sign on the bathroom mirror of my cabin that read, “Sinai is a desert and in the desert WATER is LIFE. Help us to safe water!” It was a great reminder.

4. Repeating the words of the adhan after the mu’adhdhin then supplicating for the Prophet: It is narrated on the authority of Abdullah ibn ‘Amr that he heard the Prophet say: When you hear the mua’dhdhin (caller to prayer) make the adhaan, then say what he says, and then supplicate for me, for whoever supplicates for me once, then Allah will do so for him ten times.[Muslim : 849] The translation to the du’a to be made after the adhan is:
˜O Allah, Owner of this perfect call and Owner of this prayer to be performed, bestow upon Muhammad al-waseelah and al-fadeelah and send him upon a praised platform which You have promised him. Verily, You never fail in Your promise.”

5. Prayer for divine guidance (Istikhaara): It is narrated on the authority of Jaabir bin ‘Abd-Allah that he said the Messenger of Allah used to teach us istikhaara like he used to teach us a chapter from the Quran [Bukhari: 1162]

Which center to study at / which apartment to choose / taking in a new roommate…these are all dilemmas that call for Istikhaara.

6. Saying Allahu akbar (Allah is Great) when ascending and saying Subhaanallah (Glory be to Allah) when descending: It is narrated on the authority of Jaabir who said: We used to say Allahu akbar when we ascended and we said subhanallah when descending [Bukhari 2994]

Welcome to Egypt where pretty much everyone and everything is inside an apartment building. Most apartment buildings in Egypt have elevators but there are still quite a few of the older ones that do not. Whether it’s the lift or the stairs, you’ll be able to put this into practice every day insha’Allah.

7. Praying for Muslims in their absence: It is narrated on the authority of Abu Dardaa` that he heard the Messenger of Allah say: Whoever prays for his brother in his absence, the appointed angel for him says, Ameen and for you something similar. [Muslim 6928]

You’re far, far away from family, friends, and community. You’ll think about them often so when you do, it’s an excellent time to remind yourself to be consistent in your du’as for them.

8. Remembering Allah when hearing certain animals: Abu Hurairah (RA) narrated that the Prophet (SAW) said: ‘When you hear a rooster crowing, then ask Allah for His bounties, for it has seen an angel, and when you hear a donkey braying, then seek refuge in Allah from Shaitan, for it has seen a Shaitan’ [Sahih al-Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, Sahih al-Jami' #611]

You’re bound to hear donkeys. I’d never heard a donkey’s bray live until coming here and let me just say I really understand why Allah ‘azza wa jal says, [meaning] “Verily, the harshest of all voices is the voice (braying) of the donkey” =|

9. Spreading Islamic salutations: It is narrated on the authority of al-Baraa` bin Aazib that he said: The Prophet ordered us with seven things [and at the end of them] he ordered us to visit the sick and spread Islamic salutations. [Agreed upon: 5388 - 5175]

You can walk into a store, restaurant, or board a taxi say salaam and get a reply. It’s something you don’t get to experience living in the West so take advantage of it while you can!

10. Helping one’s family with housework: It is narrated on the authority of Abu Hurayrah that he said: I asked ‘Aa`ishah what the Messenger of Allah used to do in the house. She said: He used to help with the housework and when it was time to pray he would leave for the prayer.[al-Bukhari: 676]

Apartments vary utility-wise. Not all come with washing machines and usually none come with dish washers or dryers. Whether you live with roommates or a family, it’s nice when everyone pitches in to do those daunting tasks like hand wash the dishes or hang out the laundry.

11. Flexibility in buying and selling: It is narrated on the authority of Jaabir bin ‘Abd-Allaah that the Messenger of Allah said: May Allah have mercy upon a man who is easy going when he sells, buys and is required. [al-Bukhari: 2076]

The shopping atmosphere is harsh over here. Please try not to hate Egyptians because of the ways they may scam you wherever you go. Speak nicely to them and remember your place. You are a foreigner, this is their country. That rude vendor may be a greedy cheater but he still may be older than you and deserves some respect no matter how angry you feel.

To find more Sunan to implement read: 100 Established Authentic Sunan!

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As a group, we traveled to Ain Sukhna for a day in the sun on the Gulf of Suez. It took around two hours to arrive there. The journey was very nice because the highway was lined with signs of the names of Allah and beautiful desert mountains.

The beach was very rocky and so was the water so we had to wear our shoes in the water to avoid stepping on sharp rocks, crabs and black spiky sea creatures. It was great being able to go in the water fully covered and not have to deal with the usual American pointing and staring. Ahhh, freedom! The water was warm and not very salty. This particular beach was pretty deserted but the neighboring beach was for free and packed with party animals, loud music, rafting, etc. They even had a huge duff in the water and they were playing it the entire time! We had to pay 14 LE per person to get to the private beach but it was definitely worth it after seeing the ruckus at the public one. We packed our own food and drinks :)

You can hire an air-conditioned tour bus from Cairo to Ain Sukhna seating 12 people for a cost of 600 LE roundtrip.

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At Fajr time this morning someone was honking their car horn on our street to wake people up. For once, Cairo traffic noise can be associated with peace and goodness.

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I found the following verses of Arabic poetry an important reminder to myself. The following is the translation, unfortunately I don’t have the original Arabic to post yet.

Who goes after honor, he sacrifices his rights;
Proportionate to the work invested, reward will come.
Accomplish something, and then sleep peacefully;
If you search for a pearl, dive deeply.
Honor and praise are in work and will,
strength and firmness in sacrificing nights.
Who thinks that praise will come without effort,
he lives his life in vain.
I’ve turned my nights into lively days,
in order to realize my dream.
Help me my Lord, accept my prayer,
to accomplish the highest goal through obtaining knowledge.

Taken from Al-Zarnuji: Guide to a Student on the Path of Acquiring Knowledge

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