Assalaamu `alaykum,

Alhamdulillah quite a few people have expressed their interest in coming to Egypt to study. Here is a list of my top suggested items for you to bring:

[Disclaimer: I am not responsible for the decrease in Eman or financial savings incurred upon acquiring/using/breaking/being robbed of/abusing the following items.]

The dust in Egypt comes out of nowhere and spreads like a plague. The picture above was taken only about a week after I had my balcony floor scrubbed clean. My mom sent me a Swiffer mop, yay!

Shoes:

Converse chucks are the best shoes to bring to Egypt. They are have strong, solid, rubber soles that can withstand the rugged city terrain. The canvas is durable and hasn’t frayed even the slightest. The best part about these shoes is they can be put into the washing machine. My Converse were dusty and filthy but after a spin in the washing machine they came out looking brand new. Good walking shoes are essential during your stay here.

Backpack:

Sure, you can buy a backpack once you’re here but you won’t find anything ergonomic for a decent price. The one I bought in the States is Kenneth Cole (like the one pictured above except slightly different style) has protective space for both your laptop and mp3 player on the inside. It also has plenty of handy pockets for extra storage. The outside is waterproof (yes, believe it or not it rained a lot during the winter) and stays clean. The straps are thick and cushiony.

White board:

I was all set to shove my white board into my suitcase before leaving until my mom prevented me. She thought it’d be too big and inconvenient to take. She was right, I had no space but now that I’m here I do wish I’d brought it. Alhamdulillah Sammer brought one with her! Arabic is mathematical. Very mathematical. Drawing charts and formulas really helps. But don’t stop there, you must then proceed to memorize them. Keeping lists of new vocabulary up where you can see it every day also helps.

Medicine:

Even if you’re not a big fan of meds, I recommend you bring some essential things that you won’t find here. Such as the remarkable headache remedy: Head-On. The heat over here gets so intense that the blood in your head feels as though it’s boiling. The result: A pounding headache with migraine potential. I am SO glad I brought this little tube of Head-On with me. It even feels cold once you’ve put it on and offers fast relief. Alhamdulillah!

Chap stick:

The desert climate dehydrates you and dries out your lips. Burt’s Bees or LIP VITAMINS chap stick work the best and last the longest. I also like Carmex.

Calendar / Agenda:

Your study plans will change a lot while you’re here. Keep a calendar and always write in pencil. You’ll find that seeing your level completion dates on paper in front of you is encouraging. We also purchased Arabic agendas over here and I highly recommend it. It has the Hijri and Gregorian dates, as well the days of the week in Arabic.

Books:

If you’re anything like we are, you’ll feel a strong urge to read. Of course it’s best to read Arabic books while you’re here but there’s nothing wrong with wanting to continue to educate yourself in your own language. It keeps you from getting overwhelmed and bored. I recommend bringing at least one informative book about Egypt…such as the Lonely Planet guide (they also sell an Egyptian phrase book - pictured above - that is extremely helpful in your daily interactions with the people here. Even if you speak in fus-ha with them 9/10 times they will reply to you in the local dialect so it’s extremely risky to be totally unfamiliar with it. You’ll get ripped off, cheated, proposed to, misunderstood etc.

It’s also a good idea to bring some books you’ve always wanted to read but never got around to. Of course there are many Islamic Texts, namely, the translation of the Qur’an and texts of Ahadith. There’s also benefit in reading fiction (The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini) or a political/historical work like The Great War for Civilization by Robert Fisk. I also recommend something that connects your native language and Arabic such as Arabic to English proverb books (my all time favorite ones are three by Primrose Arnander and Askhain Skipwith entitled: The Son of a Duck is a Floater, Apricots Tomorrow, and lastly Unload Your Own Donkey!) It has been said, “To understand a people, acquaint yourself with their proverbs.”

MP3 Player:

I know all of you iPod lovers will disagree but I prefer the Creative Zen 30 GB. It has an FM Tuner (unlike the iPod) so I can tune into local radio stations. They have awesome Qur’an stations, Arabic talk shows, and Islamic programs to listen to. There’s also BBC world and Nile FM is sometimes funny to listen to. Oh the best part about the Zen is that it has a built in microphone…so I can record Qur’an recitations live, khutbahs, classes, funny street noises etc. I can also record myself to evaluate my tajweed when reciting Qur’an. The Arabic books at Fajr Center come with audio CD’s. I uploaded all the audio onto my laptop and then to my MP3 player so I can listen to them while cooking, cleaning, studying, walking, riding to and from school. As was reported on CNN once, I - and others like me- are part of Generation M. Urban Dictionary defines us as, “Generation Multi-tasking, today’s teenagers who IM, do homework, watch TV and listen to/download music all at the same time.” Although I’m not a teen and I multi-task in different activities, the habit carries into adulthood, in case you didn’t know…

Bedside essentials:

Your Cellphone. Make sure it is unlocked and Quad-Band. This will also serve as your staple alarm clock and currency converter. I also suggest a book light so you don’t disturb your roommates while reading at night. I have my own bedroom and I still use a book light because most Egyptian apartments come with dreaded TUBE LIGHTING in the bedrooms. Those things belong in offices, not houses! It’s really not conducive to a calm reading atmosphere.

Lap desk:

Seriously if you disregard everything else on my list of suggested items, don’t disregard this one! Everywhere becomes study-zone when you have one of these. Many fully furnished apartments do not come with desks or work zones or even proper dining tables. You’ll find a lap desk extremely handy…you can literally sit on the floor, in bed, on the couch or the balcony and do your homework etc. Here is a picture of our sitting room. The black thing on the stool is my lap desk. See how it creates an instant, comfortable, study zone?

.

Winter Clothes:

I survived the winter here without winter clothes. But why would I wish the same for you? Please bring layers of clothes you can wear in the winter, including socks, a nice thick coat, scarf and gloves. The apartments do not have central heating and believe me these stone structured buildings get very cold in the winter. The winter season lasted from November to February for us! Some nights were so cold we slept fully garbed in layers with our prayer garments over that plus hijabs wrapped on tightly…

Internet gadgets:

We purchased a wireless router over here for 400 LE (over $70 USD ) and it isn’t even a good one. It’s called AirLive and has a very short range. You’re better off bringing your own when you come.

Travel Mug:

You will need to stay awake in class. You may not always have time to drink coffee or tea before leaving for school. We make it and drink it on the go, usually in the taxi and then in class if our teacher permits us. The GOOD ones here are expensive. We bought the cheapest ones in the store for 25 LE but they leak.

-

That’s all for now but if I think of more I’ll update this post so refer back to it before coming here. Insha’Allah.

Comments(7)

Assalamu `alaykum,

February 23rd marked our 6 month mark. So far it’s been about 6 months of surviving and 5 months of studying. …Ash3uru bil-7uzn wa nafsul-waqt ash3uru bis-suroor…Ironically, I’m sad because I feel so happy here and I know it will not last. With each new day, milestones like delving deeper into Balagha and Sarf are just around the corner for me but not long after that so is my return date. We have been maintaining our intensive hours (6 hours a day/5 days a week) and alhamdulillah we will be starting level 7 tomorrow, if Allah wills. We are trying to maintain a pace that allows us to finish 2 levels per month. Through constant revision of grammar and practicing vocabulary, we believe this is attainable so long as we take final exams every other weekend. This inevitably means we will be taking exams every single weekend (the pattern would be: Midlevel, final, midlevel, final…etc). There’s only one thing standing in our way. I never thought I’d say this but:

H o l i d a y s    a r e     s u c h     a     w a s t e     o f     t i m e !

In our situation - on our time limit - we will only be able to finish all 13 levels by the first week of June if we stick to this pace and NOT take any breaks (other than weekends). Fajr Center said they are going to try their best to assign us a teacher who will be able to accommodate this request for us. See the problem is, Fajr awards every teacher the right to take a week off after every 75 hours of working. At the pace we’re going, we’ll be completing 75 hours every 12 days, so we simply cannot afford to be taking a week off every 12 days, that’s just absurd!

I hope it works out for us insha’Allah. Tomorrow we find out if our new teacher will be willing to accommodate our No-Holiday demands. If she can, then I think I will celebrate with a nice hot glass of sahlab, insha’Allah!

Comments(3)

[I wrote this post in December but I forgot to post it so I'm putting it up now. Kind of late, heh]

The other morning, after another night of insomnia, I looked out our window from the sixth floor, and a morbid thought came to mind. What if there was an earthquake and the building- with it’s 12 floors- just collapsed. This thought stayed with me as I went from window to window, craning my neck just to weave my eyesight past and in between all the surrounding apartment buildings to catch a glimpse of the sunrise. Homes built upon each other, stacking up high, forming concrete towers that crowd the Cairo skyline. Imagine if they all…came tumbling…down.

Have you ever had those moments where you imagine the worst happening, see the scene unravel in your mind, visualize it….and then it happens - either to you or to someone else - and you say to yourself, “SubhanAllah. Thank you Allah for preparing me for this”?

A couple days later this is what permeated the headlines:

“Death toll in Egypt building collapse rises to 20″

SubhanAllah. You’d expect a building structure like this to collapse:

Something weak and made of wood. Not the macho mabaani of Egypt, right?

………………………………………………………

Wrong.

And to Allah belongs all that is in the heavens and the earth. Wa la howla wa la quwwata illah billah…

Comments(0)

This actually took place months ago but I guess you can tell I wasn’t very enthused to write about it!

I do appreciate the chance to -for the first time in my life- be able to live in a city with such rich Islamic History. I’d read once that the Historian Ibn Khaldun said of Egypt, “He who has not seen it does not know the power of Islam.” I wish I had Ibn Khaldun as my tour guide on my field trip to Islamic Cairo :(

The trip included: The Citadel and the sites surrounding it and the The Egyptian Military museum.

It was interesting…

Fortunately, I read a book on the life of Salahudden which really brought the whole area to life for me and made the experience somewhat uplifting. Other than that aspect, it’s a real downer.

Mausoleums in every “masjid”. It’s clear that a masjid whose foundation was not built upon taqwa, will end up serving a purpose other than 3ibadah, and Allah knows best. They have all turned into tourist attractions filled with people of all kinds, posing at the pillars of the masjids lounging around on the carpets, videoing etc. I would say that it was very disrespectful but I can’t blame them.. these masjids were very much built for showy purposes in the first place.

The museum was OK. There was a huge statue of Salaheddin. I do not believe in the permissibility of statues. It was when I saw this statue that I realized the wisdom behind such a prohibition. When I looked up it caught my breath and I was looking at it for a second as if I could see Salaheddin in front of me. People in ancient times first started building statues in respect and reverence of great people…it’s no wonder they later starting worshiping at them. I did however like the name plate:

My highlights of the trip included: The Citadel, The jeweled Yemeni Dagger, The Pillar from the first foundation of the`Amr bin al-Aas masjid, The view of Cairo from the top.

Looking on bright side, it was as great history lesson and I took some nice pictures.

Comments(2)

“Is it thy will thy image should keep open my heavy eyelids to the weary night?

Dost thou desire my slumber should be broken while shadows like to thee do mock my sight?

Is it thy spirit that thou sendeth from thee?…Oh no, thy love though much is not so great-

It is my love that keeps my eye awake.

Mine own true love that doth my rest defeat to play the watchmen ever for thy sake.

For thee watch I, whilst thou dost wake elsewhere,

From me far off, while others all too near…”

Question:

So do you get homesick often in Egypt?

My Answer:

Since childhood I’ve been good at blocking out my homesickness whenever I’m away. I’ve taught myself to channel it and only let it out once in a while, mostly to myself and always to Allah. Maybe it’s something I’ve acquired from necessity. I am very content here and honestly in no rush to go home. I do miss my loved ones a lot and think of them often. I am beginning to think that might have something to do with my nightly insomnia. So I dedicate the above, Shakespearean sonnet number 61, to the two people I spend precious moments with before I go to sleep every night, the two people I love and miss more than ever: Mom and my ‘baby bro’ Adam.

At the start of my travels I found deep comfort in the following supplication for travel:

‘Allaah is the greatest, Allaah is the greatest, Allaah is the greatest,

How perfect He is, The One Who has place this (transport) at our service,

and we ourselves would not have been capable of that,

and to our Lord if our final destiny.

O Allaah, we ask You for birr and taqwaa in this journey of ours,

and we ask You for deeds which please You.

O Allaah, facilitate our journey and let us cover its distance quickly.

O Allaah, You are The Companion on the journey and The Successor over the family,

O Allaah, I take refuge with You from the difficulties of travel,

from having a change of hearts and being in a bad predicament,

and I take refuge in You from an ill fated outcome with wealth and family.’

Comments(0)

SubhanAllah.

I had a dream about a ferret type creature. I dreamt it belonged to Sammer and she asked me to pet-sit for her as she went out. The ferret was soft and brown and it only wanted to be held (I was under the impression Sammer spoiled it ;). While petting it, loving it, and giving it my undivided attention, a group of people show up at the house and start partying. They were several in number, each one obnoxious and loud. In my dream I kept telling the unwanted guests to Shh! because You’ll scare Sammer’s pet! when suddenly it leaped out of my arms and ran away. The rest of my dream was me panicking and searching around the house for the darling little creature before Sammer arrived home.

I woke up and on our morning walk to catch a taxi to school I shared my dream with Sammer. SubhanAllah to my surprise she told me she TOO had a dream of a ferret type creature! We were a little weirded out by the whole thing and each of us began describing the creature exactly as we had seen it in our dreams. You’ll never guess what happened next…

SubhanAllah, right at that very moment a creature that looked EXACTLY like what we saw in our dream comes scurrying along the street next to us! We were complete disbelief and kept saying to eachother “SubhanAllah it’s the ferret! We must be dreaming! Are we dreaming?” In the whole 6 months we’ve been here not ONCE have we seen these creatures in Egypt nor did we have any prior knowledge to their presence in the country. It’s amazing how that strange occurrence was written in our destiny long before that day!

We walked faster along the road trying to keep up with the curious little creature that seemed to have leaped right out of the dream dimension we’d only just left a couple hours before. There he was, in plain sight and then suddenly, we lost him as he ran down into a garage. We were left dazed and laughing to each other hysterically wondering if it had all been a result of lack of sleep. First we couldn’t believe we both dreamt of the same thing, the we couldn’t believe such a random creature found its way into our dreams, and lastly there it was right before our very eyes. SubhanAllah is all I can say.

Later on, internet searches confirmed that what we saw might not have been a ferret after all but it appears the mysterious little guy was an Egyptian Weasel:

“Didn’t expect to find these in Egypt, did you? These are weasels, just like the ones found in North America, Europe, and Asia. They are found all over the world as they can adapt to fit any environment. Weasels will eat anything, and they do devastating damage to the domestic fowls such as chickens and ducks, eating the eggs as well as the small chicks. For many Egyptians, the weasel is a great nuisance. They are often found living in the city, even in the walls of houses like mice, stealing food wherever they can find it.” Source.

I also learned a little about Egyptian foxes. This one’s a Fennec Fox. They are known for their big ears which are sensitive enough to hear large insects, such as beetles and locusts, walk on sand. Their fur repels sunlight during the day and conserves heat at night. The soles of their feet also have a thick layer of fur that serves as protection from the hot sand. I would love to see one of them next:

You can read more about the wildlife of Egypt here.

Comments(3)

My review of Fajr Center thus far (thanks to Sammer for her additions)

I have been a student with Markaz Fajr since September 2007. I am currently in a group class for the Winter Intensive program but prior to this I was studying one-on-one with a teacher and I plan to return to a private setting once the winter program concludes. I had initially intended to study at Diwan Center and had registered with them. However upon arrival in Cairo my circumstances changed and Diwan Center was no longer an option for me.

Fajr Center’s method is not to introduce grammar until level 3 or 4. In levels 0-3 they focus mostly on building vocabulary, reading accuracy and comprehension, listening and understanding, as well as speaking abilities. They are generally known for not assigning much homework either.

I began my Arabic studies at the Fajr Branch in Maadi. Here’s what I thought of it:

Prices: The cost of classes here are about $50 USD more expensive than Nasr City. Even the book prices are 10 LE more! This is because the area is much more posh; catered towards ex-patriots and upper class.
Administration: Excellent people. Friendly, flexible, helpful, very understanding. Never had a single problem with them other than the fact that they don’t always call you back when they say they will but that’s the same at most places around here.
Teachers: Superb. Some with over 12 years of experience teaching Arabic. All of them very organized and very knowledgeable of the language, I don’t think I’d be wrong if I said this branch has the best teachers.
Class curriculum: If you’re studying Classical Arabic (Fus-ha) then you have a choice between two books: Al-Arabiyya Bayna Yadayk or Kitab al-Asaasi. There are midterm and final exams. The exams here are completely different than the exams at Nasr City. They are supposed to be able to offer you a maximum of 6 hours a day for class but since they only have around 4 teachers total they might not be able to. When I was with them they had begun a new policy where you could only choose between 2 hour long classes or 4 hour long classes.
Environment: Mostly non-Muslims attend this branch. Large number of Europeans as well as Asians from China and Japan are generally found here. But since group classes are not usually offered at this branch (unless you come with a group of friends in the same level as you) you’d rarely get the chance to mix with other students.
Facility: Located on a busy intersection called Midan al-Arab which is only a short drive from the Nile, The center itself is very small with 3 classrooms for females and 3 classrooms for males all on one floor. All classrooms have Air Conditioning.

Here’s what I’ve thought of the Medinat Nasr (Nasr City) branch:

Prices: This is the main Fajr Branch and also the cheapest in terms of course costs and book costs. For pricing check out the website www.fajrcenter.com

Administration: The women’s side tends not to know many answers to questions and rely heavily on calling the men’s side to find out. I was told one thing from the administration in Maadi and then suddenly learned of completely new policies when I arrived at the Nasr City branch, this made it very clear to me that they operate very differently from branch to branch.

Teachers: So far I’ve studied with only one teacher from this branch. She is very friendly, cheerful and patient with us. However, possibly because of her age (late twenties) she doesn’t compare to the teachers that were in Maadi, in terms of her depth of knowledge and experience. I’ve found she sticks to the book and teaches our grammar lessons only when the book introduces it to us. Whereas in Maadi, our teachers were much more grammar focused and wouldn’t hesitate to familiarize with a new grammar lesson even if it was something that wouldn’t be introduced until a higher level. Fajr Center’s method, unlike other centers around here, is to introduce grammar very slowly. When taking group classes you are forced to follow this method. If you’ve signed up for private classes however, you have more freedom to request more challenging grammar lessons from your teacher.

Class curriculum: To my knowledge you have no choice of books at this branch. You must study levels ~ 1-9 from Al-Arabiyya Bayna Yadayk. There are midterm and final exams. The content of the exams here is completely different than the exams at say, the Maadi branch. They have quite a few teachers on their staff in both the men and women’s sides. So far we have had no problem getting 6 hours a day 5 days a week with a private teacher, something almost impossible to schedule at Maadi branch.

Environment: Majority of the students at this branch happen to be Muslim. I’ve met non-Muslim students as well but it’s quite apparent on the women’s side that the bulk of attendees are Muslim women, majority who wear the hijab or niqab (which they remove obviously once inside the center). Unlike the Maadi branch, you’re bound to interact with people at Nasr City and make friends. This branch has a prayer room and a small canteen that has snacks, drinks, coffee, and tea for sale. The Maadi branch did not.

Facility: Nice location near the main road Mustafa an-Nahhas. It is behind a few buildings so it is not directly on the main road which is nice. The men and women’s classes are in entirely different buildings within 1 minute walking distance from each other. Neither building is marked clearly with any type of sign. It’s a nice quiet area but the roads back there are unpaved for the most part. There’s a nice little snack stand nearby and if you’re daring, an omelet stand on the corner of the street where you can pick up some breakfast on the go! Pizza hut and a couple other restaurants are also within 2 minutes walking distance from the school.

Classrooms: The classrooms are varied in size. Most of them have whiteboards. The desks on the women’s side seem to be remnants of what the men’s side has replaced. They are small, with the attached desk. The rooms are carpeted. Most rooms do not have air-conditioning, and have a small heater in the winter time. It gets very cold, wear big fluffy socks. The walls tend to be undecorated, maybe one poster here or there.

Tests: Oral examinations are required at the end of each level. These are usually conducted by Mr. Mohamad on the men’s side. All sisters are required to take their oral examination with him as well.

Academics: You spend a good amount of time speaking in class and making sentences, doing Q and A with classmates and the teacher. This time is valuable to correct your mistakes and pick up on new vocabulary and sentence structure.

Comments(3)

On Thursday we went on our second Field trip with Fajr Center and had a blast! There was a group of 16 of us altogether plus a tour guide. We met at 9 AM in front of the school. They had a nice bus waiting out front for us. It had a microphone and speakers so the tour guide could speak to us throughout the drive. We drove through Maadi to pick up students from the Maadi Fajr branch and Sammer and I were reminiscent of the good times we had at that branch (it’s been a month since we were in Maadi…). Once the bus was full of students, we headed to our first stop: Giza and the ancient Pyramids. Entrance into that area costs 50 LE but for the fortunate students who brought student ID with them it’s only 25 (Fajr Center’s $35 USD charge for the whole trip is a flat rate though, no matter if you’re getting student discount or not…). We were each issued a ticket at the gate and if you’re not a pack rat like me who likes to save those kinda things as souvenirs, then remember to hold onto the ticket because you’ll need it later on for seeing other sites like the Sphynx.

You’ll find people from all over the globe at the Pyramids. In our group alone we had Americans, Ukrainians, Azerbaijani, Nigerians, Brits, South Africans, Italians, Asians and Egyptians. The Pyramids were supposed to be tombs right? It’s funny because so many people come to visit them and yet the Pharaohs whom they were built for are not even inside them! They had these ridiculously large monuments built thinking they’d serve as honor, protection, and tribute to themselves, yet what happened in the end? The tombs were raided and robbed, stripped of any value or worth. The bodies which they spent obscene amounts of time mummifying to preserve, ended up being stolen and removed from their tombs. They used millions of the biggest and best blocks of rock and Allah knows how many laborers to build it and yet it still didn’t protect them one bit. When I stood at the foot of the largest of the Giza Pyramids, climbed its blocks and looked up, I was taken back for a moment by it’s massive size. One huge lie - that’s what it symbolized to me. Declaring self divinity, burying wealth and possessions alongside them for the afterlife, claiming right to be venerated in life and after death by these structures. It’s as if the Pyramids themselves, blocks of enormous rocks once placed there mysteriously…meticulously…stacked towards the sun are lies built upon lies, standing to this day to serve as a clear reminder to us all: It may be that a person will elevate them self during their life only to be debased in the end. The only provisions that will last and benefit us in the hereafter will be our Eman and righteous deeds. Men are capable, by the Will of Allah, to design and build amazing structures that we are in awe of. Just imagine then what Allah has designed for His righteous servants in the afterlife…and with Him is all Might and Power.

The largest most ancient idol still standing today is the Sphynx. It’s ghastly with its womanly head and lion-like body. Birds perch themselves on its head, in the crevices of its eyes and ears…probably ‘dropping’ their lunch on it too. My first thought upon seeing it was, Haha, that’s pretty small. But then I remembered the tiny animal figurines I used to collect as a child, the ones I would find in the Red Rose Tea cartons. How tiny and carefully carved they were. Yet one year I informed my mother I wasn’t going to collect them anymore because I wasn’t comfortable with the idea that they were mini statues. Those little figurines -I’d collect them, polish them, display them and save them for years - might have in reality collected sin for me, I feared. I imagined one of the little lion figurines and how it would seem like a speck, barely a pebble, next to the Sphynx. And it scared me to think of how much more sin an idol that size could carry for the ones who built and worshipped it. The Athan sounded and I felt immediate relief. After seeing such large monuments to Shirk and pride your heart finds comfort in the Athan’s vocal assertion that God is indeed Great and there is none worthy of worship besides Him. It is only after cleansing the outer self with water and the inner self through worship, bowing, humbling, and submitting one’s entire self to God alone, that it becomes easier to make sense of the world and its peculiarity.

The Muslims among our group headed off to the restrooms to perform ablution and chuckled at the fact that you have to pay 1 pound to enter the restrooms. How absurd.
It took us a while to walk to the masjid, we walked through the poor Giza town that lies just in view of the Sphynx’s archaic eyes. The streets were lined with horses, camels, and donkeys. Some either carrying loads or were grazing from piles of grass rationed out for them by their owners, others were parked near the walls waiting for the next customers to hop on. I had to lift my clothes from dragging in the puddles on the road that I soon realized were NOT water and were in fact camel urine. After Salah we headed to an age old perfume store just at the entrance to the town still in view of the hideous Sphynx. The owners were the Sha3r Family and, as is customary, they immediately offered us anything we wanted to drink as soon as we entered - we all eagerly accepted! The owner has good ties with Fajr center so we enjoyed an entertaining presentation he put on for us about the history, process, and uses of real non-alcoholic non-oil perfumes. He spoke excellent English has tons of energy, he was a classic Egyptian salesman. Some of his jokes were a bit crude though and I wish he’d have toned it down a little, especially since we had a 10 year old boy in our group. He was also our tour guide for the Papyrus Museum next door which I believe his family also owns. He did an A+ job in there where he told us all about Papyrus, showed us the plant and did the process of making paper from it right before our eyes. We were served drinks yet again and we sipped them as we walked around the store to see beautiful paintings done on Papyrus. Sammer and I decided to buy some blank sheets of Papyrus paper that we plan to paint on to create our own artwork, insha’Allah.

By the time we were done in there it was Asr time already so the Muslims among us headed to another nearby masjid for Salah. The Imam was funny because in addition to the usual advice that they say while the jama3ah is lining up, this guy also said a couple lines about turning off cellphones for prayer, hehe. It was eloquent too because he made it rhyme. I understood it when I heard it yet I wouldn’t be able to recall it well enough to repeat it to you now.

Next was my favorite part of the trip!

The town was so poor that there were no street lights and the locals ride horses, camels and donkeys more than cars. We walked over to the parking lot of camels and horses. Little boys who were meant to be our designated steerers asked us whether we wanted a camel or a horse. I, being the American that I am, thought I can ride a horse any time in America but how often will I get to ride a camel!? So the little boy led me to my camel. The camel he gave me was growling and turned its head to snap at me and the boy next to me several times. I kept asking the boy, “Is he upset? Is he old? Is he mean?” but the little boy kept saying, “No! He’s good camel! It’s OK!” When I sat on the camel and it stood up however I got the exact opposite impression. That thing was a beast! It was extremely upset about having to stand up and didn’t seem cooperative at all like the other camels. It swayed its head on its long neck side to side snapping and growling, showing its huge teeth. I told them in English I didn’t like him, but the boy kept nodding his head reassuringly like it would be OK. So I spoke to him in my best Egyptian slang and told him “LISTEN! I DON’T WANT THIS CAMEL. GIVE ME A HORSE INSTEAD” and finally he took me seriously. I got off the beast..I mean camel and he led me to the sweetest prettiest horse in the lot. She was a beautiful horse named Warda. She was young so she wasn’t overpowering in size but I soon learnt that she packed some powerful strength in those legs! She was very affectionate and liked it when I greeted her and rubbed her forehead. I loved her immediately and not for one second did I regret switching from camel to horse!

We rode through the local town caravan style. The people from our group who rode camels were linked together by a rope and walked in a line at a steady pace. The few of us who took horses had more freedom to go as slow or fast as we wanted and we could choose whether or not we wanted a steerer. Since it was my first time, I kept my steerer, who turned out to be a pleasant young boy named Ahmed who spoke to me about the beauty, power and abilities of horses as I rode. He told me that horses see the road with their hearts and instincts not necessarily with their eyes and that this was a ni3mah bestowed upon them by Allah. When he wanted me to loosen up a little and have fun he’d ask me “you want the horse to do “cha cha cha?” to which I could either reply yes and he’d have Warda run with the wind or I could say “No! My bag will fall!” and he’d chuckle and say, “ok ok”. He didn’t whip the horse once like I saw the other boys doing. Instead whenever he wanted Warda to run, he’d tell her “Chyeeeeeeeeer” (whatever that means) and click his tongue and she was immediately responsive. He ran alongside the horse and me the entire time on foot and when I squealed that my bag was slipping from my shoulder and I wanted to slow down for a bit he needed only to tug once on the side of her reign and she knew to stop running. When we finally reached the desert I was a little more relaxed. After all, if I were to fall, it would only be on sand! Every few minutes or so some Arab men on their steeds would gallop and race and I’d watch in amazement as they rode with such speed, confidence and control past me -leaving me and a cloud of sand in the air left behind by the powerful hooves. There was nothing in view except the desert, the vast beautiful desert and the sky! In the panorama we could see the Pyramids but I could care less for them at that point. I imagined what it would have been like at the time of the Sahabah, on horseback. I imagined Amr ibn al Aas riding in the very same desert on his horse! I remembered my mom telling me “there’s something very therapeutic about riding a horse…” and I finally understood what she meant. Though it hurt a little, there’s something so natural about the movement of the horse underneath you and I felt it extremely easy to remain on the horse without once feeling like I’d fall off. She’d charge forward through the sea of sand rocks and I’d lean forward with her, blocking out everything but the sound of her galloping hooves on the earth. I loved every minute of it.

We finally reached a spot in the desert where we hopped off of our animals and took pictures. Then we watched the beautiful sunset over the desert and the Athan sounded again. This time it was from a bedouin man next to his tent with a fire ablaze, illuminating the night and warming him from the cold. It was incredibly peaceful and beautiful watching him call the Athan out into the desert from beside his little camp. I went to go pet Warda and found her nuzzling muzzles with a big brown steed. She put her head underneath his as if he could protect her and keep her warm. It was so precious! I snapped a picture of it to capture their lovey dovey moment. I remembered the hadith about Allah’s Mercy and that one part was sent down to the creation, proof of which can be seen when a mare lifts her hooves so as not to trample her foal out of mercy and love. Horses are such stunning and intelligent creatures, subhanAllah. After we finished there we mounted our animals again and rode off into the darkening night sky all the way back. The ride back was freezing cold, the temperature sure does drop in the desert at night! I wished I’d worn a sweater and gloves! In fact, my hands were getting so cold and numb that at one point I gave up holding on as I rode. I let Ahmed carry my bag on his shoulder so that I could ride faster and get back to town sooner for relief from the bone-chilling air!

I, along with two others on horseback, arrived back into town first. Since we had a while to wait for the rest of the caravan, I took the time to bond with Warda some more. I talked to her and rubbed her forehead. She closed her eyes as I did and it looked like she was sleeping. Horses can sleep standing up. It was time to say goodbye to her as the rest of our crew arrived. We gathered together to discuss how much to tip the boys, and then went back inside the perfume shop to rest and warm up. By this time I think it was past 7 PM. We were actually supposed to be back at the school by 6 PM but we were all having so much fun and we still had one more stop left so the Fajr chaperones extended the trip for us, heh. We ended our trip by getting back on the bus and heading to the Corniche next to Tahrir. It was here that we boarded a motorized Felucca and rode for an hour on the River Nile in the dark of the night. We gobbled up the bagged dinner they served us (it was the only meal we’d eaten all day), gazed at the lit Cairo skyline, and then shivered the entire time while the chilly wind accompanied us as we sailed. We boarded the bus for the last time and with sleepy minds, sleepy hearts, and sleepy eyes we rested and nodded off until we reached beloved Nasr City again. When we were close to home, the bus let us off and Sammer and I crossed the busy road to catch a taxi to take us to our apartment building, it was way too cold to walk there and we were very very sore from the horeback/camel riding. (Little did we know how much worse we’d be hurting the next day!). Alhamdulillah we made it home at around 10 PM and went straight to bed. It was a wonderful trip and a great experience.

Comments(7)

Assalaamu `alaykum and early Eid Mubarak to everyone! I took that picture at a bakery over here, aren’t the cookies so beautiful? Now, now, there are enough to go around, Eid goodies for everyone ;)

There have been quite a few changes in my life over here. Some of which include:

1. I’ve moved again. We’re no longer living in Maadi. I’m pleased to announce that we’re back in beloved Medinat Nasr!
2. We’re apartment hunting so we should be moving AGAIN within the next couple weeks.
3. We currently have highspeed DSL and are able to use the Vonage. (It works great alhamdulillah for the most part.)
4. I finished my classes at the Fajr Center Maadi branch and now I will resume them at the Nasr City Branch, insha’Allah
5. We’re in the process of finding a new Qur’an teacher and a nice gym over here
6. We visited Alexandria for a weekend and it rained the entire time!

I’m planning to go for Salatul-Eid at Masjid Bilal since, it’s RIGHT outside our window!

I will write more insha’Allah over the next two weeks since I’ll have some “time off”.

Comments(5)

I sit down at the make-shift breakfast nook with my mint tea and flat-bread sandwich in hand. The old nightstand and mismatched chairs Sammer hauled downstairs serves well as our only area to sit and eat near the kitchen. There’s not much to look at. The brown staircase leading to the bedrooms complete with an empty storage niche at the bottom fit for Harry Potter himself. The heavy white door to the kitchen that was built far too large for the door frame and never closes. An entryway to an unfinished bedroom, the sheets Sammer hung up as a curtain to give us privacy from the main road. And just to the right of that, the front door to the ground floor of our apartment building. The tube lighting above me buzzes as if, like everything in Egypt, it’s about to break but never does.

Somewhere outside, I hear a voice. It sounds beautiful and reposed as it descends the stairs outside my door. What surah is that? I listen harder but I don’t have to because the voice gets louder and closer. He’s leaving the building and I can hear him continue to recite to himself the whole way out. Some people whistle while they work or hum as they walk, but he doesn’t. This isn’t the first time I’ve heard this voice reciting Qur’an merrily as he walks in and out of the building but each time I hear it, it sets me at ease.

The athan sounds. Allahu Akbar. It’s carried on the air and into the room. A dozen Allahu akbars overlaying each other like bricks built upon one solid foundation, one unified call. In their loud unwavering voices, the athan is an unstoppable force, an assertion of religious identity that no Pharaoh or President could suppress. I proceed upstairs to respond to it. It amazes me how something so “overplayed” as the athan, 6 times a day (there are two for Fajr), can still have such a magnetic pull to it as it pulses throughout the busiest and most populated metropolitan city in the world. I think of how I have to change the Alarm tone on my cell phone every now and then lest my ears become immune to hearing the same one every morning and fail to wake to it.
Not with the athan.

After salah I sit down to do my homework, wajib as she calls it. After all it’s something compulsory that must be done! In a room with no TV, no phone line or internet, I often feel very disconnected from the outside world. Right now though it means there’s nothing to distract me from my wajib. I write the Hijri date at the top of my paper, it feels so nice to be able to do that, to be constantly reminded of the day when Prophet Muhammad salAllahu `alayhi wa sallam, made that brave and dangerous migration to Medinah. To remind myself that today is another day to follow in those footsteps and move from bad towards good in my own life.

A neighbor puts on a tape of Qur’an recitation and thankfully the sawt is wadih enough for me to listen along with. This beats having the TV on as background noise any day. The recitation is slow and almost mesmeric. I’m happy and content doing my work, guiding my pencil from right to left across the page, dotting the letters and carefully placing the vowels. Likewise, the Egyptian recitor gives each letter it’s due right as he enunciates, elongates, and stops on them correctly- upholding his people’s reputation for their superior mastery of tajweed.

The people here take these sounds for granted, the Qur’an tapes being played in neighborhoods and shopping malls, the athan calling them punctually for every prayer. It’s funny how these things, though they are a part of every day life here for the locals, manage to catch my attention so easily. I am comforted by this and wonder at how, in a sense, these sounds make me feel more at home here than I’ve ever felt before.

This is a view of Maadi, Cairo.

Comments(4)