Some Random Observations on Egypt…..

I’ve been here almost two weeks now and this has been a very rewarding job so far. In December I was stuck in a “hardship” assignment in West Africa and today I’m staying in a 5-star hotel and during our training today we were often within sight of the pyramids. This job is definitely “rags to riches” with regards to work assignments.

Egypt has surprised me in several ways. For one thing, it’s cold here. In the evenings my light jacket is almost not heavy enough and today it was windy and very cold. I’ve always visualized Egypt as being hot like Saudi Arabia but they have very distinct seasons here—like Texas there’s no snow but it does definitely get cold.

For an oil-rich area of the world, Egypt does not have the wealth of other oil-producing Middle Eastern countries like Kuwait, Bahrain or Saudi Arabia. There is wealth here but there are also three distinct economic classes much like the U.S. There is considerable poverty but certainly not on the scope of Cameroon or Chad. There is the inevitable “hustling” for the tourist dollar but everybody has been very friendly and I have really felt comfortable wandering around by myself—even after dark. You do get a surreal sense when you see a donkey and cart on the street in front of an ultra-modern skyscraper.

Literacy is very high here and people have a tremendous sense of their history and it really is a remarkable history. I have not noticed any real feeling of anti-Americanism. I’m sure Egyptians don’t appreciate much of our foreign policy but they also have a lot of relatives living in the U.S and I think many of them feel a relationship to us through extended family.

For a Muslim country, Egypt is deceptively liberal in appearance but under the surface it is a very conservative religious society. The religious dress code varies widely—women here often wear headscarves and occasionally you see a burka on the streets—sometimes extreme to the point that the eye slits are covered with lace so the woman can see out through the lace but nobody can see here face at all. But yesterday in the hotel lobby I noticed two women sharing tea at a table—one wearing a burka and the other in tight jeans and leather boots with no head covering, so you do get a deceptive sense of liberalism. Beer is openly advertised and sold but you really don’t see any skid row areas where alcoholism is an open issue. Television here has conservative programming but I have also watched a HBO Deadwood rerun.

Anyway, I’ve really enjoyed it here and have three more work days then four personal days off. I’m toying with the idea of flying to Luxor for an overnight trip but may just stay in Cairo on my days off and really see the city. There is a lot of interesting stuff here…..