Christmas in Egypt

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Christmas in Egypt 1953

Christmas and the Muslim holiday of Id al Adha occurred at approximately the same time, providing enough time off that I could plan a trip to fulfill my long time wish to see the pyramids. By this time, I had a new roommate. Caroline had arrived from Beirut, where she had been teaching in the American school. She was an American who had studied in an Egyptian university. When Carolyn learned I was going to Egypt, she insisted upon giving me a letter of introduction to her Egyptian friend, Soroya, a fellow student in the university who was now married and teaching in a Cairo university.

After I arrived in Cairo, had checked into my hotel, and made arrangements for the following day, I called Soroya, expecting to squeeze in a visit sometime in the next two days before my flight to Luxor. She had other ideas. She and her husband would come and pick me up at the hotel that evening. I must stay in their apartment with them while in Cairo. I finally dissuaded her by saying I had already checked into the hotel and would soon be leaving for Luxor. She only gave in after getting my promise that I would stay with them upon my return to Cairo for my remaining two days in Egypt. They said they would pick me up at the airport.

It was Christmas Eve. Through the windows of the hotel, I could hear the Muslims celebrating their holiday with music and singing in the style which I had already heard on Saudi radio and when Arabs sang as they worked. The rhythms and tone intervals were unfamiliar but pleasing to the ear. The instruments produced excitingly exotic sounds. Men and women soloists sang in strained high voices. As I sat alone in the hotel dining room, enjoying the experience of being a traveler in a foreign land but feeling a little sad because this was my first Christmas away from home, I looked up to find the hotel manager standing at my table. Courteously and respectfully, he suggested that I should not be alone on this night. There was a night club in the hotel, where a group of his friends were celebrating. He would waive the cover charge and introduce me. A friendly group of Egyptian men and women welcomed me exuberantly. Even though I had just eaten dinner and was not hungry, they insisted that I try the Egyptian style party snacks on the table. I had, as yet, had little opportunity to try the Middle Eastern style of cooking, but it was good. I enjoyed these friendly people who spoke English well - fortunately, because my Arabic, after only a few lessons, had not progressed much beyond the customary greetings, and even these did not exactly correspond to the Egyptian equivalents.

The evening included a belly dancer. She wore a blouse that covered all but the midriff and filmy pantaloons with a low band, exposing her belly. She was a good dancer, but her most remarkable skill was the ability to move muscles where one would not expect to find voluntary muscles, and in time to the music into the bargain! I had seen movie imitations of belly dancers, but this was the real thing. She did not hesitate to demonstrate these skills up close enough to be rewarded with a bill tucked into her pantaloon band, adding to several already there. This was, I thought, the strangest Christmas I had ever experienced. Stranger ones were to come, but I did not know that then.

My dragoman picked me up early the next morning for the drive to Giza. There ahead was the great sphinx with the massive tombs of the pharaohs - Menkaure, Khafre, and the Great Pyramid of Khufu, wonders of the world built about 4400 years ago and still standing. The sphinx, said to symbolize strength and wisdom, was then, and still is, so far as I know, a mystery because no one knows who this huge head is supposed to represent. Was it a pharaoh or a god? Since the pharaohs were believed to be gods, it might be said to be the same. It was certainly not the only sphinx I saw in Egypt, only the largest. I wondered and have never heard or read of anyone else wondering this, why this particular figure is an animal with a human head while all the other Egyptian gods are represented as human figures with animal heads.

A number of camels, colorfully arrayed in patterned blankets under their saddles, tassels hanging from their harnesses, waited at the bottom of the hill which would have to be climbed to reach these structures. Cameramen also waited to take a photo for me. How does one mount a camel? The camel kneels on command with much groaning and complaining, folding its legs under its body. The camel handler helps with the climb to the saddle on top of the hump. The dragoman says, “Lean backward - more back.” Then the camel rises and you know why you must lean backward. The hind legs come up first, and you find yourself looking down the long slope to its head from a very high place. Camels are tall -very tall!!! The photo was snapped of me on the camel with the sphinx and pyramids behind. I sent it home, where it hung on the wall for years. Like a good tourist (or perhaps a lazy one) I rode the camel, led by its handler, up to the pyramids. From some distance, it is hard to realize the true size of these monstrous monuments, but when you stand at the base and look up, you finally feel the impact of the size.

The Khufu pyramid is the largest, the only ancient wonder of the world that still exists. This is the one we entered, descending first, then climbing through a claustrophobic passage to the king’s chamber at the center of the pyramid. There was nothing there but the stone sarcophagus. The guide explained how the builders tried to protect the treasures left for the king to use in the afterlife. Somehow, the stones were placed so that they would slide on sand to seal the tomb after the burial. The engineering was ingenious but it did not prevent thieves from finding their way in. We were told that there were air vents in this one alone, the purpose of which no one seems to know. I think that maybe Khufu thought it might get stuffy in there after a thousand years or so. His ghost was not around to tell us. Perhaps he was still out searching for all his internal organs, which were stashed somewhere else for safe keeping.

I must admit that I remember little of the tour of Cairo that followed the visit to Giza. The historical sites were of considerably later dates. There was a Coptic Church, the earliest known site of Christian worship in Egypt, dating from the third century AD. We made a visit to the bazaar, much more extensive than that in Hofuf, but offering many of the same products - gold and silver jewelry with precious and semi-precious stones, carpets, alabaster carvings, including busts of Nefertiti, in varied sizes but basically the same pose with the head held high in pride. This one did not have animals wandering about among the people and it was more oriented toward tourists than that in Hofuf. Camel saddles were for sale, modified to be more like the stools they would be used for and available with the leather cushion dyed in a variety of colors. I like the golden transparency of alabaster and bought a small vase. The figurines and Nefertiti busts had to be avoided since I was returning to Saudi Arabia, where strict Muslim law forbade the importation of any human or animal figure, seen as idols.

While making inquiries of the hotel concierge about a restaurant where I could find Egyptian cuisine, I made contact with an American couple, teachers in the American school in Lebanon. Paul, Jan, and I had dinner at the restaurant he suggested, not far from the hotel. We ordered lamb kebab, indicated our interest in trying local food, and left the choice of accompaniments restaurant staff. I do not remember each item, only that the flavoring was superb - not spicy, but with the subtle use of herbs and spices. Middle Eastern cooks use lemon or lime with olive oil, which brings out the flavor of the meat or vegetable instead of masking it. My overall memory of the meal is that everything was tasty. We sat on cushions on the floor. The waiters brought the food in on laden silver trays. I know that the custom in Middle Eastern countries is to place food in the middle of the table from which each person helps himself. I have never experienced this myself. We were each served on individual plates with only the condiments in the center of the table. I use the word table, not remembering whether it was a very low table or perhaps a clean cloth placed on the floor. Everything seemed clean, and we had no concern over the safety of eating the food.

When we finished this interesting meal, we decided to see some of the celebration still going on. We sat down outdoors in semi-darkness at a table where a large number of people were listening to music as they ate or drank. Someone was singing solo in a high voice. Periodically the crowd would respond with joyfully with song and enthusiastic hand-clapping. It was hard to determine whether the singer was male or female, but the strange intervals and rhythm were exotic and exciting. We were joined by Bert, a young man who told us he was on an ambitious journey around the world on a motorcycle. He was going east so he had barely started. I sometimes wonder if he made it. Early the next morning, Paul and Jan were on the plane with me to the same hotel in Luxor. We agreed to make our plans together there. I will have to put the rest of my trip to Egypt into a second installment later.

Most of the names used in these accounts are not the real ones. This is because I frankly do not remember many of them after so many years and also do not want to risk embarrassing someone who might not want his or her name on the internet. When picking Egyptian names or those in other nationalities, I may select one that does not fit the particular culture though I try to find names that do.

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