Return to Cairo

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Soroya met me on my return from Luxor and drove me to her apartment in a nice residential section. As we proceeded along a wide walkway between the apartment buildings, we encountered an altercation between two groups of people. There were more men than women. The women remained silent, but the men shouted angrily with raised fists. They were speaking the Egyptian language, so I did not know what they were saying. A woman dressed in a loose bright yellow garment stood in front of one group. I asked Soroya what was happening. She said it was a divorce. The husband was returning his wife to her family. I knew that, in Saudi Arabia, a husband could divorce his wife by saying, “I divorce you,” three times. I was told that there had to be an interval between each to give the wife time to prepare for the third statement. At that time she was expected to leave the house carrying nothing except what she was wearing. A Saudi wife was not permitted to divorce her husband. Saroya said that, in Egypt, the bride’s family usually protected her by having a marriage contract signed before the wedding. She said that most marriages were still arranged by the parents, though there were some by choice of the couple. She said her own marriage to Adel was by their own choice, though formally arranged by the parents. She also said that scenes like the one we witnessed were not commonplace, and divorces were usually handled more discreetly.

The apartment was furnished in a modest European style, large enough to be comfortable and looking very much as you might expect the apartment of two university teachers in the US to look. After my luggage was left in a bedroom, we went out to see more of Cairo and to visit Soroya’s relatives. She wanted me to meet all who lived in Cairo. I do not remember how many houses we visited, but I think it was about three. I was graciously received in them all. Most of the relatives spoke English. Unlike Soroya’s apartment, these homes were middle eastern style, with very high ceilings, immense rooms with shining floors and small islands of elaborately carved and decorated furniture. The two-story houses were grand, with attractive landscaping outside, but inside, there was a great deal of empty space. On each visit, a servant laid out substantial refreshments which were delicious but filling. The food was very good, except that the sweets were sweeter than I was accustomed to. After the first visit, I was full enough to find it necessary to force myself to eat in order not to offend the hostess. In one home, I met a young man in his teens. When I asked him about his plans for the future, he said he wanted to marry a rich American woman and go to the United States. He did not appear to be joking, but it appeared to me that his family lived in comfortable circumstances, probably in the upper economic level of Cairo society. It was dark when we returned to the apartment. I met Soroya’s husband, Adel, and her brother, Salim, who was visiting. It had been a long day, and I assumed that all of us would soon retire for the night, but to my amazement, Soroya began to set the table for dinner about 11 pm. This, it appeared, was their regular dinnertime. After a day of generous Egyptian hospitality, I had no appetite, but somehow I managed to consume enough not to insult my hostess. Soroya and Adel were teaching the next day, but, as Salim left, he arranged to come for me the next morning to show me more pyramids.

The next day, Salim drove me to Saqqara. There were fewer tourists here than at Giza. We walked among pyramids of an earlier time than those in Giza. He showed me the oldest of them, the step pyramid of Dzoser. The step pyramid was the first built, which was evidently an experiment with this type of structure. Later the architect accomplished the smooth exterior seen in the pyramids at Giza. There were also smaller pyramids built for the king’s higher officials. We did not enter these pyramids, but viewed them from the outside. Separate chambers below the ground level had held the organs which had been removed from the bodies during the embalming process. According to the Egyptian beliefs, these must be close enough for the spirit to find them because he would need them, especially the heart, to enter the land of the dead.

The trip ended back in the bazaar, where we sat down to talk over small cups of the strong, sweet coffee (guaranteed to keep you awake for about 12 hours) We then returned to the apartment where I said good-bye to my hosts and left to catch my plane back to Dhahran.

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