A Trip To The Land Of Egypt

Dr. Opal Palmer Adisa

When I was ten years old my mother's brother, Lloyd Walcott—an artist, came to live with us. Many evenings when he set up his easel on the front lawn to paint I would spend time watching him as he talked to me about Egypt. It was then that the desire to visit Egypt was planted. Thus, when in 2006 I was awarded a biannual Fulbright to spend a semester in Cairo researching and interviewing Egyptian woman writers and artists about their life and condition, I was ecstatic.  

I was overjoyed by the enthusiastic welcome  by Egyptians, many of whom love Jamaicans and almost all could sing a verse or so of a reggae song. They called me cousin, particularly when we went to the Valley of the Kings and Queens where the Nubians, the Black skinned Egyptians reside. They readily embraced me as their sister. Although I was a single woman, I felt safe in Egypt, except for crossing the streets. Believe it or not, Egyptian drivers are worse than Jamaicans. Egypt has a population of 102.3 million. Cairo is a city of 9.5 million people with 5-lane traffic, and it appears that nobody abides by the traffic rules—or creates their own. 

The first time I tried to cross the street, I stood for more than 20 minutes trying to figure out how I could navigate it without being run over. An old man selling by the side of the road must have been observing me because after a while he took my hand, as he didn't speak English, and indicated that he would help me across. He pulled me hurriedly as we crossed one lane, then stood like others waiting in the middle between the swerving cars until we could scurry again . We repeated that action until I was safely across all five lanes. Eventually, I learned to do that on my own, but each time I felt I was endangering my life.

is a historical landmark and landscape.  Evidence of the past is everywhere, including being able to see the Giza pyramids from many points in the city. In addition to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization, (The first in the African/Arab world focusing on the first civilization ), there is also the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities that has an estimated 120,000 items.  I went there 3 times during my semester stay and did not see everything. Moreover, there are about 20 other museums in Cairo.

 

During my stay, I had the opportunity to bring my three children and my 79-year-old mother who had always wanted to visit Egypt. One of our most memorable outings was to the Pyramids of Giza. I cannot find the words to explain the amazing architecture of the pyramids. Still, scientists are fascinated by how the Egyptians managed to role tons of stones one on top of each other without all of the modern machinery we have. The ancient Egyptians mastered creating pyramids like they mastered mummification and other phenomenal things. My mother and I rode a camel together, along with my children who each rode their own, at the site of the Giza pyramids. It was a thrilling experience . 

Another highlight of the trip was visiting the Alexandria Library, which has been modernized, but is an astounding structure. It is the sixth largest library in the world with the potential to hold 8 million books. I donated three of my books, which I hope are still part of the collection.  

I had read and known about female mutilation and I had assumed that it was no longer practiced. However, one of the female artists I interviewed shared her experience with me. When she was nine years old, she was called inside, and was pinned on the kitchen floor by her mother and her aunt who was the one in the community to cut girls labia. She was not given anesthesia nor placed in a bed on a clean sheet. Her mother used her open palm to cover her screams. Her aunt lifted up her dress and using a regular kitchen knife, sliced the lips of her vagina. She said the tears were acid in her stomach. Afterwards her mother lifted her off the bloody floor, bathed her, fed her tea, and her aunt bandaged  her vagina and she was put to bed. She said for weeks it hurt, especially when she had to urinate. 

She is still haunted by that memory. She was working with other Egyptian women determined  to prevent her younger sister from the same fate.  She was still trying to convince her mother not to do it to her younger sister, but her mother, to whom it was done, said it was for cleanliness and to ensure she would be eligible for marriage. Many of the older women insist on this practice. I also met a man who asked me to talk with his wife who wanted to do it to their daughter, as he didn’t want it done.

The labia or lips of the vagina are cut so  most women have no sensation nor experience pleasure during intercourse,  which  is part of the goal so that woman will be passive. The Egyptian Health Ministry issued a decree on June 28, 2007, that officially banned female circumcision, also known as female genital mutilation (FGM) or female genital cutting (FGC). However, it is still being practiced. Many young activists are educating and fighting to ensure that it is eradicated from tradition and practice. Like any larger and ancient society, Egypt has its share of problems. FGC is one of the issues of concern that some of the women artists shared with me. This sharing often happened over meals. 

I love Egyptian food. They eat a lot of eggplant prepared in a wide variety of ways.  Falafels are analogous to our patty; Kushari (rice, macaroni, chickpeas and lentils) is my favorite and is similar to our rice and peas. Fruits are abundant everywhere and Egyptians, like many Jamaicans,  stop to buy fruits or fresh fruits juice on their way to work and throughout the day.  

Their folk music has Sufi influences, and features the Tabla drum. It is soothing and intoxicating— it pulls you in.  There are many genres of Egyptian music, and two of my favourite musicians are Mohammed Abdel Wahab, known for his romantic and nationalistic songs, and  Moustafa Amar.

In Cairo the majority of the people look middle eastern and I am told that is a result of Cleopatra who was biracial, Black and white,  who brokered a deal with Mark Anthony, that brought in Europeans and sanctioned intermarriage. Egypt is connected to the Arab world by the Sinai Peninsula, and there has long been interchange between Egypt and the Middle East. However, the heart of Egypt civilization resides in the Valley of the Kings and Queens, known as Wādī al-Harīm, along the western bank of the Nile River in Upper Egypt. The Nubians are decidedly Black.

I encourage all Jamaicans to visit Egypt to witness the legacy of a great civilization that our ancestors  helped to create and from which the whole world has benefitted. I found its people to be friendly and embracing, and I enjoyed my semester-stay there. It is certainly a place where I think I could live if I am able to master the Arabic language. 

Wherever I am 

i am home

walking on the red hills road or

lounging  in a felucaa

gliding on the nile in cario

or walking half a mile into the sea in itaparica

i am home

recognized

embraced as cousin

sister 

daughter 

wife returned

my feet remember

every path

i’m not bound by geography

nor governments

i wade through the ocean

bypassing man-made boarder

betweeen ghana and togo

families divided

by colonial power

that cares nothing of

lineage or tributary of waters

i am this place

those and that people

i’m everywhere

the wind

the shadow

the memory

the breath of life

living

always and forever

in the zeal

that pushes life

onward…

Note:

Opal Palmer Adisa is a writer, cultural activist, gender specialist and the Principal Director of Adisa Consulting Limited, and the former University Director for the Institute of Gender and Development Studies, RCO at The UWI.