MUST SEE!!!Egypt Revolution 2011 Demonstrators Vs police Fighting

the call to prayer

the call to prayer in egypt can be (and it was for me) the most hauntingly beautiful sounds to wake up to.  The Muizzen would make the call 5 times a day he never used a loud speaker, not like some areas .  To wake just before dawn .....first there is the night stillness, then you smell the jasmine floating in the windows and somewhere thebirds make their first tentative callings, the frog stops croaking and the Adhan begins.  Allah u akbarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr allah !  it is almost a spirtual experience in itself

it sounds more muted than this recording but it can be similar

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAvlimEYEpQ&feature=related

Saneya Saleh

My friend, mentor, second mother, teacher and role model passed away Jan 29th.  I wrote this to memory for my best friend and sister Hala for her mothers Memorial that is coming up in march.

Allah yerham Saneya Saleh

I will always remember Saneya for her kindness, for her deep hearty laugh, for her great sense of fun, for her concern of others, her determination, for her compassion, and most of all for her abundant love. I remember almost as if it were yesterday the first time I met Saneya Saleh almost 40 years ago. I was a child, very awkward and a newcomer to Egypt. We were at a university function for faculty staff and students and she attended with her husband Mohammed and her daughter Hala. When she was introduced to me, I misheard her name and pronounced it Saleya. Around me I heard some giggles and knew I got it wrong and was very embarrassed however somehow she knew that I was embarrassed and she bent down to meet my eyes to hers and said slowly “its Sah-nay-yah” and when I repeated it correctly, she told me how clever I was. She rested her hand on me until my sense of embarrassment passed and then delegated her daughter Hala to come play with me. Over the next 16 years our families would get together at least once a year to do something together. Usually we would meet along the road to the Pyramids in Giza area and then decide what to do. Most of the time Saneya and Mohammed would take my family to Sahara City camp ground for a cookout but every now and then we would go to a farm called the Pearl. I would get out of my father’s car and jump in their car. Saneya would laugh and welcome me with a huge hug and we would drive off. Once Mohammed started driving Saneya would open her purse and pull out ‘Aselliyya (molasses stick candy) and pass it to us. Hala and I would suck on the candy while Saneya would point out the sights that passed us by along the side of the road. Sometimes, I would be allowed to sleep over at their house in Heliopolis which was great fun. Saneya would tell tales of her childhood, and play music for us to dance to. Our favorite tune at the time was Karim Shukrys “Take me back to Cairo”. I used to think that Hala and I would drive Saneya mad because we listened to it so much….over and over again. Instead she gave us caramel candies and apples to eat and clapped her hands at our dancing. Once when I was about 13 or 14, I was invited to spend the Sham al Niseem break with her family. I was at the time failing every subject at school and at the time I didn’t even care if I failed or not. When I arrived at her home, Hala still had a day or so of class left, but Saneya told us both that we would have to spend a few hours every day studying so we didn’t forget what we learned. I remember asking her what was the point of studying, of learning………the kind of thing that a typical rebellious kid asks every parent at some time or another. She just laughed and said STUDY! And she made me promise that I would let Hala study even if I didn’t. So every morning I sat at a table next to Hala pretending to study. Saneya peered around the corner one day and gave me a notebook. I looked at her and she smiled at me and said, “just write the first sentence of every paragraph down even if it looks unimportant”. So I did. Every morning I got up with Hala we did our studying together and every afternoon we went on long trips thru the Egyptian country side (where she would point out the girls and young women who didn’t have the opportunity for education), or just went to the club to have a lemonade. When my notebook was used up, she handed me another one. By the time I went back home I had a good handle on the subjects I was taking, so much so that I did very well the rest of the year. She passed on to me a sense of dedication, scholarship and also showed me the alternative so that I could strive harder.


Saneya also left a legacy of hard work, of character and determination for the future generation to continue on with, not just to her children and their friends but to the future of every student that she taught or to any person who read her prolific published work. She instilled in all of us the necessity of hard work and the courage to grab at our dreams and make us go forward with them. She believed that it was up to every person to change the world, to make it a better place and that was reflected not only in how she raised her children or influenced their friends but in how she taught, wrote, investigated and advocated for the women and children of Egypt. My father, the late Dr Mark Kennedy, would encourage her research and publish her findings and so she began writing on subjects for which she was well known; subjects on the status of women in Egypt, The loss of the young intellectuals who were leaving Egypt to find work abroad, and the status of children and youth growing up in outlying districts. I remember my father discussing her article on the “Brain Drain Phenomenon” with her as well as her articles on the motives of Egyptian scientists for leaving Egypt. But the subject that she was most passionate about was the role of women in Egypt. Her research and concerns on that subject evolved into lengthy discussions around our dinner table. She founded NPO like the Bulaq project or establishing projects to protect the rights of Egyptian women and children and as such she won certificates of merit from Jehan Sadat , from Suzanne Mubarak and from various government officials.

Saneya Saleh was truly a great woman and a scholar whose love of life and ability to experience life to its fullest extent will always be my model and the model I will hold up for my children and grandchildren, but more than that she was my friend, my mentor, and a second mother. I will miss her greatly.

HONORS AND AWARDS


Academic Honor Award for outstanding achievement in the Sociology-Anthropology Department, April 1971.
Graduate Fellowship in Sociology-Anthropology-Psychology Department for the period from September 1972-June 1975.

Post-Masters Fellowship in Sociology-Anthropology-Psychology Department for the period September 1975-August 1977.

A letter of recognition and appreciation from the President of Egypt, Anwar El Sadat, in September 1975 for the effort exerted in studying a vital subject (MA research) and the recommendations offered that he considered a contribution towards the preservation of national scientific and intellectual wealth of Egypt .

A letter of recognition and appreciation from Mrs. Jehan El-Sadat, in December 1976, for the social and scientific study of a vital issue, “Women in Islam: Comments and Clarifications,” and for my interest and contribution to the Egyptian Women's Movement.

Certificates of Merit “for outstanding voluntary service to the Egyptian Community” from the Vice President for Student Development of the American University in Cairo , (in 1979 and 1981).

Certificate of Merit for “service to students beyond what is normally expected and for outstanding citizenship in the university community” for the academic years (1978, 1981, 1986) from the Student Union of the American University in Cairo , Egypt .

Certificate of Merit for “effort exerted and services given for the promotion of better production in the governorate of Menoufia”, Menoufia Governorate in its 3rd Production Anniversary, November 1980.

A travel grant from the Ministry of Social Affairs ( Egypt ) and the UNICEF to attend the Women's End of the Decade NGO Forum, Nairobi , July 1985.

A travel grant from the International Planned Parenthood Federation (Arab World Region) to attend a conference in Morocco in preparation of the International Youth Year from December 9-13, 1985 .

A travel grant from USIS Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs on International Visitors Program from July 14- August 12, 1986 . The program was called, “Volunteer, Citizen and Community Groups.” Attended Workshops and visited 48 voluntary Associations all over the USA . Awarded a certifiate as Ambassador of Goodwill to Arkansas from President Clinton (1986).

Awarded plaque of Quena by the Governor in appreciation of my research, 1990.

Awarded a medal from the governor of Cairo for my services to children, December 1991.

Awarded a certificate of merit from the Engineering Association for my help in establishing a library there.

A travel grant from UNFPA to England from July 1 - August 3, 1991 to attend a short course at the London School of Hygiene and Topical Medicine on: “Family Planning Impact Evaluation”.

 Cited as one of the 4269 prominent Egyptians that the National Encyclopedia of Prominent Egyptian Personalities included, 1992 (two volumes).

Awarded plaque of Ministry of Culture, from the National Center of children's culture and a booklet was written in my honor 1992/93 entitled, “Dr. Saneya Saleh: Steps on the Road to Service”.

 Awarded a plaque of Nurses Syndicate for my voluntary work in the field of health and my researches about reproductive health, 1992.

 Awarded a “Distinguished Alumni Volunteer Award” from the President of AUC, the Board of Trustees and the Alumni 75th Anniversary Committee for dedication, leadership and service to the Egyptian community, May 4, 1995 .

. Awarded a “Certificate of Appreciation” for outstanding contribution to the Women's Studies Project , Egypt 1995-1998 from Family Health International, North Carolina on May 20, 1998 . During these years I was a member of the Advisory Committee of the Women's Studies Project (WSP) in Cairo .

• Awarded the plaque of Kalubiyah Governorate for my voluntary efforts in the field of education of women and children.

• Awarded a certificate of merit and a plaque from the Egyptian Society of Information, Libraries and Archives for exceptional efforts in the libraries of the Integrated Care Society at Menoufia University in February 2000.

• Awarded a medal from the Ministry of Agriculture and Land Reclamation from the Project of Cultural Education of Mothers and Children in Egyptian Villages for my service in the technical advisory committee for many years in April 2000.

• Awarded a certificate of merit and a plaque from Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak for efforts exerted in making the Festival for Reading For All a great success since its inception ten years ago till the present on January 29, 2001 in the Conference Hall in Madinet Nasr.

• Awarded the year 2000 Marble Plaque of EBBY (books for young children) by Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak in appreciation of my voluntary work in the evaluation committee of EBBY for the Suzanne Mubarak prizes for children's literature, January 29, 2001 and another plague on February 16, 2002 .
• Awarded a certificate of merit from the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action of AUC in recognition of my support in furthering the cause and purpose of equal opportunity and affirmative action, February 19, 2001 .

• Nominated “Woman of the Year – 2001” by The American Biographical Institute, Inc., North Carolina

• Awarded the Order of Excellence from the First Degree by President Hosny Mubarak for her voluntary work in the service of Egypt in different non-governmental organizations and in the Supreme Concils of Culture and of Islamic studies and in national committees at the Third Annual Conference of the Union of Non-governmental Organizations December 16, 2002 .

ADMINISTRATION


1977-Present Board Member and Founding member of the Integrated Care Society. (headed by Mrs. Mubarak).

1980-81 Member of the Academic Board of The American University in Cairo .

1981-82 Member of the Press Administrative Committee.

1981-86 Member of the First International Alumni Council of the American University in Cairo .

1982-83 Member of the Faculty Library committee of the American University in Cairo .

1982-83 Member of the Budget Review Committee of the American University in Cairo .

1985-86 Member of the Academic Board of the American University in Cairo and of the Graduate Committee.

1983-87 Member of the Graduate Committee of the American University in Cairo and Nominations Committee.

1982-2002 Board Member of the library committee of the Society for the Development of Services in Heliopolis . (Headed by Mrs. Mubarak).

1986-present Board Member of Scientific Association for Cultural Studies of Arab Women.

1986-89 Member of the Steering Committee of the Biomedical project, sponsored by the National Population Council.

1987-88 Member of the PPP Committee of the American University in Cairo (Secretary).

1986-present Member of the Egyptian Society of Sociology.

1986-present Member of the Egyptian National Section of the International Board on Books for Young People (EBBY).

1990-91 Member of the Senate of the American University in Cairo .

1990-93 Director of FP Biomedical Program Research at the National Population Council.

1991-present Co-chairman of the preparatory Committee for the Study of Maternal Health in the Muslim World, Al Azhar University.

1991-present Member of the newly established committee on: The Family and Social Defense, Supreme Council of Islamic Studies.

1992-present Member of Supreme Concil of Culture, Committee on Children's Culture.

1994-present Member of Supreme Council of Culture, Committee of Social Studies.

1993-2000 Appointed by the Egyptian Prime Minister as member of the National Commission of Women (Headed by Mrs. Mubarak).

1994 (Sept.) Member of Official Delegation ICPD. (Population Confernece).

1995 (Sept.) Member of official delegation to Beijing Confernece on Women, China .

1994-present Member of High Advisory Council of “Shorouk” Project for the rural development of Egypt .

1995-present Member of Technical Advisory Committee of Ministry of Agriculture on Cultural Education of Mothers and Children Project.

 PUBLISHED WORK AND OTHER RESEARCH


“Women in Islam: Their Status in Religious and Traditional Culture,” in International Journal of Sociology of the Family , Vol. 2, No. 1, March 1972. Also in Arab Society in Transition , 1977 pp. 121-130.

“Women in Islam: Their Role in Religious and Traditional Culture,” in International journal of the Family , Vol. 2, No. 2, September 1972.

“Motives for the Emigration of Egyptian Scientists” in the Journal of the Scientific Society of the Medical Care Organization in Cairo , Vol. 3, No. 1, January 1973.

 A revised version of “Motives for the Emigration of Egyptian Scientists” in Social Problems Vol. 25, No. 1, 1977.

“The Brain Drain Phenomenon in Egypt ” (in Arabic). The National Review of the Social Sciences , 1976, 13 (2); 43-54.

“Professional Women and National Development: Response to Migration” (in Arabic) in Tanmiat el-Mugtamaa , (Community Development Journal), Vol. 3 (3), 1979, pp. 35-45.

“Learning Across Cultures: Egyptian Life and Social Customs” (in Arabic), Tanmiat el-Mugtamaa , (Community Development Journal) Vol. 3, (1) 1979, pp. 38-47.

“The Role of Women in the Inegrated Care Project for Primary School Chidlren” (in Arabic), Tanmiat el-Mugtamaa , (Community Development Journal), 1979, Vol. 3 (4), 1979 pp. 37-43. Originally presented at the Third Conference on Egypt in the Year 2000, 1978.

“Non-Formal Education” World Higher Educational Communique, September 1980, Washington .

A Monograph entitled, The Brain Drain in Egypt , published in the Cairo Papers in Social Science, Vol. 2 No. 5, 1978 (2nd Edition published in 1983).

 “Women in Development: The Integrated Care Project for Primary School Children”, in the Cairo Papers in Social Sciences , Vol. 2, No. 6, 1979.

“A Sociological Study of Professional Migration from Egypt : An Empirical Study and a Historical Analysis”, published in the Proceedings of the Seventh International Congress for Statistics, Computer Science, Social and Demographic Research , 1982.

“Causes of Death to Women of Reproductive Age in Egypt,” (with others) Working paper No. 49 on Women in International Development, Michigan State University, 1984; Egyptian Yearbook of Sociology , Vol. 7, October 1984, with an abstract in Arabic.

“Positive and Negative Impacts of Professional Migration.” Published in the Proceedings of the Tenth International Confernece for Statistics, Computer Science and Social Research , March 30- April 10, 1985 .

 “Causes of Death to Women of Reproductive Age in Two Developing Countries” (with others) Population Research and Policy Review 6:137-148 (1987).


“Reproductive Mortality in Two Developing Countries,” (with others) in American Journal of Public Health , 1986.
“Accidental Burn Deaths to Egyptian Women of Reproductive Age”, Burns , 1986 ( Great Britain ) 12:241-245.

“Maternal Mortality in Menoufia, Egypt, 1981-1983” in High Risk and Newborns: Detection, Management and Prevention , eds. A.K. Omran, J. Martin, B. Hamza, Switzerland, 1987, pp. 55-66.

“Preventability of Deaths to Married Women of Reproductive Age in Menoufia , Egypt ,” (with others) Journal of the International Islamic Center for Population Studies and Research , Vol. 7, 1987, pp. 71-84.

 “The Formation of Health Habits Among School Children,” in The Proceeding of the Symposium on Science and Technology: Children's Health (in Arabic) published by the Scientific Association for Cultural Studies of Arab Women, February 1987.

. A Monograph entitled, Maternal Mortality in Menoufia: A Study of Reproductive Age Mortality , published by the Social Research Center of the American University in Cairo , October 1987 (English and Arabic).

 “Causes of Death to Women of Reproductive Age in Menoufia , Egypt ,” (with others) Journal of International Islamic Center for Population Studies and Research , Vol. 7, 1987.

 “Maternal Mortality in Indonesia and Egypt ,” (with others) International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology , 1988, Vol. 25, pp. 21-32.

 “A Comparison of the Cause of Death Classification Systems for Death Among Women of Reproductive Age in Menoufia , Egypt ,” (with others) International Journal of Epidemiology , 1988, Vol. 17, No. 2, pp. 385-391.

“Experience of a Moslem Woman” (Translated into French) Swiss Magazine , 1988.

 Legal Rights of Egyptian Women: Theory and Practice (with others), Dar El-Kuttub, 1988, 47 pages (in Arabic).

 Egyptian Women in Social Development: A Resource Guide (with others), AUC Press, 1988, 346 pp. Arabic edition, published by El-Nour Press, 1988, 494 pp.

“Obstetric Deaths in Menoufia Governorate , Egypt ” (with others) British Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology . January 1989, Vol. 96, pp. 9-14.


“Coping with the Death of Mothers: Families of RAMOS” (in Arabic) in Journal of Psychology , Vol. 3, No. 12, 1989. (Report is written in English).

Migration of Professionals from Egypt (Book in Arabic) Cairo : General Egyptian Book Organization, 1990.

“The Integrated Care Society and its Sponsorship of Libraries of Children” in The State of the Child in the Arab World , 1991, Arab Council for Childhood and Development.

 “The Role of the Integrated Care Society in the Festival of Reading : Present and Future”, Nov. 24, 1991 . Presented in the Festival of Reading for All , published in Proceedings , 1992 pp. 7-21.

Fifth Family Planning Research Newletter of NPC , June 1991, 16 pp.

Sixth Family Planning Research Newsletter of NPC , Feb. 1992, 16 pp. Seventh Newsletter, March 1993, 16 pp.

“Responsibilities of Women Towards the Community”, in the Proceeding of the Symposium of Goethe Institute Cairo 1992.

“Reproductive Age Mortality Survey: Qena Governorate 1989-1990”, in The Population Studies Journal Vol. 14, No. 75, 1992, pp. 5-53.

Legal Rights of Egyptian Women: in Theory and Practice (with others) in Arabic and English, Cairo 1992, pp. 1-45.

“Maternal Mortality in Giza, Egypt, Magnitude, Causes and Prevention”, (with others) in Studies in Family Planning , New York, Vol. 23, No. 1, 1992.

 “New Egyptian Curricula for Primary Schools: An Analytic Futuristic Study” (with H.Shehata) in Proceedings of Conference on the Transformation of Curricula of Primary Schools , Cairo , Jan. 1993, pp. 97-116.

“Egptian Curricula: A Futuristic Study” (with Dr. H. Shehata) Rose el-Youssef, 1994, 32 pp. National Conference for Preparatory Education Series.

• Social Study of the Criteria for the Development of the Pre-School Egyptian Child (with others), Vol. I. National Council of Childhood & Motherhood, Cairo , 1994.

• “Dr. Ahmad Abou Zeid: A Tree of Giving”, article to be published in a book in 2002 edited by Dr. M. El Gohary.

 Research paper presented at the Conference on: Politics on Emigration and Work abroad in Cairo , Egypt on “The Phenomenon of Emigration from Egypt and the Arab Countries: Effects, Motives and Economics” (in Arabic), March 1973.

 Research paper presented at the 9th Annual Convention of Arab-American University Graduates in New York , in a panel on: Migration in the Arab World . The title of the paper is, “The Attitudinal and Social Structural Aspects of the Brain Drain: The Egyptian Case”, Oct. 1976.

 Research paper on “Women in Islam: Comments and Clarifications”, presented at San Francisco, University of California; at Berkeley at the Center of Continuing Education of Women; at Pitzer College, Claremont; and at Boston University, Oct. 1976.

“The Role of Women in the Integrated Care Project for Primary School Children.” Presented at the Third Confernece: in Egypt Year 2000 (Arabic), Cairo , Dec. 1978.

Research paper on “The Changing Political and Social Status of Women in Egypt ”, presented at the NGO Forum/UN Mid-Decade Confernece for Women held at Copenhagen , Denmark (July 14-30, 1980) (APT Conference Grant - The American University in Cairo ).

Research paper on “Evaluation of Action Programs: Social Welfare Services, County and Village Committee Activities in the Menoufia Integrated Social Services Project” presented in a seminar on The Demographic Situation in Egypt , held at the Institute of Statistical Studies and Research, Cairo, Dec. 15, 1980.

 Lecture given to preparatory seminar for the First Conference on the Role of University Youth in Community Development on “The Ivolvement of AUC Students in the Integrated Care Project for Primary School Children on Voluntary Basis,” The American University in Cairo, 1982.

 Research paper presented at the Salzburg Seminar on “A Comparative study of Migration of Egyptian Professionals: Pre and Post 1973”, Austria , May 1982.

Research paper on “An Emperical Study of Temporary Migration of Professionals to Arab Countries,” presented at the Methodology Seminar on Local Communities and Social Structure , Euro-Arab Research Group, Tunisia, Oct. 1982.

 Lecture given at the Nile Center for Mass Communication on “The Role of Voluntary Associations in Development” in the Symposium on Egyptian Women's Role in Development , Cairo, March 1983.

 Lecture on “Family Structures and Social Change,” given in the Symposium Experiencing Egypt Today , Cairo, April 1983, sponsored by the American University in Cairo, Division of Public Services.

Lecture given at the Summer Seminar on Egypt : History, Society and Culture , at the American University in Cairo , entitled “Women and Family in Egypt ,” 1985, sponsored by United States Department of Education, Center for International Education.

Lecture given at the Egyptian University Graduates Association on “My Experiences in Nairobi : NGO Forum,” Cairo , 1985.

Organized a Workshop on Menoufia Reproductive Age Mortality Survey (Ramos), Sponsored by Family Health International, North Carolina , and held at Oriental Hall, The American University in Cairo . Gave two papers on “Methods of Data Collection” and “Maternal Mortality in Menoufia”. Research was carried out by The Social Research Center from 1981-83.

 Research paper on “Youth and Volunteerism: The Arab Republic of Egypt.” Presented at the Youth and Family Conference , Morocco , Dec. 1985.

 Research paper on “Research on Family Consequences of Maternal Mortality,” presented at the ME Awards Workshop on Assessment of Health Intervention: Child Survival and Reproductive Health , held in Aswan , Oct. 14-16, 1987 (English).

 Research paper on “Experiences of Some Concerned Associations with Children in Egypt ” presented at the Nile Center for Information Education and Training - State Information Service, Nov. 17, 1987 in a Workshop held in Cairo on Egyptian Children's Status and Needs (Arabic).

 “Women's Responsibility Towards the Society: Social Participation” paper presented at Goethe Institute on Nov. 23, 1987 in a Workshop on Women's Responsibility Towards the Society .

 Research paper on, “Egyptian Women's Role and Needs in Administration and Leadership Positions,” presented at the Symposium on Evaluation of Women's Needs in Administration and Leadership , Amman , Jordan , June 1988.

Research paper on, “Egyptian Women in the Gulf: Response to Migration.” presented at the International Symposium on Women in Migration: Social, Cultural and Occupational Issues , Berlin , Germany , Oct. 1988.

Research paper on “Social Status and Role of Women in Egypt : Its Suitability to Safe Motherhood,” presented at the National Safe Motherhood Conference , Nov. 1988.

 Research paper on “General Principles of Survey Research Management: Field Experience,” presented at the Fourth Family Health Research Centers Directors Conference , Cairo , March 1989.

 Research paper on “Research Design and Methodology,” presented at the Workshop on Maternal Mortality in Giza Governorate, March 1989.

 Research paper on “Maternal Mortality in Menoufia: Social Issues,” presented at the Rapid Assessment Procedures Workshop , Cairo , July 1989.

Research paper on “Methodology of Estimating Maternal Mortality in Rural Areas,” presented at Workshop sponsored by the International Islamic Center of Al Azhar University, Jan. 7, 1990 .

 “Voluntary Work for Children,” presented at the Workshop on President Mubarak's Declaration of the Decade of the Egyptian Child 1989-1999, Cairo , Nov. 1989.


 Final Report on: Reproductive Age Mortality Survey in Quena Governorate in English and Arabic, Nov., Dec. 1990, Cairo , Egypt .

 “A Survey of Philanthropic Societies and PVO's Providing Small Loans or Credit Schemes to Poor Women in Egypt ”, research paper presented at a WHO meeting on Promoting Health Through Functional Literacy and Intersectoral Action , held at Lusaka , Zambia , Nov. 13, 1990 .

 Research paper on “Voluntary Efforts: Libraries of Children” presented at the Seminar on Children's Literature in Egypt , organized by the Documentation and Research Center for Children's Literature, July 1990.

 Round table discussion in Confernece on Education with Mrs. Mubarak, Minister of Education and other prominent people about proposed changes in education, Jan. 1993.

 Organized seminar on “The Attitudes of Religious Leaders (Moslim and Christian) Towards Family Planning” at NPC on Dec. 1992.

 Attended a workshop on “Maternal Morbidity Research” Bangladish, Jan. 1993.

“Schools in the Year 2000: A Case Study of the Integrated Care Society,” March 1993, paper presented at workshop sponsored by UNICEF. (Arabic)

“Voluntary work with children: Case Study of the Integrated Care Society” Dec. 6, 1994 , paper presented at Psychology Symposium, American University in Cairo .

“The Role of Socialization in Creating Gender Difference” Ain Shams conference on Child and Security Jan. 13, 1995 .

 “An Overview of the Process of Educational Reform in Egypt ” presented at AUC, April 18, 1995 .

 “The Image of Egypt: Western Views of Egyptian Culture” presented at the English Public Lecture Series, 1994-95 on May 15, 1995 .

 “The main achievements of the Fourth International Conference of Beijing 1995” presented at a Workshop for the Follow up of Beijing Conference and Forum on Oct. 22, 1995 at the Alexandria Trainng Institute and Research for Family Planning.

“Beijing World Conference on Women” paper presented to the Women in Development (WID) Donors Sub-Group at USAID Office, Cairo , Oct. 30, 1995 .

 “Lessons from Beijing and Their Consequences on Egyptian women” presented at the Public Adminisitration and Development Forum in Jameel Center Aditorium on Nov. 1, 1995 .

 “New Horizons for a Happy Childhood” presented at Ain Shams Univ. Conference on New Horizons: Happy Childhood on April 20, 1996 .

 “Integrated Care Society Libraries and Their Role in the Development of Children's Culture” in the seminar on Arab Child Literature and the Future prepared by the Ministry of Culture, Documentation and Research Center for Children's Literature, on Nov. 20-21, 1996.

 “Impact of Family Planning on the Lives of Egyptian Women: Qualitative Results”, 1997, paper presented at the Dessimination Seminar, Family Health International, Cairo , March 1997.

“Early Marriage, Unwanted Pregnancy and Maternal Mortality” in the session on: The Society: Role and Expectations, Unwanted Pregnancy conference at Ain Shams Univ., June 8-9, 1996 .

 “Maternal Mortality in Quena and Menoufia Governorates”, 1998, paper presented at the seminars in Menoufia, Assuit and Sohag Governorates in January and June 1998 in the dessimination program of the Fertility Care Society (EFCS) on researches done on maternal mortality and morbidity all over Egypt.

 “Eradication of Illiteracy and Rural Women's Development”, March 1998, presented at the National Commission of Women's Annual Conference in Menoufia Governorate.

“Impact of Family Planning on Egyptian Women's Lives: Findings in the quantitative and qualitative data,” May 21, 1998 . Paper was presented at the final dessimation meeting of (FHI) Family Health International Women's Studies Project that took place in Alexandria .

“Maternal Mortality in quena Governorate: Methodological Issues,” paper presented at the EFCS Conference on Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Researchers' Workshop, June 1998.

“The Role of the Integrated Care Society in Enhancing Women's Eduation and Eradication of Illiteracy,” paper presented at the Reading for all Festival and Education of Women , June 1998, Kalubiyah Governorate.

The Impact of Family Planning Use on the Lives of Egyptian Women: Case Studies. Final Qualitative Report presented to Family Health International, North Carolina , August 1998.

The Impact of Family Planning Use on the Lives of Egyptian Women. Final Report with Dr. D. Heisel, presented to FHI, North Carolina , September 1998.

• Working paper of the “Integrated Care Society and its Role in the Reading for All Festival: Future Outlook,” forthcoming in the First Arab Regional Meeting on the Reading for All , UNESCO, Egypt , November 1998.

• Research paper on, “The Rights of the Child to Read” submitted to Friends of the Environment and Development Association, on October 1999.

• Participated in the Thirtieth Annual Conference of the Cairo Demographic Center CDC on Population Problems and Sustainable Development in November 21, 2000 by organizing and chairing the first session on Children's Rights and Sustainable Development. Confernce was held at CAPMAS and I was awarded the plaque of CDC.

• Participated in the conference on the Role of Egyptian Women in Development at Benha University, Faculty of Arts on March 17, 2001 in the round table discussion by giving a paper entitled, “Suzanne Mubarak: A Model of Integrated Approach to Development and Volunteerism.”

• Was a member of the organizing committee of the Second Annual Symposium on Women in Science and Technology sponsored by the Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action of AUC on April 24, 2001 . Chaired the first plenary session on Women in Health Care and Environment.

• Invited member of the general assembly that meets regularly with the Minister of Education to share knowledge and expertise about education in Egypt and to prepare for the coming conference about transformation of secondary education.

http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/1999/462/women.htm

Just found this article on Women in Al ahram thought I would put it here for posterity

Auntie Marys pickles

Auntie Mary made the best pickled turnips.  Every year she would wash and sterilize her huge glass jars that she pickled her turnips in.  Viva and I were recruted to wash trim and cut the turnips into quarters.  We sat on a cardboard in the back room with knives, bowls and a waste basket cutting and trimming lots of turnips while Auntie made volumes of brine to make the pickles with.  Once she had the brine ready she would place a piece of beet at the bottom of the jars and then pack the cut turnips into the jars..........and pour the brine over them.  She left the jars in the windowsill of the kitchen.  Viva and I would go mad just watching the jars of pickles sit there in the shaded window.  Often we would debate how we could get some without Auntie noticing us. We could hardly wait til the pink color from the beats would infuse all the turnips to the top, the signal that the beets had ripened and were ready to eat. 
Usually we would scale the wall on the side of the house, holding onto the concrete ridges to get to the window..........or I would hang onto the exterior drain pipe to give viva room to manuver the jar so we could get some of the pickles.  We would work as fast as we could, listening for the clipclopping of Aunies slippers on the stone floor signally us to get the heck out of there.
The stolen pickles tasted so good

Auntie Marys Torshi Left recipe

Torshi left is a popular Arab pickle and in Egypt they make it in brine, without any vinegar at all. The beetroots give the turnips a lovely pink color. 



•1 kilo  turnips (about 2 lbs)

•2 beetroots, raw and sliced or quartered.  (you only need a peice really)

•2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced

•just over a litre or 2 pints of water enough to cover the turnips

•5 tablespoons of salt

Use firm, unblemished turnips. Trim and wash them and peel them if necessary (if large). Cut them in half or quarters and leave baby ones whole.
Place the turnips in sterilised preserving jars and layer with slices of beetroot and garlic.  Traditionally you put a piece of beet at the bottom, so that when the top turnips turn pink you know its time to serve and eat them
Put the water and salt into a pan, bring to the boil and pour over the vegetables. Seal the jars and leave in a warm place for 3 or 4 days, by which time the pickle will be ready to eat.

Then keep refrigerated and eat within 2 weeks.

The Cat lady

Madame Vera Baiucci was the cat lady of Maadi.  She lived in an apartment building not far from our house.  Her husband was a fastidious man in both dress and deportment.......alwasy a gentleman.  Vera was not, she was often disheveld and smelled of old cats, and the fish /scraps she carried around the town to all the animals that she fed.  When ever she went outside, she was followed around by a long line of cats and dogs who were more interested in the aroma of the food she was carrying.  They walked behind her with their noses in the air like they were in ecstasy.  At night the animals congregated around her building waiting for her to come out again.  One of the stops she made was our house on road 17.  Although we had a dog named Pedro at that time, Vera came to feed a cat that had been left behind years ago by the previous residents of our Villa.  Twice a day Vera came into our yard, (pedro following her like she was a goddess)  calling out Neferr..............TITI!!!     NeferrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrTITI!.  The old black and white cat would come out of  the jasmine bush and climb down the portcullis to get her bowl of food.  The cat lady gently would pick her up and place her on a sunny window ledge out of reach of Pedro and feed her.  She would scoop a mash of food from her bucket into a small battered aluminum bowl  (recovering the bucket so that pedro counldnt stick his nose in it, and hold it up on the ledge for the old cat.  She would then pet the black and white cat talking soft nonsence while Nefertiti ate.  Then when she was done eating, Madame B would take her bowl and bucket and walk back out to the street. 

work in progress

Madame Baiocci the cat lady of Maadi
Going to get a Ramadan Lantern with badraya
Eid al Adha with Salem's kids
Food Stands, Corn, shuwarma, lib fitir
Ras el bar trip  "the fleas are coming"
Torshi Lift: stealing Auntie marys pickled turnips
going to camel market in the city of the dead
Let them eat cake
Sahara city picnic with Hala;s family

Lanterns

I was at a store in cleveland area called World Market and they have this lanterns from middle east, pakistan and India.  It reminded me of a time when I used to go with Salem to a street in the Khan al Khalili during a feast day and we would buy them.  His daughter Badraya and I would walk along swinging our lamps chanting the song of the season  WA-HA-WE  YA  WAH-HA-WE!  eh yo hoya...was Kaman wahwee .........eh yo hoya.......... Bint al sultan labis kaftan (daughter of the sultan wears a kaftan)......eh yo hoya
I wish i could remember the entire chant!

Salem picked me up with his daughter Badraya.  it was a special event for the Eid ( festival/feast).  we walked hand in hand down the road looking at all the shops that had special cakes, cookies and the entire street was covered with lanterns.  Alot of them had been recycled from old tin cans and glass bottles.  some were very beautiful.  Salem chose one for me and one for Badraya.  we put candles in the lanterns.  Chanting while swinging the lighted lanterns......walking down the street.  Salem bought a tray of kakh ( cookie covered with powdered sugar) and ghoryiba (a kind of shortbread cookie) ladies fingers ( sponge cake cookie), Angel wings ( cookie shaped like wings that was covered in a sticky syrup.   These would be his gift to my family for the eid.

We stopped also at the Fitr shop.  Fitr is a cake made with very thin layers.  The baker takes your order and then rolls out the dough  then he picks it up and swings it over head a couple of times and lays it on the marble top  its see thru thin!!  I had ordered Mukasarat ( it means broken bit ...its a peanut one)  he puts a layer of fine peanut crumbs over the dough then folds it up inot layers ( like filo dough ) in each fold he puts more peanuts with sugar . then he puts it in a mud brick oven ( ike a pizza oven ) when he pulls out the golden goodness he pours orange blosson syrup all over it.  the "cake" sizzles ......finally he puts a big dollop of sweet cream in the center.
Wow it was the best thing I have ever eaten!!

Pearl of the Desert

My parents announced that we were all going on a picnic at someone’s farm. I thought about the mud huts along the Nile or even the more modern rough brick huts and wondered who we were going to see.


Are we going to stay at a mud hut with a gamoosa (water buffalo) and a ‘saqqiya’ (water wheel)? I asked.  That might be exciting but very uncomfortable.

“No we are going to one of Saneya’s friend’s farm.  Its called the Pearl” mom replied, and then added “Hala will be there.”  I was very excited at the prospect of seeing Hala again!  Then I started to think and I became
confused for a moment and so I said, “I know that there is NO farm in Egypt called ‘the pearl’. Mom smiled at me.
“Well it’s actually called “al Luqluq” which means the pearl.” she replied.

OOOOOOOOHHHHH so that’s it I thought.

We all got into the fiat. Dad was driving as usual like a mad demon, dodging the donkey carts and pedestrians along the way. We drove into the Giza area of Cairo and along the ‘strip’ where all the night clubs were just before you get to the pyramids….and we parked in one.

Hala’s father pulled alongside our car. My father got out and so did Mohammad (Hala’s father). As they spoke, I was granted permission to ride with Hala and I quickly skipped all the way to her car! While her brother Tarek (not to be confused with Tareq who lived accross from us on road 12) got into our car to keep my brother company.

When we started driving again, we drove along side a canal. It was not a main road at all and it seemed to pass thru very rural farm villages. All along the canal interesting things seemed to be happening. Boys were jumping off bridges into the water below for a swim, while girls herded their goats along the road. One girl walked beside her gamoosa. Hala and I stared out of the window watching the scenery go by while eating molasses sticks. The sticks are hard at first, but got softer as they got warm in our hands. When we bit off a bit it became real chewy and it got stuck in our teeth. They tasted a bit like the American “Mary Jane” candies, only they were really long. Saneya seemed to have brought tons of the candy and she did not object to us eating it …so we ate them all.

After a while the road appeared smaller, like it was going between fields. The fields were under irrigation so the rows of green alternated with rows of glinting blue as it reflected the sky. You could tell one man’s field from another because of the alternating field patterns. One fields rows were horizontal, the next vertical; each one separated by a wider channel that the water flowed through. Some fields had an abundance of date palms, others did not, yet the whole area had a “green” feel unlike the rest of Egypt which had a “Khaki” feel. Ahead of us on the right was a large stand of date trees with huge red fruit almost ready for picking and rising up behind them were huge mud brick dove (in this case pigeons) cotes. They were like 3 tall spires in tannish gold that were perforated by many holes and sticks.

“Why do people build such huge mud building for birds” I asked?

“Because they eat them”, Hala replied then continued “Hammam Mashwiy is considered a delicacy.”

“Grilled pigeon! People eat birds!” I exclaimed. Saneya laughed, “Well Erin, a chicken is a bird no?” I knew when to shut up…they were still laughing. Hala’s father became very serious (as he always was) and went into a lecture on the economics of village life and how they depend on such things as pigeon. As he spoke my mind wandered. It was such a lovely place. I wish I had a camera for every image that I saw.

W finally got to the farm house. It resembled the villas like they had all around Maadi where I lived…..not very farmish to me. It even had marble mastabas along the front steps.

Hala and I waited until all the adults had finished with their introductions. This seemed to take an eternity and so we made our escape into the house. Hala and I wandered from room to room, hunting for hidden treasure. It was a disappointing hunt. The only thing we seemed to find was some very old coats and Зabaya’s. When Hala and I searched the pockets we found a bunch of papers carefully folded in one of them. We were unhappy that it did not turn out to be an old treasure map.

“These look important” Hala said, “we must take them to the adults.”

How do you know?

They have a stamp…see. she pointed at what looked like a postage stamp. I even said so.

Hala looked at the papers. “ I am having a hard time reading the handwriting she said but these are not postage stamps…its what we use to make something official.

I sighed. she was going to make having an adventure very difficult. I followed her back to the Salon where they were all sitting, drinking lemonade and chatting. We showed the paper to Mohammad and asked what it was from. It was a work agreement of some sort. A girl had been hired to be a maid in the house for 13 piasters a month (13 cents. It was a stupid piece of paper but the adults seemed to be very amazed at it and began a lengthy discussion on how things used to be and how things had changed.

Our Hostess asked us what we would like to do and always I asked if I could ride a horse. She said no,,,but she could arrange a donkey ride for us around the farm.

Hala and I rode back to the mud towers that housed the pigeons. The whole area around there was so calm and green. The shaded area under the trees was even cool. Every where there were people working and preparing the harvest of something, some unknown greens. Huge heaps of these greens were being piled so high that you could not see the donkey underneath. This gave the impression of a huge shrubbery walking on 4 legs.

As we rode a long the road we met a man who had a wagon load of sugar cane. the wagon was piled high and the grassy ends hung off the back of the wagon and trailed along the ground. Hala pulled up her donkey and spoke to the man. He stoped the wagon and carefully cut off 2 segments off for us. While she negotiated the price of the sugarcane, I rode off thru the trees and dismounted. Riding the bare back of a donkey was a lot different than riding a horse….it was not very pleasant. I stretched and touched my toes. The donkey could not resist the target of my rear end and so head butted me. I fell down. I got up and reached for the halter of the donkey...but he jerked his head and ran off a ways and stopped. I walked toward him slowly. He trotted off a bit more keeping distance away from me until finally he just ran off altogether. Now I was in a pickle.

Hala came up behind me with the sugarcane sections. She looked as the donkey took off down the road. I wondered what I was going to tell her. I was not about to tell her the truth; that was too embarrassing! So my plan was to get sympathy instead.

What happened to your donkey?

It got spooked by something in the trees. I do not know what it was but it frightened the donkey and I was kicked off. It ran down the road. I said as I pointed.

Too bad she said. “you will have to walk back to the house” and she handed me a section of sugar cane.

I looked at it and said “how do you eat this..it looks like bamboo?”

Hala demonstrated from the back of her donkey,” You hold onto the hard part like this and use your teeth to crack the end. then you grab the cracked outer part with your teeth and pull it up and back …like this” she cracked her cane. I tried and found that it was fairly easy to do. Once we had all the hard stuff off she continued “you bite a section off, chew it and suck the juices. do not swallow…when all the juice is gone you spit it out”

Ok I said as I bit off a piece.

I chewed. It was a bit hard on your teeth but the sugar came juice was worth it.

The Garbage boy

Months had past and the new school opened, which was a relief because now I could walk to school rather than ride the bar of Salem’s bike.


On the way to school every morning I pass the carts of the garbage collectors on Port Said Street. They were called Zabaleen after zabala (garbage). They were the self appointed garbage people who rode down the streets of Maadi and collected all of our garbage. Most of it they burned outside the walls of the old city of Fustat, they rest they recycle in some way. The NOISIEST carts belong to them. Their donkey carts looked like huge boxes with no top and one side missing, the wheels of the cart were huge, bigger than the cart made out of what looked like a single slab of wood.

The children sat on the heaps of garbage in the cart while the father sat on the shaft of the cart. Flies buzzed around the cart and were often seen in the corner of the eyes of the children. They flew down Port Said Street, laughing and joking, their father calling out greetings to passersby.

Early one morning we woke to a banging sound. Someone was banging on the door. It was the ‘Zabala’ boy who daily collected the trash from our house into a huge loosely woven basket. This time he looked like he had cleaned up some. His face was somewhat cleaner, like it had been washed and there were no flies in his eyes. His donkey cart waited just outside our garden gate, His hand was outstretched. “Merry Christmas” he said and stared at me. “Merry Christmas? Its not Christmas.”” I replied and stared back at him. The boy remained standing at our doorstep. As I started to close the door, he said again rather quickly this time “Ya Mazmazelle….Merry Christmas Bakshish!?

He wanted baksish? I was confused it was not Christmas and he got paid. I know that my mother even paid extra for him to collect it everyday.

Mom came down the stairs and handed the boy 5 piasters. “Merry Christmas” she said and smiled. He saluted her with the money in his hand and said “Merry Christmas Madame” with the biggest smile he could muster. He then leaped off the stoop and ran out of the gate. He pulled his donkey cart along to the next house and ran inside.

“It was his holiday present” mom said softly as she closed the door.

“But Mom”…I said, “it is not Christmas, its not even thanksgiving!’

No, princess its not, the garbage boy is Muslim, and its one of their feast days. Today you will not see Ateya or Salem either, they are with their families. I suggest you go read a book.


Please note that most of the Zabaleen were Christians)

side note coptic church

This church was completed before I left Egypt, and I was there when His Holyness, Shenouda, the Pope of Alexandria and the Patriarch of All Africa on the Holy Apostolic See of Saint Mark the Evangelist of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria. he is the head of The Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox church.

Coptic Church

I followed Sylvia to her church one day. It was not really even a church as the upper portion was not even built so the sanctuary was in a sub basment area and the upper portion was flat, quite undone but ready to continue at any time. Sylvia had said that after the church had started the building process, the Egyptian government took back their permission to build it. So there they all gathered in a basement with a roof. I did not go in at first. I was afraid, so I walked around wondering how long it would take. Sylvia said that she goes to Friday service and she only stays until she takes communion.  Sylvia stuck her head out of the church........"pssssssssssssssssst" she hissed at me, "come in dont stand there like a dummy"

I was hit by the overwhelming odor of incense. The sanctuary was filled with smoke from the incense. The whole building was packed. Even the aisles were filled. There were many men standing by the altar all wearing white robes with elaborate gold crosses embroidered on the front, crossed by a red cloth band that hung crossways from their shoulders to under their arms chests going across their chests. Some were playing the cymbals, some played the triangle, all were chanting. Their chants all ran together like a loud noisy HUM. In the center at the altar was the priest who was dressed elaborately in white with a mitre on his head was chanting “Ameen, Ameen, Ameen!.”

The people at the back just stared at me. I did not belong there. I felt terrible, out of Place, alone, and just a bit scared. A woman signaled me to come over to the women’s side of the church. I complied and stood beside her. He eyes danced as I approached but she quickly looked forward the church. I sat down, only for a second; the woman touched my arm and motioned for me to stand, so I stood. The Priest chanted, the deacons or the congregation replied while my eyes searched for Sylvia, but I did not see her. I daydreamed, lost in the feeling of calm that the church gave. I stood when they stood and sat when they sat. I even started chanting the Kyrie Eleson that they were all chanting at one point.

I woke from my daydream because something different was happening.

The Priest was now facing the crowd. He was scattering water droplets on the congregation. I could see that people were catching them. Many in the back had raised their hands and were waving at the priest to send some their way.

I tried to hide behind a very heavy woman in front of me but she moved holding her hand out to catch the blessing. The priest smiled down at me and very carefully splashed with droplets of water. His eyes were very tender, very loving and gentle. For a second our eyes connected and then he turned going back the other way.

Sylvia appeared at my side and took my hand whispering “did you get splashed?” then she said "come on and get in line with me to see the priest" 

"Do you really want me too?" I felt very out of place

Sylvia smiled. “Of course I do silly! Come on …let us break bread and receive baraka with Abuna Isaak.”

We waited in line for what seemed to be an eternity. Many people came up to me with their tiny loaves of bread (that had something stamped on it) held out for me to pinch a piece off. “Welcome” they said.

We finally reached the priest. He smiled at me. His eyes glowed. He said something in Arabic to Sylvia.

Sylvia turned to me. “Erin, this is Abuna Is-haak, that is Father Isaac in English.” She then returned the introduction, in Arabic, to the priest.

Abuna Isaak broke off a piece of his bread and hand it to me. As I shyly took the bread from him, he took my hand in his and said “Welcome Irinni.” his eyes danced and twinkled. 

I smiled because  I truly felt welcome there.

We left the sanctuary of the church and Sylvia stopped by the doors. A man was there with a box of the bread that everyone had. Sylvia gave him a couple of piasters and took 2 out of the box. She gave one to me. We walked along the road passing others who had been at church, and I go to offer them a piece. By the time we got to our street, we had finished our bread. Sylvia sighed, “You know Erin that if you share bread and salt together you will always be like family. Remember that we shared our bread today.” It was a solemn vow.

“I will remember”
“Good! I will see you in three quarters of an hour after I have changed! Ok?!”

OK! But you know Sylvia, you can say ‘in 45 minutes’ instead of ‘three quarters of an hour’”

Sylvia laughed and took off running toward her villa. She called back as she ran,,, ”it’s a direct translation from Arabic!!!!!”

Flute Seller

To-do-tooo-to-tutu…the flute sounded. To-do too-to-tutu again it sounded.


I leaped up from my homework and stared out between the leaves of the Mango tree that blocked the view from my window. My eyes strained, searching for the flute seller. I really loved the flute seller. He walked down the streets playing music that called us to him.

His bamboo flutes were carried in a strange pack upon his back that made him look like a human porcupine.

To-do-tooo-to-tutu! I ran out to greet him. I had saved 25 piasters for a flute. He was easy to find for he was being followed by a horde of children who danced and clapped behind him. He looked like the pied piper of Hamlin.

We all stood around him examining his wonderful flutes. He made them all himself and they were beautifully decorated. The side blowing flutes were more elaborate than the pan pipes or the twin pipes or even the kazoos. Each flute he removed from its display place in the pack was blown up to demonstrate that they worked and then he waited patiently while we tried to blow them. I really wanted the side flutes like the one that he played while walking, but I could never make the sound come out. (These flutes are not like the western counterparts whose blow hole is on the top…on a bamboo flute you must blow across the cut top of the bamboo length sideways like you would blow a coke bottle, only sideways).

I tried and tried and tried, It was hopeless. I would never have a pretty pipe.

“dis is betta for you” he said as he handed me one of the plain twin pipes. “I know” I replied as I nodded. I was really sad, the others were so pretty. I was looking down at my bare feet when I felt the flute sellers hand under my chin, lifting my head.

His eyes twinkled. He handed me a twin pipe so beautifully decorated that it almost looked like the one he played.
“For you only 5 piasters” he said

Really? "Oh thank you! Shukrun! Shukrun!!!!" I cried.

I ran all the way home with my treasure held safely to my chest so I could play it in my room.

Alfie Bey Restaurant

Sometimes when my family would go downtown Cairo or head over to the Khan al Khalili we would find ourselves getting very hungry.


There is a restaurant that we always stopped at when doing errands in Cairo and that was Alfie Bey’s. The people were friendly and while my parents talked about boring stuff, I could watch the buses and the electric trams go by. The Waiter there seemed to love my parents. Every time we went here he would hug them and greet them warmly. We always had the best seats in the house.
We always had the same thing….Kebab and lots of it. The waiter would bring us an appetizer of rice and meat that had been molded in a cup, Tahina and Baba Ghanou along with lots of ‘Aish baladi and shami. For dessert I would always get the crème caramel and my mother would get Omm Ali.
One day while my grandmother was visiting we left to go to the Khan without eating breakfast. After we finished shopping we were all starving! Dad decided to stop at the restaurant on the way back to the University.
We were greeted with the same waiter and he was introduced to Granny.
When the food was served, we began to eat. We stuffed our selves full of the appetizer and called for more Tahina and bread.

When the food arrived, we ate in a hurry, quickly to fill the empty spot in our belly.

Granny looked up at us eating so fast and asked “Why are we in a hurry?” I looked up...We all did and we began laughing.

note on Hagg Hassan

years passed by, Hagg Hassan would appear outside our house, talking to Salem and he would always buy me a Groppi Icecream

Hagg Hassan, shoe shine man

Hagg Hassan was an elderly shoe shine man who walked the streets of Maadi looking for work. He had a set schedule, as also went to regular customers homes to clean their shoes. His meticulous schedule always took him down Road 17 precisely at 430 pm. His excellent time table and precision was however his down fall. My brother and I would lie in wait for him. We would lie along the irrigation ditch holding our breath waiting for the scuffling sound of his trotting bare feet to go by us. We took delightful glee in jumping out of the hedges and dancing around him lie wild things chanting in a sing-song way “shoo shine shoo shine youuuuu wanta shoooo shhhhhinnnnne!” and as we chanted we stuck our bare feet in is face. Hagg Hassan was a man of great forbearance. He calmly ignored us and kept on trotting down the road. That did not matter to us. We found it extremely funny. After a few days, Hagg Hassan did not pass our ditch. We lay there waiting and he did not come, nor did we see him.


The days past. Kirk and I did other things. One day Kirk came bursting into my room. "You’ll never guess" he cried out gesturing towards the door.

"What! You died so I could make you leave my room!"  I yelled angrily.

“No stupid” he fumed…”the old geezers’ going down road 20 now. Come on lets go!”

We were off running down road 81. Ahmad (Zaynab’s husband who now lived in a cardboard box along 81) came out and threaten to tell our fathers that we were harassing Hagg Hassan. Kirk threw him the finger and we kept running. We met Hagg Hassan at the corner of 20 and 81.

“Shooo shine shoo shine youuuuuwanta shoo shhhhine” we chanted breathlessly. Hagg Hassan’s face screwed up in anger. He was an old man, with a craggy like wizened face and when he got mad his wrinkles got thicker. It was one of the few times that he even looked up as he trotted along carrying his shoe shine box. Hagg Hassan however did nothing. He kept trotting along going to his next destination.

The next day Kirk and I lay in wait for him at the corner of 18 and 20, but he did not appear. As we walked back home, Ahmad (Zaynab’s husband) laughed at us and said that Hagg Hassan went the normal way today. We were mad. We saw it as our personal right to torment this old man.

Three days later, Kirk and I were sitting on the stoop drinking “Asir Lemoon” (lemonaide) when we saw Hagg Hassan coming up the road. He head was not down and he seemed to be looking for us. We flew out of the garden gate and out into the street.

“Shooooo shine shooo shine” we chanted. We chanted our chant and stuck our feet into his face laughing at him for three blocks. As soon as we turned right onto Sharia Orabi, Hagg Hassan dropped his shoe shine box. His usually slow, bent over body rose and whirled around with such agility and speed that my brother and I were amazed. “youstuuupidfuckinsheeet!!!!” he yelled at us. Kirk and I stared at him in utter amazement. We fell down laughing. Hagg Hassan calmly picked up his little box and continued trotting down Sharia Orabi. Kirk and I remained in the middle of the road laughing, the tiny tree helicopter-seed floated into our hair making us the comical site.

We finally got out of the road and walked back to the house. We never spoke of tormenting Hagg Hassan again, and as if by mutual agreement we never appeared near our garden gate at 430 either.

Hagg Hassan won.

Dangerous Mangos

Right beside Sylvia’s house was an Egyptian primary school. It was one of the free schools open to the poorer children. Every morning they would line up in thier plain undyed canvas uniforms to chant verses and count to 10 outside in the courtyard to the beat of drums.

The school building was in a sorry state. The plaster crumbled, windows were broken, paint peeled off, and the floor tiles were cracked and broken. A huge roughly built brick wall separated the school from Sylvia’s yard. It was partially plastered over on the street side.

The school yard however boasted 3 mango trees of what Sylvia called “Indian” Mangos. These mangos were red and were much smaller than the large yellow “African” mangos that grew in my back yard. Sylvia said they had a better flavor and were sweeter too. Sylvia and I would lie in the grass in the shade of the wall on Friday afternoons gazing up at the tree thinking “are they ripe yet”, wishing that maybe one of them from a branch that hung over a wall would fall into the yard.

One afternoon we noticed that the mangos that hung over the yard were gone. The School’s Bo’ab (gate guard) had removed them. We were furious. We had counted those mangos as ours!
The gate guard never let anyone get the mangos. He sold them at the market for profit. No one was allowed to touch “his” mangos.
The rest of the tree was filled with a huge harvest of juicy ripe mangos. We decided that we were going to get some.

At 2 pm I ran to get Rowiyya and Rhowida before they decided to take a nap from the apartment above Sylvias house. And the 3 of us flew to the back section of Sylvia’s garden which was enclosed. No one could see us. Sylvia was already there with plastic carriers.
“Auntie is sleeping and the Bo’ab has left for “The balad” (town) she said.
“Great! There is no one to stop us now!” I laughed. Rowiyya and Rhowida, who could not climb stayed on the ground while Sylvia and I climbed the 7 foot wall, and jumped from the wall to the lowest branch of the Mango tree.

We were only going to take a few and get out of there, but there were so many. Each fruit looked and smelled better than the rest. We just grabbed the fruit and tossed it down to the sisters, who put then in the plastic carriers. When the carriers were full she hid them and found an empty box to collect the mangos in.

I was climbing higher and higher, when I noticed there was a strange quietness around me. WissssssssssssThwack Something nearly hit me, but hit the branch instead. I turned and there on the next branch was the angry face of the bo’ab who was trying to hit me with his bamboo cane. I looked down and saw everyone making come on signs from around the side of Sylvia’s house. I jumped to the next branch, not even caring at this point if I missed the branch or not. The tree was on my side as its branches caught on the bo’abs galabiyya preventing him from moving as fast. I noticed that somehow the sisters managed to get the box of mangos hidden as well. We only had to escape. I swung faster and faster down the branches, not caring that my face was cut, or my arms scraped. I only concentrated on getting out of the tree and dodging the wildly hitting cane that narrowly missed me yet again.
The bo’ab was shouting curses at me by the time I got to the branch over Sylvia’s wall. I leaped off the branch and hit the ground. Pain raced up my legs. I fell to the ground in agony. I looked up and saw that the bo’ab was almost at the branch. I forced myself to get up and tried to run. I hobbled around the corner where Sylvia waited and she helped me hide in the hedges. We crawled along to a place where the concrete was broken and it tilted slightly. There we were completely hidden from above. Rowiyya was already there but there was no sight of Rhowida.  We remained silent but our breathing sounded very loud and I could even hear the beating of my heart.

We could hear the bo’ab above us; we held our breath. He was yelling and hitting the hedges. He stopped along the street and asked passersby if they saw a running girl. Singular.  Full stop as Syliva would say.  Then I knew why the others hid and did not help me when I was in the tree…they had not been seen….only I had.

We waited. Sylvia wanted to get out but I would not let her. I knew that bo’ab must be waiting just as patiently for us to come out as we were anxiously waiting to get out. Minutes went by.

I heard a greeting called out. Salem had greeted someone. The bo’ab answered. He was right above us. The saving grace of our hiding place was also a problem. He could not see us…we could not see him.
Salem came over and talked to the bo’ab for a while. We lay there. Sweat was rolling off our faces but we dared not wipe it off. Salem and the bo’ab walked to the street. Their voices could be heard from far away.

Sylvia crawled out of the hedges and looked. She bent down. “They are standing at the end of the walkway beside the street”
We all crawled out. Fresh air was wonderful. We walked hunched over and very carefully so we would not be seen. My legs burned and my feet still hurt, but I managed. Sylvia and I picked up the box full of mangos.

We snuck around the hedges to my back yard, keeping an eye on Salem and the Bo’ab. Finally Salem left and the bo’ab went back to searching the hedges along the street. We climbed up the garage to our fort and sat in the shade of the jacaranda tree complete hidden by the trees full branches.
We had tons of mangos. Sylvia began dividing them up between us when Salem appeared in the tree behind us.
“I knew that you were here” he laughed. “mazmazelle, he would have beaten you if he had caught you” he warned and laughed at the same time.
Salem swung over onto the garage and joined us. Sylvia started her count again this time giving Salem a share of the spoils. After all he was our “get away man”

They were the best mangos I had ever eaten.