The Occident

My first visit to Egypt showed me without question that Egypt is the cornerstone of every civilization that followed it. We arrived at the Cairo airport and immediately began seeing all of the usual tourist attractions. We stayed at the Cairo Sheraton a very fancy hotel. The top two floors were occupied by a trade delegation from the Soviet Union. Russian and Egyptian guards stood watch at elevators to prevent anyone from going to those two floors. On a later visit to Egypt we passed that hotel. Many years had passed since I first visited it when it was new. She showed some sign of age, but still brought back wonderful memories. Obviously we visited the great pyramid at Giza, as the accompanying photograph shows. I think it is one of the only photographs that I still have remaining from that trip. I am the guy in sunglasses on the left side of the back row who is flashing two-finger “peace” sign. I was especially taken by our visit to the Coptic community surrounding Abu Sergius Church. The Christian artifacts we saw in the museum there were far older than any we had seen in Israel. It was especially interesting to note the interest that the Egyptians took in one particular old Christian tradition. The Gospel of Luke refers to the holy family’s evacuation to Egypt during King Herod‘s Slaughter of the Infants. Our Egyptian guides placed great importance on this tradition.

As we approached the Great Pyramid two things stood out. First, it was a long way from the city of Cairo. We had to drive for quite some time before we reached Giza. On more recent visits I have seen that the town of Cairo has surrounded Giza. The second thing that impressed me was the way the desert began so abruptly. I stood there with one foot on grass watered by the Nile river and the other foot on sand that extended across North Africa all the way to the Atlantic Ocean. It was a mystical moment. Every grain of sand touched another grain of sand, which touched another another, and another, and yet another all the way across the continent of Africa to Morocco.

In one of the markets we passed, we saw some beautiful long dress robes worn by Egyptian men. Ike and I each bought one, and that evening Ike and I wore them to supper. The reaction we got was amazing. Tourists in our party thought we were putting on airs. The Egyptians in the dining room, both waiters and diners, (all wearing Western clothing, by the way) really made us feel that we were honoring them by dressing in their native garb. They may have been simply humoring a couple of crazy Westerners. I never have been able quite to decipher their reaction, it certainly seemed as though they were surprised and pleased.

I asked our server what this especially delicious food was, and he had to summon the head waiter who spoke English. I understood him to say that it was something called “iggyblend.” I began to rapturize about this wonderful stuff called iggyblend. A supercilious pastor’s wife at the table then said in a loud voice to her husband, “Dear, isn’t this delicious EGGPLANT!” I was embarrassed, but I had discovered a new favorite food.Read more