CityScape

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I just submitted a bunch of photos to AmLit, American University's Literary Magazine.  For some reason it's feels really important to share how beautiful Egypt is, particularly from my perspective.  I'm awed by Egypt in many of the same ways as any tourist through the ages, but my aesthetic is slightly different.  While the pyramids are amazing and I love a good tomb painting, I think the most beautiful thing I've seen in Egypt is CAIRO in all of it's tan, unfinished, falling apart, littered, lively wonder.  As an environmentalist, I have no idea why it appeals to be so, but literally find it break-taking.

Here are some highlights, some Cairo, some Garbage City, some Siwa:

Street Art

So very slowly, I am taking steps towards closure in my Egyptian experience.  I have finally posted my collection of photos of graffiti I came across in Egypt.  I am very proud of the selection I have acquired.   I was often made fun of for taking photos of walls while my group was touring, but I really wanted to have these photos to share with you.  The people's art!  So earnest and so Egyptian, born from the revolution.  Cheesy, I know, but I find it inspiring.  Check it out at this link.  Here are a few of my favorites:

Finished the Final Final and Left for the Sea

KHALAS!  I finished my finals.  I honestly didn't know if I could do it, but I did.  (I did have to get extensions on my papers, but to be perfectly honest, I didn't even think I could do those by the extended deadline.)  Only goodness know why, but then I decided to take an official computerized gage your Arabic level test, and that of course destroyed my self esteem.  A three to four hour test is a pretty lame prize for finishing finals, but now I'm done!  I'm trying to get last visits and Christmas presents in.  I had a calligraphy lesson.  I met my British friend from the summer and went out to my favorite Sudanese restaurant.  I met Salma and went to my favorite Yemeni restaurant.  I finally made it to the used clothes market.  I swear to jeebus, the used clothing market is possibly the most hipster place in the world.  There are literally just racks and racks of cheap used clothes blocks and blocks and blocks.  The thrift store of dreams.  Most of the clothes are western style, but I did find a pretty sweet galabaya :)  I can't wait to show my absurd purchases including the most bi'a shebab pants in the world!!!  If anyone is interested the market is right outside the nasser metro station and under the 26th of July Bridge.  And now I am at my program's final retreat at Ain Sokhna on the Red Sea.  Swimming.  Drawing.  Reading.  And this hotel is fancy.  Next we go on a yacht.  I won the program award for "Most Perseverance & Suggestion of the Week Champion."  Gots to run!!!

Slam Poetry and Fish Gardens!

WOW.  TRANSLATED EGYPTIAN SLAM POETRY.  I hope I am in town for this, but between final papers and a postponed trip to Alexandria, I'm not sure if this is going to happen.  Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Favorite place in Cairo at this moment: Aquarium Grotto Garden.  The first thing someone might tell you about this garden, commonly known as "The Fish Garden," is that there aren't many fish there.  A few feeble aquariums, some crocodiles, and some pickled creatures in jars.  What people won't tell you is that half the park is a huge grotto!  As in a huge man-made stalactite-y cave complex, complete with a colony of bats!  I went with the only other science major (biology!) in my program, so we nerded out for maybe an hour watching the bats.  While we watched them, a man came up to us and asked if we wanted a cappuccino or tea.  He had a nice shirt and a little notepad and everything.

My response: "No, thank you."

"This is cafeteria.  What do you want to order?"

"... This is a cafeteria?  There is bat poop on the ground."

"Yes," (oh, language gap, sometimes you are beautifully hilarious) "What would you like?"

I just laughed, "No, thank you," again to him and he realized that his poorly thought out scam wouldn't work on these white girls.  There were also some pretty magnificent trees that grow down as well as up.  It is my quest to find out what kind of trees those are!

Inspiration

I spent my weekend at the BEAUTIFUL Siwa Oasis.  It was an amazing trip.  I am still struggling with my photos, but plan on posting the best selections soon.  Siwan culture is fascinating, they have their own language!  Siwan history is vibrant, I got to climb around the old fortified city of Shali and star gaze.  Siwan desert is awe-inspiring, we sand boarded in the Great Sand Sea.  Hot-springs.  Salt Lakes.  Palm trees.  Couscous.  Hospitality.  Gosh golly gee.  As a teaser here are some watercolors I did at our beautiful hotel.  They are photographed on my beautiful new Siwan rug.  (Please forgive any flaws in my first ever attempt at watercolor painting.)

WINNING!

And today I won a kilo of bananas for visiting Al Masar Gallery!   Unfortunately, I dragged my friend Kathleen up and down 26 of July street in Zamalek for no reason, because when we finally found the building and this sign, there was no gallery attached to it.  But I got the picture by the sign anyway so I could claim my prize  :)

Luckily, I knew of some other Galleries nearby, so we had a lovely art-tastic night.  All three of these Galleries are within about a bock of each other, and there is yet another one in that immediate area that we didn't get too.

How convenient!  The lighting is best in the photo of my favorite gallery.  It's a nice cozy space with a fun loft that creates more exhibition space than there might be in larger galleries. 

This is also the site of that fantastic Ganzeer show I attended earlier.  The artist just posted pictures of his work from that exhibition.  I strongly encourage you to check that out HERE.  Another artist I've been following is Hassan Hassan.  I like a lot of his stuff, but I can't help getting sexist vibe from his work, like his latest posts.  But at the same time a lot of his posts express educated but unemployed young male adult frustrations, so maybe being sexist is just part of the territory.

Hipster in Cairo

I feel my inner hipster rising from the ashes of my previous state!  My goals for my experience in Egypt have changed.  I need to make up for what I have missed and make sure I do things that make me happy.  So now the objective is ART.  The motivation is ART. And maybe even the product will be ART.  My new plan to keep myself active and happy is to either go out (even if no one is going out with me) or do an art project everyday, be it just a quick sketch.

I mentioned Ganzeer's art show in the last post.  It is even cooler than imagined.  The whole gallery had been turned into a political, graffiti-esque art explosion.  Painting hung on the walls, but the walls were painted to match the works, and many of the paintings were continuations of the paintings next to them.     Here info on the exhibition:
http://www.safarkhan.com/exhibitions.aspx

After I visited the gallery, I spent sometime in that Sufi Cafe.  I had some GREAT mushroom soup.  The location isn't as close as I might like, but the chill indie atmosphere may be worth the trip, especially it I need places to go to alone from now on.  It's also book store, so that's great.  Another benefit of Sufi is that it is located right next to a really cool furniture gallery.  There are just rooms and rooms of really cool old Egypt stuff to furnish an eccentric individuals home.  It's great.

Hopefully there will be some concerts this weekend.  I'll keep you updated!

Zamalek is growing on me

Okay, I think staying home this weekend was definitely a good idea.  And not just because I was sick and I just realized what day it is today, or rather what day it will be tomorrow: the day my Econ presentation is due.  This weekend has just reinforced my thinking that I need to get out of this apartment, put some space between me and my peers, and less space between me and local arts.  The peace in the apartment has allowed me to pour out some poetry, and last night I met up some Egyptian friends at a great ahwa near where I used to live.  Today, I took a really neat excursion to meet a new language buddy and her mother and visit some art galleries.  The first gallery was the famous Townhouse downtown.  Unfortunately, it didn't have any expeditions at this time, but at least I know where it is now.  Then we headed over to Zamalek. We stumbled across the Sufi Cafe, that reminds me of my favorite hipster coffee shop back home.  We also stumbled across the space that Ganzeer, an artist who I have been stalking online since I arrived here, is holding his current exhibition, and I am pretty darn sure it was him working inside.  Eek!  I plan on returning this week when it opens.  Then a little antique shop caught our eye, and low and behold my language buddy's mom new the owner, who happened to be an economist, and we discussed the current political situation in Egypt (I defended Cairo, as he worshiped NYC).  I plan on returning and have his card.  Then our last stop was the Zamalek Art Gallery.  I finally feel a revival in my Hipster in Cairo segment coming on.  The best part about today was that I have things to return to, and investigate further.   Art is happening for me isa :)  Okay.  Homework now.

P.S.  I finally finished Azazeel.  Oh my gosh.  Just read it.

Books!

I think obscure philosophical literature could be considered a hipster pursuit.  (But it should be noted that the books I am interested in are actually quite well-known here, only in the US will reading these works further my hipster status.)  I have just completed Beirut Nightmares by Ghada Samman, a Syrian author with ties to Lebanon.  I got this book on my first weekend in Egypt.  I had been looking for an Egyptian author too read, but I couldn't find anything good in translation and ended up with this one.  I was not disappointed.  This 377 page book describes the narrators ten day captivity in her home in Beirut during the Lebanese Civil War.  Most of the book is the narrators thoughts as she is trapped inside watching bullets and bombs destroy her home, and slowly consuming her limited water and food supplied.  It was by no means a quick easy read, but there was something fascinating about the thought processes of the main character who was a writer that promoted some kind of revolution, but now faced with actual war is trapped and cannot bring herself to bare arms.  Another key element is her recently deceased lover who preoccupied her thoughts.  The book is organized into over 100 "nightmares" that chronicle them main characters stream of consciousness, her escape attempts and visits to the nearby pet store, her sleeping, and waking nightmares.   Every once in a while a little nightmare chapter will deviate completely from the protagonist and highlight a random individual's situation in Beirut.  I think this book is very well written, and really enjoyed it.

Now, I am picking through stories of The Arabian Nights: Tales from A Thousand and One Nights.  This may have been obvious for everyone else, but I just realized that "thousand and one nights" is referring to the thousand and one stories that Shaharazad told each evening to her husband the king.  She always withheld the ending, certifying that should not be killed until she could finish the story, keeping her alive for a thousand and one nights.  It's interesting how stories about Sindbad and Aladdin have been changed in recent history for modern kids animated films.  The modern movies have a linear clearly outlined plot, and usually star an underdog who rises through the ranks.  Modern understandings of plot, values, and desirable protagonists don't always apply in the old versions of these stories.

To be perfectly honest, I am really only reading Arabian Nights to hold myself over until my next book, Azazeel by Youssef Ziedan, arrives.  This novel follows a Coptic monk in his life and travels in before the advent of Islam.  This book is supposed to be a pretty scathing critique of the Coptic church.  This book won the International Prize for Arabic Fiction in 2009, and seems to be steadily gaining popularity in Egypt.  Though reading is not the most popular pastime here, this book has been suggested to be by several sources, and every bookstore I have visited has been sold out.  My copy should arrive in a week and a half.  I can't wait.  Hopefully, I'll have enough time to read it once my college classes start!

Also, completely unrelated: hipster glasses and messy hipster fros are taking over Egypt.  I not-so-secretly love it.

Ana Masry

Check out this band Ana Masry.  I couldn't tell you where I first heard of this band.  Maybe perusing the interwebs, or maybe they were suggested to me by an Egyptian or Arab-philic friend?  All I know is that when I read their name on the Sawi Culturewheel schedule of events it rang a bell, and I was determined to go.  I tried to enlist some Egyptian friends to go with me to the concert but between Ramadan festivities, gearing up for Eid (this Sunday!), living far away, and general Egyptian flakiness, it ended up being an excursion of foreigners.  This was fine by me, because it meant a reunion with my two British friends who had been traveling for the last couple weeks.  IT WAS A BLAST.  Surprise! the first song was accompanied by whirling dervishes!

The band is like a chorus of traditional and modern Egyptian-Arab awesomeness.  There was opera, beat-boxing, traditional Arabic music, instrumental solos, and Islamic... chanting? (I don't know what you'd call it, but it was stunning).  The band includes about six vocalists, in addition to a couple of  drummers and a violinist who also sing.  About every other number was a full ensemble number, and then solos in between.  They are all obscenely talented, and their energy is great.  I am determined to see them again live.  It was fantastic.

I would also like to make a shout out to the Sawy Culturewheel.  This is the third concert I've attended there.  This event was held in a different hall than the last two concerts I had attended.  I am happy to say even the smaller performance space was pretty excellent.  Yay arts!

Concerts are the Ultimate Good

I love music.  I love concerts.  LOVE THEM.

There are two music venues I have been wanting to go to since I arrived in Cairo.  The first is a very well-known spot that I visited once or twice last time I was here: El Sawy Culture Wheel.  The second location is a smaller venue that keeps sneaking up on me.  I feel as though every conversation about music ends up with a reference to Makan.  It's reputation as the best whole the wall for underground and traditional music convinced me that I HAD TO see this place for myself.  I had been (desperately) wanting to go to concerts at these places but I hadn't had a chance to organize any friends to go.  While I considered just forcing myself to go alone, general apprehension and laziness kept me at home.  I also acknowledged that a more easy-going, Insha'allah, attitude about by goals was more Egyptian.  I am glad to say I was rewarded for adopting this attitude.  I've had a great weekend so far!

This month's session of Arabic classes will finish up next week, and then most of my buddies are traveling for Ramdan or back to real life in their home countries.  (It looks like it's just going to be little ole me studying away by my lonesome next month.)  We all wanted to meet up before we disperse, so we agreed to meet downtown and go to a cafe.  Last minute, plans were changed slightly, and all I was told was that music was somehow involved.  I was absolutely gleeful to be led be lead directly to the one place I most wanted to visit: Makan.  The venues was perfectly dingy for my taste, but I think even the neat-freaks in my family could enjoy it there. The three member band played Eritrean, Sudanese, and other African traditional songs.  The songs were unstructured and emotive with beats that my white brain couldn't duplicate.  I thoroughly enjoyed it.  At one point a beautiful women got up and started dancing despite the calm atmosphere of the venue.  With perfect confidence she proceeded with the most graceful, subtlest, and sensual belly dancing I have seen.  I hesitate to call it belly dancing because American and even showy-Egyptian belly dancing has such a different flavor with big sweeping hip movements and body tricks, but this was all small concentrated movements with a more African flavor. This woman's friend joined her (with a more Egyptian party style of dance).  When they saw me jamming in my chair they pulled me up to dance with them.  Believe it or not, my friends say I held my own.  Twice they had me dance with them.  My high school obsession with Shakira has paid off!  I am proud of myself for not feeling too embarrassed.  The music wasn't exactly the kind that makes you jump out of your chair, but if you let it sweep over you you can find the jam.  It was a great night that ended with a lovely sit at an 'ahwa.

At Makan, British friend Mike said he had seen this band before.  I asked him where he found out about events and he pointed me in the direction of Cairo 360.  The next day I was perusing this website, and low and behold a musician I liked was playing at El Sawy THAT NIGHT!  The musician was Ramy Essam, a young man who became famous during the revolution for putting popular chants to music.  I actually gave a presentation about him and other music in Egypt in a class I took about the Revolution.  Essam was actually arrested and tortured at one point, making him even more famous.  He is also very cute.  So I had to go.  I pretty much ended up going alone.  I assumed my foreign friends  didn't know the musician and my Egyptians couldn't meet until after, but it doesn't matter.  I SAW RAMY ESSAM.

Essam opened for himself with an acoustic set.  (I don't know if opening bands are even a things here.)  For a few songs he brought on a friend who played classical guitar.  It sounded great.  Essam's voice has that raw untrained quality, like melodic speaking, but at the same time his voice is good enough that it doesn't berak, he can do some beautiful runs, and has a decent range.  But after a short while he left the stage, "for five minutes."  We were standing there for over an hour.  While it was hot and stuffy and crowded it was also a fun experience because everyone knew Essam's songs, the crowd just sang them with out him, and then recited all the latest protest chants.

Eventually, dreamy Ramy did return, and with a full band.  Instead of a drummer he had kind of a cheesy DJ for his beats, but after a few songs I got into.  (There was also a tabla, or Egyptian hand-drum, player, so that helps.)  It was a fun set, and he played for quite a while to make up for the time he lost.  Boy, is he cute.  I was smart enough to bring my glasses so I could see him properly.

The concert ended in fireworks, and then I met some friends at a cafe.  It was a good night in a good weekend :)

I desperately want to upload the videos that I have from the Rany Essam concert.  I can't get it to work right now, but I will keep trying!

Music!

Insha'allah, I am going to my first music venue downtown tonight.  I have yet to find the good underground venues, but I'm working on it.  Thus far I have been content playing music to myself in my apartment, and I have found a wonderful website to aid me in that pursuit: Masr Music.  All lyrics are in Arabic, but many of the songs can be found on YouTube.  What a wonderful opportunity to practice!

Ganzeer

Ganzeer (or “chain” in Arabic) is rocking my life.  The artist became famous in the aftermath of the revolution for creating and posting this poster.  This arrest has made him on of the best known “street artists” of the revolution, even though street art makes up a very small portion of his portfolio.  I really enjoyed this comic he did for a European magazine:

Even though Ganzeer doesn’t consider himself a street artist he has contributed a great deal to the street scene.  I am in love with this online map he has created pinpointing many locations of art around Cairo:

http://ganzeer.com/cairostreetart/

Comic books!

I have had a lot of free time to draw.  So on a whim I searched the Internet for some of my favorite superheros to copy, so I can practice my comic drawing.  (See how it's coming along on my other blog.)  I thought to myself how lame to copy from Internet scraps instead of a real comic book, and so I took it upon myself to find a comic book store in Cairo.  Hello Kryptonite!  I will be taking a trip there very soon.

While searching comic books I found these:

Cats in Cairo

Metro: A Story of Cairo

Rise: The Story of the Egyptian Revolution As Written Shortly Before It Began

Cairo
This one I've read.  It is pretty good.  It is not political like the others listed here.  It was written by an American journalist who spent many years working in Cairo.  The illustrations are great.  The dialogue and plots jumps around a bit.  For instance it becomes intense suddenly without adequate build-up and the reader is left a bit confused, but the over arching ideas are pretty neat.

There was another comic book I found a the Kafir cart at the Mall of Arabia, but I didn't catch the name.  It was all in Arabic.  Maybe I can work up to that by the time I leave.

Another GREAT graphic novel is Habibi.  It is not Egyptian, it's not even quite Arab.  It is written by a white boy from Wisconsin, but, man, is it beautiful.  It feels a little bit orientalist, the way it romanticizes supposed exotic and erotic aspects of the Arab World, but it thoughtfully addresses many current issues in Arab society.  Though it may be orientalist, the novel's portrayal sexuality is very interesting.  The protagonist is a woman who overcomes a child marriage.  The book then follows her as she grows up with a baby she rescues form slavery.  It touches on village/tribal life, but the plot also moves to the city, and touches on the degradation of the Arab city and its natural resources.  The book also beautifully depicts the acquisition of knowledge, the Arabic written language, and Islam.  It is done so beautifully I wonder if the author has or is planning to convert.

Graffiti and Murals

Zeizer

Aya Tarek

And for some more graffiti magic look here!  I hope to find a lot of this and take my own pictures  :)

Hipster in Cairo

I plan on pursuing art as much as possible while living in Egypt, so I am going to start another string of posts labeled "Hipster in Cairo."  If you look at the bottom of this post there should be a link of that label. If you click it you will be taken with a page that lists all the blog posts with that label.  You can do the same thing for the "Word of the Day" posts.