Women in Egypt

In the ancient world in Egypt, women were treated better than any other major civilization in the world. Although for non-royal women in a marriage, their known title was the "mistress of the house" (Thompson: http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/women_in_ancient_egypt.htm)and each meal was prepared by scratch. Not by rank, but by marital status and gender, set the foundational rules of where the person slept in the household.

In the article I read on BBc's News of the Middle East, A Women's place in the New Egypt, Leana Hosea stated "The role of women in the Egyptian revolution was vital to its success - from smuggling food and medical supplies into the square under their clothing, to ripping up the pavement for rocks and facing a barrage of Molotov cocktails.... Egyptian women proved to the world they were not voiceless and oppressed." (Leana Hosea 2011)

Female Revolutionaries in Cairo:

While looking the daily charts on the website "The Economist" I found many interesting facts about women in Egypt. There are about 83 million citizens in egypt and about half are women. I found out that about the same proportion of men and women in Egypt are likely to go to school for an education. Although statistics from 2006 show that women are paid less than men in most jobs. They are also are six times less likely to be someone's boss. I posted the URL if anyone is interested to watch the very short video on a few statistics gathered about Egyptian women.

After the Revolution in Tahrir Square, the harassment level to women in Egypt has been tremendously less if not none at all and much respect devoted to women. Wearing a veil is free choice:

"Women in Egypt: Still struggling | The Economist." The Economist - World News, Politics, Economics, Business & Finance. 21 Oct. 2011. Web. 31 Dec. 2011. <http://www.economist.com/blogs/dailychart/2011/10/women-egypt>

Thompson, James C.. "Women in Ancient Egypt." Home Page. Web. 31 Dec. 2011. <http://www.womenintheancientworld.com/women_in_ancient_egypt.htm>

Hosea, Leana. "BBC News - A woman's place in the new Egypt." BBC - Homepage. 23 Mar. 2011. Web. 31 Dec. 2011. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-12819919>

"Women in Egypt: ‘Why Not?’ « The DiA Blog." The DiA Blog. N.p., 13 Mar. 2011. Web. 31 Dec. 2011.<http://developmentinaction.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/women-in-egypt-why-not/>

Religious Traditions in Egypt

Currently Egypt has a population of about 71 million people throughout this country; roughly about sixty-two million are Sunni Muslims and the rest are Coptic Christians. As I have talked about before, these egyptians are moderately religious in which principles of religion are apparent in their daily lives. This beautiful country is one of most desirable countries to travel to considering the customs and generosity of the Egyptians. People in Egypt are very welcoming to visitors; they will greet them and offer them comfort in their houses, whether it is a seat to sit down or something to drink. Despite what the media says about Egypt, this Country is known to be moderately safe to travel to compared to western Countries and has very little or no relation to what the media says. Because of their family standards and traditions, whether they are Christian or Muslim, they tend to appeal to outsiders as the true hospitable hosts they truly are.

As all Muslims fast during Ramadan, their holy month, almost all Egyptians do the same. During this time it is known that during the time from the sun rise to the sun set they do not eat or drink, do not use profanity or think bad thoughts, instead it is their time to be thankful for all they have and to be living. This holy month brings everyone together in respect, love, to get to know each other, and to ask for forgiveness. Especially at night when they celebrate their traditions and put on activities.

The mosques are gathering places for worship to the faithful of Islam, in which tourists are welcome to view while a service is not in session. Their main services each week are usually at noon on Fridays, all arms must be covered and no shoes are to be worn in the mosques. On the day before Ramadan, 'Eid al-Fitr', the women and men gather together in the morning and either pray outside in a large place, or in the mosques.

The tradition for the Coptic Calendar during each year is very interesting and is centered around a solar cycle. This calendar is different in the sense that the twelve months are each of thirty days, and then it has one month of only five days. This calendar is used by the Coptic Orthodox Church authorities and by farmers that harvest crops.

About eighty-five percent of the women in Egypt stay virgins until they are married. They do so only for themselves but also as in terms of modesty. Staying a virgin until marriage is usually a common choice for the women in the Middle East because most of the men would rather marry a virgin anyways. They believe it is good karma is they wait and it also shows respect for themselves, as we also see in the United States in many religions as well.

Back during the time of the Old Kingdom, the religious beliefs of the Egyptians were ones they did not question or go against. Everything they were told by their family members were the truth they believed and followed. They believed in the Divine Kingship which was a tradition associated with the Pharaoh, their King and a God. The Pharaoh was their source of power and belief, in addition to their priests which held huge amounts of power as well. This was the time of the Ancient Egypt religion where there were many gods during one time, polytheistic, and then a time where only one god existed, monotheism. If things weren't going well, the egyptians blamed the priests and the Pharaoh. This time during the Old Kingdom was when they heavily relied on the afterlife concept; they buried the deceased in tombs, known as mummification, to preserve their bodies and give their spirit a place to go. This photo below is of Khafra, a pharaoh which was found in Mit Rahina. Today, this can be seen in Cairo, Egypt in the Egyptian Museum.

"Egypt Culture and Traditions, Egyptian traditions." Egypt Travel Information | Egypt Trips | Tours to Egypt | Egyptian tours | Trip advisor | Travel deals | Egypt Travel advice. Web. 28 Dec. 2011.<http://www.ask-aladdin.com/culture1.htm>

"Discover Egypt | Learn Arabic." Learn Arabic Online With Simple And Powerful Courses | Arab Academy. Web. 28 Dec. 2011. <http://www.arabacademy.com/arabic-blog/category/egypt-travel/>

"Religion of Ancient Egypt." Untitled Document. Web. 28 Dec. 2011. <http://historylink101.net/egypt_1/religion.htm>

"Egyptian Pharaoh Named Khafra - Images of Ancient Khafra (Egyptian People at Bible History Online)." Bible History Online Images and Resources for Biblical History. Web. 28 Dec. 2011. <http://www.bible-history.com/ibh/Egyptian+People/Khafra/Egyptian+Pharaoh+Named+Khafra>

Role of Islam in Egypt

The birth of Islam in Egypt was when the persecution of Christians occurred In 641 A.D. while Muslims entered Egypt. Christianity was in the north and South, although Egypt refused to accept the new religion. The population of Egypt was Christian until the invasion of the Islamic Arab in 640 AD. From 725- 831 the Egyptians revolted in opposition to the Islamic Arab rule of Egypt because of the unnecessary taxation and the religious persecution that weighed upon them. There was much chaos during this time in Egypt; Islam religion being forced upon them and a lot of destruction. According to a poll taken in February 2011, it shows that the Egyptians in fact do want Islam to play a large roll in politics. The Egyptians also think that democracy is the best political system.

The relationship between Muslims and other religions have been instituted by God in the Qur’an, which is His revelation. These religions have all been practiced now for centuries and are known to the majority of mankind. All religions are similar in certain aspects whether praying to the same God or not, people worship to their God in which they believe. All religions are also alike in the sense that the people who associate themselves with a distinct religion, practice that religion, have rituals that they do for years or eternity. Judaism and Christianity believe in a God and the prophets of God whom are their founders on earth consist of Jesus, Moses, Abraham, and David. Islam respects both Christianity and Judaism to a certain extent by their acknowledgement of religious reality and truth.

As of now, Egypt hasn’t implemented Shari’a yet although there has been much discussion on it the past few weeks. While reading articles about Egypt implementing Shari’a, Islamic law, I found an interesting article directly from a website of Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood. In June 2011, Sheikh Ahmad Gad, one member of the veteran movement argued, “...the implementation of Shari’a in Egypt must be achieved gradually, by preparing the peoples’ hearts and minds for it and introducing it in stages. He proposed learning from the methods of the early Muslim Brotherhood, which worked in a step-by-step fashion, and called on Al-Azhar to focus on promoting the implementation of Shari’a.” (Egyptian:2011)... He believes that if Shari’a is going to be implemented to this Country that it may do so gradually just not all at once. Although with the state they are in now and causing everyone to change, follow this Islamic law, and adopt something unfamiliar might be dangerous. The step-by-step procedure might smooth the progress of studying, understanding, approval and compliance. There are a lot of women in Egypt that consistently wear their Niquab, face cover, and Hijab, an Islamic head scarf, which shows the degree of religiousness people are taking in Egypt.

"Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood - Implement Sharia in Phases | Terrorism Right Side News." The Right Conservative News Sites | Right Side News. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Dec. 2011.<< http://www.rightsidenews.com/2011070613993/world/terrorism/egyptian-muslim-brotherhood-implement-sharia-in-phases.html>

"Poll says Egyptians want more role for Islam in politics." News. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Dec. 2011.<http://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/middle-east/141290-poll-says-egyptians-want-more-role-for-islam-in-politics.html>

Dumbarton. "The rise of Islam in Egypt, and Islamic persecution of Christians. Why were you born in Islam?." Beloved Muslim brothers and sisters; an invitation to a new beginning in the love, light, and peace of Christ, and His eternal salvation, liberated from the bonds of the fallen human nature. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Dec. 2011. <http://3lotus.com/en/Islam/rise-of-islam-in-egypt.htm>

Religions in Egypt

Years ago, during the Old Kingdom, Middle Kingdom and New Kingdom, the Ancient Egyptian religion was based on polytheism before Akenaton reigned. Polytheism meant the worship of many deities, Gods; which was very different than Islam religion of Monotheism where the one Lord they praise is Allah. Their education was primarily steered by the wisdom of human Justice. There were over two thousand gods and goddesses that the Egyptians worshiped. Sometimes the Gods and Goddesses were symbolized components of both human and animal. The sky God, Horus, was a God with a humans’ body and a Hawks head. This religion heavily emphasized on an afterlife. The Egyptians dedicated a lot of their time to preparing for their afterlife, arranging their survival in their next world. They believed in wrapping the bodies of the deceased and placing the ‘mummy’ in a coffin. Although the historical developments are continuing through the years and there have been changes within the political power of their Gods. The Local Gods now have the primary dominance.

Although now, the primary religions in Egypt are Islam, and Christianity. The largest sect in Egypt of Islam is the Sunnis. The leading Christian denomination is the Coptic Orthodox Church (shown in the picture above). The Coptic Church dominates Christianity, and the pope resides in Alexandria. The Christian population is very small in Egypt, holding about three to ten percent of the population. Religion is very predominant in Egypt, and any religious practices that deliberately clash with the Islamic law of Shari’ah is forbidden. One of the Articles in the Penal Code, Article 98 (F), permits prosecution when practices and beliefs are unorthodox because they are insulting. Many of the rituals and concepts from the Ancient Egyptian religion still arise through Islam and Christianity. Because Islam is one of the greatest religions within Egypt, they have more political power within the cultural influences. Islam has more influence on both education and politics.

The picture above shows Christian "Copts" in Church.

"Religions - Egypt." Encyclopedia of the Nations - Information about countries of the world, United Nations, and World Leaders. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2011. <http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Egypt-RELIGIONS.html#b>

"Ancient Egyptian Religion." St. Petersburg Times Online. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2011. <http://www2.sptimes.com/Egypt/EgyptCredit.4.3.html>

Amun, the 18th Dynasty. "Egyptian Religion." Ancient Egypt on a Comparative Method. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Dec. 2011. <http://www.aldokkan.com/religion/religion.htm>

Traditional Egyptian Cuisines

Egypt is located in Africa’s northeastern region surrounded by the Red Sea and The Mediterranean Sea. These seas made fish a very popular food for the people in Egypt. Although Egypt didn’t get much rainfall during the years causing crop growth to be very demanding yet very complex. Many of the ancient foods in Egypt that are still consumed today are dates, beans, bread, rice, cucumbers and figs. A few of the main fruits grown in Egypt each year are oranges, plums, peaches, grapes, dates and melon. Some of their national entrees are Kebab’s, which are pieces of grilled lamb and aish baladi, which is a type of pita bread. The ingredients of the traditional falafel, a pita bread sandwich, are shown below with onion, cucumbers, peppers, and meat.

Pigeons are a delicacy in Egypt and are served grilled and stuffed with rice. One of their vegetables that are served with evening meals during the summers is called molokhiyya, which is green and leafy. This picture below shows one of their dishes made with eggplant, cucumber and limes:

Before dinner, usually non-alcoholic beverages are served when guests are invited, because it gives them the opportunity to communicate and socialize with one another. Their traditional desserts are pastries, baklava, and cakes with crème filling such as basbousa, served with tea. These pastry and pudding desserts are normally saturated in honey syrup. Mahallabiyya is the name for Egyptian rice pudding which is typically served with pistachios. Just like in the United States, both coffee and teas are commonly consumed on a daily basis.

*For more information about Egyptian foods, you may go to any of these websites for recipes and to learn more about their traditional cuisines:

Food in Egypt - Egyptian Food, Egyptian Cuisine - traditional, popular, dishes, recipe, diet, history, common, meals, staple, rice, main, people, favorite, make, customs, fruits, country, bread, vegetables, bread." Food in Every Country. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2011. <http://www.foodbycountry.com/Algeria-to-France/Egypt.html#b>

"Traditional food and clothing."EGYPT. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2011. <http://raghdabayoumy.tripod.com/Traditional%20Food%20and%20Clothing.htm>

"Egypt, Traditional Food Plate Made From Eggplants, Limes And Cucumbers Stock Photo Image."SuperStock - The Best in Stock Photography, Vintage Photos and Fine Art Images. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Dec. 2011. <http://www.superstock.com/stock-photos-images/1598R-10311>

Day 2- Geography of Egypt

Today I spent time taking a look at where exactly Egypt is located and what countries, mountains, lakes, and rivers are surrounding this beautiful place. Egypt is located in the North Eastern part of Africa, although this is a closer look at Egypt:

This map below shows more of the physical features that Egypt has to offer, as well as color coordinates the different regions. This isn't the best map of all the physical features, but it does show the main geographical features of Egypt. The mountains and plateau's such as the Lybian Plateau, Jilf al Kabir Plateau. As you can see, the Arabian Desert is located on the Eastern part of Egypt as the Western desert is located towards the West. The two main seas that border Egypt are the Mediterranean Sea located North of Egypt, and the Red Sea which parts Saudi Arabia from Egypt. The Nile river runs through the Eastern part of Egypt, as Lake Nasser is located near Upper Egypt, not too far from Sudan. Although over the years Egypt has had many lakes and some have vanished.

This map was found on the website "Free World Maps" and can be found at http://www.freeworldmaps.net/africa/egypt/map.html

The first map was found while browsing WorldAtlas.com on December 20th, 2011. This map along with many more maps of egypt can be found at http://www.worldatlas.com/webimage/countrys/africa/eg.htm

Day 1

Egypt is very unique and from what I know it is a very populated country in Africa that always seems to have blue skies with puffy white clouds. Egypt has many stereotypes that I can think of off the top of my head. I am very aware that they are stereotyped for the amount of gold that they consume or wear, that they have names and although amazing pyramids. When I think of egypt it is only because of the stereotypes I have seen in movies, photographs or films, of lands of sand and camels in the distance. The stereotypes of humans riding solely on large camels as a means of travel, and the egyptians wearing a tons of clothing and jewelry. Many thoughts come to mind every time I ride the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland in California. I always tend to think of egypt with the sculptures, pyramids and gold that is decorated throughout the adventurous journey. I hope to learn more about these egyptians other than all the stereotypes that have been stuck in my mind for the past twenty years of living.