Reflecting on Egypt

As I sit here in the Cairo airport waiting for my flight to Tel Aviv, these are my main takeaways from this experience. 

There were some surprises. 

As a tourist, I was surprised as the Great Pyramids, Valley of the Kings, and other sites exceeded my expectations. Though I had studied about them in my art history courses and seen lots of pictures, I never realized the scope of these human accomplishments done thousands of years ago. It’s easy to see why some have suggested that they were, in fact, not human endeavors. 

As an American, I was a bit surprised by the government presence. In most cases, when I went on one of the organized tours, we were accompanied by a government escort.  Joining me on these tours were travelers from all around the world including; Australia, South Africa, Singapore, Canada and even some other Americans. We were told the government escort was there for our protection. 

As a scholar observing media influence, I was surprised by how indifferent most seemed to be regarding global issues. They were, of course, aware of what is happening in Ukraine but, didn’t see it as black and white as most Americans. This is understandable considering Egypt is much more dependent on their relationship with Russia.  But, their perception of the media is not much different from many Americans. In general, they seem to be highly skeptical of most forms of media. That being said, I think they might understandably trust Al Jazeera more than news from the New York Times.

As a global citizen, I will remember my taxi driver who took me to the airport.  His phone rang shortly after leaving my hotel.  He was using his speaker phone so I could hear his conversation.  I could hear the voices of a women and a very young boy.  It seemed as thought he was speaking to his daughter and grandson. Though they were speaking in Arabic, I could easily understand the tone in his voice as it changed when speaking to his grandson.  It was an unmistakable tone of affection; the tone of a grandfather speaking to his cherished grandson.  This tone needs no English interpretation.  

This has been a great experience. All the people I have met were very welcoming. The dollar was strong and it was easy to navigate most of the places I visited.