Author: akhouzam

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The Final Day, Antiquities to Modernities (And a Shukran)

This Thursday was my last day at the Academy, and I took my final exam and said my goodbyes. After that, I had all of Friday and then traveled Saturday at 4:00 AM, so basically Friday was my last day. And to be honest, it was one of the best days here. I think to do it justice I will have to detail it all through means of a schedule.

First stop of the day: The Ful cart.

Ful is a hearty fava bean dish that is a common breakfast in Egypt, and to begin the day, I went with my uncle and cousin, and we walked to a cart close to my apartment and ate breakfast there. People normally eat ful alongside good hear pita bread and sometimes eggs, with onions as well. A really quintessential start to my last day in Cairo.

Second Stop: The New Capital. Al3assima Alidarraya is the new capital of Cairo. Currently it is just a couple years old, and the president, President ElSisi has begun moving all of the governmental buildings there, and the plan seems to be that people will begin to live there in the next two years. Now, it is pretty empty, but you can see how quickly the capital is building and it is really an incredible experience to witness history in the making.

 In the new capital, we visited the new Orthodox Church Cathedral, which is the largest church in the Middle East. What was incredible about this visit in particular was that the Cathedral is still not completely finished, they are still painting all of the icons inside it. So, there is sill tons of scaffolding up, and my family and I were the only people in the church. We were ableto meet and talk with the artist as ell, which was an incredible experience. Also, in the new capital, I saw the new Iconic Tower, which is the tallest building in the continent of Africa, and next to it we drove through the banking and governmental districts. The city is so modern and cutting-edge that it almost has a dystopian feel to it. Below are some pictures showing it, with the first one being the entry gates into the city.

Third Stop: Old Cairo (Masr al Adeema)

To end the day, I visited Old Cairo, also known as Islamic Cairo, which is characterized by some of the most historic parts of the city. It is a heavily religious district, home to many ancient mosques and churches alike, and I was able to visit both. First, we visited an old monastery that we prayed in together. Then, we took this little open air taxi called a “Tok-Tok” to another church, the Church of Mari Gergis, St. George. There I saw St. George’s quarters and even his cell where he was tortured. Finally, we took the Tok-Tok again to a mosque, and my little cousin and I went in to have a look. This was the first time in my life to visit a mosque, as I am not muslim, and it was a very interesting experience.

Overall, I feel like this is the best way to finish my time in Egypt. Within the same day I was able to marvel at both the new age Cairo with all of its development and advancements, and then I was able to appreciate the beautiful Old Cairo with all of its chronicled and rich history. Egypt is truly a gem of the world, characterized by both modernity and antiquity, and I have been able to experience this first-hand this summer. My time in Egypt has really been a life-changing experience, one where I was able to contextualize much of my youth, and even much of who I am as a person. These two months stimulated growth not only in my language, but also in many virtues and other facets of my life, particularly bonds with my family that could never have strengthened like this otherwise. This day showed me a reflection of my life, I should be proud of my heritage, and also excited for all of the incredible possibilities that my future holds, just like how Cairo seems to be growing as well.

Sign-off and Shukran (Thank You)

I want to thank many people for this incredible summer. Firstly, the CSLC and the SLA grant. Everyone in the CSLC has been of tremendous help during this journey, particularly in getting Cairo as my location. I am the only ND student here in Cairo, and am the first student since 2011 to be in Egypt. I worked hard to get this location approved by the University, and I am proud that I kept pushing, and I want to thank everyone at the CSLC for their constant support, particularly Dr. Blad-Miller and Ms. Mary Davis. Secondly, I want to thank the Arabic department and my professors, for they fostered in me the flame of learning this beautiful language, and encouraged my pursuit of summer study through recommendations and such. Thank you Professor Bualuan and Professor Bronson for everything. I am extremely proud to represent both Notre Dame and the Arabic department in Egypt for the first time in 12 years, truly an honor whose worth I realize fully now. And finally, and most importantly, thank you to my family in the States, and particularly my family in Egypt. To my grandma, Teta Hoda thank you. Also to my cousins Youssef and Nada, My aunts Mona and Lola, and uncles Amir and Raja, thank you all for making this the best summer of my life and reminding me what a strong net and loving family God blessed me with. I love you all more than you will ever know and more than you can imagine. I will see you all very soon, mark my words.

There is a saying in Arabic that translates to, “He who drinks from the Nile must return to it.” I have drunk from the Nile, and I have a feeling that Egypt and Cairo lies in my future, and I pray that I return soon.

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The Food and How I Grubbed in Cairo

In my time here in the Mother of the World (ام الدنيا) I have had the pleasure to try some of the best food on the planet, some things for the first time in my life, and others were all-time familiar favorites. This list will identify and briefly explain my top picks during my time. This is not in any particular order, but if one of the items is a particular favorite, I’ll note it in my description.

  1. Qahwa Turkie (Turkish Coffee)

Ironically, one of my favorite foods/ drinks here isn’t even Egyptian in origin, rather it is turkish. Characterized by notes of cardamom and being like a double-esspresso’s older, more mature brother, I normally made myself one cup every day at school, using a special pot called a Kanaka and I would put it on the hot plate. The process took about 8 minutes, which fit perfectly in my 10 minute breaks. Making it with a head of foam (وش) is an art that I eagerly tried to learn by listening attentively to the advice of my professors and some of the other employees. By the end, I was much better at making consistently delicious cups.

  1. Shay (tea)

Like the coffee, shay was an integral part of my time in Egypt. You can truly drink it any time of the day, and I could easily drink two or three cups in a day. I add a little bit of splenda to mine, and keep the bag in it, sip and enjoy. 

  1. Teen Shoki

Teen Shoki is prickly pear, a fruit that grows on cacti, and is in season only during the summer. I got lucky! It is delicious, and you can get around 3 of them for 10 guinea, equivalent to about 30 cents USD. This picture shows the most common place to get Teen SHoki, in the street! Here I am with my father where we bought and ate some  Teen Shoki and also some Dora (corn) which will be featured later in this list! The fruit in Egypt is next to none, and I really ate tons of it during my time.

  1. Abu Tarek Koshary

Koshary is one of the national dishes of Egypt, and the best place in the world to get it is a restaurant called Abu Tarek. Everyone in Egypt has tried this restaurant and loves it. Now what is koshary? Basically it is a dish combining two types of rice, chickpeas, lentils, lemon, tomato sauce, garlic vinegar, and then you top it off with fried onions. Such a hearty dish, one that I really dream about here, and on top o that, super affordable as well. 

  1. Wara2 Enab

Wara2 Enab is grape leaves, and they are stuffed with rice and ground beef then tightly wrapped and steamed. They are only reserved for special occasions because of how time-consuming they are to make, but I really love them.

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  1. Manga

The second fruit of the list! Manga, or Mango in English, is one of the best deserts in Egypt. I tried dozens of different types of mangos, and my favorite was one called Saddequa, a very big, sweet and succulent mango that I loved to eat. I normally ate at least one mango a day.

  1. 3seer Asab

This is sugar cane juice, and to be honest, it may be my absolute favorite thing on this list. I drank this often in the streets, and absolutely loved it every time. It is so refreshing and I always finish it in less than a minute. Such an incredible item that characterizes my time in Egypt for sure. 

  1. Lib soury

Lib soury is sunflower seeds, and in Cairo there are whole stores dedicated to selling roasted seeds. My favorite one was called Noor 3la Noor, and it was a 10 minute walk from my apartment, so I went often and would by a ¼ kilo bag and then it would last for a couple of days between me and my family. I love sunflower seeds.

  1. Tarb

Tarb is basically kofta which is ground beef wrapped with a piece of fat. Super unhealthy, and I only ate it once during my time, but delicious for sure. It had to go on the list because this was the first time I tried something like it.

  1. Ful

Ful! This is possibly the most popular Egyptian dish of them all. A classic, hearty breakfast consisting of fava beans, corn hoil, cumin, salt, pepper, lemon,and onions, you can eat this in the morning in the street, or you can make it at home. Pictured below is when myself and my uncle and cousin went one morning to a ful cart in the street and enjoyed the iconic meal with some pita bread. Delicious and nostalgic for me for sure.

  1. Roz bil laban bil qshta

Roz bil laban is a dessert that is basically rice pudding, and what makes it special in Egypt is that it is traditionally eaten with a cube of qshta on top, which is cream. This was one of my favorite desserts, and also one of the first times I tried qshta, which really enriched the dish as a whole. So tasty.

  1. Feteer Mesheltet

Feteer is a common type of pastry bread that is made of layers of dough and ghee, and then you eat it with condiments, either molasses and tahini for the sweet version, or cheese and tomatoes for the salty version. It is a classical Egyptian breakfast, and is decadent, but very heavy for sure.

  1. 3eish balady

3eish balady is the most common type of pita bread in Egypt, and you can find it on every single table with every meal. I bought this regheef (loaf) for 1.5 guinea, equivalent to about 4 cents, and it was delicious, fresh from the oven. There are ovens all over the place, and my grandmother always stocked from a particular one whose taste was the best bread I’ve eaten in my life.

  1. Molkhaiya

Molokhaiya is a green stew/soup made from a certain leaf that grows in Egypt. It is a savoury, kind of slimy dish that is served typically over rice and with chicken and vinegar and onions. This is one of my favorites for sure, an all-time classic that is extremely nostalgic for me. You can also eat it with the 3eish balady.

  1. Tamar (dates)

Tamar is dates in Arabic, and the best type is one called Tamar Soccary from a shop called Abu Auf. This translates to sugar dates, and I would buy a box about every two weeks for my grandmother, who loves dates. We would eat one or two every day together, and they remind me of her now. I love dates because of my grandma.

  1. Shawarma

Shawarma is one o the most well-known arabic dishes in the world, and it is amazing. In egypt, there are many restaurants that specialize in it, but my favorite is a place called Abu Haidar, and from there you can get the shawarma a few ways. Firstly, you can pick between chicken and beef, I always pick beef. Then, you can pick the type of bread. The more traditional type in Egypt is a kaiser roll, but I prefer to get it on 3ish soury, which is Syrian pita bread that is super thin. The sandwich normally consists of the meat, then tahini and pickled carrots or onions. Such an awesome lunch.

  1. Mumbar

Mumbar is a well-known sausage that is basically the intestine of the animal stuffed with rice and meat and then cooked thoroughly. The texture of the skin is very snappy and this is one of the best things to eat in Egypt. I love Mumbar tons.

  1. Hamam Mahshi

Hamam Mahshi is stuffed pigeon, one of the meals that is reserved only for special occasions because it is very difficult to prepare. The meat is dark and tender, and the stuffing is this cracked barley mixture called fereek. I ate it only once during my visit, and it was cooked by my cousin’s Grandma, Aunt Suzie, and it was one of the best hamam mahshi I have eaten in my life. Every time we used to visit Egypt in my childhood, my grandmother would make this for us, and I love it dearly.

Arabic Cuisine; Egyptian traditional stuffed pigeon or "Hamam Mahshi" dish. Stock Photo | Adobe Stock
  1. Kawar3a

Kawar3a is one of the newerthings I tried on this list, it is beef trotters. It is super gelatinous, and heavy, and I enjoyed it but it’s definitely an acquired taste. NOrmally you eat it either in a soup or on rice with red sauce like this.

  1. Dora  

Dora is corn sold in the street. They normally prepare it on a grill and it is an awesome snack to grab on the go. It is super affordable too. There are two types, the white corn and yellow corn, with the yellow corn being sweeter and a little more expensive. 

  1.  Koshk

Now, this isn’t really a food, moreso a concept in Egypt called a koshk. It is a little open-air market filled with quick snacks like cold drinks and bags of chips, and I love it tons. There is a big koshk culture in Cairo, and you can find one on nearly every corner. I normally get water from these and maybe even a bag of spicy chips if I’m feeling like it.

Overall, the food in Egypt is like no other,and I was able to really enjoy trying new things and eating other things that hold great memories for me. I hope  this list gives you an idea of the culture from a slightly different angle!

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Little Excursions, a Window into my Life

Throughout my time in Egypt, I had many chances to explore the incredible history that the country holds. From ancient civilizations to the most cutting edge modern flare, Egypt truly has a little bit of everything. This blog post will summarize some of the highlights of my little excursions that I took a part of this summer, I have been collecting them all so that I can post them in one place, not only for the post itself, but more so also as a digital diary so that I can remember all the incredible things I had the blessing of doing this summer. Also, due to spotty wifi, now I have a more stable connection, so posting them all makes more sense.

The Borg, The Cairo Tower

June 17,2023 

This morning I visited the Cairo tower, a big landmark in the city, and we went to the top. From there we were able to see all of Cairo, and I could even see the walk that I take every day, because we were right next to Garden City and the hotel district next to the Nile. After we finished up with the Borg, we went to a very famous Koshary restaurant (a local dish that I’ll explain in the food post) called Abu Tareq. Such an incredible day and memory.

Port Said and Port Fouad (Visiting the church of the Holy Virgin and Anba Bishoi)

June 23, 2023

This weekend, I took a minibus with my aunt and her family up to a city on the coast called Port Said, which is also right next to Port Fouad, neighboring cities. Port Said is known for two things: 1) it being a historically known city regarding trade, because it is a tax-free zone, and 2) its seafood. I was talking with my father on the phone and he told me about how he and his family would go to Port Said once a year to do clothes shopping and other essentials due to the tax exemption, and he shared with me his memories of the time there. Now the main reason we went to these cities this weekend was to visit a holy site in the Coptic Orthodox rite, the Church of the Holy Virgin and Anba Bishoi. The story goes that about 30 years ago, a member of the congregation owned a picture of Our Lady of Zaitoun, and one day it began spontaneously dripping holy oil, oil that smells distinctively aromatic and fragrant. Since then, they moved the icon into the church and many believers flock to it, praying for miracles and taking some oil home with them. This was an incredible experience for me, a truly sincere religious one. I am not Coptic, I am Roman Catholic, however I feel at home in the Coptic church considering I was raised around the rite. Being there in the presence of  a miracle was truly something spectacular, and taking part in some of the traditions was awesome too. Firstly, there is a big poster with a prayer for Mother Mary in Arabic that is traditionally sung, and with each new group of visitors, someone inevitably starts the chant. It is a singing version of Assalamu 3leyky ya Maryam, a famous Coptic prayer that praises Mary and her glory. I was reading along comfortably and felt really as if I was a part of the community. Also, the other tradition followed in this church is that people take paper and write down their intentions or the names of people they want to pray for and they throw them at the feet of the picture. I did this and wrote all of my dear ones’ names in arabic. Then, as we left, we were each given vials of the oil, which I brought back with me and intend to pray with regularly. What a blessing.

Then, after we finished up our time in the Church, we went to Port Fouad, the neighboring city and feasted on fresh seafood. We ate Gambary (shrimp), samak (fish), and I tried many other things that were all delicious, but more on that in the food post. 

The Drive 

June 27, 2023

Today I visited with my cousins a brand new mall district about 20 minutes away from New Cairo, in a place called “Taggamou3.” We went late at night and walked around the mall, which is basically two parts: the Drive, which is an open air concept that is filled with a bunch of little restaurants. Lots of people go there to walk around with their families and eat good food. Next to the Drive, there is the other part of the complex, “5A”, which is the more upscale portion. It isf filled with higher scale restaurants and also lots of boutique stores for big fashion brands. It reminded me a little bit of Michigan Avenue in Chicago, every store was a huge brand, Gucci, Channel, YSL, etc. This mall district reminded me how much Egypt is developing these years, with so many new locations being grown like the Taggamou3. I mean, the region that it is in was only the Sahara desert like 10 years ago, and now it’s a city filled with things like this.

The Pyramids of Giza and the Pyramid of Saqqara

Jul 7, 2023 

I had the unreal chance to go with some of my family to visit the pyramids and the temples in Saqqara. I had visited the pyramids of Giza before, but this instance, we had an incredible time eating a great breakfast right next to them, something that was really breathtaking. This was the first time I had the chance to visit the Pyramid and temple in Saqqara, considering they have just been discovered in the last 5ish years. It was incredible. We visited a temple for the bull of Apis, which was a revered bull by the pharaohs, and the temple was called the temple of Serapeum. Overall, a ridiculous experience, and it was pretty awesome to be able to understand the tour guide fully as he was explaining the temple to us, so a little language victory there too!

Nile Falouka Trip

July 19, 2023

At this point of the summer, my nuclear family came to stay with us for 2 weeks, and one of the first things we did was go on the Nile in a little boat called a Falouka. We all got on in the evening and were taken around for about an hour until it was dark out and a fountain in the middle of the Nile turned on. To see the city from that angle was incredible, and we were also very close to where I go to school every day, so I felt like I recognized much of the surrounding area. It was also incredible to spend time with my family and catch them up on the last month and all I had done. 

Playing Tawla at Beesho’s

Many days, I went to a local Qahwa (coffee shop) and would study there. I knew the owner, Beesho, who was a good friend of my uncle. This was one of my favorite places in all of Cairo. I could study there for hours, and earlier in the afternoon-evening, it would be very quiet, but later on, more and more people would come to socialize, drink tea, eat something, maybe smoke shisha, and play games like Tawla or Dominos. I grew to love Tawla, which is backgammon, and played against Beesho himself a few times (but I never won). Hopefully ill practice some now and the next time I go back I’ll beat him!

Khan El Khalili Bazaar

July 24, 2023 

I visited a very famous open air market called Khan el Khalili. My family and I went together to buy gifts for our friends and coworkers back home in the States, and I was able to practice my Arabic, especially by haggling. Everyone understood what  I said, and I felt much more comfortable expressing myself in arabic. I even sat down in a local coffee shop to take a phone call and I got myself a nice strong Turkish coffee. We go to this bazar every time we used to come to Egypt, so to come back filled me with memories, and pride in my development of the language. I did not need to depend on my parents translating for me, rather I could navigate the area and get what I needed to get. 

El Azbakeya  Book Market

July 30, 2023

TodayI went after school to a very famous book market called El Azbakeya. I took the metro there, and then began the search. I wanted to  find some books in Arabic and English, and was able to get an impressive haul. Everyone I spoke to understood me, and I was even able to haggle a little, something I was proud of. I ended up leaving with about 6 books, and a kanaka, which is a little metal pot used to make Turkish coffee. Very successful trip overall.

These are just some of the incredible experiences I had in my time, but I hope they give a glimpse into the incredible opportunities I had this summer to enrich myself culturally and linguistically. I am proud to look back and see all the awesome things I did this summer, and I know this is not my last time living in Egypt.

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The School, All Its Minutiae

Arab Academy, located on 3A Kamil El Shinawy Street, Garden City Cairo, Egypt has been my learning house for the last month and some change. I get to the school around 10 minutes before my first class, around 8:50 AM. Normally, I go to the kitchen after getting my good mornings out of the way, and fix myself a cup of tea. This country runs on tea more than petrol, everyone can’t stop drinking it, and I’ve developed a borderline dependence on it these days. While I was signi ng up for classes, I opted for the group price because it was more cost effective, but what ended up happening was that no one came in my particular level this summer, so I have basically been getting private tutoring and one-on-one classes. Its been super intense and extremely helpful in my opinion.

Ustatha Shayma2 (Vocabulary)

I begin each day with professor (Ustasha) Shayma2, a very kind lady who helps me go through the vocabulary sets for the day, making me use the words in sentences and try to commit them to memory. The class lasts 50 minutes, but we often run a little over, and I’ve been able to ge to know her well through my time here, I am lucky to have her as a teacher.Also, when I have exams, I take them in the first period with her.

Ustatha Amira (Grammar)

Ustatha Amira is my second teacher, responsible for teaching me the arabic grammar. I love arabic grammar, I really think it is beautiful, and Ustatha Amira ran with it. She has successfully covered about 95% of  the arabic grammar, and although its a lot, I know the majority of it now and we regularly review topics together. She knows how to explain hard grammatical concepts in a very clear and straightforward manner, and I look forward to our class together.

Break: I have a break between each class, but I normally take a kitchen break between Ustatha Amira and Eman, and during this time I normally tlak to some other students at teh academy, who come from a bunch of different places, most notably Cambridge and Durham, and I also became good friends with two guys studying the egyptian dialect who are from america and work in the army. There is another student named Denis, who is from sweden, and he has one of the most impressive Fos7a capabilities ive seen in someone who isnt arabic. A genius for sure. 

Nonetheless, my favorite thing to do during this brak is to brew myself a cup of qahwa turkiye, turkish coffee, which is basically a shot of espresso on steroids. Very delicious.

Ustatha Eman (Reading)

Once done with my break, Ustatha Eman and I begin the reading portion of my lessons. Ustatha Eman is extremely funny and we joke around a lot. I like the way she helps me with words I dont recognize and gives me a chance to try and figure out the meaning on my own. We read the assigned passage every day, and then if we have time left over, we can either browse the news online, or even read recipes in arabic (I love food and cooking so I enjoy this), and sometimes we just discuss the topic that we read on for the day. I love my reading class, and its one of the classes I see a lot of progress in. The first reading I did with the Academy I highlighted like 40 words out of the 200, and didnt really understand it (Super scary and discouraging to be honest at the time). However now I go through like 350-400 word readings and don’t recognize around 10 words, and I can understand the meaning much easier. Also my reading speed increased significantly.

Ustath Ahmed (Listening)

I end my day with Ustath Ahmed,who teaches me listening. We listen to an audio together and then I give him a summary about the topic. Then, in our spare time, we kind of do a bunch of stuff. Sometimes we listen to music and pick apart the words, and other times he explains to me a grammatical point within the passage that I ask for clarification on. He also loves to give me lessons about the culture and expressions used in Egypt. I love studying with him, he is a true master of the language and teaches me in a really refreshing way.

Tests

This is my day to day schedule, and outside of this, the other main thing is tests. Tests are something kind of weird here. I think that I was placed in a level slightly above my level, and I have been able to work up to it, but the problem is I feel that my test was not super reflective of what I studied. This is the style of testing, I feel like they sometimes assume that I know things I don’t, and other times assume I don’t know things I do, making the testing a tricky situation. I have had one test so far, and luckily I did well, but for example, I studied 280 words of vocabulary, and the exam only had one section of vocab where 4 words were tested, and out of the 4, I hadn’t seen 2 and had to guess based on context. This is what’s frustrating about the system. I have my second test coming up soon, and hopefully it’ll go like the first, but its definitely a weird feeling knowing that I can study everything they give me nad its possible that they put something I have never seen or studied before in my life on the test.

Regardless, I am happy with my learning experience, I think I have advanced quite a bit, and look forward to the rest of the summer and the progress it holds.