The+Warmth+of+Egypt+by+Caroline+Thirkill

Caroline Thirkill Mr. Bouton Composition 3/12/09

The Warmth of Egypt

Cairo was dark and dirty, crumbling and rotting. Cairo was golden and beautiful, full of light and sound and scent. The poorer areas stayed in perpetual shade, as if Egypt had pulled a veil over its poverty. But the sun beat down almost the whole day, lighting up and burning the rest of they city. I saw a world so completely removed from my own that I cannot help but be fascinated by it. It was a study of contrasts: hot during the day, chill at night, with rich businessmen walking side by side with beggars and the lowest ranks of menial laborers. Cathedrals, mosques, and an Amish meetinghouse came one right after another. Rich and poor, modern and ancient, religious and secular melded into one another wherever you went in Cairo. Walking the streets you could easily spot the foreigners, the women especially standing out. Two types of women are seen in Cairo: the traditional Muslim women, and all the rest. Female clothing that would be considered modest here seemed immoral and depraved to the women in their full black skirts and robes, with only their dark eyes left uncovered. Whenever we passed a group of women shopping in the market, they would stare at us derisively, before turning their backs and going back to their business more intently than before. They ignored us as we walked by, but when I turned around and looked back, I saw their gazes followed us until we got lost in the crowd. Their glares were harsh, but I think there was also sadness behind the angry looks. They watched the tourists walk by in short sleeves and sandals, and it seemed like they envied us. It had to be stifling under the heavy black robes as they walked through the streets during the hottest part of the day. But the different Hijab they wore were some of the most beautiful pieces of clothing I have ever seen. Each veil was decorated differently, some with sewn patterns in silver or colored thread, some veils dripped with gold and jewels. The decorations of the veils showed the difference between each woman in a society and a tradition that we consider demeaning and conformist toward females. The streets of Cairo were never empty, even in the full heat of midday. Goats, donkeys, sheep, and various smaller animals constantly ran across the road, not to mention the people who seemed to have no worry whether traffic would hit them or not while they shuffled across the three-lane highway. There was a permanent gridlock, created by the mass of people all trying to get from one place to completely different places. I watched cars cut each other off in order to get across the road at speeds close to fifty miles per hour. At every intersection where there should have been a traffic light, everyone attempted to get across the intersection at once. We realized that anyone who could successfully navigate through Cairo’s traffic could do the stunt driving for a Bond movie without breaking a sweat. We visited an open market on our third day, referred to as Khan el Khalili. It was a maze of small shaded alleys opening onto brightly lit streets, and every inch of space was filled with life. The heat of the sun mixed with the warmth of human bodies packed close together. Even the colors were warm: the gold and brown hues of the buildings and sandy roads blended with the rich, jewel-tone colors of the fabrics on sale and hung out to dry between the buildings. The enticing smells of the food in the stalls, everything from nuts and spices to marinated meats mixed with the stench of sweat and dirty rats, pigeons, and stray cats. From the indoor shops came the smells of essence perfumes and burning incense. Men shouted across streets at various customers walking by, offering deals and bargains and anything their heart could desire. They would say anything to get you into their shop. But it all came together to make something uniquely beautiful to me. But with all I saw, the best part of Egypt was the heat. For someone who moved to New Hampshire from Florida, the cold is the worst part of daily life. I feel it constantly, and it only goes away during the hottest days of summer. I spend many of the late spring and early summer days in a light jacket, even after most others have put on their shorts and t-shirts. But there was no cold in Egypt, only wonderful heat and sun. I felt it the most when we went to see the Pyramids. We walked across golden, baking sand, rough and scrubbing against the skin of my feet and legs. One time I stumbled over a loose stone and accidentally kicked up sand all around me. It landed on my skin and instead of brushing it off, I let it stay there. It was warm on my hands and arms, similar to the feeling of stepping into a shower when the water is just below too hot, the perfect temperature. We touched the burning hot stones of the Pyramids, their peaks rising forever toward the sun. No one was allowed to climb to the top anymore, but I leaned on one of the rows of stones, imagining what the world would look like staring down from its peak. Only a few minutes away we saw the Sphinx. He sat calmly, forever watching over the desert. Swarms of pigeons gathered in the shade made by his eye sockets, and from a distance the twitching birds made the Sphinx’s eyes seem like they moved to follow our progress as we approached. We watched the camels laze, basking in the sun. They sat much like the Sphinx, with their legs tucked up under them. When they stood, their front legs straightened first, and they sat looking like a dog or a cat. Then the back legs straightened and they jerkily rose to a standing position. They were both ugly and beautiful. The wrinkled skin, the thick knees against the thin legs, and the too large eyes made the camel seem ugly and unpleasant. But when they finally stood, tall and majestic, the camel gave off an air of grace and serenity that no other desert animal can match. And climbing on top of those camels was even better. There was a wind sitting up so high, taking the edge off the heat without plunging me back into my chilled state. On the other hand, the air in the open tombs was hot, thick, and hard to breathe through. When I climbed down the near-vertical stairs into the burial chamber, it was like walking through a solid wall of heat. As in these tombs, sometimes the high temperature could be stifling, and almost painful, but I enjoyed every moment of the warmth. I wish I could have brought some of it back home with me. I don’t know if I will ever be able to go back to Egypt, but the cities and sights that I visited have been burned into my mind just as the harsh sun burned overhead.