I smile because I come from Egypt
When people ask me where I come from (because with my olive skin, black hair, dark green almond shaped eyes – I most certainly do not look Australian!), and I answer, “I come from Egypt”, the reaction I get from whoever asked is always, always “Wow!” or “How wonderful!” or “Oh I love Egypt!” or “Ah, I’m dying to see Egypt, you are so lucky!”. I bet there aren’t many other countries in the world, if any, that would invoke this kind of reaction if I said I came from there. Why is that? What is it about my country that gives people on the opposite side of the world wide-eyed wonder at the mention of her?
Why is that in this age of terror in the Middle East, where Egypt has not been spared, that when we think of Egypt, our first reaction isn’t the terrible trials she has faced in the last decade. We don’t think about the carnage on the streets, the bloodshed, the innocent people brought to their knees, the corrupt politics, the unfair judicial system. No – that is nobody’s reaction. Not once have I said, ‘I come from Egypt” and had someone say to me, “Oh dear, that was where the uprising was” or “I wouldn’t want to go there with all the terrorist threats”. Why is it that despite all the horror that has surrounded Egypt and plunged her into the news for all the wrong reasons, people’s eyes light up when I say that I’m Egyptian?
Maybe it’s our awe inspiring pyramids that have stood the test of time. Built with incredible precision and logic defying engineering that was thousands of years ahead of its time. Our pyramids that continue to stand tall despite war and natural disaster and are the most well-known symbol of any country the world over. For those who have visited Egypt, they can never forget how when you first see the pyramids, they take your breath away because it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve seen them on television, nothing can do them justice to how magnificent and massive they are in real life. And how dwarfed and insignificant you feel when you stand near one. And then when the sun sets behind them, you know you never will see anything as magical as that red sky, with pyramids jutting into it and the silhouette of camels resting in front of the giant majestical Sphinx who guards over them for as long as you live. For those who have only seen the pyramids in pictures and on screens, it’s the promise of perhaps one day seeing this iconic sight that makes their eyes sparkle when I tell them I was born in the same country where they were built.
Maybe it’s our rich history, our culture of pharaohs who made the leap from primitive man to modern man for the rest of the world to follow. Maybe it’s the art, the jewels, the statues and monuments, the Valley of the Kings – the world’s fascination with the lives of the pharaohs is never ending. Thousands and thousands of years after their deaths, Cleopatra, Tutankhamen, Ramses, and Nefertiti remain household names across the planet, such is the power of the pharaohs. As a world, we are fascinated with the pharaohs and this makes us fascinated with Egypt.
Maybe it’s our jewel, the stunning river Nile. Our river is world famous and whether you go along it on a Sheraton Cruise ship or on a felucca, its magic remains the same. Authors set their books on the Nile, countless Hollywood movies are located there, baby Moses floated along its banks. A river that sustains our people with fertile soil, a river that has a romance about it like no other.
Maybe it’s our cities, with their colourful souks, the sound of life buzzing from the streets, where donkeys pulling fruit carts share the road with luxury European cars, where there is always a café open any time of the day or night where locals and tourists gather alike. Where thousands of people can live in harmony on one street and call out to each other seven stories up from the balconies as they hang up washing, where the beautiful sound of prayer booms from loudspeakers, where there is always music coming from somewhere on the street, where children find a way to play football despite the crowds and the traffic. The bustle of our cities has the happening vibe of London and New York, you feel in amongst it, you feel alive when you’re out there, and yet they retain the culture of thousands of years ago where around the corner from Dior, you can buy leather shoes made by hand the same way they were made in the time of Christ. Anyone who has been to Egypt can’t help but be touched by the electric but authentic atmosphere on our city streets.
Maybe it’s our food, our sensational Mediterranean food – falafel, taboula, shawarma, warah ehnab, the food that brings a smile to people’s faces when they hear the word Egypt. Food that conjures up the smell of fresh garlic, lemon, tomato and mint that find their way into most of our dishes. The fact that we have been eating seasonally, eating paleo, eating low fat and low carb for eternity and that the rest of the world is just cottoning onto that now! The fact that we have the most delicious food imaginable and it’s all fresh and healthy and simple. And the amount! Anyone who has eaten in Egypt will hold a grudge when they eat elsewhere and there aren’t more dishes of food than fit on a table.
Maybe it’s our famous countrymen and women who have captured the hearts of the people everywhere. We have given the world some of the most loved and celebrated artists - actors like Omar Sharif, singers like Demis Roussos. We’ve also given the world Ptolemy for science and Anwar Sadat for peace. Our women, dating back to Hatshepsut to one of today’s most influential activists, Gigi Ibrahim, are inspirational feminists.
Maybe it’s our music, our tambourines, our castanets, ukuleles and piano accordions that fill the air of our streets with happiness that reminds people when they hear the word Egypt of how joyful our country is at heart. And we gave the world belly-dancing. Let’s face it who doesn’t love to belly dance and there isn’t an Egyptian woman alive who can’t swing her hips!
Maybe it’s our people. If you know an Egyptian, chances are you know someone with a wicked sense of humour, someone who lights up a room with their personality, someone who is warm and isn’t afraid of throwing their arms around you and smothering you in kisses whenever they see you, someone who will tell you they love you five times in one conversation, someone who will lay a feast fit for a king if you drop in for a coffee. We are a loud people who love noise. We are a humorous people who love to laugh. We are a passionate people who love fiercely and who fight for what we believe in. We are a sentimental people whose terms of endearments to each other have real and special meaning and translate to what is important to us, “my eyes” or “my soul” or “my life” – how many other cultures use the words “my soul” when addressing someone? We are a hospitable people who love to welcome others into our homes and our lives. We are a proud people who will not be defined by the few who tarnish our name. We are a just people who don’t tolerate injustice and who have shown themselves to be fair. We are a strong people who will not be beaten, as we have proven since the days of the Roman Empire and we continue to prove now. We will not allow our spirit and all the things we hold dear about our country to be taken down and we remain the shining star of the Middle East, the ray of hope that all is not lost. We are a united people, where Atheists, Muslims, Jews and Christians (like me) love each other and have enduring friendships.
Maybe it’s any of those things, maybe it’s all of those things that make people’s eyes sparkle when I tell them I’m Egyptian. And I am Egyptian through and through. I was raised in Australia, I married an Australian, my children are Australian and in my home we speak only English. I love Australia with all my heart, I am a fiercely patriotic Australian and I praise God every day that I am lucky enough to call Australia my home. But who I am and who I will always be is an Egyptian. Egypt is my core, it’s who I am, it’s how I think, it’s my value system, it’s my soul, it’s my blood. So when I tell people I’m Egyptian and they smile, I smile bigger.
Why is that in this age of terror in the Middle East, where Egypt has not been spared, that when we think of Egypt, our first reaction isn’t the terrible trials she has faced in the last decade. We don’t think about the carnage on the streets, the bloodshed, the innocent people brought to their knees, the corrupt politics, the unfair judicial system. No – that is nobody’s reaction. Not once have I said, ‘I come from Egypt” and had someone say to me, “Oh dear, that was where the uprising was” or “I wouldn’t want to go there with all the terrorist threats”. Why is it that despite all the horror that has surrounded Egypt and plunged her into the news for all the wrong reasons, people’s eyes light up when I say that I’m Egyptian?
Maybe it’s our awe inspiring pyramids that have stood the test of time. Built with incredible precision and logic defying engineering that was thousands of years ahead of its time. Our pyramids that continue to stand tall despite war and natural disaster and are the most well-known symbol of any country the world over. For those who have visited Egypt, they can never forget how when you first see the pyramids, they take your breath away because it doesn’t matter how many times you’ve seen them on television, nothing can do them justice to how magnificent and massive they are in real life. And how dwarfed and insignificant you feel when you stand near one. And then when the sun sets behind them, you know you never will see anything as magical as that red sky, with pyramids jutting into it and the silhouette of camels resting in front of the giant majestical Sphinx who guards over them for as long as you live. For those who have only seen the pyramids in pictures and on screens, it’s the promise of perhaps one day seeing this iconic sight that makes their eyes sparkle when I tell them I was born in the same country where they were built.
Maybe it’s our rich history, our culture of pharaohs who made the leap from primitive man to modern man for the rest of the world to follow. Maybe it’s the art, the jewels, the statues and monuments, the Valley of the Kings – the world’s fascination with the lives of the pharaohs is never ending. Thousands and thousands of years after their deaths, Cleopatra, Tutankhamen, Ramses, and Nefertiti remain household names across the planet, such is the power of the pharaohs. As a world, we are fascinated with the pharaohs and this makes us fascinated with Egypt.
Maybe it’s our jewel, the stunning river Nile. Our river is world famous and whether you go along it on a Sheraton Cruise ship or on a felucca, its magic remains the same. Authors set their books on the Nile, countless Hollywood movies are located there, baby Moses floated along its banks. A river that sustains our people with fertile soil, a river that has a romance about it like no other.
Maybe it’s our cities, with their colourful souks, the sound of life buzzing from the streets, where donkeys pulling fruit carts share the road with luxury European cars, where there is always a café open any time of the day or night where locals and tourists gather alike. Where thousands of people can live in harmony on one street and call out to each other seven stories up from the balconies as they hang up washing, where the beautiful sound of prayer booms from loudspeakers, where there is always music coming from somewhere on the street, where children find a way to play football despite the crowds and the traffic. The bustle of our cities has the happening vibe of London and New York, you feel in amongst it, you feel alive when you’re out there, and yet they retain the culture of thousands of years ago where around the corner from Dior, you can buy leather shoes made by hand the same way they were made in the time of Christ. Anyone who has been to Egypt can’t help but be touched by the electric but authentic atmosphere on our city streets.
Maybe it’s our food, our sensational Mediterranean food – falafel, taboula, shawarma, warah ehnab, the food that brings a smile to people’s faces when they hear the word Egypt. Food that conjures up the smell of fresh garlic, lemon, tomato and mint that find their way into most of our dishes. The fact that we have been eating seasonally, eating paleo, eating low fat and low carb for eternity and that the rest of the world is just cottoning onto that now! The fact that we have the most delicious food imaginable and it’s all fresh and healthy and simple. And the amount! Anyone who has eaten in Egypt will hold a grudge when they eat elsewhere and there aren’t more dishes of food than fit on a table.
Maybe it’s our famous countrymen and women who have captured the hearts of the people everywhere. We have given the world some of the most loved and celebrated artists - actors like Omar Sharif, singers like Demis Roussos. We’ve also given the world Ptolemy for science and Anwar Sadat for peace. Our women, dating back to Hatshepsut to one of today’s most influential activists, Gigi Ibrahim, are inspirational feminists.
Maybe it’s our music, our tambourines, our castanets, ukuleles and piano accordions that fill the air of our streets with happiness that reminds people when they hear the word Egypt of how joyful our country is at heart. And we gave the world belly-dancing. Let’s face it who doesn’t love to belly dance and there isn’t an Egyptian woman alive who can’t swing her hips!
Maybe it’s our people. If you know an Egyptian, chances are you know someone with a wicked sense of humour, someone who lights up a room with their personality, someone who is warm and isn’t afraid of throwing their arms around you and smothering you in kisses whenever they see you, someone who will tell you they love you five times in one conversation, someone who will lay a feast fit for a king if you drop in for a coffee. We are a loud people who love noise. We are a humorous people who love to laugh. We are a passionate people who love fiercely and who fight for what we believe in. We are a sentimental people whose terms of endearments to each other have real and special meaning and translate to what is important to us, “my eyes” or “my soul” or “my life” – how many other cultures use the words “my soul” when addressing someone? We are a hospitable people who love to welcome others into our homes and our lives. We are a proud people who will not be defined by the few who tarnish our name. We are a just people who don’t tolerate injustice and who have shown themselves to be fair. We are a strong people who will not be beaten, as we have proven since the days of the Roman Empire and we continue to prove now. We will not allow our spirit and all the things we hold dear about our country to be taken down and we remain the shining star of the Middle East, the ray of hope that all is not lost. We are a united people, where Atheists, Muslims, Jews and Christians (like me) love each other and have enduring friendships.
Maybe it’s any of those things, maybe it’s all of those things that make people’s eyes sparkle when I tell them I’m Egyptian. And I am Egyptian through and through. I was raised in Australia, I married an Australian, my children are Australian and in my home we speak only English. I love Australia with all my heart, I am a fiercely patriotic Australian and I praise God every day that I am lucky enough to call Australia my home. But who I am and who I will always be is an Egyptian. Egypt is my core, it’s who I am, it’s how I think, it’s my value system, it’s my soul, it’s my blood. So when I tell people I’m Egyptian and they smile, I smile bigger.