Month: June 2008

Thoughts on “Taxi”

Khaled Al Khamissi’s book “Taxi” came out in English a few months ago (the Arabic original has been very successful since it was published in 2006). I really enjoyed this book. I read it in Morocco last summer and it made me homesick for Cairo and its rickety taxis–maybe not the long sweaty rides in bumper-to-bumper traffic, but certainly the surprising and amusing conversations you sometime have. Below is a review I wrote. 

There are an estimated 80,000 taxis circling the streets of Cairo today. That means about one in every 200 residents of the Egyptian capital sits behind the wheel of a cab. And the proportion of the population that finds itself regularly in the passenger seat may be much higher. That taking a taxi has become an essential ritual of life in Cairo—that taxis are one of the spaces in which Cairenes most commonly meet—is an intuition fundamental to Khaled Al Khamissi’s “Taxi.” Continue reading Thoughts on “Taxi”

Links June 12th to June 14th

Links from my del.icio.us account for June 12th through June 14th:

Announcement

We are launching a new blog under the Arabist umbrella. This is something we’ve been thinking of for some time and let’s just say that it’s going to be my summer project. Please check out The Arabist Review, which will be dedicated to covering arts and culture in Cairo and (hopefully) the Arab region. We don’t have a link on the main page yet, but it’s coming.

$$ Egyptian Art $$

The cover story of the latest issue of Egypt Today is all about Egyptian artists who are making it big in the world art market. The story quotes some of the (rapidly rising) prices for which contemporary Egyptian art is selling, and suggests that both Western galleries and local collectors are increasingly interested in buying it.

The discussion of the art itself isn’t particularly insightful–I didn’t get much of a sense of what distinguished the work of the artists featured, other than the fact that they all could be sold internationally. And I was left wondering how Egypt compares to other countries in the Middle East, like Lebanon and Iran, and to Abu Dhabi–where the art market is by all accounts booming and the Louvre is opening a franchise. But it’s nice to see that there’s some hope of financial support for Egyptian visual artists.  

Confiscated books

In what I’m afraid will be a regular feature, I’d like to mention a few books that were recently confiscated from Cairo book stores. The Arabist has already mentioned Egypt’s first graphic novel, by Magdy Al Shafaa’ee (a selection from which was published at Words Without Borders). The reason for this confiscation is officially a charge of “offending public morality” but it most likely has to do with the identity of the publisher, Mohammed Sharqawy (an activist whose torture in 2006 by police became a cause célèbre).

The other is a little book called “عشان ما تنضربش علي قفاك,” or “So As Not To Be Hit On the Back of Your Neck”. (To hit someone on the back of the neck is a gesture of deep disrespect–a big “fuck you”–in Egyptian culture.) It’s a manual, in Colloquial Egyptian Arabic, by a former police officer and lawyer, explaining their rights to Egyptian citizens and giving them advice on how to deal with the police. It’s written in question and answer format, and addresses questions such as when the police have the right to search you, when they have the right to take you to the station, etc. Of course it’s terribly revealing that the Egyptian authorities have confiscated a book that does nothing but inform citizens of their legal rights (the tone of the book is carefully respectful of the police). 

Also, let me just explain that these books were confiscated, not banned. Al Azhar has the authority to censure books that deal with religious topics, but other than that In Egypt there is no agency with the mandate to ban books. What happens, though, is that if a book is charged with “disturbing the public order,” “defaming Egypt,” or some such nonsense, then state security confiscates the book from the market while the investigation and eventual court case takes place. I’m not sure if this confiscation is legal or not. What I do know is that “confiscated” books are often still available–book sellers and newspaper vendors hide them away, then sell them (“Psst, I have a hot book for you!”) at a slightly inflated price. It’s actually often a boost to the book’s sales. 

 

Links for June 12th

Links from my del.icio.us account for June 12th:

Father of nation cares about the little people

Gotta love it:

CAIRO (AFP) — Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ordered an extension to exam time at a school south of Cairo after his convoy brought traffic to a standstill causing students to show up late, according to Thursday’s press.

“A humanitarian gesture by Father Mubarak to high school students of Six October,” read a headline in the French-language Progres Egyptien.

On Wednesday, Mubarak took a tour of Six October City, a southern suburb of Cairo, to inspect housing projects close to Al-Nasr School where high students were due to sit their “thanawiyya amma” exams, the national test taken by all graduating high school seniors.

But the president’s convoy, which often causes serious traffic disruptions as major roads are sealed off for long periods to clear the route for the fleet of about a dozen cars, caused many students to show up late for the exam.

When news of panicked students reached the president, he instructed Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif “to visit the school and make sure the students do not complain about any time shortage,” ordering an exceptional half-hour extension to the exam duration.

[From AFP: Egypt’s Mubarak turns back time for late students]

Cabaret

Just went to see the Egyptian movie “Cabaret” last night. Came out of it less than impressed, and with shaabi pop music ringing in my ears for hours. The movie tells the story of one night in a cabaret (an establishment that features belly dancers and singers) in Giza, and of the lives of nine characters from among the staff, the entertainers, and the customers. The movie suffers from faults common in the current crop of Egyptian films: too many characters, poor editing, over-the-top drama, “social issues” (like prostitution) shoe-horned into the plot. Then again, there are some funny scenes, some good acting, and a few plot lines which would have born great fruit if they’d been properly developed. But it’s a bit troubling how much the film titillated the audience with endless shots of female booty, joint-smoking and beer-swilling–thus making the film “edgy” and above all marketable–but swathed all this voyeurism in a thin layer of moral condemnation. 

“Salata Baladi” screening

Nadia Kamal’s documentary “Salata Baladi” is playing at the Cairo Jesuit Cinema Club this Friday at 6pm. If you haven’t seen the film, I recommend you check it out. It’s not perfect (a common criticism is that it should have been edited a bit more tightly), but it’s definitely good, and the multi-ethnic, multi-faith Egyptian family it focuses on is incredibly captivating. The story of an Egyptian woman of Jewish/Italian origins who (among other things) ends up visiting long-lost Israeli cousins, the film has been accused of having a “pro-normalization” agenda and  has stirred quite a bit of debate in this regard.