My Encounter with the Devil

We have met the devil. At least he claims to be. Perhaps I should explain. We were walking home one night at about midnight and came across a gentleman. He had a copper skin tone and black hair. This was as we approached our house, about two blocks away. He asked me where I was from and my name. I told him in a loud boisterous voice, Nigerian. I registered that he believed it, then I told him I was American and my name.

So now I asked him his name. It sounded to me that he said Shei san, which when he slurred it sounded like Cheetos to me. So now I am calling this guy Cheetos. As we are walking with him, the children who are on their balconies do the Egyptian equivalent to our gesture for crazy in the states. It is so cute, they move their heads in a diagonal circle with their whole hand moving in the opposite direction, instead of the one finger. Usually there is a facial expression that goes along with the movement. I have obviously figured this out, but since Cheetos wanted to walk us to our door I felt it was okay, besides, he was harmless.

The next day I found out that he had given me the name for the devil in Islam, Sheitan, which was a bit disturbing. However, since I had tricked him about my nationality he tricked me about his name. Still, he has to be known as Cheetos to me now anyway, so fair trade. Later, I found that he had spent considerable time in America as well and was now a failed businessman.

He has also told me about the love of his life who he loved from a distance for twelve years, and later lost to another. This of course while asking me for cigarettes. Since I don't smoke I asked him how much a pack costs. He said a million dollars. We settled on five Egyptian and all was well. He went on to explain why he had a black heart for a period, but now it was white heart. That made me feel better, kind of, at least in a Moorish sense of the language. So anyway, now I am buying the devil cigarettes and from time to time he meets me on the way home or out. Sometimes I buy him a sandwich too. Funnier though is that he still thinks I am Nigerian and C is known as mother. So I guess that makes her the mother of the devil. Hmmm....

Three Stories Tied Together by a Common Thread of Reality

About a week ago I wanted to write about the things that happened in one day. Time flew but I remembered all the events because each serves as an example of what life is like here in Luxor. I think not enough can be said of the mix between those seeking the ancient cultures which have now been commodified as tours and tour packages and the modern culture which is more Muslim in nature and practice. Since most people in the West don't know much about Islam this is a bit of an adjustment at times, however it is far from what is pictured on television and the nightly news. A wake up call to the misinformation placed before the public should be the greeting As-salam alaykum, ….

Anyway, about ten days ago I had a dream about eating some Kentucky Fried Chicken, KFC for the uninitiated. Normally I don't dream about fast food and if I did I would dismiss it. However, I took this as a valid cue from my subconscious that it might be time to try some local KFC. So I woke up the first day and ignored the cue; however by the second day I decided to give it a go since it was still in my mind and I could taste a piece of original on my lips. This is especially odd, since even as I write this I am contemplating a return to vegetarianism. Eat from the bounty of the sun...

So we get in a cab and head down to KFC which is down by the British part of town. The British own most of the buildings in the area and you see more of them there. Right before you hit that part of town, there is KFC. It is a very clean KFC, it looks like one you would expect to see in a major US city downtown, if you didn't know about the New York KFC that was infested with rats and so on...

So we go in and order an 18pc for everyone. There are seven of us, so that equaled out to two pieces for everyone and a few extras. The first thing we noted was that they didn't have biscuits they had rolls. Strike one. The next thing was that the sign was pretty much like the one in the states, plus one. The following thing we noticed was that all the staff was local Egyptian, who looked highly competent, plus. So when I ordered we were told that the chicken had to be cooked so it would take about ten minutes. No problem.

While we were waiting we looked at the stream of customers in and out. There was a group of European tourists, who looked at us funny while they made the attempt to not look like death warmed over. Then there was the constant stream of Japanese tourists. Correction, badly dressed Japanese tourists. At about eight minutes into out wait one of the badly dressed Japanese tourists got in an argument with the cashier. I noted that our fresh chicken started disappearing. I forgot that the time we had got in was a lull period. Between lunch and dinner chicken can sit. How was I supposed to remember? I haven't eaten KFC in a few years at least. So after the cashier and the Japanese make peace my order is up and I'm out.

We get home and I am excited. Taste the fries and they are solid. The cole slaw isn't identical to the states but it is likewise respectable. I eagerly look forward to my chicken, perhaps a nice breast and a wing. Lo and behold their isn't a single breast in the box! I laughed, while calculating that four should have been there, but no big deal. We got a mix of spicy and original. The original was a fail, big time. Not because it didn't make an effort, the chicken itself was good, but it had sat way too long under a heating lamp or warmer. However, the spicy was both crispy and tasty. So the moral to the story on Egyptian KFC, at least in Luxor, make sure they drop your chicken while you wait, make sure you get the chicken that is dropped and make sure that you get your correct share of breasts.

The actual cost of the meal was very comparable to KFC stateside. I guess we payed about 170 LE for the 18 piece dinner, which is about $30 USD. Had the chicken been as expected I would have been very happy. A comparable Egyptian meal with two roasted chickens, vegetables and hummus would cost about half of that, near 100 LE. But for the experience it was worth it.

So after we eat we immediately get sleepy. What can you expect from a buffet of greasy Americanesque goodness? Nothing but the itis.

So we wake up a few hours later and go meet up with Brother A to head into town. We hop in his car and roll out but before we get there a police officer halts him. I think back to what I had been told and try it out. I say – how ya doing, as loud as I can in my most American voice. He steps back and then he sends us on the way. I made Brother A real happy.

I had been told before that unlike in the states, the police here, particularly the tourist police, are really here to serve tourists and look out for our interests as foreigners. I think I am getting a grasp of that, after being repeatedly hassled in Tampa by the good ole boys in blue there. Anyway, the officers here are very respectful and tend to be stand offish. However make no mistake that those toys you see them with are actually machine guns or submachine guns. I guess the saying about if you are going to talk talk, if you are going to shoot shoot, is true here more than in any other place. Whatever the case, we were all really happy about the experience and Brother not getting a ticket which is, I think, at the minimum 2000 LE.

So we head about our business and we make it back to the store about to go home, loaded with items from the bakery, maybe some coffee and whatever else we had managed to score in town that night. When we are about ready to go home a local dervish, Sheik Khalid comes in. Sheik Khalid is the subject of the third interesting thing of the night.

Sheik Khalid is a dervish, I am not quite sure is he is a by Hoyle Sheik however. A dervish, to my understanding is a wanderer, a person on a spiritual journey, usually somewhere between the material world and the spiritual world. At times, when a Sheik has demonstrated some miraculous work, he will inspire others to follow him. When followers ask how, he will sometimes give them instructions to sell all their worldly possessions and wander the earth looking for signs and such. This would be a dervish. Not all dervishes have this common trate, but most are striving for a sort of spiritual perfection.

Sheik Khalid is no exception to this rule. Also, because the dervish is caught between the two worlds of spiritual and material they tend to have a mystical aspect about them or works which have been credited to them of a mystical nature. Sheik Khalid is said to possess such a gift. Whenever he visits a house, the person whose house it is usually expands the house after he leaves, by some luck or divine fortune after his visit. Plus he is a really nice guy, with good energy bursting from him.

When encountering a dervish, some might wear older clothing, but their body will be clean. There are some who are whirling dervishes, of whom I have encountered one so far. The tradition, I believe, stems from the particular Sufi tradition of Islam. Anyway, Sheik Khalid invited me to a mosque further out of town, encouraged me to have the kids pray more, and wrote out a blessing for the house and for my wallet. I will let you know how they work out. I made a small offering and left, before we went home though, he insisted on driving through town with us, so we obliged, and he drove us right to the point of our incident with the police officer earlier and back to the store, then home.

Late Night with the Band

I was out late last night and winded up at a party of sorts. A band was wrapping up, but after the wrap up when I came in they decided to play a song in my honor. This involved me participating, singing and dancing along a bit. It was a lot of fun.

Since I had my good old iphone with me I managed to capture video of the moment. The sound is awesome, the drum, tar, is booming, and the instrumentation consisted of the tar, two tamborines and a flute. Yet the sound is full. I think we were sold a bum deal with the MPC's and the ASR 10s. When I get more info on the band I will add details.

The Nubians

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to sit down and talk with a Nubian who moved to Luxor as a child. I figured I would post some pictures that he shared of himself and his family. I do so because of the affinity often expressed between brothers and sisters in the know from the states and Nubians.

A bit of history first, Nubia historically lived in the region that is in the South of the country of Egypt and in Northern Sudan. They still live in areas as communities and share a common heritage and culture. Many Nubians were displaced when the Aswan dam was built in the '60s and now live in places like Luxor and Cairo. This dam allowed the country to become more secure from seasonal flooding of the Nile, but it also destroyed many Nubian villages, which now exist in the man made Lake Nasser. In addition, many Nubians have married with other non Nubians and have thus integrated more into Egyptian culture at large, which is similar to what has happened with brothers and sisters in America. Still the Nubians continue in some areas to have a strong culture and heritage.


One final note is that many question the Nubians importance within classical Egypt. However, the classical sources themselves reference the Nubians importance as a source of wealth and an origin point for many facets of their belief systems. I will be sure to follow up with more commentary with sources in the future, but for now I leave the images, since many folks in the states question whether Egyptians are even Black. See for yourself.

The Man With the Drum

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words is a video worth? This is a small clip I took of the man with the drum, he comes out in front of our flat about once a month, he drums and does chants, he will ask your name and create a song for you.

I made a second video with him because he had the kids all around and they were singing with him. I heard him and them singing outside the flat. I spoiled it by going back outside and recording it, because then he saw me and came my way, but still it was a memorable moment. CJ is in the corner sitting down, watching, you can see him for just a moment though.

Temple of Hatshepsut

Yesterday we visited the temple of Hatshepsut, located in Deir el-Bahri, which translates as the Northern Monastery. We were supposed to wake up early, but I had trouble sleeping the night before, probably from drinking too much Turkish coffee and tea in the day. So I stayed awake, reading and looking a bit into Hatshepsut's history and the significance of the temple. After finally getting to sleep really really late, I woke way too early at about ten. We got to the site a little after noon and there was brisk traffic. It is probably best to visit early in the AM, the temple opens at 6AM.

The temple itself is both massive and beautiful. It is cut into the mountain over looking the west bank, leading to the Nile. The views are breathtaking and the temple itself has been restored well. On our visit, it was not fully open, but we managed to get in and take peaks at a few places here and there.

Hatshepsut herself is noteworthy because as the first female ruling pharaoh, she is iconified by all who would align with female divine ruler-ship. Her story begins before her birth however. Hatshepsut was the daughter of Thutmose I and Queen Aahmes or more correctly Queen Ahmose. The problem with this birth, however stems with who her maternal grandfather was, he was the Pharaoh Ahmose. The story is that Ahmose son, Amenhotep I, didn't leave a male heir to the throne. However, Hatshepsut's father Thutmose's was a military leader well in favor in Egypt at the time. This at a time very soon after the export of the Hykos from the kingdom and a rise in relative power. So power was passed through to Thutmose, because he had married into the family and was married to, at that time, Princess Ahmose.

The problem with this was nothing, initially. However, later when Thutmose married again, he had a son, Thutmose II. This presented no major problem, except that he didn't have the same degree of royal blood as Hatshepsut did, plus Hatshepsut was said to be born of a divine birth between God and the Pharaoh's mother, apparently not the first time this has happened, but a historical pattern of rulership in Egypt. So Amen gave Hatshepsut as divine child to Aahmes and Thutmose and for that matter the people of Egypt. She is said to have been a very just ruler, mostly at peace – who ruled both lands and visited Punt, which is now probably Djibouti or Sudan. She is said to have brought the trees at the entrance of the temple from her trip from Punt.

Her rulership was said to have been focused on helping and concern for the common people. Her death was initially thought to be due to political in fighting, but now a more common belief is that she died of either dental abscess or from advanced bone cancer, which is a cause of death associated with more than one Pharaoh. There seems to be more or less the desire to have a soap opera play out around the life and times of he queen, but many accusations are starting to prove unfounded. I think it is probably due to too much emphasis being placed on her gender and not enough being placed on her accomplishments and her ruler-ship.

Whatever the case, Thutmoses III later bore Amenhotep II, and Amenhotep II, Amenhotep III. Amenhotep III was father to Amenhotep IV, also known as Akhenaton. It is said that during Thutmoses III reign much damage was done in defacing the memory of Hatshepsut, however, I can't speak to that, when very few speak of the damage and destruction done much more recently.

I think this site should probably be seen in conjunction with another, the Medinet Habu, which I plan to see in a few days. This is said to be the resting place of the gods. Of course, the more modern site is a site constructed by Ramses III, but Hapshepsut also build a temple to Amen at this site.

The site visit was overall enjoyable. There is a bit of walking unless you take one of the motorized shuttles, but I prefered the walk. Jacob enjoyed walking up the slopping entry stairs, and many children enjoyed running up or down. Overall, there isn't an incredible amount at the site to see, but I would recommned the site because of its design and to pay homage to Hatshepsut.

• Crystal Links History of Hatshepsut
  
• National Geographic History of Hatshepsut
  
• Brooklyn Museum