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Friday, May 29, 2009
more blogging
Because I have clearly shown in time that I can handle one blog, go figure that I went and made a new one. Actually, my fellowship insisted that I make a new one, but they generously gave me money and blah blah blah, so I went and made it. It will probably be a lot more professional and informative (read: possibly a lot more boring) than this one. Anyhow, it is here:
best laid plans
I really did anticipate being awake before 3pm today; really I did. Unfortunately, jetlag + sleep deprivation all last week = wake up at 3pm. So I did very little today. I attempted to go to Coptic Cairo, but any of the stuff I would have wanted to see was closed, so my metro ride was a bit of a bust (although the Cairo metro is surprisingly nice and efficient).
Then I came back to my neighborhood and took the five minute walk to get to the Corniche (the road next to the Nile), which I proceeded to walk down. Here are the rather paltry photos from what I did. I have promised myself to be awake by 10 tomorrow.
Directly outside the Mari Girgis metro station.
The Coptic Museum.
A really important river.
Orange boats traverse this river.
More river. I think there are triangle-y things in the background of this photo.
My neighborhood is pretty, and people fish in it.
I believe these triangle-y things are the really famous triangle-y things at Giza.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
pyramid views
To those who don't know, I am
This is what I found.
1) now in Cairo.
2) renting an apartment that promised me authentic pyramid views.
As I did nothing (absolutely nothing) with my day other than catch up on sleep, I decided to spend the last five minutes finding pyramids from my bedroom.
Looking toward downtown Cairo.
View of the Nile. See the pyramid...?
Close-up on the Pyramid of Zoser.
I will have to repeat on a slightly less-polluted/sunset-y day. Because I hear I'm still missing Giza.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Coptsravaganza!
To those unaware, the reason I'll be in Cairo this summer is because I was oddly hired by the Arab West Foundation (www.arabwestfoundation.com) to look into the media portrayal of the Egyptian Coptic community, then, even more oddly, funded $1000 over budget by the McKinney Fellowship of the Watson Center for International Studies. Needless to say, I'll be studying Copts over the summer (an endeavor that, I kid you not, is called "Coptology," which is a word although Microsoft word's Clippy will try to convince you otherwise).
My own self-guided crash course in Coptology has been in full force this past week (titled: "What is Coptic Christianity: An Introduction"). So before I leave for Cairo on Tuesday – dear Lord, I'm going to Cairo on Tuesday – I leave you with some highlights:
- Coptic Christianity is one of the first sects of Christianity to emerge. Following the Council of Chalcedon in 451, there were two separate groups of Christian belief. The Chalcedonian Churches (i.e. what are now the Catholic, Greek/Russian Orthodox, Protestant Churches) accepted something called the Tome of Leo (I), which argued for the Diaphysite nature of Christ, basically meaning that they thought that the Logos incarnate (i.e. Jesus) contained both human and divine natures that were distinct. In contrast, the non-Chalcedonian Churches (i.e. the modern Coptic, Ethiopian, Syrian Churches) argued for Miaphysite Christology (yes, there is a word for the study of Christ as well). Miaphysite Christology (pejoratively called Monophysite, which is apparently offensive, but even after reading why it is offensive I am somewhat unconvinced) states that Christ was made of a fusion between both human and divine natures, inseparable, within himself. In summary (using an egg metaphor), Diaphysite = sunny-side up, Miaphysite = scrambled. I should probably stop discussing Jesus as an egg. If this seems like a bit of arguing over nothing, it kind of is. Some people suspect that the two platforms are actually arguing the same thing in different words. That said, this is still a big deal today.
- The word "Copt" is derived from the same word as "Egypt" through some linguistic evidence that I fail to understand/ be convinced by. That said, this has implications for what a Copt is. Most common usage is as a member of the Coptic Church, but some argue that all Egyptian Christians are Copts. One foreign minister of Egypt tried to say all Egyptians are Copts. I am sticking to the first definition.
- A long, long time ago, Egyptian Christians started referring to the Patriarch of the See of Alexandria as "Baba." This eventually became "Pope" (b=p to many Egyptians). So the first usage of pope referred to this figure. Later on, the Patriarch of Rome started using this term of address as well. Long story short, the Catholics didn't make the first Pope.
- Coptic Popes have a kind of interesting status religiously. They are not infallible, but they are representatives of their religion. That said, there has been an institution called the Maglis al-Milli (roughly, the Popular Congress) since the mid-19th Century that has pressed for a laity-controlled Church. Obviously, this is different than the Catholic notion of Pope. In addition, the Coptic Papal selection process is fantastic: in general, they were fairly democratic procedures (most probably involved a degree of electoral process amongst the laity), but the last two (i.e. for Cyril VI and Shenouda III, the current Pope) were picked in the following manner. Three final candidates were chosen by the clergy/laity amongst the higher-ranked clergy (i.e. celibate bishops or monks) whose names were written on sheets of paper along with "Jesus Christ." These papers were placed into a box within the Haikal (similar to the iconostasis screen found in Orthodox churches) upon the altar. A small boy was then invited to go to the box and pick a paper. The person whose name appeared would become Pope, barring the draw of "Christ," which signifies the divine desire to have a different Pope, at which point three new names must be selected. Both Cyril VI and Shenouda III were selected immediately. I really like this method of legitimacy – divine democracy.
- Copts are famously known for their apotropaic tattoos on their right wrists. Apotropaic is a fancy religious studies word for "keeps away evil." Aa-po-trO-pA-ic. Learning is fun!
- Boutros Boutros Ghali was a Copt.
- Coptic Christianity also marks the beginning of the Christian monastic movement with Saint Antony, who renounced the world and moved into the desert. Since then, this has become a common trope in Coptic religious experience, with monasteries still being a major site for high-placed clergy. Unlike Catholic clergy, there is a division in Coptic Christianity between monks/bishops and priests, the former being celibate (and capable of becoming prominent political members of the clergy as a result) and the latter getting married.
- Copts still frequently practice exorcisms. As demons are thought to be corporeal (if subtle), they believe that during the exorcism, the demon will be forced out of the body. The easiest way for a demon to exit is from the eyes, but this causes blindness. As a result, during the exorcism, the officiating clergy member often pricks the victim's big toe, allowing the demon to escape through the drop of blood. This drop is then saved on a white sheet and used as a charm. This is possibly my favorite fact of Coptology to date.
Just think, I'm going to have a whole summer to gather this stuff! Even worse, I clearly am unable to hold conversations outside of my intellectual interests for extended periods of time, so all of you will be saturated with Coptic facts! You too can be Coptologists!
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
revamped
I am not beginning this with the normal "I haven't posted in so long and feel bad" line that I have used so many times before, because, well, I don't feel bad. I have been in Providence doing classwork that is probably exceptionally boring for others to hear about, though I am certain I could write about it for hours if I felt the need. That said, it is time for the blog to return.
On (what I promise will be) a related note, the blog name has changed to "rihla," which is both the Arabic word for trip as well as a style of classical Arabic literature, similar to a travelogue that was popular in the late Islamic Middle Ages (e.g. Rihlat Ibn Battuta, Rihlat Ibn Jubayr, Rihlat Muhammad al-Safar). This reflects the fact that, in a few short days, this will no longer be exclusively centered around Tangiers and Amman, hence no longer being about just Interzone and Philadelphia. Notably, it's going to be about Cairo, where I will be moving a week from today.
There will be much more up here about the move to Cairo (i.e. why Cairo?), but that will be forthcoming. Just know to start re-checking here should this sort of thing interest you.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Sunday, December 14, 2008
final moments
Well, for those of you who have somehow managed to keep up with my lack of posting the end of this semester, you are in for a treat. A final treat, as I leave on Thursday. I present, the chronicles of my trip to Jerusalem as excerpted from my journal (the one that got me into some trouble):
day one:
-turned away from border b/c border closed for holiday. spent day in friends' house pretending to be in jerusalem.
day two:
-buy your stamp for the paper to leave jordan. then, the old woman left her passport at the window (inside building), but she was on the bus to cross the bridge anyhow. delay ensues.
-get to otherside after passing through the no man's land of landmines. wait for 1st checkpoint. arrive, passports scanned (5th time of the day). see someone bribe the checker.
-inside, get visas (on separate sheet of paper). victoria delayed for hour because of palestinian roots.
- get photographed & have digital fingerprints taken of both hands. passports checked.
-in line to have passport checked for unclear reason. i am singled out. escorted to back room. luggage & personal effects searched. this book (i.e. my journal) found – arabic inside creates commotion – asked to wait.
-interviewed by angry man. first question: "is this your second passport?" proceeds to ask why i was in russia, how well i speak russian, why i'm going to israel, why i'm in amman, what i study, what religion in religious studies do i study (early christianity), why i'm studying arabic, why did i say i'm studying anthropology and religious studies but not arabic, how many years have i studied arabic, where did i study arabic, where in the us am i from, what do my parents do, who pays for college, do my parents work at home, what hospitals, national jewish!, am i jewish, do my parents know i'm studying arabic, what do they think about me studying arabic, am i still in college, how can i study in amman for three months if i'm in college, how can i get credit for my classes, do many americans study arabic now, why don't you study hebrew?
-"enjoy your visit to israel."
-returned to line. passport checked last time (eleven times in total, in addition to inspection of student id from brown, jordanian residency card, us driver's license, atm card). escape border.
-arrive in jerusalem. walk from damascus gate to jaffa gate. check in at east new imperial hotel. fat palestinian christian worker gives us great room overlooking david's tower.
-go to lunch at papa andrea's. food decent, but rooftop view well worth it.
-go to church of the holy sepulchre – huge – and see sites of the cruxifiction, washing, and burial of christ. swarmed with russians.
-go to armenian chruch on the via dolorossa. starts to rain.
-accidently go to coptic patriarchate. see reservoir beneath. hear chanting. run back to holy sepulchre to see inside an overlooked side door. group of monks chanting. we listen alone in the rain.
-try to find armenian quarter, get lost in jewish quarter, eventually work our way into armenian quarter to see armenian orthodox patriarchate. armenian quarter somewhat boring.
-cassie & i go to find sweets (success, but i prove to be allergic to them). after sunset most things are closed.
-go to new city to find waffles (called babette's feast). locate waffles. everything in hebrew. i realize i only know two letters in hebrew learned from a dreidel. fails to help order waffles. tiny store, but packed with the only people i've ever seen who have both braces and an automatic weapon.
day three:
-wake up early to go to haram al-sharif. israel has closed haram al-sharif because of holiday. go to wailing wall instead. strange man proud of me for coming to holy land, takes my picture with wall when i'm not ready. looks like i'm having an extremely intense jewish religious experience.
-walk to mount of olives. take many pictures of haram al-sharif. see garden of gethsemene (very old olive trees). swarm of russians. enter the basilica of the holy suffering. swarm of russians.
-proceed up the mount. visit jewish cemetery. more photos of haram al-sharif.
-visit tomb of virgin mary. swarms of russians.
-re-enter city via lion's gate. walk the via dolorossa.
-climb mount zion (not hard). see the supposed site of the last supper as well as king david's tomb. i am skeptical that these are in the same building. visit monastery of the dormition (mary didn't die and get buried in the tomb we saw earlier for these christians. she eternally sleeps beneath them).
-see oskar schindler's tomb.
-return to old city.
-tour the tower of david. bizarre animated film proving the right of the israelis to jerusalem. film in hebrew, with english subtitles, but credits are in hebrew, english and arabic. what did arabic-speakers get out of this film?
-cassie mistakes statue of king david for a little girl despite goliath's head at his feet. does kind of look like a little girl though.
-wander into the jewish quarter. find (type of present – not giving away what and for whom). need to pass through throng of about 50 fully armed israeli soldiers (i am older than all of them). felt very uncomfortable. find bagel store – eat bagels in heart of jewish homeland next to the wailing wall.
-wander into canyon-ish mall in new city next to jaffa gate. fail to understand what is in bakery (more hebrew), so don't purchase baked goods.
-go back into new city with cassie for dinner. find falafel (not as good as jordan). hebrew overwhelms us again for ordering.
day four:
-border much easier in this direction. go figure.
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