Dear St. Olaf Community-
Much of the last week has been devoted to drawing closure to our time here in Egypt. We are sitting in our closing lectures and making our final site visits (Aswan and Alexandria) in anticipation of our final exam and goodbyes to the country that has come to draw our fascination and affection. The last week has also marked the final days of Ramadan. We will, no doubt, notice a distinct quickening of the pace in downtown Cairo. In our last week we have also had the benefit of some time to ponder and process all that we have encountered this last month.
Perhaps the crowning jewel of our study of the relationship between globalization and tradition in Egypt was our visit to the High Dam in Aswan. Built in 1971 by Gamal Abdel Nasser, the dam now allows Egypt to control the country's water supply, the Nile River. The management of flooding, agricultural water supply, and domestic water supply has been a vitally important step in the country's development. The project came at a cost, however, as the damming of the Nile created a 180-mile long lake which covered up a large portion of the region called Nubia. The lake destroyed the homes of some 40,000 Nubians, wiping out large portions of their culture's history. Although technology brought about the destruction of much of a community's history, it also helped to preserve the Pharaonic Temple of Isis. To avert rising water levels, the temple was deconstructed and moved to higher ground where it was reconstructed. All of this was posted on the walls of the Nubian Museum, which was built to house the artifacts and preserve the history of the culture the dam damaged. The High Dam has served as a beautiful illustration of how globalization can both encourage and destroy tradition.
Our group also visited the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in downtown Alexandria, a similar symbol of globalization in Egypt. The library was first built in the 3 rd century BCE as a research facility to collect and house the greatest knowledge of the time. In an attempt to recapture the former glory of the library, Egypt and UNESCO teamed up to rebuild the library in the early 1990s. Today's library has been brilliantly built with very modern architecture; the perimeter of the building is styled like papyrus leaves growing out of a pool- reminiscent of the Nile. As a reflection of a move toward globalization and technology, the building is equipped with many digital databases and maintains the only copy and backup of the Internet Archive. The building's book collection remains somewhat scant compared to other national libraries for now, though with donations the library continues to accumulate the world's knowledge.
The last week has also given us a better opportunity to understand the diversity of Egypt. We have encountered the different styles of living in a city on the Mediterranean Sea, as a farmer in the rural Nile Delta, and on the arid Saharan Desert as well. We studied Coptic Christianity in the last week, giving us a better sense of the religious diversity in Egypt, as well. We intended to visit two Coptic monasteries near Alamein, although unfortunately were unable to do so due to the detainment of several Muslim Brotherhood members in the area.
Driving from our hotel in Cairo to our luxurious beach resort near Alamein, we encountered the incredible wealth disparity that exists in Egypt as well. Complete with several pools, a spa, and several Western restaurants and shops, the hotel was a significant symbol of what tourism brings to Egypt. Needless to say, we all felt a little weight on our hearts, knowing that most Egyptians don't earn in a month what we paid to spend one night at the hotel. Many students also had an opportunity to visit City Stars Mall, here in downtown Cairo. They said that the mall is by far the largest, most luxurious mall that any of them had ever seen. Unlike American shopping malls, social classes don't mingle in Egyptian malls- this is purely an outing for the wealthy elite.
While we regret that our time in Egypt has come to a close, our group is eagerly awaiting a month of new adventures and experiences in India.
Much Love, Globalites 2008
