DAY 24 - MUSEUMS AND MEN — ET's Travels and Talks

SYNOPSIS: I spent some time at the exquisite Luxor Museum and had several talks with several men solicited and unsolicited.

“Do you want to touch my ass?” I couldn’t believe I heard that. But there was a young guy who had just jumped off his motor bike approaching me as I was busy steadying my camera on a stone post to photograph Luxor Temple at night. “You are so sexy!” he continued. “And you are rude.” I replied. “Do you want to touch my ass?” Back to that! I guess his vocabulary was limited. “Do you want your face punched?” I asked. And when he reached out to touch my hair repeating how I was sexy I swung at him. But he was quick. I missed. In no time, he jumped back and was on his bike roaring off.

Somewhere in the Lonely Planet I read that Luxor has increasingly become a center for sex trade; young girls for old(er) men and young men for old(er) women. I guess, there is some truth to it. But as usual in the Middle East when I am approached by men in somewhat inappropriate ways, I do not feel threatened or in danger even though it was dark and I was out alone. He went through his routine, I went through mine.

I don’t know if I mentioned this yet, but on the bus to Abu Simbel and on the bus to Edfu (the same bus on which I most likely got fleeced for my camera), I have been groped by men sitting behind me. Their hand sneaks up on the side from behind and before you know it they are at your arm or if you sit with your arms outstretched, they are at your breasts. Egyptian women in self-defense might strike out. I just shout at the perpetrators. So, if you like this kind of stuff, consider Egypt your next destination! ;-)

After so much traveling, I can’t help but compare. I have to say I prefer the marriage proposals and the much subtler compliments I got from my “attachments” in Syria over the crass approaches in Egypt. If you search the blog for “attachments” you can read up on last year’s encounters with men.

This was the end of a day of many conversations. Earlier I had been at the bazaar to buy some high quality papyrus paintings. If nothing else, these are light weight and as Egyptian as it gets. After all, I have to bring back some souvenirs. The recommended Papyrus Man had left his shop and so I waited at his neighbor, George’s booth for him to return. The name George gives it away – Christian. His English was passable and so I asked him about his life as a Christian in Egypt.

Just as the guy in Aswan, he feels that relations between Muslims and Christians have been good in Egypt. They both shared the opinion that the burning of churches was instigated by the Mubarak regime to seed hatred and strife between the two groups. For the first time I heard it mentioned that there are supposedly millions of Muslim converts to Christianity in Egypt who have to practice in secret since conversions away from Islam are punishable by death according to Islamic law (Sharia). George mentioned a satellite channel in which a highly respected Christian clergy compares the Koran with the Bible. He said this is the way even illiterate people become familiar with Christianity and realize the fundamental differences between the two particularly in regards to condoning and rejecting violence. I wonder if there is official data to support this claim.

I added this day in Luxor to see the notable Luxor Museum. It is exquisite even if small. Actually, I prefer smaller museums as much as I prefer smaller towns. I get overwhelmed in cities like Cairo or Teheran. There was no photography I have to refer you to resources on line if you want to see a few things from that museum. I had been there 15 years ago, but so much stuff was added after 2004. New discoveries were made, older pieces were restored, mummies from abroad returned – all of that is on display now in a dimly lit, air conditioned, well labeled, clean and modern environment. One of the statues struck me then and it remains my favorite now: A head of Seti I that once must have been part of an oversized standing sculpture. It is unusually realistic and has so much personality. The red granite it is carved of makes it glow. It is one of the entrance pieces of the museum.

The museum is still on very limited hours and closed at 3 PM. I was the last person out and for some reason the police officer who checks bags when people enter started a conversation with me about the “New Egypt”. Before I knew, I had a cup of Egyptian tea in front of me and stood chatting with him for almost an hour as the guards poured out and the museum was locked up. “My name is Mohammed, as everyone else’s name is around here”, he apologetically introduced himself. His English was impeccable. We talked about the dangers and the possibilities of the New Egypt and the time it would take to change people not just from the outside in but the inside out. He was surprised to hear me say, that after the 1989 changes in Germany, we still are dealing with the vestiges of the old divisions 22 years later. The changes Egypt is potentially facing are a lot more fundamental and will take even longer. Impatience might be one of the most underestimated factors that could ultimately lead to failure. Both he and George indicated that they are not interested in “the beards” – the Islamic fundamentalists in Egypt.

And so the day went taking in art and talking to men.

Good night.