denisjsullivan

What Obama should have said

2011-02-01T16:24:00.001-08:00

Obama's message to the Egyptian people should be this:

We are with you; you are the change; Mubarak should step down immediately; a national unity government, made up of opposition leaders, should take charge now to establish democratic elections within 6 months - for Parliament (under proportional representation) and for a President with limited powers, powers to be shared with Parliament. Easy.

Egypt - the Revolution is televised, tweeted, blogged

2011-02-01T05:25:00.000-08:00

al-sha3b
yuriid
isqaaT al-nizaam

the people
want
the end of the system

Egyptians want Mubarak's regime to end.

They have achieved what they want - the system is indeed over, ended. Mubarak simply doesn't get it. He hasn't left yet - but he is history, he is done, "game over" as so many signs in Tahrir Square are calling for. His game is indeed over.

Not only does he not get it, Obama & Co. seem not to get it either - or if they do get it, they continue to offend the Egyptian people (al-sha3b) by not pushing Mubarak out the door or calling on him to leave.

Marie Lorraine Secrest Sullivan, 1925-2010

2010-04-14T19:59:00.000-07:00

Allah yarhamha, God keep her ...

I'm from Mars? I'm a "boomer"??

2010-02-14T14:05:00.000-08:00

Mary Churchill, one of my dearest friends, interviewed me recently for her newly launched University of Venus blog/project (and now a global phenomenon!).

Here is the Introduction to her interview (and see the link that follows to read the first part of the interview; the 2nd part is below).

but first - me, a boomer?? I honestly never thought of myself that way - not in all my "40-something years" (okay, I'm just above 49, but still ... it's my older sisters, and maybe even my older brother that are the "boomers"! I'm just ... well, I'm just ... oh forget it. Here's the interview:

Introductions:

Below is a conversation between a GenX woman (Mary Churchill) and a man from the Baby Boomer generation, part of our “Voices from Mars” series.

MARY: I’d like to introduce Denis Sullivan, a leader at Northeastern University in Boston. Denis is a Full Professor in Political Science and Director of both the Middle East Center and the International Affairs Program. He is also a fantastic friend and colleague of over fifteen years. Denis continues to be a close confidant and a key voice in my feedback loops. So, Denis, did I cover the important pieces?

DENIS: Definitely! The main "piece" is our friendship. That is our primary connection, link, driving force. All the professional "goodies" on top of that are, in some ways, "means to our ends" - ways to keep working together, keep promoting great things for students and colleagues and friends around the world.

MARY: I agree. I wanted to include a conversation with Denis on The University of Venus because he has always been such a strong advocate for women, the next generation, international students and scholars, and international education.

DENIS As a bit of background -- Growing up with 4 sisters, a strong single mother - and at 84, still strong! - and a nurturing grandmother, and then becoming a father of 2 amazingly brilliant and talented daughters ... that helps explain a bit about the 'strong advocate for women' you mention - for which I thank you!!

see: http://uvenus.wordpress.com/ for the rest of part 1.

and here is "the rest of the story" (okay, I guess I *am* a boomer - 'cuz what is running through my mind now is "Paul Harvey ... GOOD DAY!"):

MARY: Ok, let’s move to international education What are the best things that have happened in the last 10-15 years with regards to the globalization of higher education?

DENIS: First, that Americans finally get it! When I started teaching at NU in 1987, I felt I was a lone wolf, a “solo act” in the push for Middle East Studies and international studies more broadly. Oh, I had some like-minded colleagues - but we were a rare breed. Sadly, after 9/11, Americans woke up to the world around us. Of course, we were "slumbering" after the fall of the Soviet Union/fall of the Berlin wall, but that also led to more complacency. "We won", so to heck with the rest of the world. 9/11 gave Americans a shocking wake up. So we get it. Now what? While we get it, many folks also want simply to make money out of globalization. Thankfully, many more want to promote peace and justice. And others simply want to really really get it: i.e., By going around the world, learning languages, connecting with people and then figuring out their lives after that.

MARY: I hope you are right Denis. I love your positive attitude! I agree that this is a time for transformation for many. We are used to seeing this with 18-22 year olds and now it seems that people of all ages are becoming aware of the need to be global.

DENIS: Women are in the lead on this one. I would say 70% of our students in International Affairs are women. And in study abroad, the number is - and has been - generally the same. More women go abroad than men, traditionally. That gives them a huge advantage - in government, business, and academia (at least these days). And it gives them the global perspectives, global experiences that are to their life-long advantage.

MARY: Women are often more open to seeing the world from multiple perspectives and less afraid of studying abroad, more likely to get outside their comfort zones.

Gracie is ChCh-bound!

2010-02-12T09:52:00.000-08:00

There she went, through security at Logan airport, and here she is: http://gracecsullivan.blogspot.com/

Gracie set up her blog; posted twice already about leaving (Twas the night before ChCh is a must-read!); and off she went yesterday to her new adventures in Christchurch NZ, aka "Kiwi land", or ChCh).

OMG, I miss her so ...

and today, it's back to Logan to meet habibti, Nevenka. Good-byes and hellos (hellos are much much much better - Gracie, Jojo, Nevenka - my loves, my life, my hearts)

Zamalek sha'a (apartment)

2009-12-25T05:52:00.000-08:00

Christmas Eve in Cairo

2009-12-24T13:40:00.000-08:00

"Merry Christmas!"

We've heard this all day today, and expect to tomorrow as well. It's so refreshing to hear the words of the season I grew up with in Catholic Chicago; words I myself barely say in P.C. America these days - instead going for the bland "happy holidays". I hope America catches up with Muslim Egypt - a land, a country, a culture, a people proud of their Muslim-"ness", their Islamic-"ness", and still happy to please those of us who celebrate Christmas with a very hearty, smiling "Merry Christmas."

There is hope for us in America - many of my friends, and I, and many others* are taking back Merry Christmas as well as happily stating Happy Hanukkah to those for whom it is meaningful. So, let's get back to it ... and if you've had a Happy Hanukkah already, great! Happy to hear that. And if you're celebrating Christmas, have a Merry one!

Tomorrow, I'll hope to continue to hear the Merry Christmas from my Muslim brother, friends, and strangers alike.

----------------------

* I distance myself from the right-wing nuts who want to "take back Christmas" with their own "right" to separate themselves from everyone who doesn't celebrate or observe it. They're too far gone for my taste.

Eagles, Bob Marley, and Cairo Taxi

2009-12-20T12:40:00.001-08:00

Nevenka and I experienced the best taxi ride ever in Cairo. We got into the cleanest taxi ever; one with a meter (so there would be no question about the fare at the end); with the quietest driver; and with great music. Well, "great" is relative. The previous taxi we were in was blasting bad "pop". This one started out with the guitar prelude and smoothly into "Hotel California." I apparently started singing along and the driver took note - and raised the volume, obviously to please me (or drown me out? :-)

Before the Eagles had even finished their tune, the driver (who had to be "my age", which is to say a lot older than most other drivers we've had lately) skipped through whatever CD was in his system until he decided Bob Marley was suitable for Cairo traffic at night. He was right. Although we were stuck in normal (slow, beeping) traffic, Marley was crooning out that we had no reason to "worry" 'cuz "every little thing's gonna be alright". And he was right. We ended our ride much too soon! (Bob was still singing) The meter read only 4.50 LE (Egyptian Pounds), which is less than a dollar! I was so happy, and "generous", I gave him a whopping pound-fifty tip, i.e., 6 LE (around $1.10)!

Madrid, September 09

2009-09-15T13:17:00.000-07:00

the quickest of blogposts - nearly a 'tweet' on twitter - arrived today; felt like i was 'home' (even if Spain might serve as a "third home" after Cairo and Boston/USA). just feels great to be here. work to be done - building new programs for Northeastern (students and faculty); then, off to Belgrade for the more/most important aspect of this trip: Nevenka.

Egypt, Syria, Qatar: Journalism & MidEast Studies Dialogue, 2009

2009-06-02T14:40:00.000-07:00

I've not posted here at all this summer because I set up a special blog along with my colleague Carlene Hempel (co-leader on the journalism dialogue) and our 25 student bloggers.

To see what I've been up to from May 3 - June 5, please see:

http://denissullivan.wordpress.com/

And to see our students stories, and their blogs (and Carlene's), see:

http://northeasternjournalisminthemiddleeast.wordpress.com/

and stay tuned for 2010!

Philip Rizk - detained, "disappeared", finally home with family

2009-02-11T05:31:00.000-08:00

For the past few days, Egypt (and many destinations in Europe and the US) has been a swarm of activism and action by friends, family, and others over the fate of a young Egyptian-German blogger, activist (on Gaza especially), and student at American University in Cairo: Philip Rizk.

Philip was detained (or "kidnapped", more accurately) by Egyptian authorities on Friday February 7; police refused to acknowledge that they actually were holding him; initially, they denied his parents' access to Philip. A wave of local and international protests ensued, and under this global "watch", the government finally gave in. Philip was released on February 10 and is home with his parents, an Egyptian father and German mother.

A friend of mine here in Cairo, an "unintended activist" as I call her (she had no reason to become a human rights activist in Egypt, as this is not her own nation), issued the following email to those of us who cared to watch for, pray for, and work for Philip's release:

"While Philip is safe, many other bloggers and activists remain in detention. The New York Times could run a profile of a political prisoner in Egypt every day for the next year and only begin to scratch the surface of the thousands of people who are locked up because they spoke up, wrote a blog, or went to a demonstration. Without foreign passports and connections to international media, their situations will receive almost no attention. Please keep them in your thoughts and keep pressuring Egypt and other governments to release prisoners of conscience and allow freedom of speech, press, and association."

As I "blog", I myself wonder ... am I one of the 18,000 or so known bloggers in Egypt? or is that the number of Egyptian bloggers who are writing about their country, their society, their economy, their hopes and dreams for a better Egypt? These bloggers have our support - no matter what their ideology or approach (unless they are advocating violence ... then they should simply have our attention, and our vigilance against their views and actions). Democracy bloggers, bloggers for freedom of speech and conscience have more than an uphill struggle in Egypt - they have intense police scrutiny! Let's keep an alternative eye out, and keep a light shining on the dark practices of Egypt's police and especially their secret police, the infamous mukhabaraat.

The "new AUC"

2009-02-07T03:37:00.000-08:00

A "unilateral cease-fire" from Israel - how very thoughtful

2009-01-18T01:08:00.000-08:00

Israeli politicians and military officials have called for unilateral cease-fire - just in time for America's savior, Mr. Obama, to take office. I'm sure he and his people appreciate it.

Meanwhile, Gazans continue to discover more bodies under the collapsed buildings, hospitals, schools bombed by Israel over the past 23 days. Given that 1/3 of the 1,200 killed (so far) have been children, we might expect that this ratio will continue.

I write from Cairo, host to supposed "peace-making" talks, or at least "bilateral cease-fire" talks. Let's hope. Not "hope" as in "Obama Hope", but hope for an end to the slaughter of innocents - the 3 (three) Israeli civilians who have been killed over the past month; the near-400 Palestinian children plus another 200 or so innocent women killed in that same time.

I won't say more. I will leave it to Ellen Cantarow, "friend of a friend".

I COULDN’T SAVE A SINGLE CHILD

When I was a child my mother used to cry, “I couldn’t save a single Jewish child.”

Now I am my mother: I cannot save a single child in Gaza.

Not the ones wrapped in green cocoons lying row on row, surrounded by throngs of grieving men. I cannot comfort the fathers who jump up and down in agony, screaming as their children lie dead before them on the ground.

I cannot comfort the mother whose eyes, ravaged and blanked by terror, stare beyond me from the photograph, nor save the little one with bloodied, bruised face who stands beside her, nor the older brother, the only two who survived of six. I cannot say, “Come, we have a big, comfortable basement with a bed for you and the children, and a bath, and plenty of food. We will take you and shelter you.” I cannot welcome them to a home full of calm, of sunlight, with the warmth of potted plants, the refrigerator full of food, the showers waiting to receive them, the warm water streaming down to comfort their bruised and tired bodies.

I cannot save a single Gaza child.

Not the ones I saw on Al-Jazeera lying dead with heads all bloodied, under blankets on the ravaged ground. Not the little one, maybe 2, maybe 3, bloodied bandages covering her bloodied skull and face, her bruised lips showing and part of one dull and hopeless eye, her helpless bigger sister, surely no more than 4, beside her. I cannot take her and bring her back to normal life, hug her and sing to her, take her to my piano and ask her to listen to the strings as I run my fingers over them, watch while her face lights up with pleasure as she spots my cats, hold her, and hold her, and hold her….

I cannot save the little girl, maybe 5, who says the soldier stood and looked at her, then shot her hand and then, as she turned to run to her mother, her back: “One bullet went out my back and through my stomach.” Will doctors in a hospital the siege had already drained of medicines and equipment, a hospital where patients must share beds, where the floors are full of the wounded, and the blood pools around them --- will the doctors working quickly, as expertly as they know within the chaos of the terrified families pouring in from the terrified streets of Gaza City, will the doctors working as quickly as they know, but in this wasteland, save her?

I cannot save the newborn Mohammed, monitors on his chest, a respirator over his tiny face, born within the ground-shaking, ear-splitting terror of bombs falling from F16s, into a life from Dante’s inferno, a life where the smoke of exploding shells and bombs gags the other children, the women, the men, fleeing helpless before the behemoth wielding their “pure arms” to crush these “two-legged cockroaches,” [Yitzhak Shamir's infamous phrase] these Palestinians of whom Golda Meir said, “There are no Palestinians,” and whom the Hebron settlers curse in savage scrawled grafitti: ARABS TO THE GAS CHAMBERS. These people of whom the Rabbi said, “One Arab is not worth a million Jewish fingernails.” About whom Avigdor Lieberman, that man of the Israeli people, says, drop the atom bomb on them as the Americans did on Japan.

I cannot lift the dark-faced, dark-haired teenaged girl from the stretcher, rock her in my arms and say, “Darling, Shhh, it will be all right,” because it will not be alright. She is already dead, face down on the stretcher where the hopeless cover her body while I watch her image at my computer.

It will not be alright.

It will not be alright. I am my mother, and it is 1942 all over again, and this is the Warsaw Ghetto – different, I’ll admit. I’ll admit they aren’t killing everyone. Just some of them. Only 400. Only 600. Only 800. Only 1000. When does “collateral damage” become malice aforethought? When does that malice translate as “deaths?” When do deaths become “a massacre?” How many in a massacre? A holocaust? The shoa Mr. Vilnai wanted?

I cannot save a single child in Gaza. I am my mother, and we are weeping together.

ELLEN CANTAROW Counterpunch, Weekend Edition, January 16-18, 2009

Heading to Cairo (again)

2008-12-22T18:55:00.000-08:00

Sabbatical, here I come!

I leave Friday, 26 December. Cannot wait to get back home to Cairo, and back to a research-mode for a change ... I'll have 4 months (mostly) in Cairo on my research and then another 2 months (nearly) of 2 dialogues in May and June (one, our traditional Arabic language/Middle East Studies dialogue; and a new dialogue for Journalism and Middle East studies majors).

But, long before then, it's research and writing time for me.

"Best Program/Group Ever" ... reflections before leaving Cairo

2008-06-21T22:24:00.000-07:00

I'm leaving for the Cairo airport in about 18 hours from now. The students made it safely home to Boston (I know that for sure), and my hope is that they made it safely to their final destinations - Pennsylvania, New York, Rhode Island, Western Mass., New Jersey, Alaska (yes, one from Alaska!), and wherever else they had to go. Before I leave the country, and get back to the craziness of NU summer activities - freshmen orientation starts Tuesday; tinkering with budgets for this program and for the year ahead; etc. - I want to reflect quickly on this program.

First, this group is easily the "best group ever"! Yes, I do tell all groups that they are the best, and in this case it is easy to say categorically that they are the best group I have ever brought to Cairo. One completely personal reason is that my daughter was here for the entire length of time, and her sister joined us half-way through the program for a brief period of time, so as a father, this group was above and beyond all others! Second, this group was the largest group I have ever brought here, so by shear "weight" (and height, given all the very tall students we had here!), i.e., by "volume", this group was the "best". Third, my goal of getting students from "non-traditional programs" (i.e., beyond the Arts & Sciences) to Egypt was achieved - 11 Engineering students and their amazing professor (Dr. Mo Taslim), at least one business student, one from criminal justice, plus many other disciplines beyond political science, history, middle east studies, and international affairs joined us (psychology, linguistics, music). Fourth, the "dialogues" were great successes, even more than ever. The Egypt Dialogue was a huge success, thanks to Fulbright Commission and the wonderful Egyptian students they brought plus of course our own students' commitment "to dialogue"; plus the Arab Dialogue in Abu Dhabi was a truly amazing experience, thanks to the Arab Women's Organization and H.H. Sheikha Fatma. Fifth, Cynthia was her typically amazing self - organized, patient, supportive, and knowledgeable about Egypt and our students and their needs. And finally, this group was so amazing. They were "troopers" as I've said all along -- including when we were semi-stranded in the middle of the Sahara desert enroute to Siwa! 99% of the group got along, went along, and grabbed all the gusto that Egypt and the program offered them.

All in all, the intellectual diversity of this group, the family connection :-) , and the overall "chemistry mix" of personalities, makes me one very proud professor.

Yalla ("let's go") ... let's start planning 2009 and see if that yet-to-be-determined group can attempt to rival this year's!

Last night in Cairo ...

2008-06-19T13:28:00.001-07:00

Our 3:30 am flight to Cairo from Dubai went well. As we waited for the Egypt Air counter to open, our students found free wireless! So, the picture tells it all - everyone pulled out their laptops and "checked out" of the group chat, and "checked in" to their emails ...

We arrived to Cairo just around 6 am; Abduh met us at the airport; and we got back to Zamalek to check into our hotels (Flamenco for the 6 men; Marriott for the women). It's 11:30 pm here; Abduh and the bus will arrive at 1:30 (2 hours from now) to pick up the women, then we're off to Flamenco to get the guys and then back to the airport! Ugh, yes, we are all quite sick of traveling ... but it was very nice to come back to Cairo after Abu Dhabi and Dubai (back to our "reality", and to say a fond farewell to our host city for the past 6 weeks).

I know the students can't wait to be home tomorrow. And I know you who love them can't wait, too! Enjoy them and enjoy their stories ... and let them find their own time and way to share their experiences with you. It might take them a day or an hour or a week, but share them they will. I look forward to reading all their "reflections" on their/our collective and individual experiences.

Women's Union of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi

2008-06-18T08:17:00.000-07:00

Today, we were treated to a wonderful visit to the General Women's Union of UAE, led by the visionary "Mother of the Emirates", Her Highness Sheikha Fatma Bint Mubarak ... yes, the woman most responsible for our visit to her country. H. H. Sheikha Fatma is the widow of the founder of the UAE, Sheikh Zayed. Both of these people are much beloved here in Abu Dhabi and across the UAE. Sheikha Fatma (who also is the "First Mother", as in the "Queen Mother" or the Mother of the the President of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahyan (son of the founding president Sheikh Zayed).

Got it? "All in the royal family" ... and this is one Royal Family that has tremendous support and much love of their subjects.

HH Sheikha Fatma founded the General Women's Union in 1973-74, just 2 years or so after the founding of the state of the UAE in December 1971. The work of the Women's Union cuts across a number of fields - computer training, family assistance, legal aid for women and families, protection of Emirati heritage, etc. etc.

Our students - men and women alike - donned traditional outfits of Emirati men and women. And they became quite "animated" (or, "camped it up" for those of you who might know what I'm trying to say). After our tour, the women were treated to henna on their arms, hands, and/or legs while we men just sat and watched -- and enjoyed the warm hospitality of Mrs. Nora al-Suwaidi, the general director of the Women's Union. We "hung out" in a traditional (?) tent, albeit one with closed doors and air conditioning! Still, it was "traditional" in that we rested comfortably on rugs and cushions, enjoying a non-stop flow of drinks, Emirati food and dates.

Our time in Abu Dhabi is fast coming to a close ... we leave for Dubai at 7 pm tonight (the departure time has already changed 3 times ... but it is finally fixed at 7), and plan to visit the Burj al-Arab (the 7-star hotel) and perhaps the Mall of the Emirates, with its famous indoor ski slopes! Then the 7-star airport!, until our 3 am departure for Cairo ... and then, less than a day there before the group returns to Boston Friday afternoon. If I don't get a chance to "post" again until after that, I'll make a final posting about our entire program/trip/travels as soon as possible.

Thanks for reading, and for your comments! AND PLEASE, once you do hear from your children or "loved ones" on our Egypt Dialogue, PLEASE let me know your impressions of their impressions :-) i.e., let me know your reaction to all they tell you and all they share with you. Either post your own comments here, or if you want to be more private, email me at d.sullivan@neu.edu

Closing Ceremonies and a change of plan for Dubai

2008-06-17T09:05:00.000-07:00

This picture of our closing ceremonies is a bit blurry ... but that's fitting. We're all quite a bit "blurry eyed" - we've been working our heads and hands off for 3 days straight! Our students have been engaged as much in a professional development workshop as a dialogue (our cross-cultural [Arab - American] discussions continue apace). And their days have been quite full -- mostly spent doing research, preparing power-point presentations, discussing fine points of social, cultural, political and religious differences and similarities. (And the 33 Arab participants, from 14 different Arab countries/societies have their own considerable differences as well as similarities, and they, too, have intense discussions within and across their various Arab societies.)

This morning, we visited the still-under-construction (as it has been for 12 years already) Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque. Wow! Check out my "djspics" blog, linked above, on the left. It is much more than just "grande". It is an architectural work of art as well as a beautiful place of worship. We also visited Abu Dhabi University (and met the President and the Chairman of the Board). And, we had a tour of the Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research (note picture on other blog with Ms. Howaida and pictures of the Royal Family of UAE).

Tomorrow, we've changed our plans for Dubai. Primarily, we're all just so exhausted, and it makes more sense to hang out/relax/rest up here, in Abu Dhabi in this exquisite InterContinental hotel (I am sure it's much more than a 5-Star hotel!). On our way to the Dubai airport tomorrow night, we will still get to see the city and especially that other architectural wonder of the UAE, the Burj al-Arab 7-Star hotel! Then, off to Dubai airport by midnight for our 3 a.m. flight back to Cairo.

Hard at work in Abu Dhabi

2008-06-16T10:20:00.000-07:00

Our Arab and American participants in this "dialogue/workshop" are hard at work this morning, finishing up their 7 different presentations; I'm taking a quick break as they finalize their powerpoint presentations for viewing after lunch today. Please see my "djspics" blog (link to the left of this post) for some pics of this morning's activity.

"Eid al-Ab" (Father's Day) and a Day of Dialogue

2008-06-15T10:04:00.000-07:00

This morning, at breakfast (and before I could even recall what day of the week it was, let alone the specific date!), I was greeted with a huge hug and a kiss from Grace for Father's Day (Eid al-Ab). What a way to start any day!

And then to work ... we opened our Dialogue of Arab and Western Youth with remarks from Dr. Waduda Badran, Director of the Arab Women's Organization, and Dr. Moataz Abdel-Fattah, Dialogue Organizer for the AWO, and myself, as Director of our Dialogue of Civilizations Program at Northeastern. Afterwards, we divided our students among the 7 research topics - Health, Education, Media, Society, Politics, Economy/Business, Legal Issues - and they got down to work. And did they work!! Students and their fellow Dialoguers/Researchers from 14 Arab Countries spent the entire day, until 5:45 pm, discussing these key issues with a specific focus on women and girls and how they are connected with, involved in, and affected by these general topics (e.g., female literacy rates in both the USA and the Arab world, girls' and women's access to health care, women in politics, the image of women in the media, women's legal rights, women in business -- all of these topics looking into American and various Arab societies).

I, on the other hand, in addition to helping Dr. Moataz keep our dialoguers organized and on-task, spent much of the morning in interviews with Arab media -- all in Arabic! Both print media as well as television, I tested my language skills - including the fact that I speak Egyptian dialect, and we are in the Gulf, so the dialects are quite different! But I did spend much of my time sincerely thanking Her Highness Sheikha Fatma Bint Mubarak, President of the AWO, for her indescribable generosity and hospitality in providing all means necessary to get our NU-25 to Abu Dhabi, to provide accommodations and sustenance and all the creature comforts and more than we could ever imagine! Shukran jaziilan Your Highness Sheikha Fatma!

This evening, all of the Arab and American women had the option of going to a women-only spa. We will deconstruct this later ... the notion of separation of women from the men, the upside and the downside (the "separation" vs. the "segregation") ... but culturally, for some Arab societies (but definitely not all!), this separation is a necessity; yet some of our Arab female dialoguers find it as quaint (or perhaps "difficult to accept") as our American female participants. But nor did this stop both Arab and American women from going to the spa! And I joined several of our male participants and a few Arab women who chose against the spa and took a trip to one of the malls ... think of Chestnut Hill mall and add a few "stars" to its ranking, plus a "snow mountain" in the center of this mall.

And now, 9:30 pm, off to dinner: the non-stop, help-yourself, all-you-can-eat banquet of all sorts of dishes and treats from all over the globe ... I think our students will have gained a few more pounds this week, as will I (unfortunately ... but then again, it is Father's Day!)

Abu Dhabi - Amazing!!

2008-06-14T06:32:00.000-07:00

Jaws dropping, huge smiles, "wows" heard throughout the group ... just some of the reactions of our group as we arrived in Abu Dhabi about 2 hours ago. Upon arrival, we were met just outside the EgyptAir plane by 4 Emirati women, who work for our sponsor, the Arab Women's Organization/AWO. Our greeters then escorted us all into the VIP arrival lounge. Our passports and baggage claim tags were collected while we were served cool juices by non-Arab wait-staff. Half an hour later (or less), our passports were returned to us, with our Entry Visas provided and our luggage collected and placed on a truck. We boarded vans (okay, Cynthia and I got treated to a Mercedes limo) and sped our way through the tranquil, orderly, "green" streets of Abu Dhabi to our 5-Star InterContinental hotel, a stone's throw from the Royal Palace.

We were met in the lobby by 3 Egyptian men and women, whom I've met before in Cairo at the headquarters of AWO. They had our rooms ready and room keys provided. We were told that, in addition to our hotel rooms, all of our meals as well as our laundry (!) would be covered by the AWO sponsors. And, as we had 4 hours to wait before dinner (tonight at 9 pm, with the 30 Arab students who are already here), that the AWO would arrange for room service for all our rooms ...

I do think that nearly all of our students "get it" - i.e., they must know by now what an incredible opportunity has been provided to them ... yes, I do think one or two of the less-vocal might not yet get it (or, if they do "get it", perhaps they also appreciate it, even if they don't yet vocalize that). But again, focusing on the near-100% of these students, their expressions, their comments to Cynthia and me, their eye-popping, jaw-dropping responses tell me that they do appreciate what has been provided to Northeastern University (students, faculty and staff). And we have only just begun! Tonight, we will meet the 30 Arab students (we've already met some from Yemen, Morocco, and Jordan) for an "ice-breaker" ... Tomorrow, we'll have official opening comments (oh, I just realized, I'm slated to speak so I must prepare some comments!!), then we'll break into working groups on various topics (all related to the role and status of women): education, health, nutrition, politics and government, business and economy, and one or two other general topics. So, after the "ice" is "broken", we look forward to some engaged discussions -- American and Arab students -- on critical issues of our times.

And I do owe our readers an update about Siwa and Marsah Matruh ... pictures soon!

Pics ... from Marsah to Siwa ... did I mention the bus broke down?!

2008-06-09T14:17:00.001-07:00

okay, very different pictures ... one is of Joyce, walking among the headstones of al-Alamein's Allied/Commonwealth cemetery; one is of the beach at Marsah Matruh (yes, this was the view we all had from our hotel rooms); one is our "group shot" in the middle of nowhere! -- our bus broke down 1 hour away from Siwa, and our incredible students were all just so wonderful, not one of them complained one bit! And instead, we turned it into a chance for "fun in the desert" and on a deserted stretch of street, where hardly any vehicles - and no human beings, other than the bus/truck drivers - dared to venture; and the final one is our group shot in Siwa.

as for the bus break-down (with plenty of water and shade and lots of sand to explore!), we solved the lack of transportation soon enough - I phoned our hotel in Siwa and they sent us 2 vans, which took about 90 minutes to appear ... so, all in all, we only had about a 2-hour delay from our arrival in Siwa. Again, our students were "troopers", as they have been for the past 6 weeks, rolling with the punches, enjoying life in Cairo and throughout Egypt ... and here was another example of their enjoyment, their "rolling" and of taking the occasional "lemon" of an experience and turning it into "lemonade" :-)

After Cairo: Boston, Greece, Al-Alamein, and tomorrow is Siwa

2008-06-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

We ended our amazing Dialogue program yesterday, Sunday June 8. We held a good-bye feast at Abduh and Hayaam's home; held our de-briefing session there; then we went to Al-Azhar Park (one group) and Zamalek (the rest of us).

And then our NU-40 scattered to various corners of the world ... the fewest among us went home to Boston (4 students, at 5:30 a.m. today); 8 Engineering students took off for Greece (3 pm today); and the rest of us (23 students, plus Cynthia and myself) headed to Marsah Matruh and the Mediterranean Sea. We 25 still have another journey ahead ... with our ultimate destination in Abu Dhabi and another Dialogue, this time with 30 Arab students from all over the Arab world.

Two hours before we arrived at this beautiful beach (Matruh), we stopped at Al-Alamein, the famous WWII war site, which was a turning point for the Allied Forces in 1942. We stopped at a museum, where some of our students decided to hop on WWII-vintage tanks, trucks, and armored-personnel carriers. And then we stopped at the Commonwealth Forces' Cemetery. As we left the bus to visit the cemetery, I encouraged these 18-25 year old students to take a look at the ages of the soldiers buried here. The headstones of young men their own ages extend for acres and they are a stark reminder of the high cost of war, even the necessary wars we have fought (or, more accurately, "that have been fought for our sake"). We have not (yet) gotten into a discussion of the unnecessary wars and their various costs.

After our somber walk through the resting place for those who made the ultimate sacrifice some 65 years ago, we hopped on our bus, drove past the German and Italian cemeteries, and continued along the beautiful shore-line and the turquoise sea to our hotel, the Beau Site ... and it is a most beautiful spot.

Wrapping up "Service Learning" Projects

2008-06-01T13:21:00.000-07:00

(Grace and Lilly at Alwan wa Awtar Children's Center, Muqattam). Today, Sunday June 1, we visited all of our Service Learning sites - glass-blowing workshop (Establ Antar), quilting/knitting workshop (Muqattam), children's center (Muqattam), and carpet-making training center (Hadaek el Koubbeh). Our goals were (a) to show our draft websites to the men and women who run these various centers/workshops and (b) to purchase as many of their products as possible! Collectively, we spent a respectable amount of LE/$$ on blown-glass and knitting/quilting products (table cloths, handbags, even oven mitts!).

We are now in our final week of classes; the final class is this Thursday (Dr. Mo has an Engineering final on Friday morning). And we will have a "debrief"/wrap-up a week from today, 8 June, at al-Azhar Park http://www.alazharpark.com

If you are a parent reading this, please encourage your child to "play it safe" on our final 2 "free days", this coming Friday and Saturday. Some students want to go outside Cairo, which is fine IF they use our own drivers (unfortunately, this would be at their own expense). Some students have been invited by our Egyptian "dialoguers" (their new friends, whom they met through our Dialogue at Fulbright) to visit some resort areas. I told a few students that I do not want them riding in private cars OUTSIDE of Cairo; inside Cairo is another story, but traveling outside of Cairo in cars driven by people I do not know ... I do not recommend this, and in fact I will not "allow" it. Of course, I cannot prevent them from doing this, but if your child is thinking along these lines, and if they ask your advice, please help me discourage them. But, if you think I am being too cautious, then you (and they) may of course ignore my advice ... I would prefer that the students end their time in Cairo in a relaxed, even "reflective" mood - enjoying Cairo their last days here; thinking about their time in Egypt; and of course finishing their course assignments for me and their other professors.

Live, from Cairo, it's Saturday Night!

2008-05-31T04:05:00.000-07:00

And time for our "Weekend Update" ...

Yesterday was spent in Alexandria; rather than taking the train (as originally planned), I decided it best to send all the students via our trusted car service (Abdel-Meguid "Abduh" Travel); the train is perfectly safe and fun, but going up in our vans allowed the students to save $$ in that they did not have to keep renting taxis to get them around this new city, with which they are totally unfamiliar. One group went up and back yesterday (one van, 14 students); the other group spent the night in Alex on their own (two vans, 19 students plus Dr. Mo Taslim and his wife Farough) and 2 students stayed back in Cairo, as did I.

I arranged for a VIP tour of the Alexandria Library (really, that's what my friends there call it, the VIP TOUR!), which allowed for a private tour of that amazing new construction alongside the Mediterranean Sea, as well as two special museums within the library, one of which is a rare books/documents exhibit. Joyce ("the assistant to the assistant", as Cynthia designates our dear Joyce!) took care of the logistics in Alex, including the "meet and greet" with the Public Relations officers at the Library; and Abduh's son Karim (a senior at Cairo University) gave his own special tour of the city.

Today, the 2nd group (the one that spent the night in Alex) went to Montazah Palace Gardens (and beach!) ... you can probably guess that they didn't go there for the "gardens." :-) and they are on their way back to Cairo now.

Tomorrow (Sunday) we head back to our Service Learning sites to "show off" the websites our students designed. We did a "soft launch" of the site for the leaders of the NGO and AUC's Gerhart Center on Thursday. Those folks were quite taken (okay, it's more accurate to say they were "blown away") by the sites our students developed. Nearly all the students contributed to the site development - pictures and stories about the people and products and places we are working with; and a team from both the Arabic-language students and the Engineering students took those contributions and created a beautiful website (which we will launch in the days ahead ... so stay tuned for that URL). Not only do we have a professional photographer in our midst, we also have a professional website designer along with talented students who might as well be called "professional", even if that's not where they would place themselves. It is an amazing group of talent we have here in Cairo ...

Fulbright Commission and Dialogue

2008-05-27T01:06:00.000-07:00

"Dialogue" - noun, a conversation between two or more persons; an exchange of ideas and opinions; verb, to take part in a dialogue.

We held our second "informal-formal" dialogue at Fulbright Commission offices in Cairo last night (May 26). I stress to our students that any "dialogue"/discussions we have with our Egyptian hosts/friends should be as informal as possible; still, I do have to organize (formally) a time, place, people, etc. And once we get together, our discussions and dialogues should be as open, free, uncensored, uninhibited as possible.

Last week (our first dialogue evening, May 19) went so well that most of our 35 students spent additional time in the ensuing week with their new Egyptian friends - i.e., on their own, in the evenings, and outside the confines of the "formal" dialogue. When we met again last night, it was a total change from our first meeting. The first meeting was "stiff", almost cold, since no one knew one another and we had to spend time "breaking the ice". The second meeting (last night) was warm, hand-holding and hand-shaking, polite cheek-kissing all around -- i.e., "old friends" reconnecting after days (!) of separation. We held one session of 45 minutes to welcome a few new Egyptian participants and bring them "into the family", our Egyptian-American family of new friends. Then, Safaa of Fulbright welcomed us to the roof of the Commission's office for a wonderful Egyptian dinner (the roof was the only space that could hold all 60+ "dialoguers"!). And then we "adjourned" the dialogue, and invited our participants to simply go off on their own and enjoy their evening ... one group ended up at a felucca (sailboat) on the Nile, with 2 boats tied together (the group was too big for just one boat), and they spent an hour or more floating on the Nile after sunset, singing and listening to music (one Egyptian brought a traditional drum "just in case"!).

The "official dialogue" is over, and now the real dialogues can continue, with our students and their Egyptian friends going off on their own, "naturally" (unplanned, not organized formally). Safaa of Fulbright is very pleased with our success, and we are already talking about what to do next year (though she did plead with me to not bring any more students than the number we have this year! "Kifaya (enough) ya Denis! No more than 35 please!!" Cynthia sympathizes with that but also shares my goal -- to bring more and more and more people to my 2nd home.)

Weekend and a new week

2008-05-26T02:17:00.000-07:00

Week 3 of classes begins today, Monday (Memorial Day in the States). We have only 2 weeks left of "academics" - Fluids and Arabic. We also have only a few days left to finish our Service Learning assignments. The website team is finalizing its work; we hope to have a draft ready by Wednesday so we can show it (the draft website) to our NGO partner and then show off our students' great work to the communities with whom we are working - Establ Anter and Muqattam.

Our weekend was spent recuperating (many of our students found themselves with colds and headaches; a couple still suffer from stomach ailments). On Saturday, our 2nd group of students took the tour with Iman Abdel-Fattah of Islamic Cairo (see post from last Saturday). Iman was most impressed with our students ... the amount of questions, and the depth of those questions, made her feel that we were truly connecting with Egypt's Islamic history -- i.e., that we had both an interest in, as well as a growing understanding about, Islam in Egypt.

I believe it is the "chemistry" of this group that makes it that much more impressive than many other groups that came before them (i.e., came before, with me, to Cairo). Our students are majors in Arts & Sciences (Middle East Studies, International Affairs, Political Science, Linguistics, Psychology, Biology, History, Physics, Music, English, Sociology, and Human Services), Criminal Justice, International Business, Bouve (Pharmacy), and of course Mechanical Engineering. The inter-disciplinary elements, the various learning styles, the different ways of seeing the world, the multiplicity of perspectives, to say nothing of the sheer size (35 students!) allow for a unique learning environment for all of us, professors and students alike.

And now, off to plan the rest of the week ... in particular, our final night of Dialogue (tonight) at Fulbright offices.

Monologues and Dialogues

2008-05-23T07:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday, Thursday May 22, after a full day of classes, we extended our day to include a visit to (a "briefing" at) the U.S. Embassy (3 - 4:30 pm) plus a meeting at the Arab League (7 - 9 pm). A trip to "America" (which is where we were for the afternoon, on U.S. soil again ... albeit in the center of Cairo) was exciting for all 35 students - leaving all electronics at the security desk (especially fun for Engineering students!: laptops, cameras, calculators, cell phones, flash drives, iPods), wand scans, bag checks, visitor ID cards. Then, the actual "briefing" included talks by 3 Americans - all Foreign Service personnel - about what a great job it is for an American to "represent" American interests abroad. Sure, it's a challenge, but "someone has to do it" -- to make the Arabs understand our war in Iraq and our support for Arab dictatorships and our "empty pledges" to promote democracy, freedom, and human rights (yes, more editorializing by Dr. Denis). These "monologues" left most of the students "underwhelmed" ... and some said it even made them rethink their hopes of joining the State Department or Foreign Service.

And then we went to the Arab League ... where our students' interests in international diplomacy and supporting the values of America abroad were re-established. How strange, I thought, that it took an Arab diplomat to encourage our students' interests in American diplomacy. Ambassador Hisham Youssef, Chef de Cabinet for Amr Moussa, the Secretary General of the Arab League, was a "hit" with our students. He was more than generous with his time, spending over 2 hours with us -- during a period of time where he is also involved in negotiating an end to the crisis in Lebanon! Sitting around the formal desk of an Arab League Committee conference room, our students (all "dressed to the nines" in their suits, ties, dresses and heels) asked him intelligent, probing, thoughtful, "tough" questions -- about Israel, US policy in Israel and Palestine, Iraq, Sudan and Darfur, women in the Arab world, "democracy and freedom", the gaps between rich and poor across the Arab world ... I was one very proud professor!

Ambassador Youssef in turn asked our students questions about their perceptions of the Arab world, and Egypt in particular; "did your parents worry that you were going to a dangerous place?!" (with a quick statement that, "now you see it is not dangerous, and you're probably also surprised about how much fun you can have here!").

As opposed to the "flat" tone of the Embassy visit, our time at the Arab League was a truly engaging discussion. It was over 2 hours of give-and-take, friendly and tough discussions, and it ended in the great hall of the League itself, the "General Assembly"-style hall where all the diplomats gather for summits, League meetings, debates and negotiations. Our students went crazy when they entered the palatial hall and experienced a sight that is otherwise reserved for VIPs, Kings, Presidents, Foreign Ministers. Then, when they were told to "go for it", they ran around the opulent hall, and chose their "favorite Arab states" so they could get pictures taken behind the flags and at the desk of Libya, Lebanon, Jordan, Egypt, Morocco ... one of our Jewish students said he was "so tempted" to sit at the Palestine desk, but that he just couldn't bring himself to do it. That same student "connected" in a very meaningful way with Ambassador Youssef. In addition to his generosity of time, his thoughtful and encouraging nature, I believe this "connection" was also due to the Ambassador's open acceptance of Israel and his statements that the Arab League will continue its efforts to support peace, security, and justice for both Palestinians and Israelis. He is an advocate of a 2-state solution and yes, he is adamant that Israel needs to be pushed to make concessions for peace just as America and Europe are demanding that Palestinians, too, must make reciprocal concessions.

This "evening of dialogue and diplomacy" was a highlight of our stay so far ... I look forward to reading students personal reports to see if it will have a "lasting" impression.

"Routine" in Cairo ...

2008-05-21T03:51:00.000-07:00

I think the "bloom is off the rose" or whatever the phrase is to suggest the "honeymoon is over." Not that folks have fallen out of love with Cairo, but that we are all in a fairly routine pace these days ... classes 4 days per week, 4 hours per day; homework and cramming for quizzes in afternoons; plus service learning project work; plus the occasional added activity (all required but still "added on" to the core work we're doing). These activities include: "dialogues" with Egyptian students (our first was on Monday May 19th and all accounts suggest our students loved it ... lots of "Facebook-ing" going on now between American and Egyptian students); we're heading off to see the film version of our novel, Yacoubian Building (today at 3:30 pm Cairo time).

LOOKING TOWARD TOMORROW -- U.S. EMBASSY & ARAB LEAGUE visits!!! (AFTER our class meetings)

Then a fairly free Friday ... the best day in Cairo ... no traffic! quiet mornings ... Some students are already planning a return to the Pyramids for horse-back riding. Saturday most students (i.e., those who did not go last Saturday) will take the tour of Islamic Cairo (see posting below on last Saturday's tour).

NOTE: IF YOU NEED TO REACH ME, my email is d.sullivan@neu.edu ... I've put this also in my "About me" just underneath my picture, to the left. Any private matters ... please just drop me an email.

Islamic Cairo: 879 - 1857 A.D./C.E.

2008-05-17T12:40:00.000-07:00

From Ibn Tulun mosque (constructed between 876-879 AD/CE: "Current Era") to the public fountain and library (Sabil-Kuttab) of Qaitbay (1479 AD) to the Citadel (constructed by Saladin/Salah ed-Din from 1176-82) and the mosque of Muhammad Ali (built between 1830-57), we wound our way through nearly 1,000 years of Islamic history, art, and architecture. Our guide and teacher today was Ms. Iman Abdel-Fattah (American-Egyptian, native of Manhattan, resident of Cairo), who worked our students hard - both on their feet, through the 5-hour walking tour, and in their minds, through Tulunid, Mamluk, and Ottoman styles, designs, and artistry -- Islamic throughout, with comparable and contrasting layouts for both the sacred and the secular structures we visited.

With "NU-40" still a challenge to manage at times, we have begun to break into various groupings - first, by class: 11 in Fluid Mechanics, 9 in Arabic (intermediate), and 2 separate classes of introductory Arabic (7 in each of the classes); second, by service learning projects; and third, any other way we can ... just to keep things from getting too "fixed" in any particular grouping. Today, we divided (or "mixed and matched") again in order to have today's walking tour manageable for Iman and we'll have "group 2" take the same tour next Saturday.

Visit to Establ Anter, Service Learning site

2008-05-14T23:11:00.000-07:00

A long trek through Cairo traffic, through dusty side streets, and through narrow alleys (strewn with trash, trash, and more trash), under a bridge, alongside a decaying 18th-century structure (a former prison from the Ottoman Empire), and we found ourselves "nowhere" - i.e., we arrived where we wanted to be, at Establ Anter. But it does not exist officially. Establ Anter (named after a Mr. Anter who had his horse stables on this spot decades ago) is an informal community of some 5,000 souls ... poor souls.

We visited Mr. Sherif and Mr. Hamada, brothers in their 30s, who started a glass-blowing workshop a year or more ago ... and it is expanding. Our task is to help them get a "presence" on the web, to target new markets, to provide our thoughts about what American and other foreign markets/audiences might like to see in their products, and to help them expand their reach beyond the local suqs (markets) where they currently sell.

This site is just one of 3 or 4 we will work in for the next month. But, our time is starting to fly! We have to get moving on all of our projects - knitting/quilting is the 2nd project we will work on. Both of these 2 projects (glass-blowing and knitting/quilting) will begin in earnest on Monday.

And we are struggling with 2 others - including a carpet-weaving project that already has major international reach (with website, marketing infrastructure, etc.); but, this corporation is also working in Establ Anter and recruiting children to work for them.

This is our conundrum: are the children slated to become "child labor" for a corporation? or, as our NGO leaders say, are the children going to be educated - in traditional subjects, in a new school built atop the local community center and mosque - as well as learn a vocation, get 2 meals a day, earn money for each product they help produce (helping their families immediately), and have hope for a future beyond the poverty in which they currently suffer?

We are struggling with this one ... and we'll keep you posted!

Arabic language, Fluid Mechanics, and Service Learning - Day Two

2008-05-13T01:03:00.000-07:00

Our classes began yesterday (Monday) - 3 classes of Arabic (2 introductory, 1 intermediate) and one Fluid Mechanics class. Also yesterday, all 35 students met with Yasmina Abou Youssef, the entrepreneurial young woman who started the NGOs (Fathet Khayr and Suhbet Khayr) we are working with, and with Youssef el Shaarany, the Egyptian-Parisian young man who is our liaison between Gerhart Center/AUC and the NGOs.

We are in Day 2 of classes and all seems well ... our Arabic teachers (Nermeen, Peter, and Syonara - yes, an Egyptian woman named Syonara!) and Dr. Mo are all very impressed with our students, their enthusiasm, their engagement in the classroom. And our "service folks" (Yasmina and Youssef) are equally impressed with the level of student excitement for our projects with them. After classes today and tomorrow, we will visit the NGOs and the sites where we will be working.

ON A SEPARATE NOTE: "Food prices" ... all of us have been a bit "shocked" by the cost of food in Egypt. Prices have gone up markedly in the past year; and - just as it has done in Europe - the dollar has taken a "dive" here as well. Let's see, who do we "thank" for the US$ being in the dumpster globally? Who do we "thank" for the high cost of food globally, and especially in Egypt, perhaps due in some measure to the astronomical rise in oil prices, which does affect the production and distribution of food? Is this another "legacy" of our own President and his across-the-board failures - in Iraq, the Middle East generally, oil/energy policies, and everything else he's touched? (thus endeth the editorial ...)

BUT - we have found some great deals in the last 24 hours which will help all of our students' pocketbooks. AUC's cafeteria has the best food prices in town! A couple of bucks a day (literally!) will buy us huge meals. Plus, a local grocery store (which most students now frequent) has the best prices in town (Zamalek, where our hotels are). So, we hope this will help everyone manage their budgets better.

"Home sweet Home ... Zamalek, Cairo"

2008-05-11T08:55:00.000-07:00

"Haraam 'alayya"! (Shame on me!) ... a few days ago, I posted an "update" that spoke of our very late arrival in Aswan and I said something about "Egyptian time." Well, I eat my words. This morning, we arrived 30 minutes EARLY in Cairo. Would that today we were late rather than early! We arrived at 6:15 am in Cairo's Giza train station; got to our respective hotels, and of course they had no rooms for our "NU-40" ... far too soon to check in. So, our 40 folks spread out in hotel lobbies, local coffee shops, and wireless zones near our hotel. But, no complaints at all from our 35 students - all of them, all of us, are just happy to be back in Cairo and ready to get to work/studies. Luxor and Aswan were incredible all around ... but now we're ready to settle in for the month, unpack all our clothes and other "shizzle", and just build our temporary "nests" in Zamalek/Cairo.

Classes start tomorrow - Northeastern's first-ever Fluid Mechanics/Mechanical Engineering course to be taught in Cairo -- shukran/thank you Dr. Mo (Professor Mohamed Taslim). Also, our Arabic language classes -- the biggest NU group of Arabic language students to study in Cairo: 24 students; 9 in intermediate Egyptian Arabic + 14 in introductory Egyptian + 1 Egyptian-American NU student who will serve as tutor, teacher's assistant, and "drill instructor" for the other 23 students.

I just left a group of our young women - my daughter and 8 others - at one of their favorite dinner hangouts, "No Big Deal." All seemed happy, tired, and ready for tomorrow. As am I. Tomorrow, I will get Dr. Mo to his classroom at AUC; meet the 2 introductory Arabic instructors and get them settled into their classrooms; then run back to Zamalek to meet Ms. Nermeen, our intermediate Arabic instructor (and our lead-teacher from last year and this year). Cynthia and I then will meet to finalize (?!) the ever-shifting calendar ... then back to AUC's downtown campus (soon to be shut-down, and moved to the middle of Allah-knows-where!) for an orientation on Service Learning in Egypt and an introduction to our service site, "Stable Anter" (pronounced something like stah-bull on-ter).

Dr. Melinda Hartwig

2008-05-10T04:32:00.000-07:00

Our "NU-40" - students, faculty, and staff - have benefitted from the deep knowledge, extensive experience, and strong contacts of Dr. Melinda Hartwig (PhD, New York University, 2000), associate professor of Ancient Egyptian and Near Eastern Art & Archaeology at Georgia State University. Melinda also serves as field director and principal investigator of a field project to conserve and document the world-famous tomb of Menna in Luxor (www.mennaproject.com).

Melinda also is one of NU's coop employers! Katy Kobzeff (B.S., International Affairs & Economics, 2008) worked for Melinda for 6 months in 2008 (after Katy participated in our Egypt Dialogue last summer). See Katy's photos of Luxor at http://web.mac.com/kkobzeff/kk/photos/Pages/Luxor_-_Fall_2007.html

Our 35 students in engineering, arts & sciences (majors in IAF, Middle East Studies, history, political science, psychology, biology, linguistics, etc.), plus business and criminal justice ALL have expressed their great admiration for Dr. Hartwig and her contributions to our knowledge of Ancient Egypt (culture, politics, history, art), archaeology, sub-surface imaging, engineering techniques, and more.

Luxor - Karnak Temple

2008-05-10T01:22:00.001-07:00

2 more pics from Aswan-Luxor

2008-05-09T14:32:00.001-07:00

Updates, May 5-9

2008-05-09T14:13:00.000-07:00

May 5:

Overnight to Aswan

Visit to Sakkara (“Step Pyramid”), the first pyramid (dating some 5,300 years ago … yes, 5 thousand years ago!). Then to Dahshur and the “Bent” Pyramid. Students got to go inside Dahshur … and yes, they were glad to do it and they were under-whelmed by the inside but awed from the size and overall magnitude/majesty of the place. A few hours rest and we were off to Giza train station, to catch the overnight train to Aswan. The train ride was great fun for the most part; the ride was smooth; the food was horrible (I warned them in advance and most seemed to pick up some good food at a local grocery store); and 1 or 2 (only) complained of “bed bugs” … the rest of us slept on top of the sheets in the drop-down beds and had no problems with bugs.

May 6:

Arrived in Aswan – 3-4 hours late (Egyptian time, as we say). Checked in to our hotel (Isis Corniche) and let students have the rest of the day to recoup from the train ride … most spent it at the pool. We took a short felucca ride at dusk. This is the best thing to do in Aswan – drift on the Nile at dusk … catch an evening breeze after a hot day; enjoy the beauty of the sand dunes on the west bank of the Nile; sail past the Botanical Gardens (established by Lord Kitchener, I believe); whiz past the famous Old Cataract Hotel (site of many a mystery novel and the occasional Agatha Christie book/movie); and return to shore for a walk along the corniche. For dinner – “Chef Khalil” for most of us, a great fish restaurant in the suq (market). The suq has been greatly renovated – clean, wide walkway; nice shops overall.

May 7:

Up early ... visits to Unfinished obelisk; Philae Temple; Aswan high dam … all of which are engineering marvels and the Dam having great political history; afternoon-to-dusk boat ride through the first cataract, plus a visit to a Nubian home, then back to hotel. We spent an hour or so relaxing on top of the motorboat; then to a Nubian restaurant; dropped off at the corniche and walked back to the hotel.

May 8:

Aswan to Luxor – “caravan” of buses. We had to get up at 6:15-6:30 to pack, get breakfast, and meet our guide in the hotel lobby by 7:15. Then off to a “caravan” of tour buses which make their way to Luxor via Kom Ombo and Edfu. Afternoon/evening free in Luxor (yes, the pool again). We’re staying at a luxurious hotel, the Iberotel Luxor … a 5-star hotel with horribly slow food service.

May 9 (Jo’s birthday!):

Up at 5:30! Wake-up calls for 22 rooms, 40 people … breakfast (of a sort); assemble in lobby 6:30 … board the bus for Valley of the Kings – arrived to the Valley just before 8. The highlights were of course King Tut’s Tomb – and ‘the man himself’, all laid out in his regal mumminess (under a glass covering); Ramses VI Tomb (perhaps the best display of the Goddess Nuut); Tuthmoses III (the long hike!). Finished by 9:30 and then off to Hatshepsut. My first “act” was to assemble the group for a group shot with our NU flag/banner. We did this already at the pyramids at Giza … so, when security came up and tried to seize my camera unless I deleted the pictures, I was ticked-off to say the least. The security man said those were “propaganda pictures” and were not allowed, except of course if we got “permission” from (i.e., paid a fee to) Dr. Zahi Hawass himself! I tried the “I know Dr. Zahi, and he escorted Mike and Kitty Dukakis and me around the Sphinx” bit, but this security guy was not buying it … he made me delete all 3 pictures we took with our “propaganda flag” – even when I tried to trick him, he was wise to the ways of my digital camera and its playback features. So, up the ramp to Hatshepsut herself, and we did another group shot [see above picture] – which has nearly the same effect, since most of us are wearing our NU t-shirts … so, we still got our “propaganda” shot (but I was still ticked off).

Our time with the only female Pharaoh (Hatshepsut, the Queen who ruled as a King, i.e., ruled “as a man”) was well spent … then it was off to Medina Habu Temple, built by Ramses III on the sacred spot where the ancient Egyptians believed the earth was created. It is a remarkably intact temple, with vibrant colors in the ceilings inside the 2^nd courtyard. (Oh, and I did manage another “propaganda shot” with the group, only to discover later that my camera went on the fritz … it’s now fixed, but there is some “evil eye” force working against my efforts to “propagandize” our NU program here in Luxor J ).

Enroute back to the hotel, we stopped at the Colossi of Memnon, the twin seated statues that once guarded a massive complex.

We gave everyone the afternoon off – for the pool, lunch, a rest, exploring Luxor … then off to Luxor Temple at 6-ish for a tour at sunset of the Temple that sits right along the Nile in the center of Luxor town.

"Happy Birthday, Mr. President ..."

2008-05-04T15:06:00.000-07:00

I hope you have the image of Marilyn Monroe by now ...

Today is President Hosni Mubarak's 80th birthday ... virtually all Egyptians were not celebrating. Mubarak has been in power since 1981 (when Sadat was assassinated). 27 years ... and counting. The economy is bad; food prices are rising; all prices are rising for Egyptians. I'll not go on about the ____ "nature" of the government (I am a guest here after all ... but feel free to go to Amazon.com and google my name and Kimberly Jones - my co-author, and you'll see how I do indeed "go on" about the government).

Before today, there were widespread calls for protests against Mubarak and his regime. They did not transpire ... nada ... nothing. So, with no public protests at all, Mubarak probably did have a happy day.

I gave the students the day off today ... several of them have stomach ailments; and several others who have had such problems are now fully recovered. It is inevitable for nearly all of us. So, in the interest of not pushing them too hard, I suggested they rest/sleep in/walk around Zamalek some more and learn more about the neighborhood.

I also met with the hotel sales manager to solve the internet issues. We will have a solution once we return from Luxor and Aswan (we leave Monday night, on the overnight train, and return to Cairo next Sunday). So, by then, all who need it will have it. (I don't know what we'll have in Aswan or Luxor, but most students will bring their laptops so we hope to have access [and I hope to keep posting]).

The highlight of today was our "banquet" at Abduh and Hayaam's ... Abduh is our "Mr. Fix-it" ... anything we need, any problems we face, Abduh is at-the-ready to help us solve it. He also is considered our "director" of transportation (Abduh is not only my dear friend, he is also my driver whenever I'm in Cairo, and he manages our 3 other drivers of the minivans we rent while we're here). Hayaam is his wife, and another of my dear friends. She always makes amazing feasts for us ... tonight was no exception: not 1 but TWO turkeys; grape leaves; eggplant with tehina; yogurt and cucumber; mashed potatoes (yes, my request); french fries (the first plate to get emptied); and more.

and then there was the "wawawa" song in one of the vans on our way home ... at one point, all 3 vans were stopped next to each other at a stop light and we all got to share the popular Egyptian song, with one professor singing (screaming?) it loudly ...

Tomorrow - Sakkara (the oldest pyramid in Egypt, over 5,000 years old) and check out of hotel for our overnight train to Aswan ... so, if no postings happen for several days, you'll know we failed to find good internet access.

p.s. I posted another picture below, at the top of yesterday's posting ... we were just about to enter the site of the oldest mosque in all of Africa. When the Arab-Muslims came to Egypt in 638-640 C.E. (Christian or Current Era), they built a mosque ... nothing remains of that original mosque, but the site is the same, and the mosque has been rebuilt several times over the past 1370 years (!) and is a beautiful place, a sacred space, a wonderful place to visit and relax and reflect after a hot day.

"Tres Culturas"/Three Faiths ...

2008-05-03T12:51:00.000-07:00

In Toledo Spain, they call it "Tres Culturas" ... 3 great faiths/cultures living together, supposedly peacefully. In Cairo today, we walked through the streets and sites of the 3 great faiths of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam in Masr al-Gadida (Old Cairo). We began at the Hanging Church, dedicated to Mary, Mother of Jesus. Went to a pilgrimage site for St. George (Mar Girgis), then the Church dedicated to the one-time home of Mary, Joseph, and the infant Jesus, when they escaped Herod's wrath. Turn a corner, and we enter the Ben Ezra Synagogue, also known as the "Syrian temple", since Ben Ezra was a Jew who came to Egypt from Damascus. The synagogue has been renovated over the past 20 years (it was a shambles in 1984, when I first visited there). After a rest at a jewelry and "trinkets" store (bathroom break, sodas, and tea), we walked down the street to the first mosque ever built on the continent of Africa - the Amr ibn al-'As mosque (also a shambles in '84 and also now fully renovated). This was the first time that most of our students entered a mosque. Thus, it was indeed the start of our education about Islam, and Egypt's history moving through Pharaonic, Roman, pagan, Jewish, Christian, and Muslim cultures.

Several students are beginning to "wane" ... stomach problems, jet lag, whatever else. So, we're taking the day off tomorrow/Sunday. But we will head to Abduh and Hayaam's home for a scrumptious banquet!

The "NU-40" hit the Pyramids ...

2008-05-02T10:15:00.000-07:00

If you believe, as I do, that a picture says a thousand words ... skip the rest of jump down the page to see our "NU-40" in front of the Sphinx and Pyramids at Giza.

(okay, so you've skipped and returned or just like to read on ... great! ... here's some more):

Around 9:30 am today, 38 camel riders and 2 who prefer horses (Joyce and Mary) set out from our favorite stable (yes, a camel stable) next to the pyramids. We made our way through the dusty streets of the town adjacent to the pyramids, to the very beginning point of the Sahara desert, up to the "panorama" (the best point in the desert to view the "big 3" pyramids), then disembarked (what other word best describes the act of getting down from our "ships of the desert", our camels?), and took our first group shot (below), with our NU flag!

Then, we literally ran from the panorama to the pyramids themselves ... and we climbed a few rows of the smallest pyramid and generally hung out on and around one of the ancient world's "wonders". Back to our "ships", and rode the rest of the way to the Sphinx. The Sphinx area was absolutely mobbed with tourists - French, Spanish, Italian, German, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Americans -- including several from New York and from Boston University: our NU "Dialogue" t-shirts allowed for great conversations while we were all squeezed in between representatives from the great expanse of humanity, who all decided that today was their day, too, to share our visit to "Abul-Hool" (the Egyptian name for the Sphinx).

After we shook paws with the Sphinx, we posed (see picture below) in front of one of the most photographed sites on the planet. Our "3-hour tour" (yes, I am "the Professor" in search of Gilligan) ended there. Then, it was off to a wonderful papyrus shop (they call it a museum, because there is education there about how papyrus is made) - and based on the purchases of our students, I presume that many of you reading this will be recipients of some of their efforts today. Finally, an outdoor lunch/buffet on the Sakkara Road.

Then, 40 very tired NU "huskies" made it back to the hotel ... for much-needed showers, naps, food ... and blogging for some.

Arrived!

2008-05-01T18:51:00.000-07:00

Our trip from Logan (Boston) to Frankfurt to Cairo was easy, on time, but not "event-free". Arriving in Frankfurt we discovered that one student left her passport on the plane, one left his wallet ... we got the passport back but the wallet was stolen. But no illnesses!

Landing in Cairo was great ... and thankfully, we landed on May 1 - a national holiday (Labor Day) in Egypt so there was no traffic going to our hotel!

After checking in to our hotel, we took quick showers/change of clothes, and then off for an "orientation" of Zamalek ... students needed money changed, phone cards, and food. After dinner, we went to a local grocery store (Seoudi Market) for water, water, and water (and chocolates for at least one professor).

I collapsed around 11:15 pm ... then as expected, woke up around 3:15 am and it's now 5 am May 2 (10 pm Boston time on May 1) ... jet lag; stresses of the trip; and already planning the logistics (in my mind) of Pyramids Day. Oh, the day is already planned and organized, but still, the details of moving 40 people (35 students plus 4 faculty/staff plus the spouse of one of our professors) around the Pyramids and Sphinx just won't let me sleep.

Next posting? I expect it will include a great photo of Abul Huul (the Sphinx) with the "NU-40"!

Getting ready for Cairo ...

2008-04-24T18:04:00.000-07:00

24 years after my first trip to Cairo (before the birth of both of my daughters, who are themselves my own "Queens of the Nile"), I am almost as excited for this Summer's program as I was then ... this year, I will lead my largest group ever: 35 students, 2 other professors, one amazing co-leader/Coordinator, and - at one point or another - those "2 Queens" ;-) We have a great program of Arabic language, Community Service/Service-Learning, plus an Engineering course offered for the first time. In addition to our time in Cairo, we will cover the full length of the Nile, from Aswan (and Luxor) to Alexandria (with most time spent in Cairo). After bidding "ma'a salaama" to our Engineering friends, I will escort the Arabic language students to Siwa Oasis and the Mediterranean Sea for a few days of "R&R"/reflection & relaxation, as well as reading and "renewal" ... because we will then return to Cairo to plan for ... Abu Dhabi! It seems that our "dialogue" reputation has traveled far and wide ... for it has landed us an invitation to Abu Dhabi to continue dialogue with Arab students from 15 different countries. That Dialogue is sponsored by the Arab Women's Organization, an organization affiliated with the League of Arab States, headquartered in Cairo.

My next posting - insha'Allah - will be once we have arrived in 'Umm ad-Dunya ... Egypt, "Mother of the World."