In our wanderings yesterday we came upon a man sifting the residue from roasted coffee beans -- Much of the coffee you find here is Turkish coffee -- beans mixed with cardamon and served like espresso. Blaine was delighted to find that this was "American coffee", the regular Columbian beans which begin the day of many Canadians. The care with which this shopkeeper ground the coffee was an art.As I mentioned in my last posting one is always seeking a balance between creating a "home" environment which celebrates the beauty of the culture, supporting the crafts people and managing the amount of "stuff" one has. This new acquisition comes from a shop where all the proceeds go back to those who made them, many who are handicapped or disadvantaged in other ways. All of the mosaic work is hand done.
Coming from a culture where animals are confined by leashes, fences or buildings it still fascinates me to see them wandering (somtimes to the chagrin of the vendors who are displaying their goods). These goats are destined to a dinner table, probably during the Eid celebration in October. This market is one of ones I frequent regularly to get my produce.
In my quest to understand the status of Woman in the Muslim world I have read a number of books, including the three below -- the first two were written some time ago, the first is from Jordan, the second Saudi Arabia and the third from Turkey. In this exploration a key question is -- how much does the religion affect the roles of women and restrictions on women, as opposed to cultural tradition, political climate and historical events. Some things are clear -- the way that the Muslim religion is interpreted is very different in the various regions. For most women it appears that there is some limitation of freedoms but for some it is only a minor inconvenience while for others it there is a total lack of freedom and the fear of severe reprucussions if she does anything to dishonor her family, whether by intent or circumstances out of her control. Both the society in which the woman lives and the family into which she is born or married has an impact on how she lives her life. The most restrictive culture by far is in Saudia Arabia while in Turkey some of the impact is very subtle, as told by ex-pat women who lived in Turkey, either as a temporary visitor or from the viewpoint of somone who married a Turk and settled there. From what I can gather the life of women in Egypt falls in the middle, with some freedoms coming from westernization which is greater for those who have money and thus have had a "western" education in an International school 
I was watching the "Exotic Marigold Hotel" which is about a group of seniors from Britain who have come to live in Jaipur, India. One of the women has had a hip operation because of the long wait times in Britain. While recovering, food is brought to her room by a hotel employee who speaks no English. The woman is unhappy about being in India and shows no gratitude for the services she receives. After a time she is invited, by the person who is attending to her, to visit her family. She asks an interpreter why she had been invited and he suggests that it was because she was kind . She responds, incredulously, that she was not. His response was that it was because she acknowledged the woman's presence when she entered her room to leave the food.
I have often had conversations in Canada about the de-personalization of services in Canada -- with big box stores and answering machines etc. Here in Egypt much of the service and merchandising occurs through small family owned business. While both Blaine and I always acknowledge the vendors through greetings and smiles, it occurred to me that I seldom know them by name and so I have begun the quest to add a name to each person I interact with repeatedly.
To get an balanced view on the present protests in the Muslim world go to:
