Egypt. For most it brings to mind images of pyramids, the sphinx, and desert. 2009 Sookmyung Global Explorer Team in Department of Culture and Tourism, of course, could see ancient but we also felt living, breathing present-day. The team was comprised of Professor Kim Saejune, six members and one reporter. We stayed for two weeks and visited Cairo, Luxor,Aswan and Hurghada. Now, Sookmyungians can hear our amazing itinerary in two parts. First, the Sookmyung Times (SMT) tells about a week inCairo with our project. Find Ancient History inEgyptianMuseum
On February 5th, we visited theEgyptianMuseum at the center ofCairo . Although we spent half the day, museum was so large that watching all remains was too much for us. In, taking pictures is difficult generally because Arabic culture prefers abstract to real for religious influence. They thought looking with eyes is desire. Though there were no pictures, we were shocked at the remains from huge treasures of Tutankhamen and mummies to ancient daily necessities. Surprisingly, we could see extant influences of various cultures and some remains from ancient Roman∙Grecian architecture and Christian vestiges. The amount of the remains was tremendous so I felt the glory of the era of the pharaohs. The remains existed for thousands of years are there and I could see them directly. For that alone, experiencing ancientwas valuable.
Know Mixed Religions in Old Cairo
On the 6th, we took the subway to go to theCopticMuseum . Interestingly, the Egyptian subway has a women-only car. We took the car without our professor because we stood out. ‘Coptic’ means belonging or relating to a part of the Christian Church which was started in Egypt. In the present, Coptic Christians are 10-15% of the population of , where Islam is the state religion. TheCopticMuseum was smaller than theEgyptianMuseum but the building was what Coptic Christians had lived in. In the entrance, there is a fortressbuilt by Babylonians and re-built by Romans later. That is, the Coptic Christians set up their base on the Roman remains. From the Coptic Church, the monastery and monk were started. One of the most interesting things in the museum is the Apocryphal[1], Externals of Manuscripts of the Gospel of Thomas. I was amazed to see a part of the beginning of Christian history in. In addition, I saw a lot of paintings which depict variations of Jesus including naked and black. In and around the museum, there was St. George Church and St. Sargius Church. There were even underground caves where baby Jesus stayed to avoid Herod’s oppression. We also went to Ibn Tulun’s Mosque. We entered without shoes and climbed a minaret. The stairs were high, steep, and long. The sand-coloredI saw from a high place was beautiful and eccentric. We came down and the mosque guide required baksheesh. Baksheesh is similar with a tip but are transformed in Islam to a duty that the rich have to give out their money to the poor. On the same day, I met the two coexisting religions of. We also saw sufi whirling in the night. A sufi is a member of a very spiritual group of Muslims. They turned and turned continually. It is traditional dance and religious ceremony
Learn Cultural Education Examples in AUC
On the 7th and 8th, we headed to The American University in Cairo (AUC). We prepared already through seven official meetings for understanding aboutand contact with locals. Despite unsociable Arabic society, AUC educated a lot of global women leaders through various supporting about the entry of women in public affairs. Cynthia Nelson Institute for Gender & Women’s Studies (IGWS) in AUC is the main destination for our project, ‘Globalization plan research of Sookmyung Cultural Center (SCC) through education culture exchange examples of AUC.’ We met Director of IGWS, Dr. Martina Reiker and interviewed her about strategies for a successful globalization system of SCC. We want to investigate how much AUC contributes inculturally and what they perform specifically, also education cultural programs they progressed and find pros and cons. Dr. Martina Reiker answered our questions about women, education and activities, saying IGWS is a research institute, not an executive institute, and emphasized ‘experiencing culture’ not contributing to culture. So she said we need academic research and knowing culture with connection to local people directly. We learned the cultural exchange expansion way of SCC in Southeast Asia as AUC which is active in theMiddle East .
Meet International Students of AUC
After we understood the role of the institute, we wanted to hear opinions of local students. So we met Egyptian Raghda Elshahe majoring in Economics, Japanese Kantaro Taira majoring in Arabic language and literature, and Korean and Kwon Ohyeon, majoring in Middle Eastern Studies. We could hear about real AUC as a global university and profit from interviews with local students. I was impressed with Kwon’s comments about characteristics of the Middle East, ‘IBM.’ He said ‘I’ is Inshallah meaning ‘everything is the will of Allah,’ ‘B’ is Bukra meaning ‘tomorrow’ but it is someday without any promise, and ‘M’ is Ma Alish meaning ‘no problem.’ Those greetings mean our promises are uncertain so according to him, we need to know Middle Eastern culture. In contrast, I was shocked at Reghda’s remarks, “I don’t think all women have to work. Why do they have to work?” She was in the upper classes and seemed to be familiar with the low status of women in society because this is the way she grew up. Leaving AUC in night, I was fascinated at the nice night view and appreciated the fact that Samsung built that gorgeous campus.
Hear the Social Status of Egyptian Women from KOWIN On the 9th, we hoped to have more vivid information about the women of Egypt, so we met 4 th Middle East∙ Egypt Local Director, Chae Sumi of Korean Women’s International Network (KOWIN). We heard specifically about marriage, divorce, traditional costumes like hijab, female circumcision[2] and social strata in . We questioned about individual curiosities about we experienced. During the week in the capital Cairo , I experienced much more of the present , not ancient. Many Cairo people think they are ‘Cairene’ not Egyptian, so I heard, “Welcome to Cairo!” not. I will never forget the city ofCairo . Skyscrapers on the sides of the famousNileRiver , speeding buses opened back doors for people to ride at any place, drinking fresh orange juice squeezed on the spot for only two pounds (500 won), goods hanging in show windows heavily and Egyptians who have curiosity about Asians and like tourists. I learned about education, culture, and women well breathing in Cairo .
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