Page 34 - issue 29 En

ELITE ISSUE 29, MARCH 2021

Egypt beyond stereotypes

Nour momtaz, 2nd level,

economics
The pyramids of Egypt are the oldest libraries of spread of these ideas and stereotypes about the Egyptian
mankind. ~ Antoine de Rivarol. Egypt is one of the way of life. On the other hand, there is another person
countries that have a huge civilization born in the 3rd who had a different perception: “From my adolescence
millennium BC which therefore dates back to around and throughout my youth, I imagined a developed
7000 years. This gigantic civilization has marked its past country and cultivated people, practicing poetry in their
but also its present. This civilization keeps its magical and language with a pleasant musicality. A peaceful, tolerant
fascinating effect from 7000 years and until now since and open society in which everyone finds their place and
some foreigners who have never visited Egypt have some the joy of life reigns. This ideal image began to be
ideas that reduce the Egyptian reality and have this image brought to light through reading. First the work of Taha
of the desert where there are the pyramids and camels. Hussein ‘Al Ayyam’ which I had
This is received as a prize in grade 9, then through other literary
what I noticed in the media one day while looking at readings: Naguib Mahfouz, Al Ghitani..’’. We can
some international sites. understand from this that it can be a question of general
People were amazed that Egyptians did not ride camels culture.
and that they had in fact cars and roads. I decided to find Despite this, we are able to change these stereotypes
out if this is true, so I did an interview with a few foreign through the media: some videos have been released to
people to find out their thoughts before coming to Egypt. show the Egyptian world, its beauty, and its reality.
This was the response from the first person: Among those videos was one called "This is Egypt"
“I wasn't very interested in Egypt before I came so of which wanted to convey a message and which achieved
course for me I only knew the past, so for me, most of significant success overseas. The message of this video
Egypt was historical monuments and the Aswan Dam that was “In Egypt, we have everything, a mix between the
we study in History in high school, with Nasser and non- modern and the traditional. Everything, with the
alignment. But I had no idea of the culture, the way of populated cities, and nothing, with the desert. Late-night
life, absolutely nothing. It's probably because I had never posts, and postcards. Private swimming pools, and
tried to go deeper. When I got there I was really amazed public transportation. A friendly local, like the fish
at the population density and the wide roads and all these found in the seas, and a local friend, like the Bedouin
cars. And the biggest shock was to see that the pyramids man. It's a long story, it's our story: our drama, our
are not in the middle of the desert but glued to the city ”. I theater, our poetry, our choreography, and our
had met another person of French nationality and she hospitality, it's our Egypt!
claimed the In our turn, we as young Egyptians must be part of
this effort to show the world Our Egypt.

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