Wednesday, May 11, 2011

May 6, 2011

Well, here it is the day before departure. Yom El Juma (the day of prayer) is also a good day to protest following the noon prayer. And so it was--not a good day to go to Tahrir Square but a really great time to go poking around the old parts of the city. Shops are open, everyone gone protesting, no heavy pedestrian traffic down the passages which have seen hundreds perhaps thousands of years of people coming and going. I got to see this first hand thanks to Ibrahim and Hanna, new friends, they and their family were a delight and I am much better for knowing them. At Hanna’s suggestion we went on tour of the old section of Cairo, visiting places like the place of Sultan Ghori, and surrounding buildings and areas of ages past. A wonderfully refreshing time. Lunch with the entire family brought closure to our time together. I shall always be in debt to Ibrahim, Hanna and all the others who made my stay in Egypt most memorable.

The final meal in Egypt was spent just like the first: with Drs. Frahim, Ibrahim, and Mohammad. All of whom made me a part of the faculty at Suez Canal University. My thanks to each of them, to the entire Faculty and to each of my students. I was very fortunate in that rather than having 150 students I really had 150 Arabic instructors. My thanks for all you have learned and for all you have taught me.

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