Your Egypt

[Monica]

Lately, I noticed that some people in Egypt have really changed when it comes to pure friendships and business and...what else...marriage/weddings...

For example, a long time ago people really relied on each other and it was unheard of anyone having financial difficulties without being helped by family , friends and neighbours...every body would contribute if one of the friends or one of the family was having a bad year, and things were done discreetly and with class even in the less privileged districts and these are the stories my dad tells me, and I know they are true!!!

So what on earth happened today?
Why is the new generation different?
If you have a successful business everyone is around you and if your financial situation is in the low you can't even count more than 2 maximum that would try and be a support..what happened to the Egyptian 'sha hama' which means the galantry i think...what happened to real MEN...the real men of Egypt...the ones that are called: welad balad???
what happened to real friendship???
Why is it that in the eyes of these new people you can read: show me the Moneyyyyyyyyy....and not welcome come into my home as my home is your home.. and if I have a piece of bread.. half or more is yours because you are my friend... my brother...etc...

And what's with the expensive weddings and expensive furniture and all that jazz...what happened to simple life, discreet celebrations and classy weddings in homes???

What is the matter with people today...the generation between 23 and 43 ...????
I really long for my dad's stories...Egyptians get back to your kind roots and your wonderful generosity and compassion!!!

Comments appreciated!

[Jesica]

Hi Monica,

Couldn't agree with you more on this. TO me it seems like they're being driven by this whole new evolution that society has created. And it's not only young egyptians, but other cultures around the world too (but I won't go there). I guess the majority (not all) of this young generation has been brought up thinking that money is the super power of life :roll: , not like in the old days, as you stated, when people really cared about others and not how fancy and elaborately they live.

[Monica]

Hey jesica, this is cool ...wondered if anyone would be dropping by...

I am also thinking that what happened to people, in terms of money hungry... especially in a country like Egypt is that revolutionary media business...
The advertisment industry makes loads of money selling images to the world, and it finally reached Egypt big time...it did exist throuh magazines and newspapers before but now with all those satellites and the internet people are going wild.
Progress from one side generating greed from the other...
I really wish people start being 'people' again and take time to live...and seize the day instead of calculating how much they will make tomorrow...



Jesica wrote: Hi Monica,

Couldn't agree with you more on this. TO me it seems like they're being driven by this whole new evolution that society has created. And it's not only young egyptians, but other cultures around the world too (but I won't go there). I guess the majority (not all) of this young generation has been brought up thinking that money is the super power of life :roll: , not like in the old days, as you stated, when people really cared about others and not how fancy and elaborately they live.

[raymon]

Monica,
Take the frenzy on 0900 paid telephone calls as an example ...
Take mobile phones frenzy in Egypt as an example

It is strange that one may think Egypt is a rich country from money poured into shallow things.

People are now thinking buying gadgets to show-off with, forgetting the real essence of progress.

It is something similar to the history of Ottoman Empire, when they though about making progress by buying what the west manufactures.

I hear much of those wonderful stories about relations between people in the past, and I am very sad we lack such things now … maybe forever.

Raymon

[Monica]

hey guys, let's start a 'nostalgia' thread.... for everything...mmmm I'm going to come up with something soon...lemme think lemme think...ok folks got it: I'll surprise you at one point with one!
:lol:
BUT if you have an idea that pops before mine please....go ahead and I'll join ala tool (immediately)

I would love to see within the romantic side of things, people 'courting' each other...you know...elegantly...what about that? people discussing only emotions and not money at all...who cares if we have money to buy things as long as we can survive...you know what I mean..pure heart stuff...oh wow...that is so different than gadgets and things...

What about for example when 2 people are building a life together...for furniture they would go to the most intriguing old and scruffy Antique shops in Alexandria or in Cairo... for example, and furnish their apartment with second hand antique stuff beautifully old and wonderfully stained with history...what a journey while trying to find a chair or a small table or a clock...ayayayay...I am feeling the rush already, and smelling the old wood and the wax...already, and discovering the history behind every piece and buying every piece at a distant time, when and if one can afford the pieces...work on saving for it.....

oh well I was just thinking out loud!
What about you people???

raymon wrote: Monica,
Take the frenzy on 0900 paid telephone calls as an example ...
Take mobile phones frenzy in Egypt as an example

It is strange that one may think Egypt is a rich country from money poured into shallow things.

People are now thinking buying gadgets to show-off with, forgetting the real essence of progress.

It is something similar to the history of Ottoman Empire, when they though about making progress by buying what the west manufactures.

I hear much of those wonderful stories about relations between people in the past, and I am very sad we lack such things now … maybe forever.

Raymon

[kay]

great thread monica

i agree with you that advertising and the media have a lot to do with the increase in material desire and the decrease in family values - family values seem to have long gone from the uk - so many of my friends have horrors of going to stay with the family at christmas i seem to be in the minority (i still want my mum in times of crisis and of joy)

this is so sad because the reason i love egypt so much is because of her people and the generosity they show towards visitors - i do not know of any way to stop this loss of value from happening - maybe in places like this it can be kept alive

my house is entirely furnished with old family furniture and junk shop tresure finds - each piece carries a memory of my childhood or of an exiting shopping trip looking for just that table or lamp - my friends all go to the big department stores but always say my house is such a home and they always feel comfee there - sorry guys i got carried away by monica waving the wax polish under my nose LOL

[Monica]

kay,
I don't know if you realized but you actually welcomed us to your home...that was extremely generous girl!

Nice to hear you are much better ,and so much wiser too I see...wooooweeey...great change...time heals I guess!

Nice feeling those old antiques...wether family treasure or other family old treasure it always feels special...I love that scent by the way when you enter one of those places...
what I'd love to know is which are the best ones in Cairo and Alexandria with some details if I may add...

To keep away the new gen. of Egyptians from the new gadgets and the materialistic frenzy...I see a big media coverage on old values and ...old furniture he he he...combined with a situational little story including romance and courting ah ah ah...maybe...why not? brain washing them all all over again! Showing the antique shps area in an exotic way, where the young couple could actually take a 'shopping spree' to...involving themselves into the history of every piece ~ that could be underlined as a creative story with love flair in the air to attract the young hearts... and creatively picking their needed furniture in accordance to the history of every piece, and not according to flash and cash...

Dreamy :oops:


kay wrote: great thread monica

i agree with you that advertising and the media have a lot to do with the increase in material desire and the decrease in family values - family values seem to have long gone from the uk - so many of my friends have horrors of going to stay with the family at christmas i seem to be in the minority (i still want my mum in times of crisis and of joy)

this is so sad because the reason i love egypt so much is because of her people and the generosity they show towards visitors - i do not know of any way to stop this loss of value from happening - maybe in places like this it can be kept alive

my house is entirely furnished with old family furniture and junk shop tresure finds - each piece carries a memory of my childhood or of an exiting shopping trip looking for just that table or lamp - my friends all go to the big department stores but always say my house is such a home and they always feel comfee there - sorry guys i got carried away by monica waving the wax polish under my nose LOL

[Guest]

monica

i did not actually mean to invite everyone but you are welcome anytime

:lol: (its just the kind of girl i am lol)

love kay

[Zakirah]

Monica wrote: hey guys, let's start a 'nostalgia' thread.... for everything...mmmm I'm going to come up with something soon...lemme think lemme think...ok folks got it: I'll surprise you at one point with one!
:lol:
BUT if you have an idea that pops before mine please....go ahead and I'll join ala tool (immediately)

I would love to see within the romantic side of things, people 'courting' each other...you know...elegantly...what about that? people discussing only emotions and not money at all...who cares if we have money to buy things as long as we can survive...you know what I mean..pure heart stuff...oh wow...that is so different than gadgets and things...

What about for example when 2 people are building a life together...for furniture they would go to the most intriguing old and scruffy Antique shops in Alexandria or in Cairo... for example, and furnish their apartment with second hand antique stuff beautifully old and wonderfully stained with history...what a journey while trying to find a chair or a small table or a clock...ayayayay...I am feeling the rush already, and smelling the old wood and the wax...already, and discovering the history behind every piece and buying every piece at a distant time, when and if one can afford the pieces...work on saving for it.....

oh well I was just thinking out loud!
What about you people???



Are you serious about all this stuff? If you are looks like i'm not the only romantic in the house!

Of course we should go back to courting..... what happened to girls being shy (real shy, not catch a man shy!)? Holding hands, strolling, picking flowers, serenading (ok ok a bit to far). But seriously i agree with you, too much emphasis is placed on money and materials things..... what happened to sharing your last rolo and all that?!

I agree with your next bit to a point..... i'm not much of an antiques person myself, but i would be happy if i decided to marry and my intended and i shopped for the furniture together, plate by plate, chair by chair, sharing the experience. Do we really need to have a fully furnished house from day one? Why do you have to stress your poor love with money worries, wouldn't true love (the way i would imagine it without the boredom) mean that you accept him as he comes piastre for piastre?

Well wish i could finish this, but gotta dash....... be back tomorrow.

[Lynn5]

This topic made me think of a friend in the states. She was engaged to a man from Egypt.(they have since married) But several months ago,she told me that she was having second thoughts,because she could not bare the thought of living in Egypt and being poor. I asked her if she truly loved him,she said of course. She said that he was the most important person in her life. But I wonder..... how can you even think of losing the person that you love for the sake of money! Don't get me wrong, I realize that none of us want to live in poverty. Being in a relationship means that both people have to work hard in order to have a good life. Not just the monetary part,but the ups and downs of everyday life. Wouldn't that make you love each other more? If you lose everything today,does that mean that you stop loving that person that you have shared so much with? What if your partner becomes sick or disabled? Do you just walk out on him/her?
Our priorities and family values have disappeared! People just don't take the time anymore,they seem to be in a hurry to get nowhere.

I have to say that I got off the phone feeling that my friends relationship was doomed before it had began.

[Monica]

AAAAAHHH!... this is universal trend I guess...
People are gone materialistic mad.. big time...
Love and feelings and emotions and let's build a life together from scratch is an illusion in these times I guess...BUT...I have hope in humanity...

In general, after having it all, people do come to their senses and realize that possessions do not 'talk back' to them...

Lynn5 wrote: This topic made me think of a friend in the states. She was engaged to a man from Egypt.(they have since married) But several months ago,she told me that she was having second thoughts,because she could not bare the thought of living in Egypt and being poor. I asked her if she truly loved him,she said of course. She said that he was the most important person in her life. But I wonder..... how can you even think of losing the person that you love for the sake of money! Don't get me wrong, I realize that none of us want to live in poverty. Being in a relationship means that both people have to work hard in order to have a good life. Not just the monetary part,but the ups and downs of everyday life. Wouldn't that make you love each other more? If you lose everything today,does that mean that you stop loving that person that you have shared so much with? What if your partner becomes sick or disabled? Do you just walk out on him/her?
Our priorities and family values have disappeared! People just don't take the time anymore,they seem to be in a hurry to get nowhere.

I have to say that I got off the phone feeling that my friends relationship was doomed before it had began.

[Monica]

Of course I'm serious...
I can't stand 'lusty' men that don't stop looking whenever they see a pair of legs...he he he...
I can't stand 'lusty' women that wait for men at the bar
What happened to self-control? and values and morality and....ROMANCE!!?
It is out there but women have to demand it and never lower their standards I guess!

And....after all:

Only LOVE can make LOVE!!



Zakirah wrote: Monica wrote: hey guys, let's start a 'nostalgia' thread.... for everything...mmmm I'm going to come up with something soon...lemme think lemme think...ok folks got it: I'll surprise you at one point with one!
:lol:
BUT if you have an idea that pops before mine please....go ahead and I'll join ala tool (immediately)

I would love to see within the romantic side of things, people 'courting' each other...you know...elegantly...what about that? people discussing only emotions and not money at all...who cares if we have money to buy things as long as we can survive...you know what I mean..pure heart stuff...oh wow...that is so different than gadgets and things...

What about for example when 2 people are building a life together...for furniture they would go to the most intriguing old and scruffy Antique shops in Alexandria or in Cairo... for example, and furnish their apartment with second hand antique stuff beautifully old and wonderfully stained with history...what a journey while trying to find a chair or a small table or a clock...ayayayay...I am feeling the rush already, and smelling the old wood and the wax...already, and discovering the history behind every piece and buying every piece at a distant time, when and if one can afford the pieces...work on saving for it.....

oh well I was just thinking out loud!
What about you people???



Are you serious about all this stuff? If you are looks like i'm not the only romantic in the house!

Of course we should go back to courting..... what happened to girls being shy (real shy, not catch a man shy!)? Holding hands, strolling, picking flowers, serenading (ok ok a bit to far). But seriously i agree with you, too much emphasis is placed on money and materials things..... what happened to sharing your last rolo and all that?!

I agree with your next bit to a point..... i'm not much of an antiques person myself, but i would be happy if i decided to marry and my intended and i shopped for the furniture together, plate by plate, chair by chair, sharing the experience. Do we really need to have a fully furnished house from day one? Why do you have to stress your poor love with money worries, wouldn't true love (the way i would imagine it without the boredom) mean that you accept him as he comes piastre for piastre?

Well wish i could finish this, but gotta dash....... be back tomorrow.

[Ausar]

Much of the rural Egyptians who have remnants of culture from the ancient Egyptians are not being properly studied by Egyptian academics. Only one really nice study during the early 30's by khawaga anthropologist;yet no decent studies by fellow Egyptians themselves. I see various Coptic scholars trying to document the survials of ancient Egyptians in the language of Egyptian arabic but what of the peasents who have many survials that must be documented before many die out. This should be a mission for many aspiring Egyptian Egyptologist,anthropologist,or other people who are interested in the ancient past of Egypt. I see the problem is both the dogma of Islam and the embracing of Arabization that wants Egyptians to forget about their very ancient past. Some Arabists have even told me to forget about the pyramid or other artifacts,and let them all just collect sand. Well,one great trvesty has already happened with the flooding of the Aswan Damn which actually blocked many ancient Nubian archaeological sites,and also a dam being constructed in Sudan will ruin the late antique civlization there called Meroe.


I would hate to see Egyptians to just throw away their very ancient past that can be acessible to them just by studying the peasents in rural Upper Egypt and even certain regions of the Delta. More things are to be learned about Egypt than you think by the rural and peasent Egyptians. I think people like Mahfouz even said that ''within the alleys of Cairo lies the real Egypt that goes back thousands of years'' Mahfouz,of course, was speaking of the Balady and Fellahin and Sa3eadi people.


Sincearly,

That Crazy Sa3eadi

[Jesica]

Monica wrote: Of course I'm serious...
I can't stand 'lusty' men that don't stop looking whenever they see a pair of legs...he he he...
I can't stand 'lusty' women that wait for men at the bar
What happened to self-control? and values and morality and....ROMANCE!!?
It is out there but women have to demand it and never lower their standards I guess!

And....after all:

Only LOVE can make LOVE!!



Zakirah wrote: Monica wrote: hey guys, let's start a 'nostalgia' thread.... for everything...mmmm I'm going to come up with something soon...lemme think lemme think...ok folks got it: I'll surprise you at one point with one!
:lol:
BUT if you have an idea that pops before mine please....go ahead and I'll join ala tool (immediately)

I would love to see within the romantic side of things, people 'courting' each other...you know...elegantly...what about that? people discussing only emotions and not money at all...who cares if we have money to buy things as long as we can survive...you know what I mean..pure heart stuff...oh wow...that is so different than gadgets and things...

What about for example when 2 people are building a life together...for furniture they would go to the most intriguing old and scruffy Antique shops in Alexandria or in Cairo... for example, and furnish their apartment with second hand antique stuff beautifully old and wonderfully stained with history...what a journey while trying to find a chair or a small table or a clock...ayayayay...I am feeling the rush already, and smelling the old wood and the wax...already, and discovering the history behind every piece and buying every piece at a distant time, when and if one can afford the pieces...work on saving for it.....

oh well I was just thinking out loud!
What about you people???



Are you serious about all this stuff? If you are looks like i'm not the only romantic in the house!

Of course we should go back to courting..... what happened to girls being shy (real shy, not catch a man shy!)? Holding hands, strolling, picking flowers, serenading (ok ok a bit to far). But seriously i agree with you, too much emphasis is placed on money and materials things..... what happened to sharing your last rolo and all that?!

I agree with your next bit to a point..... i'm not much of an antiques person myself, but i would be happy if i decided to marry and my intended and i shopped for the furniture together, plate by plate, chair by chair, sharing the experience. Do we really need to have a fully furnished house from day one? Why do you have to stress your poor love with money worries, wouldn't true love (the way i would imagine it without the boredom) mean that you accept him as he comes piastre for piastre?

Well wish i could finish this, but gotta dash....... be back tomorrow.


Now I definitly know I am in the right forum. Glad to see others who feel the same way I do.

[Monica]

jesica, I'm sure glad you are happy here...
It is your website...without people it would not exist right?


Thanks for your good words!