There is no more caste

The figures inexorably show that 60 percent of Egyptians are still very poor, but it is also obvious that the number of those approaching the middle class is increasing. Just as it is the case with Muhammad Alfayed (see last issue), most of those you deal with during your tourist trip at various points and counters where it is necessary to know at least English language come from the interior of Egypt. There are also those who offer nothing but a big smile and who along with their tourist suitcases "carry" their village with them everywhere.

We met our friend Osama in a luxury four-star hotel (to be honest, luxury is more according to Arab standards, not European ones), where there are a lot of employed "helpers" who have to come running at the bell. At eight in the morning, he wears a colorful shirt while serving breakfast. Then he puts on a white T-shirt and spends the whole day on the beach. That's where we became friends with him; a real "smart girl", that Eight easily coped with any teasing. In the evening, in a pink suit, he is responsible for serving dinner, then next to the pool and finally works in the discotheque. More than 18 hours a day! "But I really like my job, it's a very well-paid job in my country," he said when we asked him why he works all the shifts. "Only one year will be enough for me to earn enough for a trip to Libya where I have a cafe owner friend." Until then, check out how many beautiful swimsuits are here. I don't know why I should bother!" Fortunately for him, it was enough to escape from his village without electricity where he would work at least as many hours tilling the land.

This is what cushions the disheartening statistics - Egypt is a society of equal opportunities for all, a country where poverty is dealt with with a smile. (There's definitely something genetic about it. We understood why Egyptian statues are always smiling - because Egyptians are probably one of the kindest and most hospitable people in the world.)

EQUAL CHANCES: After the revolution carried out by Gamal Abdel Nasser in 1952, Egypt truly stepped into the modern era. Nasser's ambitions for the unification of all Arab countries had to be supported by more comprehensive economic projects, applicable to the vast poor areas of Egypt and visible in everyday life. Agrarian reforms, nationalization (of the Suez Canal) and, above all, ambitions to build a strong industrial infrastructure that would use the raw materials that Egypt abounds in opened the door to millions of Egyptians - poverty no longer had to be caste-based and hereditary. Although the Nasser era left behind an army of surplus labor and unproductive industrial sectors, the Egyptian province was shaken. Moving on the social scale today exclusively depends on money, that is, on resourcefulness and ability. Cairo is full of small rooms and basements where ten people live each who sleep on asuras and eat on the floor.

They have certain social privileges, but also obligations; for example, illiterate or low-educated people serve in the army for three years, those with a high school education for two, and those with a university degree only for one year. Each social class has its own "program" that it accepts and implements, and the level of society at which it will live depends exclusively on money and earnings - it can get more, if it tries harder.

SCHOOL I JOB: More than 40 percent of Egyptians never go to school. As Tamir told us, as a tourist guide he is highly respected and highly ranked because his occupation is among the most desirable in recent times, the school is state-run and free, but for most children from many families there is no money for books, notebooks, sandwiches, transportation. Recently, to some extent under the pressure of the family literacy campaign, they have solved the problem by having children start school and work at the same time. Little ones can be seen everywhere doing some work. On the Giza plateau, a ten-year-old boy led our camel by the reins. We were a bit uncomfortable as we rocked on the comfortable camel backs. The boy, of course, knew his way around the huge pyramids well; it seemed that at any moment he would pass out, not from the sun but from boredom. However, when he asked for a camera to take pictures of us on the camel, according to established protocol, and we said that it was not necessary, that we simply should not harass him anymore, he got annoyed! Give me that camera, I guess he was speaking in Arabic, it doesn't matter, whatever, he won't take a picture; ok, here. Eeeee, finally, what were you thinking, letting me slip... He was as happy as if he was doing it for the first time, and when we gave him a tip, he was all excited. Not so unique to Egypt, but more typical of all Arab countries, tipping, as well as guessing, is a mandatory part of any possible transaction - from the guide who received his fee in dollars, to the children you are photographing, everyone expects (and asks) a few Egyptian pounds. At Khan al-Khalila, one of the largest markets in the Arab world, the skill of guessing lowers the price by up to three times.

As for Egyptian women, they are very kind and friendly, happy perhaps precisely because they are loved and respected by their husbands. Today, Egyptian women can often be found in various jobs with tourists - running agencies or performing elite work as guides, then in shops, at receptions... They speak foreign languages ​​very well and apparently men in that field are very happy to give them space. They are not under any obligation to share the earned money with their husband or parents, it belongs exclusively to them. The Egyptian woman is very pampered, her devoted husband buys her as much jewelry and perfume essences as he can. That's why, although mostly with a scarf and in clothes of horribly bright colors, they look conceited like princesses on a pea; modern women, not modern in a global way but according to the understandings of traditional Egypt.

THE PAST I PRESENT: We usually spent hours with our friends in Cairo discussing what had really changed compared to Egypt in the past, thanks to the parallel with Yugoslavia. After all, their dictator, as Nasser proved to be with his corrupt army with the help of which he ruled, lost power (in 1967, admittedly) after suffering a defeat in the war (with Israel). We also mentioned President Mubarak and the reforms that he has implemented while ruling Egypt for 20 years; however, much remains the same as before; not of course in official statistics, but in everyday life.

Egypt, however, cannot be said to be sad. On the contrary, it is beautiful and cheerful, diverse and promising. The wisdom and thoughtfulness of the old magnificent civilization, which is why Egypt is primarily interesting to us Europeans, can be felt easily and immediately, because it is alive, because it was wise in a way that can be understood and lived today, as well as in the past.

The only shadow over Egypt was the terrorist attacks by Muslim fundamentalists, mainly in 1997; today everyone unanimously claims that it is in the past and that an agreement has been reached with extremist groups that will never be broken again. The damage done to Egypt by the massacre of 58 tourists outside the temple of the goddess Hatshepsut in Luxor has been partially offset by the enormous work and millions of dollars the government has invested in marketing to regain the trust of tourists around the world. Less well known are the internal problems the government had with the same extremist groups. In the same year that the massacre of tourists took place, a group of eighty children of wealthy Egyptians who led a Western lifestyle were also kidnapped. After long negotiations, the group was released without ransom and none of the children were injured.

That being said, the progress that has been made since then is simply amazing. Today, in a large part of Egypt - in a stunning contrast to the dusty streets and the usual rural scenes, even on the main boulevards - the Internet is everywhere! There is almost no corner, even in the most remote streets, where there is no internet cafe, where sometimes there is a cauldron with meals for a large family on one side, and tables with computers on the other. Even in the most ordinary store that looks like a living room or a warehouse, you will receive a business card with an e-mail address...