#eesfellow

[melaniemisr]

A premature ending

It is with much regret that this blog post is my last as the inaugural EES Cairo Fellow. Less than a month shy of completion, I had to urgently fly back to Australia this week for family reasons. It breaks my heart that I cannot continue my time in this fabulous role, which has been ever so rewarding, memorable and enriching, but I will certainly keep myself electronically connected and hope to remotely Tweet (@melanie_misr) and Facebook (Melanie Pitkin and ‘EES Cairo Friends’) some of the upcoming activities happening in Egypt on behalf of the EES team.

In my absence, a wonderful group of EES staff, colleagues and friends of mine will be delivering and overseeing these activities. This includes the inaugural ‘EES Professional Skills for Egyptology’ day on Monday March 7 (see the full program here). I am incredibly saddened not to be in Cairo for this event and would like to point out that in place of my lecture at 11am, Dr Nigel Strudwick will be presenting a talk/demonstration on the use of databases in Egyptology – a topic which I know many people are extremely interested to learn more about. Also coming up soon is an event at the Ministry of Antiquities on March 8 for International Women’s Day (thanks to Essam) and further talks to be delivered by Dr Nigel Strudwick on March 9 at the British Council and March 10 at the Egyptian Museum. I will promote these on Facebook shortly. I also continue to be connected to email to answer any questions you might have (especially from those participants who took part in my ‘Research Skills for Egyptology’ workshops).

So, on that note, it’s been an absolute pleasure and a privilege and I know we will meet again. In the meantime, please make dua (prayer) for my family and I look forward to returning to my second home – Egypt – again in the not too distant future.

[melaniemisr]

A beautiful lecture Melina

This week I hit my 10th ‘Research Skills for Egyptology’ workshop (I’ve actually done 11 now) – which equates to more than 22 hours of ‘Ustaza Melanie’ talking time! Since starting a little under a month ago, I can confirm that we’ve reached more than 150 Egyptian Egyptologists and archaeologists in Luxor, Aswan and Cairo (with several more workshops planned for Alexandria, Minya and the Fayum). The youngest participant, thus far, has been a 15-year-old schoolboy from Aswan. While, at the other end of the spectrum, I’ve had the Assistant Professor of Egyptology from Fayum University, the General Director of Karnak Temple, the Director of the Nubian Museum and a number of high ranking administrative staff from the Ministry of Antiquities.

As a part of this, I also continue to process the evaluation forms from each workshop participant as a measure for future professional skills’ initiatives. This is quite an enjoyable process, especially when I come across delightful Egyptian-English comments thanking me for my lecture. Since ‘Melanie’ isn’t exactly the most familiar name to native Arabic speakers, I’m often called by an array of substitutes, including Melly, Manila, Meanie, ‘Doctora’ (this is a little bit premature, but still quite welcome!), Pitkin (Essam’s favourite) and Mrs Melanie (as opposed to the infamous, Mr Melanie, which I am better known as to some people in Middle Egypt!). Almost all of these names raise a smile on my face, but I particularly liked seeing the remark on one participant’s survey form this week, which said “Thank you Melina for this beautiful lecture” (see above). There was something about reading this that made my heart turn all warm and fuzzy (or, should I say, warmer and fuzzier). I don’t think I ever set out to create a “beautiful lecture”, as such (perhaps a comprehensive and informative one is more to the point), but in any case, I’ll happily take credit for this!

Yesterday I also presented a paper on my current Fellowship position at the Graduate Annual Research Discussions on Egypt and Nubia (GARDEN III) conference at the German Archaeological Institute in Zamalek. This conference, now in its third year, focuses on Egyptology research methods so was the perfect forum to share some of my approaches to understanding the Egyptian Egyptology scene in Egypt, developing and delivering my professional skills lectures and the process for analyzing the results from my evaluation forms. I felt, however, that a few sensitivities were encountered around some of the results – particularly in terms of the English language barrier to Egyptian scholars, as well the idea that ‘foreigners know how to do it better’. I welcome all types of constructive feedback, of course, but I really don’t want anyone to misunderstand the Egypt Exploration Society’s intentions, or any other foreign institute for that matter. I believe we learn from each other with the best interests of the subject at heart and, ultimately, want to advance our collective scientific understanding of the ancient Egyptian past. I’ve also always emphasised that the types of professional skills we are trying to build in Egypt are similarly in need by many foreign students as well. It goes both ways. But, at the end of the day, we have to start somewhere and we are not afraid to confess that we’re learning as we go!

Another treat I had this week, was a behind-the-scenes tour of the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square where I had the opportunity to meet (and meet up with again!) all the key staff in registration, conservation and curatorial (oh, and note - their curators number in excess of 100! The title ‘curator’ is also an entry-level position, but they can be assigned to any department irrespective of their academic training). I also met the one very friendly and energetic photographer who services the entire museum and had the chance to take part in a team-bonding wreath making workshop led by one of the Senior Conservators (you can see our group selfie shot above!). Although I’m ‘wreath-less’, in this picture, I can assure you I did don it briefly - at the risk of dishevelling the fringe. It doesn’t pose a problem when it’s placed just right. 

[melaniemisr]

Back to normal and taxi troubles

Things are back to normal now. Well, that’s how Essam sees it anyway (as per the post-it note I found on my ‘tiny’ desk yesterday morning – see above!). That’s right, I’ve had to relinquish my ‘mudira’ title and give back the big desk with the padded chair! But, that’s okay. I actually sort of missed him! Essam is a very friendly and funny guy - who is also constantly glued to his phone – which means you kind of get used to thinking and typing along to the melodious tunes of his ‘Sayedi Arabic’ (that means Arabic from Upper Egypt). It should perhaps also mean that I’m close to being fluent in Arabic myself (oh, how I wish that were the case! It seems, however, that for all my multitasking talents, being usefully multilingual is just never going to be one of them). Regardless, I think I held the fort quite well, thanks to the assistance of a number of fabulous volunteers – including Muhamed and the two Mustafas (pictured below left) – who helped to make sure all my workshops continued to run smoothly. They also did a splendid job at ‘shooing’ the cats out of my classroom (pictured below right). Although, to be honest, feral cats and dogs are just part of the furniture in Egypt, so this isn’t particularly anything out of the ordinary at all!

If you’re a Facebook friend or Twitter follower (@melanie_misr) of mine, you might have noticed a post or two that indicates I’ve had a strangely adventurous past few days. In between working on my talk for the GARDEN conference taking place this Saturday at the DAIK and organizing the ‘EES Professional Skills for Egyptology’ day on March 7, I’ve also had the chance to visit a few historic and archaeological sites. One of these is my beloved Saqqara (well-known for the first monumental example of architecture in stone - the Step Pyramid of Djoser - pictured below, as well as a number of other very important funerary complexes). My first fieldwork experience in Egypt also took place here in the Teti Pyramid Cemetery back in 2005, so it certainly holds some special memories for me. And, I’ve since accrued many more...

Among these, now includes my impromptu Saturday visit. I was feeling in need of some open space and cleaner air, but by doing something still not too far removed from my academic work. So, Saqqara felt like an obvious choice. Before I left my apartment, however, I knew I had to plan a few logistics in advance - Where did I want to visit? How long did I want to be out for? And, who would take me? I was considering booking a driver through Uber, but decided to wing it with a taxi instead. As a seasoned Egyptian taxi user, I had a mental idea of how much it would cost me for a round-trip, but was similarly aware that this doesn’t necessarily ever guarantee the outcome you’re expecting (everything hinges on the good nature, or not, of your driver). I ended up being driven by Ali (mysteriously pictured with me in Teti’s burial chamber below). Ali and I seemingly got on well. From the beginning, we agreed on a price (200LE-250LE for up to 4 hours). He also decided to accompany me on all my site visits - from the Imhotep Museum to the Teti Pyramid, the tombs of Kagemni and Ptahhotep, Djoser’s Step Pyramid and Unis’s pyramid complex. If I understood Ali correctly, he actually said he’d never visited any of these sites before. Assuming this was true, I was innocently enjoying trying to converse with him about the monuments (albeit at an incredibly elementary level e.g. Shoof! Ahram Unis “Look! Unis Pyramid” followed by me pointing at a wall relief Himaar “Donkey”!). So, through these exchanges I thought Ali and I had established a ‘bond’. On the journey home, he even wanted to make sure I was well-hydrated, so bought me some water and, after I expressed interest in buying fresh fruit, arranged for me to go home with 6 kilos of bananas and oranges (because, I really needed that many!).

Sadly, however, this pleasant experience turned sour. When Ali dropped me back to my apartment and I handed him 240LE for his services, he suddenly heated up. “No, no, no”, he said. “Melanie, Melanie, Melanie. Khamsa-miyya, khamsa-miyyya. 250LE for one-way!”, he demanded. Khamsa-miyya is, of course, 500LE. Initially, I reacted somewhat jovially because I thought he was just trying to push his luck with me, but he became even more insistent and irate. It actually got to the point where I left the money with him and got out in haste. But, I could hear he was also getting out behind me. In this moment, I was genuinely quite scared and leapt up two-flights of stairs, simultaneously fumbling to get the keys out of my bag to unlock my front door. In the meantime, I could hear him ascending the stairs below. My heart was truly pounding. I didn’t think he could see which apartment I was in, but I still kept all the lights off and just sat in my bedroom for the next 20 minutes or so hoping the situation would pass. And then, suddenly, the door bell rang. Twice. I didn’t move at all. I suspect it was Ali, but I couldn’t be sure. My boab (doorman) didn’t seem to be anywhere during this whole incident either. Time soon passed and things seem to have settled, but even so, I preferred not to go out anywhere else that evening. I had food home delivered and then, fortunately, as I was having friends over the next morning for breakfast (pictured below), had some peace of mind knowing that my return to the world would be in safe company. 

Now, I don’t wish to relay that story to scare you (because it certainly hasn’t stopped me from using Egyptian taxis), but I feel obliged to make Ali’s actions known. I’m sure I paid Ali more than what would have been clocked on his meter, or haggled in many other circumstances, but he was obviously trying to milk me for all it was worth (even through fear). So, in future, I think I’ll arrange my drivers for these types of long distance outings through people who are known to me.

[melaniemisr]

Aswan Part 1: Nubian magic

It’s Valentine’s Day now and it’s safe to say, Gubba (the Nubian village we are staying at) has captured my heart. As you can see from the picture above, it’s an incredibly colourful and vibrant place. I’ve become completely mesmerised by all the different front door designs and have started curating my own photographic diary of them. We are also the only foreigners here. While everyone is very welcoming, it’s apparent we’re also a bit of a novelty and - no doubt - the 'talk of the town’. I really love trying to interact with everyone. Most of the time, this conversation is quite limited, but yesterday afternoon I shared some lovely moments with the daughter, niece and nephew of our cook (see below). We used drawing to make up for our lack of English/Arabic conversational skills and it was great fun (even if we couldn't always recognise each other’s drawings!).

The main reason I am currently in Gubba, however, is to visit a new joint EES-University of Birmingham mission to Qubbet el-Hawa (directed by Dr Martin Bommas, pictured below left, and Mr Essam Nagy). This is an absolutely fabulous site. Martin and Essam are investigating a previously un-excavated part of the cemetery and are spending this short season focusing on surveying, planning and photography before they return again in September. Qubbet el-Hawa is well-known for the rock-cut tombs of a number of important late Old Kingdom, First Intermediate Period and Middle Kingdom officials, although the cemetery was also occupied much later (right into Coptic and early Islamic times). Among these, include the tombs of Harkhuf, Heqaib, Mehu and Sabni, Setka and Serenput. I had the wonderful chance to visit all of these tombs today, and look forward to sharing more in my next post.

This morning I also delivered a ‘Research Skills for Egyptology’ workshop to over 20 students, inspectors, curators and museum administration staff at the impressive Nubian Museum. This was the first time I’d been here and was a little taken back to see the formal lecture theatre I was presenting in (see above)! But, I’ve become ever so adaptable in this role – in fact, I’m almost completely unfazed by anything these days (yes, really!). I also had a chance to visit Elephantine Island this afternoon (another first for me). This is an incredibly complicated site, but so rich in Egyptian history, including the most comprehensive stratigraphy from Dynasty 2 to the Ptolemaic Period existing anywhere in Egypt. I was also amazed by the size of the ‘elephant-like’ boulders of the First Cataract, which I also hadn’t laid eyes on before.

On a final note for this post, I am so in love with our dig house (see above). It’s built around a large square central court (where we eat all our meals) and our bedrooms and bathrooms face into it. My room is made from white-washed mud brick. It has a domed ceiling, tiled floors and, while my bed is virtually a plank of wood with a brick for a pillow, I have been sleeping remarkably well. I think it’s going to be very hard to leave here!

[melaniemisr]

Melanie the Mudira

For the next two weeks, I’ve been made the mudira (that’s Arabic for “boss” or “manager”). It’s even been made official (see the post-it note below)! I’ve been upgraded to the “big office” (i.e. desk), I’m allowed to answer the phone, I have a few volunteers to supervise and, most important of all, I get the comfy chair with armrests! You see, Essam is working on a joint EES-University of Birmingham mission to Aswan until Februray 20 (I’ll be joining the team briefly over the weekend), so I’ve been left to hold the fort. Not only that, I’m continuing to run my ‘Research Skills for Egyptology’ workshops at the Greek Campus. I’ve actually lost count of how many I’ve delivered now, but I know we’ve already reached well over 100 participants based on the quantity of feedback forms I’ve been processing alone. I must say, I’m pretty chuffed by that!

I’ve also had a few special experiences in my classes this week. Yesterday, for example, I was teaching a small group of museum professionals and postgraduate students from the University of Helwan. While teaching, I sensed they were a fairly reserved bunch and I couldn’t quite gauge whether or not I was meeting their expectations. I also became a little bit too aware of one participant who looked to be nodding off in her chair. But, I knew I was speaking with plenty of intonation (so it couldn’t have possibly been my voice driving her to sleep!). I also pace about a bit and like to put questions to the group. After the workshop finished, however, I couldn’t have been more pleasantly surprised by what she did. She literally came up to me with some of her friends and threw her arms around me - thanking me for my “excellent presentation”. She was so animated and effusive with praise, completely opposite to what I thought was running through her mind during my talk. (Lesson to self - for the thousandth time - never make assumptions about others). Then we chatted for a good 20 minutes, mostly about training aspiring, and current, museum professionals in Egypt and the types of opportunities they’re in need of. She was so full of beans, intelligent, passionate and visionary. In fact, we were so inspired by each other, we’re planning to meet up again after her exams in late February!

I also had a lovely group of museum curators and registrars from the Egyptian Museum tonight (some of whom are pictured above). They were so colourful and glamorous and listened intently throughout the entire presentation. Before starting in this post, I didn’t actually have a lot of teaching experience. I’ve worked extensively with communities, undertaken many years of serious research (both Egyptological and otherwise), delivered papers at conferences and gained endless professional experience as a museum curator, but had never actually turned my attention to teaching. God knows why!? It is immensely rewarding, especially when you can see things ‘click’ among your audience. And, I felt like we were having many ‘clicking’ moments tonight!

On a different note - if you’ve been following my blog for a while now, you will remember my ‘List of Firsts’. Well, I have another one to tick off this week - ordering home delivery (thank you Otlob!)! I know, it sounds weird, but I’ve long held this irrational fear that I’d get my own address wrong and they’ll never be able to find me (the greatest fear, in fact, when you’re hungry and have an unnaturally fast metabolism!). I mean, even though I’ve learnt to read Arabic (well, still not as well as I’d like), I've always been convinced that I’m going to tell them the wrong street number or apartment number. Sometimes, when I’m panicked, you see, a 2 becomes a 6 and a 5 becomes a 0 (if you know your Arabic numbers, you’ll know exactly what I mean. If not, see here). So, I took the time out earlier this week to very carefully triple-check everything before I clicked ‘order’ and voila! What do you know? It worked! Lentil soup, southern style chicken salad and an American soapy…how much more Egyptian can you get!?

[melaniemisr]

Billboards and haircuts

When did Cairo become so overrun by billboards? Maybe it’s always been, but driving out to Medinet Nasr yesterday - suddenly - it was all I could see! As if trying to focus on Cairo traffic isn’t enough, there you also find yourself battling the temptations of shiny, new cars, resort villas on the Red Sea or, in the case of my driver, a young, attractive Egyptian woman wearing a ball gown on a motorcycle eating Tiger crinkle cut potato chips. But, there was also one other distraction - the “flying Japanese baby” (as my driver called it) with oversized head suspended from the rear view mirror! It provided an interesting silhouette to my journey juxtaposed by the fast-paced Arabic beats blaring from the speakers (I might have been doing a bit of toe-tapping to this as well!). In fact, this could become another blog in itself! On the same day, for example, I travelled in another taxi which had the head of a mutilated kewpie doll perched on the dashboard. The doll’s eyes were permanently fixed into the back of its head and she had a large hole cut out of her right cheek. Really, there are no words for some of the things you find in Egyptian taxis! 

It’s been another busy week and I can’t believe that I’m already approaching the halfway point of my Fellowship. Over the past few days, I’ve delivered two further ‘Research Skills for Egyptology’ workshops at the Greek Campus in Downtown. The first of these, on Tuesday, was standing room only! I was told to expect 11 or 12 participants from Cairo University, but we ended up with almost 40 (in a room which has seating capacity for less than 25)! While I was delighted to see so much interest, I must admit it also came as a bit of a challenge. A substantial number of the participants arrived at various points during my talk and we had to do an extra emergency print-run of handouts. Phone calls have also been a recurrent issue, but like other competing sounds (such as drills outside the classroom window, the call to prayer and doors banging from next door), I’m getting better at learning how to deal with them! My Wednesday class (pictured above and below) was a much more manageable size and one of the most engaged thus far. I must say, it’s a very rewarding experience and such a pleasure to know you’re making a difference, no matter how small it may be. 

This week, Essam and I were also interviewed by Cairo Scene, an online Egyptian lifestyle, news and gossip magazine about the work of the EES and the ‘Research Skills for Egyptology’ workshops (I’ll let you know when it’s ready for viewing). I’m also trying to organise a one-day event tentatively titled ‘EES Professional Skills for Egyptology’, which I’m hoping will take place in early March. I’ll share more about this once the details become clearer. Essam and I are also planning for several further trips around the country where I’ll be delivering the research workshops - the next of which is planned for the Nubian Museum in Aswan at the end of the week (another pretty fabulous venue!). I’ve only been to Aswan once, and it wasn’t for particularly long, so I’m extremely excited about this!

What else has been happening? Well, there seems to be a lot of construction work going on in my apartment block at the moment. On Thursday, while I was working at my computer, I started hearing what I thought was debris falling outside my window. It was. And, large chunks of it. From the safety of my enclosed balcony, I did a quick vertical 180′. There were various legs, arms and drills waving about from above and cats running for cover below (I don’t think those ‘splodge’ marks on that car’s roof is anything from this occasion!). No matter, the building is still standing. There just isn’t the same level of WH&S concerns we’re used to back home - but there’s something slightly refreshing, and also morbidly entertaining, about that! I also had a haircut yesterday. For those of you who know me well, that’s actually big news! I decided to go to a flashy hotel in Zamalek thinking that the more I pay, the better chance I’ll get what I want. How silly of me!? I think I’m still presentable in public, but let’s just say I’ve never experienced having layers cut into my hair quite like the way this hairdresser did it. There was a lot of flipping all of my hair from one side of my head to the next and then gathering it into a pony tail and cutting straight across the bottom. So yes, it’s very layered now - but maybe not in an evenly distributed kind of way.

[melaniemisr]

Cairo in my lungs

Back to Cairo now and the ‘Research Skills for Egyptology’ workshops are well underway. Yesterday I had a small class of third year undergraduate students from Cairo University (pictured above) who are studying for their Egyptian history and archaeology degrees in English (as opposed to Arabic). They belong to less than 5% of the entire cohort of 4000 + students at undergraduate and postgraduate level pursuing their studies in English at the Faculty.  I’ll be teaching the Masters group tomorrow.

While the research workshops are running, I’m also busy preparing a museology lecture I’m due to deliver later this month to ICOM-Egypt, followed by students in the Museum Studies program at the University of Helwan (see draft flyer above). About two weeks ago I had the privilege to meet with Dr Ossama Abdel Meguid (museum consultant, lecturer and Vice President of ICOM-Arab) and Dr Mohamed Gamal (lecturer and curator at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo) about the current state of museums in Egypt. This was a fabulously insightful discussion for me and I was most interested to hear that two of the key areas they're seeking international assistance with, is: (1) museum branding, marketing and communication and, (2) ways of engaging children and family audiences. Although these aren’t directly related to my areas of expertise, I was certainly able to draw on a lot of relevant examples  from exhibitions I’ve worked on. They were also extremely fascinated to hear about the recent re-branding of the museum I work at (the Museum of Applied Arts and Sciences in Sydney, Australia), as well as the Government’s proposal to relocate us from Sydney’s CBD to a satellite city about 25km west (you can read more about this here and here). Given all this, I’m now looking to present on ‘Museums in Australia: a behind-the-scenes insight into current issues and practices’, which I’m really looking forward to.

In other news, I feel like I’ve breathed in the whole of Cairo. Most days, Cairo is enveloped by smog (you can get a sense of this from the photo above). This isn’t anything new, and it’s always something I find myself contending with, but it can be particularly unpleasant when you’re trying to lecture for 2-hours straight. So, I’m currently self-medicating on some magical Parisian throat lozenges and powdered drink (thank you my dear French friend!), as well as embracing the facial scarf wrap. Actually, the picture above has another story to it too. This is the ridiculously long queue we found ourselves in on Saturday for the Cairo International Book Fair. We had no idea what to expect, especially with queues like that! Was their a fun park inside? Free food? A famous author doing book signings? Well, it was kind of all that - and more! There were also puppet shows, clowns, musical entertainment, lots of food trucks, people having picnics on the ‘green’, lectures, live television interviews and so on. Actually, if you’re reading this, and happen to be in Cairo, it is well-worth going along to. Diwan and AUC Press were selling some great books at really low prices. My steal for the day was an anthology of women travellers in Egypt at only 10LE (that’s less than $2 AU). I’ve also turned my bedtime reading to a bit of Nietzche. Somehow, Cairo is just the right place for him.

[melaniemisr]

Luxor Part 1: Research training underway

For the past few days, Essam and I have been in Luxor visiting two archaeological missions and organising for the delivery of my first research skills in Egyptology workshop - which, I can now proudly say, took place in the Karnak Temple complex today (pictured below)! Alhamdulilah! Around 20 local inspectors, archaeologists and students gathered in the lecture hall of the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE) conservation lab for a 2-hour workshop focused on what is research, the importance of sound research, researching step-by-step, structuring a thesis, the qualities of a good researcher, the nuances of Egyptological research and key online and hard copy reference tools every Egyptologist should know in order to succeed at an international level. 

I must admit, I was a little apprehensive beforehand. Although I have been trying to develop an understanding of where the existing gaps and weaknesses are in Egyptological training and research in Egypt, I am also aware that every audience is different and comes with their own individual knowledge base and set of experiences. I was also concerned about peoples’ level of English. Would they be able to follow me? Would they understand the value in what I’m saying? And, would they be able to practically apply what I’m teaching them to their own research practices?  Therefore, it’s not simply a matter of their English. It’s also my responsibility to deliver the content in a friendly and accessible format. That is, through the use of images, giving practical examples, encouraging conversation (a useful gauge to see if you and your audience are on the same page), while also ensuring to speak slowly, clearly and without any Aussie slang!

As my role here in Egypt is very much an experimental one, which will shift and grow as our understanding of Egyptian Egyptologists’ needs improves, I have also developed an evaluation form for every workshop participant to complete. This captures information about the participants’ gender, age, education level, profession, whether or not they’ve undertaken research, or presented at a conference, overseas before, the types of training they feel they need (on a 1 to 10 priority scale), personal opinions on the way Egyptology is currently taught in Egypt and what role Egyptians think foreign institutes can play in making a positive difference to their professional development. I have also asked them specific questions around my research skills presentation and delivery style. I am looking forward to presenting the preliminary results of this, and my overall Fellowship experience, at the upcoming GARDEN conference in Cairo on February 27.