Despite poverty of land and difficulties of living, the Egyptians remain a hearty people who take special joy in all those simple pleasures that make life rich in the truest sense. In Cairo, Egypt’s large and swarming metropolis, market streets and back alleys are alive with the talk and laughter as well as the radios and television sets of Egyptians. Soap opera tv assists the experimental anthropologist in achieving a dig into the laundry basket of one’s neighbor in a society where discretion and reputation can at times seem more important than virtue itself. The Egyptian love of melodrama is only matched by an equally passionate preference for comedy and music. The latter manifests itself in times of celebration - and at just about every other opportunity. Belly dance is a pastime enjoyed by the young and the old alike, and it is also not at all uncommon for the Egyptian man or woman to break out in spontaneous song if the mood strikes.

Egypt’s days of ancient glory are long past, and Egyptians today scarcely have the time to ponder the mysteries and monuments of the pharaohs. Living in a perpetually “developing” country which sustains itself largely by US aid, the majority of Egyptians are preoccupied with making a living. As Egypt’s most populated city and one of the most crowded cities in the world, Cairo is fitted with modern skylines, filth-ejecting factories, and bulging-at-the seams condominium highrises. The city hosts a number of established universities, cultural institutions, governmental offices, and commercial buildings as well. But Cairo is also a reflection Egypt’s growing poverty. Walls appear crumbling practically as one stands and watches, the city’s infrastructure is in such a state of decay and neglect. And while the streets are choked daily with cars, pedestrians, and pollution, housing is found in increasingly short supply. Still, the Egyptians tread on, building up families and tenement blocks, alternately, and as the need arises.