Egypt

Vocabulary and activities

Journal Entry 1/3/08

You probably have a favorite holiday that you look forward to all year. Think about what you do during the holiday. What special foods do you eat? What different songs do you sing? Why do you and your family celebrate on that holiday?

Journal Entry 1/4/08

• A Day in Cairo—Suppose that you are spending a day in Cairo. Use your imagination and the information from the text to write a journal entry about their day. Describe the sights and sounds of the city, the different people that live in the city, etc.

Warm up

List the differences between living in a city and living in a rural area in the United States. Compare and contrast the kinds of jobs and the types of housing found in the two areas.

Bazaar

– traditional open air markets

Fellaheen

—Egypt’s rural farmers

Fast

—a period when people go without food

Muslim

—people who follow Islam

Quran

• —Holy book of Islam• Requires that Muslims pray five times a day while

facing in the direction on Mecca, Saudi Arabia• Stresses the importance of honesty, honor, and

giving to others• Requires Muslims to love and respect their families

Sharia

• —Islamic law• Men and women dress modestly in public—must

wear loose fitting clothes that cover most of the body except hands, face, and feet.

• Some also believe that women should cover their face

Cairo

• —the nation’s capital and largest city

Feast of Eid-ul-Fitr

—Celebrated at the end of Ramadan. It is a celebration of happiness. It marks not only the end of a fast, but also the bond that has been created though shared hardship. Muslims celebrate by exchanging gifts with friends and relatives and sharing meals.

Call to Prayer

—five times each day by muezzins, or criers. From the minarets of Muslim mosques, muezzins repeat the call four times, each time facing one of the four cardinal directions. Muezzins begin the call to prayer wit the words, “Allah is most great. I testify that there is no God but Allah.

Questions—look them up and we will answer them in class

• What are some of the important practices and teachings of Islam?

• How has Islam affected the way Egyptians live?

• Why do some Egyptian women wear veils?

• Why have many people moved from rural areas to cities?

• What is life like in rural areas of Egypt?

Map Activity – opening page of 9.1Complete individually and we will answer

them in class• Which country in the region looks the largest? • Which country looks the smallest?• What body of water lies on the regions northern

boundary?• Find the major cities of North Africa. How close

are they to the Mediterranean Sea? • How do you think that the nearness to the sea

might have affected North African cultures?

Write a letter

Ask students to write a letter from the point of view of a rural Egyptian visiting Cairo for the first time. Tell students to include in their letters observations of things that a rural person would find unfamiliar as well as things familiar This activity should take 20 minutes

Women of Egypt

• –the women of ancient Egypt had higher status than women in other parts of the ancient world. Women at the top of the social hierarchy could own and dispose of property as they saw fit, free slaves, and bring about lawsuits.

Biography—Jehan Sadat

• When Anwar Sadat became President of Egypt in 19370, his wife Jehan Sadat broke with Muslim tradition by taking a politically active role in the presidency. As “first lady,” she crusaded for more rights for Egyptian women. In 1979k when President Sadat issued two historic women’s rights decrees, they were interpreted as the out-come of Jehan Sadat’s persistence.

Jehan Sadat

• Perhaps Sadat’s most important achievement, however, has been her establishment of the Talla Society, an organization that trains women in crafts and provides scholarships to high school and college students. Sadat is internationally recognized for her commitment to “third-world women in their struggle against time-worn barriers.

Critical Thinking

• Discuss ways of identifying central issues. Central issues are sometimes stated indirectly. Work with a partner to identify the central issue of the last paragraph of the section. “Despite their differences, however, most Egyptians are unified by one thing—their faith In Islam.” With your partner, restate this central issue in your own words.

Complete 9.1 Review

3. Give two examples of how Islam affects everyday life in Egypt.

4. Compare the lives of city and village dwellers in Egypt.

5. How have Egyptian Muslims tgried to renew their faith?

Writing to Learn

• In a journal entry, describe how the clothes people wear and the music they listen to may reflect their beliefs. Use examples from your own experience as well as from this section.