Welcome to the Virtual Book Tour for Cairo: The Mother of the World. Today, I am turning the blog over to author Herbert L. Smith. Thanks for stopping by!
Inspiration
When someone asks me
about my ‘muse,’ my writing inspiration, I can only tell them
that my love of Cairo, all of Egypt in fact, is all I need to set my
descriptive and poetic responses going. Sometimes, people who have
visited or lived in Egypt question my reasoning. They found the
place to be less than ideal – far, far less, and can’t understand
my reasons for loving the city and the country. I confess that I
don’t understand fully, but am happily oblivious to many of the
problems that confound everyone who visits, as well as a large
portion of the population that lives in the country. I am not
unaware or insensible to these difficulties, it’s just they aren’t
sufficient to cause for me to flee from the place and never go back.
Quite the opposite, I am magnetically drawn to Egypt and to Cairo,
especially.
Cairo is a dirty, noisy,
hot, distressed city. It has been called the noisiest place in the
world and may well be. It has also been called the dirtiest, but I
think that distinction best lies in Indian, or perhaps Chinese
cities. (Unquestionably, Cairo is also very dirty.) The city is
fraught with traffic nightmares and pollution, sand, relentless heat,
an immense population scrunched together in a very small area, and a
myriad of other things that create chaos, but it also has a vibrancy
of spirit, colorful people, a wonderful sense of humor, and an
attitude of survival against all the odds, that makes it
scintillating in my eyes. I became attuned to Cairo from the very
first evening as I arrived amid the sprawl of traffic on what might
have been a freeway in most countries, but had every kind of traffic
– even camels in a long line - and pedestrians, along its lanes.
Cars and mule-carts went every direction, including the wrong way
(obviously by choice), and I gaped in amazement at the staggering
tableau that spread out around the Nile in all directions. I had
never seen anything like it, and haven’t found such a tumult
anywhere since.
Native food is not
exceptional, but is decent. Hospitality, however, is beyond any
reproach. When you are a guest in an Egyptian home you are
Honored. There is an incredible display of concern for a guest’s
comfort – genuine concern – and an interest in whatever
information about your world you can bring to the conversation.
Egyptian people are delightful – almost always – and full of
laughter despite the situation many are in. They are indomitable.
As I watched the 2011 revolution through videos taken live at the
scene, my heart was in my mouth, and I fell into the scenario as much
as was possible from where I was at the time. I empathized with the
people and with the revolution and with the need they now have of
securing a government that will serve the needs of the citizens
rather than the desires and greed of men in power. It is almost too
much to comprehend, but the Egyptians handle it uniquely and
heart-rendingly well. They make me proud to have been among them,
and one of my greatest desires is to return to Cairo for a lengthy
visit.
Herbert L. Smith
has been a fascinating series of events, from one adventure to another, and I loved nearly every minute of it. (A few of the minutes were not quite so lovable for various reasons.)
Life as an expat lecturer and instructor led me into some unique and sometimes difficult situations, but my appraisal of the whole was one of amazement that I was able to get to so many wonderful places and enjoy the life of the people there. I taught English courses to students who had already developed skills in the language and was always happy to tell them about life in the U.S., as well as my appreciation of the life I led in their home countries. I would gladly do it all again with only slight changes here and there.
A sustaining hobby throughout my life is music. I am a pianist, organist and composer with many years of experience in church music. I found that wherever I went in the world, with the exception of Argentina, I was almost immediately working with a church, playing the services (usually on Fridays in the Middle East) regularly. Music is one of my fondest dreams as well as a ‘forever’ joy.
I now live in Oregon with my wife of fifty years, Glenda, and we love the beauties that surround us here. I will never tire of reliving the past, of course, either in writing or actually traveling, and any time I have an opportunity to return to Cairo or Doha or La Rioja, I am excited to go again.
Travel Narrative
Title: Cairo: The Mother of the World
Author: Herbert L. Smith
Date Published: 2008
Cairo:
The Mother Of The World explores the heart of a city that most tourists
never see – an affectionate, humorous close-up of the aggregation that
is Cairo, as well as an adventure among the streets, tombs, houses, and
monuments that are the city yesterday, today, and tomorrow.
Many
have said that Cairo doesn’t change, but it does; sometimes very
slowly, with a foot in the past and the other stepping toward the
future. At another time, it may explode with a sudden transformation
that boggles the mind, as in the revolution of 2011-2012. Among all the
confusion and noise and sand, it is still the same Cairo that many
expatriates have come to love.
For
anyone who has longed to visit Cairo, but has not had opportunity or
felt a tour was risky at this time, this little book provides an
intimate glimpse into the city that is largely unchanged, even after the
revolution, and is moving forward, bit by bit, into a better tomorrow.
Love
it with us as we walk among the people of Cairo and share the joy and
tumult of the life that only the true Cairene is capable of appreciating
in the midst of the gigantic jumble we call home. It will be an
unexpected treat.
Buy on Amazon: http://amzn.to/Vwfh6g
Virtual Book Tour December 2 - December 15
December 2 - Reading Addiction Blog Tours - Meet and Greet
December 2 - My Devotional Thoughts - Review
December 4 - Jennifer McConnel - Guest Post/PROMO
December 5 - Reviewing Shelf - Review/Guest Post
December 6 - My Cozie Corner - Review
December 7 - Books For Me - review
December 8 - Crazy For Books - Review
December 9 - Books, Books, The Magical Fruit - Guest Post/PROMO
December 10 - Brooke Blogs - Review
December 11 - Andi's Book Reviews - Guest Post/PROMO
December 12 - Kaisy Daisy's Blog - PROMO
December 13 - Geo Librarian - Review/Interview
December 15 - Books are Cool - Review/Interview
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