Foreign affairs 2019 09-10

An American in Cairo

September/October 2019 211

entrepreneurs selling imported Chinese

lingerie—a serendipitous discovery

facilitated by Hessler’s earlier residence

in China and his pro¿ciency in Chinese.

These and many other encounters

occasion funny, illuminating, and often

provocative observations about Egypt

and its people. When he visits Sayyid at

home, for example, he is surprised to

¿nd that the garbage collector’s apartment

is immaculate, equipped with brand-new

appliances, two television sets, and a

computer for the children. This material

well-being illustrates why Cairo, for all

men in particular conveyed an unsettled,

slightly volatile air” but marvels that his

interpreter’s friends were not only the

kinds o‘ people he expected: “foreigners,

liberals, political activists, gays”; they were

also “typical cops—macho, athletic,

patriotic—but who seemed to enjoy Manu’s

company,” and there was even “a young

member o‘ the Muslim Brotherhood.”

Stereotypes o‘ all kinds fall by the wayside

as Hessler makes his way around the

country. Indeed, the towns and villages o‘

Upper Egypt turn out to house a dozen

or more market stalls run by Chinese

Among the ruins: a boy in Cairo, May 2009

DENIS DAILLEUX

/ AGENCE

VU’