Caught up in the Rush

    The temperature of the light is quite different in America than in Egypt but that is hard to see from my basement.  I've been stuck here since my return, processing images and accounting for finances.  That is the reason I have no entry for this week and I am making excuses instead of interesting analogies.
    Forgive me, my trespasses.

Swirling Clarity (Author's Collection copyright 2018)

Passage of Time

This week I have had no time to look at the history of anything as I’ve been too busy walking through the history of Egypt.  Please enjoy these images in lieu of any words.

Pyramids of Giza (from Author's Collection. Copyright 2019)

Pyramids of Giza (Author's Collection. Copyright 2019)

Pyramids of Giza (Author's Collection. Copyright 2019)

Saqqara Pyramid: the oldest building in the world (Author's Collection.  Copyright 2019)

Necropolis of Saqqara (Author's Collection. Copyright 2019)

Pyramid of Unas at Saqqara (Author's Collection. Copyright 2019)

Hieroglyphs inside Pyramid of Unas (Author's Collection. Copyright 2019)

Genetic Encoding, Part Two of Two

  In fact, in Egyptian history it is rare to find changes that were instigated by the masses.  External factors were almost always coming to bear on the people of this great country and those factors were typically “top down” changes.  

Cario in the morning
(Author's Collection, copyright 2019)

Adjusting to these changes was for them to deal with as leaders are rarely concerned with (and quite often unaware) of the daily difficulties that are enacted when they flippantly decide to do something.  Self-righteous Pharaohs, impetuous rulers, colonial oversight and exploitation by empires are but some of the ancient examples of difficulties that the average Egyptian had to contend with but the recent past isn’t any better.

Fast Food in Cairo's Market
(Author's Collection, copyright 2019)

    Recent political turmoil has built upon decades of questionable national level decisions which have created a poor educational system and created mass poverty (average annual income is 6,700USD).  A by-product of this situation is growing sectarian violence and increasing economic instability- the uneducated can’t be expected to make informed decisions or develop insightful philosophical points of view.  

Streets of Imbabah
(Author's Collection, copyright 2019)

In response, the Egyptian Government recently de-valued their currency (Egyptian Pound) and made severe cuts to public subsidisation/aide programs.  This was all in an effort to qualify for a large loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) which the Egyptian Government hopes will stimulate the economy before the more impoverished segment of society is crushed.  Does Egypt (or the world) really need another lane in the Suez Canal?

  

  

Egyptian Museum Entrance
(Author's Collection, copyright 2019)

Through all of this, as they have for millennia, Egyptians continue to adjust and compensate for the external factors pressing on their efforts for a better tomorrow.  Without considering all these historical factors, Egyptians live their lives and try to adapt to the radically changing socio-political and economic landscape; doing the best they can before the next change is forced upon them without their consent.  As though adaptation and adjustment have been imprinted in their genetic code.

    

Genetic Encoding. Part one of two

    250,000 BC is the earliest date of human activity in the area we now call Egypt and by 3,100 BC, legend tells us a Pharaoh by the name of Narmer had united the region between the Mediterranean Sea and the first cataract (present day Aswan).  For the inhabitants of this region, they have changed and adapted so many times that they are unaware of their innate ability to compensate for the inconsistencies of others.  

    

Egyptian Hieroglyphs, Egyptian Museum (Author's collection copyright 2019)

    During our 247,000 year interval between the above dates Africa became victim of climate change and the rich savannahs became arid, forcing the nomads living there to migrate closer to the Nile River.  Rains further south ensured that the Nile flooded annually - like clockwork - and when those floodwaters tapered off the soil of the surrounding countryside was enriched by silt and soils from all over eastern Africa.  This presented the opportunity to farm and Egyptians don’t hesitate to capitalise on something good.  Sadly, one must take the good with the bad in life and social order came along with farming and Pharaoh placed himself at the top- as all leaders do - and the farmers at the bottom.  Pharaoh himself is credited with establishing social order but the claim is buttressed by archaeological evidence from 3000 BC (circa).

    

Pyramids of Giza(Author's Collection, copyright 2019)

This simple restructuring forced many changes on the population of ancient Egypt but nature did too and the flood period provided a natural respite for farmers which Pharaoh most likely capitalised on by using them as unskilled labour supporting his engineers and architects in building his elaborate infrastructure.  What a summer job, building those magnificent pyramids and monuments, even if you are just hauling baskets full of rubble.  The chaos caused through the ensuing years by multiple changes to the physical location of the Egyptian capital, not to mention adjustments and refinements to the state religions must have had a disorienting effect on the populace but they kept working, trying to make a better tomorrow for them and their families.

A Code to Live By

    Our western traditions in the last 50 years have left something to be desired with regard to how we comport ourselves.  In the last twenty years it seems that people are more concerned with how they look than how they really are.  As proof, steal a glance at someone’s credit card bill next time you have a chance: 85% chance says it is disproportionately high indicating they are living outside their means.   I’ve even heard words like tradition and honour used as punchlines to jokes recently, though no one was ever laughing once I was done with the comedian.

 (Author's Collection. Copyright 2018)

    As a child, cowboy and samurai movies were our favourites because everyone knew what to expect, which means they had a code requiring they act in a certain manner.  While that was just Hollywood, these actions were based on a real code of honour that existed for a long time and allowed the world to function in a manner that imparted balance.  Historically, the warrior class has transcended cultures: the Knights of Europe could identify with the Persian cataphracts and both would have understood the code of Bushido embodied by the Japanese Samurai (attendant), and later, Bushi (warrior) class.

    From 1639 to 1854 AD, Japan employed the policy of sakoku (national isolation).  This was their response to dampen the myriad external pressures exerted on Japan while the Shogun consolidated his hold over the island.  This produced many peculiarities which make their culture so unique, of which, Bushido (the way of the warrior) is but one part.  An administrative restructuring under the Tokugawa Regime saw the Samurai removed from their rural landholdings and placed closer to their lord’s precincts.  Now being paid in rice instead of having to farm for their income, the Bushi found themselves very idle in their daily requirements.  This created the opportunity for a professional class of warrior never seen before: culminating in a daily regimen dedicated to the cultivation of all things martial.  The underlying influence exerted by Zen Buddhism created a thirst for perfection in all aspects of life for the warrior class of Japan and this can be seen today in the minute details associated with many of their martial arts.  Whether drawing a sword or flipping an opponent, the determination to emulate the Buddha in his quest for perfection permeated their daily lives and bled over into their efforts to pour tea or serenely sit while contemplating the world.

     This entire system was only attained through a concerted effort to codify and institutionalise the traditional practice of selected philosophies which, over the centuries, became cultural norm.  Ultimately, it was this cultural norm that empowered the feudal way of life and acquired a level of national discipline that would enable japan to adapt to the modern world so quickly.  

    It is the presence of a code of honour that is so lacking in modern society and which will ultimately be the basis for the ruination of humanity.  One must stand for something or agree to fall for everything.

 (Author's Collection. Copyright 2017)