Remembering Childhood in the Middle East: Memoirs from a Century of Change

Afaf Lutfi al-Sayyid Marsot (Egypt)

Afaf Lutfi al-Sayyid Marsot, born in Cairo, was educated in Egypt, the United States, and England. She was the first Egyptian woman to receive a D. Phil. from Oxford and to become a junior research fellow at St. Anthony’s College, Oxford. Her many books include Egypt’s Liberal Experiment, Egypt in the Reign of Muhammad Ali, and Women and Men in 18th Century Egypt. She is presently professor emeritus of history at the University of California at Los Angeles. Afaf Lutfi al-Sayyid Marsot egypt an egyptian childhood Afaf Lutfi Al-Sayyid Marsot ^ My earliest childhood memory is being handed out of the kitchen window to my father on the back of a horse. Our house overlooked the desert in Heliopolis, an oasis and suburb of Cairo, and every morning my father went horseback riding in the desert. He often would put me up in front of him on the horse and send the horse galloping. My father and I had a special relationship. I had two much older brothers, but I was the only daughter. A few years before I was born, my father found himself without a job. He had been a civil servant, and his last position had been as governor of the province of Giza. The civil service was no refuge against tyranny. King Fuad detested my uncle, Ahmad Lutfi al-Sayyid, because he was co-founder and ideologue of the opposition party in Egypt, but, because my uncle was not a civil servant, he could not be touched by the king. King Fuad decided to get to him through his brother, so he forcibly retired my father at the age of forty. This was also the year of Egypt’s depression. The price of cotton fell drastically so that both my parents, who were landowners, found their incomes wiped out. They could no longer afford to live in the city and had to go and live in the village. There, my mother, a pampered lady of the high bourgeoisie and of Circassian/Greek descent had to learn to cook and clean and do all the things that previously a houseful of servants had done for her, all without the benefit of running water or electricity. When she learned that she was pregnant with me, Mother thought it was the last straw, but suddenly my father was offered a wonderful new position. Marconi Broadcasting, which ran the Egyptian State Broadcasting station, offered him the position of director of the Arabic programs. The same year I was born, the price of cotton increased, and my parents were once again wealthy. Father thought I was an auspicious baby. I was his good luck charm who brought good things to him, he often told me. Where most Egyptian men are fondest of their sons, my father doted on me. Whenever we rode in the car, I would always sit in front with my father. Every Sunday, which was his day of rest, since the ESB was then affiliated with the BBC, he would take me for an outing; my brothers, who went to government schools that were closed on Fridays, were never included. Our outings together taught me a great deal. At the zoo, Daddy would point out the different animals and tell me about their habits. When we traveled, he would ask me about the plants growing in the fields, teach me to identify the crops, and explain the process of agriculture. As a child, I was not really interested in crops and irrigation, but later on I realized the amount I had absorbed without even being aware of it. At other times, he would take me to museums, and I am certain my love of history was nurtured through these visits. I was not aware that I was being taught history, but Daddy was a gifted raconteur. Once, when I was about ten or twelve years old, we were visiting Saqqara and met with Etienne Drioton, the director of the Egyptian museum. That very morning they had just opened a tomb and discovered some delicate gold necklaces, which are now in the Cairo Museum. Drioton was literally jumping for joy at his discovery. His delight and enthusiasm made an indelible impression on me and helped foster an interest in Egyptology that grew over the years, especially when, in winter, we would spend a fortnight in Luxor and Aswan. We also visited...