[Joerg]

Cats of Cairo: Egypt's Enduring Legacy
(Hardcover)by Lorraine Chittock

[Goldie]

Whether you are a cat lover or not you will love this book if you have had the good fortune to experience Egypt's casual cats. I am fortunate to own one of the first copies of this book. The book was originally called "Cairo Cats". I was introduced to this book by my teaching assistant at AUC who was good friends with Lorraine Chittock (who is now in South America working on a project). The book had had a difficult time passing censorship. As a result the first copies have had part of one page cut out that, at the last minute, was found to be "unacceptable". Lorraine, my TA and other friends, with scissors in hand took care of editing out the "unacceptable" page of all those first copies.

Another good book that captures the essence of Egypt through a foreigners eyes is "Morning of Light, An Egyptian Journal" by Ginda Ayd Simpson. Again I was introduced to the book by someone who knew the author; in this case her daughter who was a co-teacher with me at the Learning Resource Center in Maadi. It is a collection of her wonderful stories and paintings of the time that she and her family spent living in Egypt.

[Donna]

OK, I'm hooked. But I had a terrible time deciding between the 2001 hardcover which Goldie describes with its unacceptable page cut out and the 2006 softcover that was printed by American University in Cairo, therefore made in Cairo... One Amazon.com reviewer purchased both but prefers the more recent version--the fonts, brighter colors, and additional photos. I sometimes find soft covers easier to read but think hardcovers are more valuable. Decisions, decision. I ordered that latter even though I am zealous of Goldie's more authentic early version. Mine will be a used copy from Amazon.com. I will chime in after I get it and read it.

This brings to mind one Cairo cat I snapped in the garden of the Egyptian Museum which was as scruffy as the one I fed in Aswan daily after breakfast at the Hathor Hotel.



BTW, all the art in the E Museum gardens was free to behold when I was there in 2003. An amazing outdoor museum.

[Donna]

My paperback Cairo Cats arrived. Neither the scholarly expose that I was expecting nor a catalog of cute cat pix, Cairo Cats is a work of art. Lorraine Chittock blends poetical snippets with her photos of scenes our eye might glimpse yet our cameras could never capture. I warmed up slowly at first thinking, yes, nice cat pix around Cairo. But as I lingered through the excerpts from writers I'd never read from ages ago until the famous Naguib Mahfouz, the calligraphy of Islamic lore touched sentiments in me that must be universal. I was beguiled by the way cats command their space with hieroglyphic poses as they absorb the light or assimilate the shadows. The photographer tells stories as well with human expressions. For me an ancient statue backdrop for a tiny kitten sums it up, Ramesses II as omnipresent in Egypt as the cats in Cairo.

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[Goldie]

Yep !

[Mayan]

I always think of the Egyptians and cats, but I never thought of seeking out the true history and depictions of cats while I was in Egypt!

Next time I will certainly look for it. Thanks so much for making me aware of my meowing friends and their historical significance.

[Simona84]

That book looks very cute! Do you people have pictures of cats of Cairo or Egypt in general?

[=Bree=]

Simona84, on 12 July 2011 - 01:44 PM, said:

That book looks very cute! Do you people have pictures of cats of Cairo or Egypt in general?

u may view this in here amazon.com/Cats-Cairo-Egypts-Enduring-Legacy/dp/0789207079. hope it helps