In 332 BC, invasion by Alexander the Great brought the Pharaonic era to an end. Greek law and literature was carried to Alexandria during the Hellenic and Roman times, and from the mid 4th century, Egypt became part of the Eastern Empire. In 642, however, the Arabs came to conquer and were welcomed by the Coptic Christians, who preferred the tolerant rule of the Muslims to the condescension of the Greeks, even if the great Alexander himself was well-remembered. The noble Saladin, renowned in both the Muslim and Christian worlds for military prowess and his chivalric character, would in the 12th century take hold of Egypt and from there reawaken the spirit of conquest in the Arab world. And centuries later Egypt did not fail to capture the eye of the Ottomans or that of Napoleon for that matter. But by the time the French arrived independence was on the Egyptian mind.

Egypt’s glory days are long past. Living in a perpetually “developing” country that sustains itself largely by US aid, the majority of Egyptians are too caught up making a living to conceive a country that is in actuality independent. Egypt’s largest city, and a microcosm of country as a whole, Cairo is also a reflection Egypt’s growing poverty. The town is an overpopulated and swarming metropolis fitted with modern skylines, filth-ejecting factories, and bulging-at-the seams condominium highrises.

Like one enormous ruin, the city’s walls appear to crumble before your eyes, the city’s centuries-old infrastructure is in such a state of decay and neglect. And yet, Cairo still somehow remains a fascinating place to visit. Like Egypt itself, the city ever pulses with life and daily activity.

Despite poverty of land and difficulties of living, the Egyptians remain a hearty people who take special joy in all those simple pleasures that make life rich in the truest sense. In Cairo, Egypt’s large and swarming metropolis, market streets and back alleys are alive with the talk and laughter as well as the radios and television sets of Egyptians. Soap opera tv assists the experimental anthropologist in achieving a dig into the laundry basket of one’s neighbor in a society where discretion and reputation can at times seem more important than virtue itself. The Egyptian's love of melodrama is only matched by an equally passionate preference for comedy and music. The latter manifests itself in times of celebration - and at just about every other opportunity. Belly dance is a pastime enjoyed by the young and the old alike, and it is also not at all uncommon for the Egyptian man or woman to break out in spontaneous song if the mood strikes.