Arab and Islamic Civilizations: The City of Cairo

By:

Nosimat Salami

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Nosimat Salami

<i>Pronouns:</i> She/her/hers <i>Home Institution:</i> Gettysburg College <i>Expected Graduation:</i> 2024 <i>Major / Minor:</i> Health Science and Public Policy / Educational Studies <i>Study Abroad Location:</i> Cairo, Egypt <i>"Hello" in your host country's language:</i> As-salamu alaykum <i>Program Provider:</i> The American University in Cairo <i>Identity:</i> African American/Black, First-Generation College Student <i>Future Career Goals:</i> My ultimate career goal is to start a nonprofit organization whose primary aim is to enhance access to and awareness of wellness options available to Latinx and African populations worldwide. Areas I want to concentrate on are preventive healthcare and education, which includes having access to better food options and health education. Lastly, an essential component of my organization would be to change or create new health policies that would allow underdeveloped communities access to housing, education, and employment. <i>Top 3 Goals for your time abroad:</i> 1. My first goal is to be more open-minded; this includes trying local food, being proficient in Arabic and engaging with the community. 2. My second goal is to go to the Bayn al-Qasrayn, this is one of many monumental buildings I want to go to. But I am really excited to see and learn about the history of Egyptian architecture. 3. Lastly, my third goal is to find research opportunities within the Global Public Health programs offered at AUC

Prior to studying abroad at AUC, a recent graduate who too came to Egypt last Fall semester encouraged me to take courses that were different from Gettysburg, or to just take courses that I found interesting. When I came across The City of Cairo, I assumed by the title I would be learning about Cairo’s art history. Though I had no experience in architecture or art history, I still decided to take it because it seemed interesting to me.

This course would end up being one of my favorite courses this semester. I not only learned about the basics of architecture and how to analyze a building floor plan. But as part of the course, I learned about the urban heritage of the city of Cairo by going to several filed trips to different neighborhoods, such as Wust al-Balad (Downtown Cairo) and old quarters of Cairo.

In the first image, this is a view of The Mosque of Ibn Tulun (๏ฟฝ

ุณุฌุฏ ุฅุจู† ุทูˆู„ูˆู†). It was built in Al-Fustat, and regarded as one of the oldest mosques in Cairo, Egypt. The second image is the inside of the Al-Mutawakkii’s Nilometer, it was an ancient instrument used to measure the waters of the Nile. I learned so much about the architectural history while being here. It was an amazing course and I hope other students coming to AUC to study abroad get the opportunity to take it as well!