The Cairo Chronicles

In January, 2005, a young anthropologist boards a plane in Los Angeles with her husband and two young children, and flies to Egypt, a world both ancient and modern. So begins a year and a half sojourn in the most populous city in the Middle East. In these 'œreports from the field'� the author dons the hijab, trips over Arabic, and interacts with the bemused citizenry, evoking laughter, tears and reflection. Readers will feel the heat of a Cairo summer, mingle with in-laws and ex-patriots, chafe under strict social norms, bow in resignation to a maddening bureaucracy, delight to the devastating wit of Cairenes, weep at the suffering of a struggling underclass, and open their eyes and hearts to the warmth, resilience and humor of ordinary Egyptians.