For a moment over spring break, it seemed that the world stopped for Associate Professor of Foreign Languages Mohamed Esa and the 26 people touring Egypt with him. While the McDaniel entourage ate lunch in a bustling Cairo restaurant, the Muslim call to prayer on loudspeakers throughout the city brought life to a standstill.

“At first, you hear the music, the traffic, the cacophony, and then suddenly the call to prayer. Everything is silent but that,” says Esa.

The solemn moment marked the first of many new experiences for the group, which included 16 students and 11 community members. During the 10-day trip, they saw the pyramids of Giza and the Luxor Temple. They marveled at belly dancers and witnessed the Sufi dervish meditation that involves twirling in a skirt that billows into a circle. They spent four days on a Nile river cruise and took a camel caravan to a Nubian village.

“[In the] village, a local family had us over for tea and shisha (water pipe commonly smoked in Egypt) and taught us a little about Nubian dialect and culture,” said Mabilia Reyes ’07. “While we were there, they played music and we all sang and danced.” 

The group spent a great deal of time interacting with locals, helped along by Esa, who avoided the normal tourist spots and encouraged them to haggle over prices in the marketplace – a skill they mastered by the end of the trip.

“While the monuments and artifacts are incredible to see, I would have really missed out if we had not had the opportunity to meet the people,” says Elizabeth Kennedy ’07. “I took the opportunity to talk to someone everywhere we went. They are very friendly and open, and are excited about sharing their life.”

Citing the trip’s success, Esa says he’s planning another for McDaniel alumni sometime in the future.

“The fact that we have 27 people going to a Muslim country builds bridges of understanding to the Muslim world,” he says. “And that is so important.”

Mohamed Esa, Autumn Hilsinger ’08 and Kate Chilson ’07


The group in Egypt


Egyptian woman applies henna