More than any of the ancient cultures, Egypt's seven
thousand years of history have come to represent the seemingly paradoxical
phenomenon of a country that is simultaneously enjoying a state of permanent
continuity while constantly undergoing some form of renewal.
This duality came about because two natural realities
converged. The first has to do with the location of Egypt among the three main
continents of the old world – Africa, Asia and Europe but not the Americas that
were not yet “discovered”. The second reality has to do with the lay of the
land; a fertile valley which, for a long time, remained protected on both
flanks by a prohibitive desert.
Thus, for half the time that Egypt had been in existence,
its people developed their civilization without fear of being attacked by
neighbors. They created a culture of self-sufficiency that relied on the
availability of natural resources to produce the goods they needed for
survival, and to provide for the services they required to make their living an
enjoyable experience.
But then, the neighbors from the African South, the Asian
East and the European North developed the means to raid the Egyptian frontier
outposts at a time when internal dissent was creating a chaotic situation in
the interior. In time, this combination gave the foreigners the ability to
invade Egypt, and in some cases occupy it for a period of time. But rather than
impose their ways on the Egyptians, the foreigners who looked more like
ferocious warriors than tamed urban dwellers, were so impressed with Egypt's
culture, they chose to adopt the Egyptian way of life rather than force their
own way on the people of Egypt.
This condition made it possible for the Egyptians to
voluntarily absorb and mix into their culture the foreign traits they deemed
compatible with their own and saw them as desirable enough to hang on to. This
is how the Egyptians maintained the continuity of their civilization while
renewing it by gradually absorbing into it what the foreigners were bringing to
them.
Then came the European Industrial Revolution, symbolized by
the invention of the steam engine in Great Britain where the first
railway system was built. That Revolution stirred the appetite of Europeans for
natural resources which they knew existed in abundance in the other continents.
Colonization began, but rather than see Egypt as part of the nations to be
colonized, the British saw it as a partner to share in the spoils of
colonization. They built a system of railways in Egypt
– the second in the world – as a prelude to extend it to the rest of Africa where they foresaw the rise of their future
dominion. Egypt thus became a part of Europe’s Industrial Revolution.
But the unfolding of history being as unpredictable as it is,
the events that materialized in Europe and Western Asia at the start of the
Twentieth Century brought about, among other things, the Sykes-Picot Agreement
which caused the dropping of Egypt from the list of nations slated to be a part
of the Industrial Revolution; relegating it not exactly to the status of
colony, but to one that was neglected by the emerging world powers, and by
Egypt's own rulers who were in most part of foreign descent.
Things changed again when the Nasser Revolution awoke Egypt
in the Middle of the Twentieth Century, and put the country on the path that
led to the current situation. We now have a group of people determined to make
use of the traits they developed over the centuries to maintain the continuity
of the civilization that served them well. And yet, these people wish to absorb
and to incorporate into their culture what is compatible in what the foreigners
may bring to them.
There is no doubt that Egypt has become an attractive place
where foreign investors can now participate in the renewal and the rebuilding
of the country. Those who will do well are the investors who understand and
respect the Egyptian penchant for that which is durable, which will contribute
to the self-sufficiency of the nation, and will inject into the culture what is
new and worth preserving. Recommendation: Adopt the Egyptian way and be
successful rather than seek to impose your way and be resented.