Egypt Book Discovery

In my very interesting and healing journey to Egypt. I found in one of my favorite book stores (( EL DWAN)) a very interesting book and I said to myself, I will definitely have to get it and go back to Canada with it to share it with my friends.

It was very interesting to see the effort made to offer a good translation and very interesting pictures and explanations for the meaning of all these quotes from Arabic to English – very interesting and inspiring!

I’m happy to introduce to you “A Roving Eye” an English-language book of Egyptian colloquial terms.

It contains approximately 100 colloquial expressions and was prepared by the American University in Cairo to assist foreign visitors.

“A Roving Eye,” contains approximately 100 Egyptian colloquial expressions and proverbs, focusing on expressions related to body parts, the face, and the hands. These include: “Your face is not like the moon,”

The book was prepared by a group of Arabic and English language teachers at the American University in Cairo: Mona Atiq, Mona Kamel Hassan, Marianne Saroufim, and Trevor Naylor. The expressive photographs were taken by Bulgarian artist Doriana McMillan. “The Wandering Eye” is 96 pages long and includes expressions that convey a sense of humor that characterizes most Egyptians, such as “My leg on your leg,” which means “where you go, I go,” and “Show me the width of your shoulders,” which actually means “go away.” The expression “He put a summer watermelon in his stomach,” which means self-confidence, is also translated as “He is Confident,” which, when translated literally, translates to “He has put a summer watermelon in his stomach.”

Yaffa Goawily | Art Specialist /Art advisor – community development through art