A Story For My Second Draft

I have a terrible time with introductions. After the first draft of my MRP, my supervisor suggested that I work on a more exciting opening. I decided to tell a little story:

**100 Years of Egypt as Reflected in Two Baedeker Guidebooks**

You are visiting the Egyptian site of Memphis, the capital of Ancient Egypt, 22 kilometres North of Cairo and 11,231 kilometres from your home in Memphis, Texas. You wander around admiring the “well preserved alabaster Sphinx,” “a colossal figure of Ramesses II,” and “tombs belonging to High Priests of the 22nd Dynasty.” You have rented a camel, who is tied up in a nearby “palm-grove.” In the late afternoon, you decide to leave the camel sitting in the shade and take a walk yourself down the road towards Saqqara. You know that you probably will not be able to reach Saqqara but as a tourist, the journey is part of the fun.

It grows late, the normally hot air begins to cool, and you realise that you are lost. You are passed by the occasional local Egyptian but do not feel comfortable asking them for directions. As a tourist looking for a relaxing vacation, you have left your cell phone at home and begin to panic, realizing that you do not have access to it or its GPS function. You frantically search your backpack, which results in the discovery of a red guidebook – Baedeker’s Egypt. A guidebook, with maps and directions, could save you! But what if this very guidebook is the reason you feel uncomfortable with the idea of asking the locals for help? The language used in the 1885 version of Baedeker’s Egypt unabashedly belittles the Egyptian people, showing a strong colonial discourse throughout. But you are lost in Egypt a century later, with a newer 1983 edition – could this still be the case?

Racial Discourse in Baedeker’s Egypt

A significant change in racial discourse is evident through the study of two editions of Baedeker’s Egypt, one published in 1885 and the other in 1983. By using a close reading of these ...

The above section and the rest of the essay has proper MLA citations, I have removed them for ease of reading. So, after the intro I then have pages and pages of a research paper that is obviously academic. Since I struggle with conclusions as well I had no idea how to end the paper. Last night I had Steph, Justain, and Dave help me edit the essay; at the end of it Dave asked, "So, did I get out of the desert?" I figured it would be a cool idea to mirror the story again at the end of the paper. So it finishes with the story again:

... the more recent guidebook claim that the country “will never be overrun by tourists.” The fact that 1,438,000 people visited Egypt in 1982 suggests that it had become an extremely popular tourist location.

In Conclusion

So popular in fact that you chose to vacation there! You are immensely relieved to have found your guidebook, as you shiver in the Egyptian night, lost in the outskirts of Cairo. Flipping through Baedeker’s Egypt, you search for a map that will help you find your way back to the camel you left near the site of Memphis.

You pause to appreciate that the guidebook starts so poetically: “From the time immemorial Egypt, that land of ancient civilization on the Nile, has exerted an irresistible fascination.” As you continue to turn the pages, another section catches your eye, “Manners and Customs.” It is not the various points of advice given about cultural differences that draw your attention but instead the opening sentences: "Visitors to Islamic countries who want to understand the behaviour and attitudes of the inhabitants and to avoid unnecessary difficulties in dealing with them should take care to regulate their own conduct in such a way as to avoid offending local susceptibilities. Muslims have a different way of life and different modes of thought from those to which the Western visitor is accustomed. They have different values and different habits, which tourists should avoid disregarding or disparaging." This strangely conflicted message of courteously and discredit seems to summarize the entire guidebook; it is at the same time both an attempt at racial respect yet suggests a colonial influence. The use of the term “Western visitor” ensures the continued distinction between the Occident and Orient; the text also explains that a key benefit of adjusting behaviour in a respectful way is to avoid any unnecessary difficulties when dealing with Egyptians. The words “difficulties” and “dealing” are not overly negative but they do not represent the Egyptian people and interactions with them in a kind or considerate fashion. However, the underlying message is one of racial sensitivity and generous understanding.

The 1885 text does not contain a similar sentiment to the one found in the “Manners and Customs” section of the 1983 book. The shift towards the inclusion of these types of messages occurs much later. Edward Mendelson identifies a significant moment in the history of Baedeker travel guides: "It was marked by the publication of a few sentences whose significance probably went unrecognized at the time. In the revised handbooks to Italy that appeared between 1928 and 1932, Baedeker wrote: The traveller in a foreign country should do his best to win its respect and friendship for the nation which he represents, by his tact and reserve and by refraining from noisy behaviour and contemptuous remarks (in public buildings, hotels, etc.) and especially from airing his political views." This was the first time that a Baedeker guidebook reflected the relationship of respect between the visitor and locals. Upon review of the 1983 text, similar adjustments in racial discourse are evident. However, some imperialistic attitudes and practices remain. Unfortunately, much of the fascination in Egyptian culture stems from colonial interest in the country during the nineteenth century and the 1983 edition of Baedeker’s Egypt is far from being a guidebook which presents an attitude of complete racial equality.

Fortunately for you though, Baedeker’s Egypt does have a helpful map that guides you back to Memphis. After a brisk walk through the chilly air, you arrive at your waiting camel. Moments later you are riding happily back toward Cairo, dreading end of your vacation and the inevitable return to another Memphis.