If you’re anything like me, Egypt is likely to look something akin to this in your mind:

or this:

or maybe even this:

But Egypt is a modern country and while it’s ancient gifts to civilization are great, a country shouldn’t be judged on its past alone. Like many countries, Egypt has its own distinct literary culture and there are plenty of modern Arabic writers who paint, honest pictures of modern Egypt that are beautiful and controversial (sometimes at the same time).

This week, to continue my exploration of diversity in literature starting in Mexico (I didn’t say that there would be a particular rhyme or geographical logic to this exploration…) I thought I’d take a look at the voices coming out of Egypt and look beyond the pyramids, Sphinx and camels and try to see what modern Egyptians have to say in their own words.

Aunt Safiyya and the Monastery by Bahaa Taher

Let’s start off strong here. According to The Millions, Taher is “arguably the greatest living Egyptian fiction writer.” That’s good enough for me to see what of his is in the catalog. This book is about a young man whose life is threatened and finds sanctuary in a local monastery while exploring the themes of honor and vengeance.

The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany

This novel was controversial when it came out and explores the divisive society in Egypt in the 1990s. Set in an apartment building in downtown Cairo, Aswany weaves together vignettes of the people who live in the building to create a picture and a critique of Egyptian society.

The Sinners by Yusuf Idris

Idris is a short-story writer who tackles many issues that may be prevalent for him in Egypt, but seem to be important throughout the world, including overpopulation, poverty and education gaps between different classes. The New Yorker says that Idris gives “readers an authentic glimpse into the social problems of everyday Egyptian life. ”

The Harafish by Naguib Mahfouz

This is a family saga that chronicles the al-Nagi family across generations and various turns of fortune, rises and falls, and it isn’t until a recent descendant turns to his ancestry that the family finds their way back to their own power. Mahfouz is a Nobel Prize-winner for Literature and may be one of the best known Egyptian writers.

For a taste of nonfiction, here are a couple of interesting options:

The Literary Life of Cairo: One Hundred Years in the Heart of the City by Samira Meherez,

Meherez takes a look at Cairo through a wide spectrum of passages of its literature of the past 100 years and creates a socioeconomic and cultural map of the city, creating its own unique literary geography.

The Nawal El Saadawi Reader by Nawal El Saadawi

To say that Saadawi has had an turbulent life would be an understatement. She has written about her experiences with female circumcision, discrimination against women (particularly in the sciences), spent time in jail, fled to the US and taught at prestigious universities and returned to Egypt to stand with revolutionaries. This is an eloquent collection of her personal essays dealing with many of the issues she has faced in her life.

I hope this exploration of Egypt through its literature will enable you to have a new perspective on the country. Till next week, dear readers, let’s keep pushing for diversity in books as it’s one of the best ways to keep an open mind.