[.ca] Coptic Life in Egypt (ISBN 9774247868)

One picture is worth...:
This is a glorious book of photographs, taken by Claudia Yvonne Wiens over an eight-month period in Egypt in 2001. Wiens has done many photographic studies and projects in this area. Unlike many books on communities in Egypt and other Middle-Eastern nations, this one does not concentrate on ancient sites and pyramids and tombs, but rather on the living culture and people who make up the community of Coptic Christians. Coptic Christianity has a pedigree as old as any branch of Christianity, arising in the southern Roman imperial provinces, largely continuing in Egypt after the rise of Islam, the East/West split, and into the modern times. Coptic Christianity is very much a part of the lives of the people, and symbols and reminders of this are everywhere present as people live their lives in the larger Muslim society. Wiens looks at everyday life, special events such as marriage, and religious/monastic life. This is a fascinating study, without much commentary, although the narratives attached do fill in lots of details. A beautiful text!