Oil, the progenitor of Arab culture

Arab culture as it stands today developed from central Arabia during a time when the international superpowers (Byzantines and the Sassanids) were highly interested in Arabia Felix (today's Yemen) - There were three major inputs into the Arab civilization: Greco-Roman/Persian influence, Monotheism, and ...

Professor S: So what is the third element?

Student 1: Oil!

Professor S: No that's later

Student 1: (shocked and in disbelief) Are you saying oil is not important?

Professor S: (Taken aback) No it is, but it's not an element of the Arab civilization

Student 1: (standoffish) ... But it is important, yes?

Professor S: It is later... You guys are forgetting that the indigenous Arab culture... It is the most obvious one...

Jew!

Professor S: So in this picture who is an Arab?

Student 1: There is a Jew in the picture

Professor S: (shocked)

Student 1: the nose, you know...

Dilmun, the exporter of wood - the high tech weapon of the day

Bahrain. It was once the site of a proud civilization called Dilmun which dominated the trade in the Persian Gulf - During the height of its power (2500 - 1500 BC) this island civilization exported from its colonies (current day Oman) the raw material for one of the most high tech weaponry of the ancient world.

Professor S: So what did Dilmun export?

Student 1: Iron!

Professor S: (smiling) Not quite, it's still far before the Iron Age

Student 2: Stones!

Professor S: (shocked, not sure if the student is joking) no...

Student 1: Wood!

Professor S: (crestfallen) They exported copper... for bronze... Let's move on

What would be a history professor's worst nightmare?

I am studying abroad at AUC this semester. For those of you who are not familiar with the acronym, it stands for American University in Cairo - Do not be misled by the name, the school is hardly American (many of the staff hardly speak English), it is not in Cairo (rather an hour bus ride away in New Cairo), and for reasons I will discuss further in this blog, it fails to be a university - In an attempt to admonish the true culprits, I will cry out: It is not the professors who are at fault! Every professor that I have this semester are superb, yet despite their best efforts there are those who bring down the professors' best intentions and sanity in a burning heap - yes, they are the AUC students themselves, not all, oh no of course not all, but such a sheer force of stupidity cannot be looked over without the palm firmly planted over one's face. What should we expect from the many many rich, money-for-grades, and lazy Egyptian undergraduates that roam the halls of AUC?

Here I shall dispel the many many conversations that I am forced to listen to in class.

God help your sanity.