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Growing up in Cairo, Egypt I was surrounded by a love of language. So, it came as no surprise to me, for example, when our Revolution erupted in 2011 that masses of peaceful protesters chose to express their dissent and dreams in poetry, chanted jubilantly from Tahrir Square. Wit and verse were always sport, and a kind of national pastime, during the three decades I lived in Egypt.

Never mind that around 50 percent of the population were actually illiterate; it wasn’t about being book-smart.

'Knowledge is what’s in your head, not in your notebooks' an Egyptian saying shrewdly justified (in Arabic, it rhymes, too: el 3elm fil rass mish fil korras).

Which is to say, proverbs were always our street poetry as well as philosophy. They were our oral tradition and inherited wisdom, rescuing keen psychological insights from the past, and passing it onto future generations, as shortcuts to hard-won experience or observations. Proverbs can be like coral reef, that way, fossils of ancient philosophies merging with living truths.

I don't know that I'd have gone on to write aphorisms myself, one day, if I'd not first been exposed to Egyptian wit and wisdom. Of course, being half-Lebanese (on my father's side), also meant that Gibran Khalil Gibran, popular poet and philosopher, was an early and inescapable influence.

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At any rate, here are light-hearted, ***contemporary Egyptian sayings*** as a window into our culture and national psyche:

*If you're going to steal, steal a camel and if you're going to love, love the moon. (The origin of Go big or go home?)*

*If you marry the monkey for their money, the money will go away yet the monkey will stay. (Don't marry for money.)*

*If your sweetheart is made of honey, don't lick them all up. (Don't take advantage of others or take them for granted.)*

*The belly dancer dies while her waist is still twitching. (Our picturesque take on old habits die hard.)*

*Overturn the jar and the girl becomes like her mother. (Widely-used, bizarre way of saying girls become their mothers.)*

*If you get between an onion and its skin you won't get anything except its stink. (Our colorful way of saying mind your own business/keep out of the affairs of others.)*

*If the dog has something of yours, call him Master. (When you need to deal with someone, but would prefer not to...)*

*If you trust men, you trust water in a sieve. (All men are dogs.)*

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As it turns out, ***Ancient Egyptians*** were big on proverbs and sayings, too. Below, are some that can be found in the outer and inner temples of Luxor, on the walls as well as monuments:

*The kingdom of heaven is within you, and whosoever shall know himself shall find it.*

*While searching the laws of harmony, we will discover knowledge.*

*Nature is the best and the shortest route towards knowledge.*

*A price should be paid for every joy.*

*The inner light glows in peace and meditation.*

*True sages are those who give all they have without cruelty.*

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*Every man is rich in excuses to safeguard his prejudices, his instincts, and his opinions.*

*Not the greatest Master can take even one step for his disciple.
The disciple must experience each stage of developing consciousness.
Therefore he will know nothing for which he is not ripe.*

*Understanding develops by degrees.*

*All seeds reply to the light, but the color is diverse.*

*An answer brings no illumination unless the question has matured to a point where it gives rise to this answer which thus becomes its fruit. Therefore learn how to put a question.*

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