Simple Gestures: A Cultural Journey into the Middle East

by Andrea B. Rugh

The Greater Middle East poses major challenges for the United States. Yet despite decades of intense involvement in Middle Eastern affairs, most Americans still know little about the cultures of the region. Simple Gestures describes one American's efforts over forty years to better understand the society in the countries where she lived and Lebanon, Syria, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, and Afghanistan.In her multiple roles, Andrea Rugh came to know people from many walks of life. As a mother, she became friendly with local families. As the wife of a diplomat, who later became an ambassador to two countries, she came to know social elites in the Persian Gulf. As a professional anthropologist, she spent time with people from parts of society who are usually inaccessible to foreigners.Culture is revealed most clearly in the way people interact with one another-in the way they treat the poor, the elderly, and women; how they rear and educate their children; and in the way they react to a foreigner suddenly thrust in their midst. Describing the satisfactions, sudden insights, challenges, and miscommunications that come from being immersed in a foreign culture, Rugh brings to life on the page the places and the people she met along the way.

Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Karlan · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an anthropologist, the author was able to describe the years spent in the Middle East with her foreign service husband in a more analytical way than most writers of memoirs. The story is a fascinating one as she discusses the joys and problems of trying to live and work in several different countries. This is a thoroughly enjoyable read which I recommend highly.

[Lynda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the beginning, which was every bit as enjoyable as Elizabeth Fernea's "Guests of the Sheikh." Then it meandered into a technical study of the education system in Pakistan....