Despite opposition, authorities are proceeding with the eviction of residents of traditional houseboats docked along the Nile in Egypt’s capital, as the government aims to “renovate” the area – and increase its economic value.
Tag: cairo
In an area the size of Singapore, Egypt is building its new capital. Constructed under the close control of the military and the head of state, the city embodies the grand ambitions of an increasingly autocratic president. But will it turn out to be a ghost city?
Just two days after they’d signed an Arab League statement that did not condemn Russia and instead called for diplomacy, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates joined 138 other nations in a UN resolution demanding Russia halt its invasion of Ukraine.
While executions were once rare, Egypt has become a global leaders in judicial killings amidst growing secrecy around the legal system.
Due to climate change and pollution, entire neighborhoods and cities on the continent are destined to vanish. A new vision of African urbanism is needed to replace the illusion of the “city without limits.”
Only about 150,000 of the country’s 100 million people have been vaccinated so far against COVID-19, and in some crowded health centers, people wait hours only to be turned away.
This dearth of urban planning in the Egyptian capital dates back half a century. But it reached a new peak starting in 2019, when one of its last livable districts saw its old ways demolished.
Uber launched with an excited bang in Egypt in 2014, promising work and new income for a country struggling with unemployment. But the castle of sand has disintegrated, leaving a trail of debt and frustration.
Movie houses, music venues and art galleries are showing signs of life after a long lockdown. They’re also having to be creative with how they reopen, as certain health restrictions still apply.
Families, neighborhoods and even the remains of loved ones are bulldozed over in order to build new highways and other works without the input of the people.
From schedule changes and face shields to full operational shutdowns, the pandemic has directly impacted the country’s industrial sector.
Egyptian students won’t attend in-person classes again until September. In the case of most private schools, there won’t be any refunds either to the mostly middle-class families.
CAIRO — Like many other laborers, delivery workers are not able to practice social distancing during the novel coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, the service they provide helps protect customers — largely middle and upper-class citizens — by keeping those people out of busy shops where they might come in contact wth the illness. […]
Welcome to Thursday, where the world marks 10 years since the Fukushima disaster, Ivory Coast’s prime minister dies, and we meet one irate Paraguayan grandma. Le Monde reports on French terrorism victims who are now facing online abuse. • Biden historic COVID relief: The $1.9 trillion COVID relief bill has passed through Congress, and will […]
The editor of Mada Masr, a Worldcrunch partner publication based in Cairo, explains how they wound up making news itself last month.
They have their differences, of course, but the interests of Egypt and Israel have increasingly aligned since Abdel Fattah al-Sisi came to power in 2014.
CAIRO — “Take care and hopefully see you soon. :)” I end the short letter to my family with a few requests for items to bring on their next visit, then hand it to one of my cellmates to give to his wife, who will pass it on to my mother the day after her […]
Family and friends waited for incarcerated Egyptian blogger Shady Abu Zeid to be able to arrive at his father’s funeral.
Egyptian society simply doesn’t recognize the reality of atheism, and often punishes anyone who declares it publicly.
CAIRO — “Wednesday isn’t blue?” Ayman looked at me like I’d gone mad. “Ok, what about your name. Isn’t it sort of reddish?” “Have you lost it?” he replied with a snort, sure I was joking. I enthusiastically started to explain the phenomenon which I’d just been reading about in a book exploring the secrets […]
Abdelrahman al-Gendy, a standout student and Harry Potter aficionado, was just 17 when he was arrested in Cairo, charged with multiple crimes, and given a 15-year prison sentence.
GOTHENBURG — I’m often asked: “Where do Yemenis escape to?” Syrians largely flee to Lebanon and Turkey, but where do Yemenis go? “The majority cannot afford to flee,” I respond. “For those who can afford it, their destination always depends on which country hasn’t closed its borders to Yemenis.” Often, they head west, across the […]
Beirut-based contemporary artist Lawrence Abu Hamdan uses sounds to shine a light, so to speak, on some of the darkest places on earth.
Set for a second term, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has evolved in tone and substance over the past four years: from soft-spoken insider to all-powerful leader.
CAIRO — “It’s a hobby, but it’s also more than that,” Ahmed Shaloufa says, as we climb the final ladder to his pigeon coop in the working-class district of Sayeda Zeinab. “It’s a passion.” Once inside the coop, the labyrinthine streets and megalith apartment blocks of the old city disappear from view. If you jump […]
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Far From Pharaohs
Twenty-six years ago, cranes were busy working on brand new buildings in Cairo. The Egyptian capital was still some distance away from the Pyramids of Giza, though the modern neighborhoods are now slowly encroaching on the iconic structures.
CAIRO — “Everyone wants a tattoo now in Egypt,” says 23-year-old Kareem Shaheen as he sits on his bed sketching the outline of a flash of lightning. Shaheen started to tattoo less than a year ago under the name “Monkey Tattoo,” and hopes to open the first street tattoo studio in Cairo. “People relate getting […]
As much as freedom of expression, the Atfal al-Shawrea (Street Children) troupe challenged the Sisi regime’s control over freedom of assembly.
-Essay- CAIRO — I did not know Giulio Regeni, but I could have. The earnest, affable face staring out of his photographs is reminiscent of any number of the trickle of European researchers and activists who pass through Cairo and want to meet in downtown dive bars to talk about the condition of the workers […]
From Alexandria to Aswan, urban gardening in Egypt is growing, especially on rooftops. The movement wants to be allowed to develop without the prying policies of a government that has other priorities.
CAIRO — A third of Cairo’s residents walk, cycle or use carts as their primary means of transportation, while in Egypt’s provincial cities, such as Shibin al-Kom in Monufiya, more than half the population is motor-free. The state, however, insists on fighting users of non-mechanized vehicles, especially donkey carts. Most governors have tried to ban […]
A military court has convicted 26 military officers with conspiring to overthrow the current regime in collaboration with two prominent Muslim Brotherhood leaders, according to a copy of the secret indictment obtained by Mada Masr.
A group calling itself “Defenders of Jerusalem” is throwing its lot in with ISIS, making the battle between Cairo and Islamists ever more since the army ousted the Muslim Brotherhood.
CAIRO — Ironically enough, the roads to the Cairo premier of Sherief Elkatsha’s traffic-centered documentary Cairo Drive weren’t at all crowded. The special screening at the recent Zawya cinema happened on arguably one of the coldest days the capital has ever seen.
An American artist uses pastels and polka dots to transform the Egyptian capital’s tangled rooftops.
Searching for a quiet public space in Cairo sets you up against unscrupulous police and leering neighbors, oppressive moral codes and an eternal maze of streets. One woman’s failed hunt for tranquility in the Egyptian capital.
-OpEd- CAIRO — The record of police violations is extensive, ranging from murder to extortion and illegal bribes. While some claim these are individual incidents and that the situation should not be generalized, tedious accounts of numerous violations reveal the dysfunctional role of police in daily Egyptian life. Within the old structures of authority under […]
A look at the rapidly evolving experimental electronic music scene in Cairo.
CAIRO — The desperation that causes such aggressive tactics is understandable. Nowadays, Egypt is in the headlines more for sporadic bombings, rowdy demonstrations and security crackdowns than for its wealth of tourist attractions. Unsurprisingly, tourist arrivals have tumbled, from a peak of around 14 million in 2010, to just 9.5 million last year, most of […]
“Clean and fair..” is how Egypt’s judiciary was described across the airwaves after the decision to execute 529 members of the Muslim Brotherhood.