This post is not about a specific smoking culture that is unique to Egypt, but rather how smoking as a set of attitudes, beliefs and behaviours is widely accepted here. I will try to summarise my experiences with smokers, their attitudes, their relationship with public space and non-smokers.
This post …
Often accused of indolence, Egyptian day labourers have contributed a lot to Cairo in the past 48 years. They are never paid decent wage or made to feel secure. Nor can the majority of them afford decent housing. This unprecedented slavery wasn't for a grand project like the Suez canal …
The government has complete monopoly over data and information. There may be hope that this may change with the draft Freedom of Information law, but this is unlikely. National security concerns will always stand in the way of getting complete information.
You can buy from the Egyptian Survey Authority (ESA …
Not an amazing quality since it's done with a cheap point and shoot camera and poor lighting. You can blame the Egyptian army that deleted a better set of pictures from my camera a couple of days ago.
You can view a larger version here.
Bibliotheca Alexandrina is hosting an interesting site called Memory of Modern Egypt which contains scans of photographs, documents and maps from 1800 till now.
They have a low resolution scan of a map of Cairo from 1800 in French. The city is the darker area. Notice the flood basin surrounding …
Lina Attalah and Mohamed El Dahshan of Al-Masry Al-Youm followed up on my post about the Magen Abraham synagogue that was turned into an NDP office in Hadayeq el-Quba. They did a very good job in finding answers to many of the questions regarding why this building is in such …
In April 2008, in Hadayeq el Qobba I stumbled upon this synagogue which was turned into a public affairs office, NDP office, a nursery and a small mosque.
Taking photos is strictly prohibited. But I managed to snap some shots while claiming that I am studying architecture and interested in …
Microsoft has blocked access to Windows live messenger (i.e. Hotmail webmail and MSN chat) to people living in Iran, Syria, Sudan, Cuba and North Korea. The reason is that the company suddenly realised that it doesn't do business with countries sanctioned by the U.S. At the same time …
Here is a link to latest responses on Twitter on the Egyptian decision to kill all the pigs. For sure an unprecedented decision like that is making a buzz around the world. Read what other people are saying. The least description of it is that it is an overreaction.
There is nothing more stupid or frustrating. This is like going into a bookshop that bans reading.
They shouldn't sell cameras.
I don't carry a pen with me all the time and if I do I won't be carrying a note pad. I take photos of products to remember the …
