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, it's for the rich to build gated bubbles or to make more money. 80% of all the new developments are left uninhabited.
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) maps of any area in Egypt in great detail, except areas deemed sensitive. For this, people are referred to the military survey authority, which can …
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 the Nile and how the Zamalek island looks weird compared to the Roda island (Manial) which looks almost like what it really looks like.
Overlaying …
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 a horrible state.
“This temple was built by the Adda family,” says Carmen Weinstein, president of the Egyptian Jewish Community Council (JCC).
"The Adda's were …
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 the building style.
This is apparently the most looked after synagogue in Egypt. Thanks to Farouk Hosni. Probably the next president of the UNESCO.
UPDATE …
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, Iran blocked Facebook ahead of the presidential elections because a candidate is using it successfully for his campaign.
Microsoft's decision doesn't mean that people in …
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 name, model and price. No one will pay 5390 EGP without researching the bloody thing they are buying.
And this is not the first time …
I hold a Palestinian Authority passport. It replaced the "temporary two-year Jordanian passport for Gaza residents" that we held until the Oslo Accords and the creation of the Palestinian Authority in the mid '90s, which itself replaced the Egyptian travel documents we held before that. A progression in a long line of stateless documentation.
It is a passport that allows no passage. A passport that denied me entry to my own home. This is its …
