Egypt will be home for Africa’s first vertical forest in its New Administrative Capital, located about 48 km east of Cairo in the desert. Designed by the Italian architect Stefano Boeri, the vertical forest consists of three 30m by 30m cube-shaped apartment buildings covered in planted terraces. The seven story-high trio will be home for at least “350 trees and 14 thousand shrubs of over 100 species,” CNN reported. Boeri’s designs often focus on the environmental implications of urban phenomena keen on decreasing the footprint. According to the architect’s website, the vertical forest scheme is a “project for the environmental survival of contemporary cities designed to promote the coexistence of architecture and nature in urban areas”. He works alongside Egyptian designer Shimaa Shalash and Italian landscape architect Laura Gatti who are helping him bring thing architectural innovation to life. The project will begin in 2020 and will take two years to construct. In an interview with CNN Style in 2018, Boeri said “The ability to enlarge green surfaces inside and around our city is one of the most efficient ways to try to reverse climate change.” “So, a vertical forest is…
Back to the Early Days: A Brief Retrospective of the Egyptian Pound
The Egyptian pound or ‘gineh’ – abbreviated as LE or EGP – crosses counters and circulates through countless hands every day; it enters slots or emerges out of them; it exists in paper and coin form, always at risk of rolling under a car or blowing away in the wind. Money is such an inherent part of our everyday life (unfortunately!), and its fragile existence as we keep having to spend and re-earn this means of exchange in order to get by puts us under a constant strain, although this strain will vary in intensity according to social class. Yet while preoccupied with the present and flooded with headlines about fluctuating exchange rates and devaluations, how often do we actually think about when the Egyptian pound first emerged as a currency; how much did it used to be worth? We only learn from older generations bemoaning increasing fees that “this used to only cost xy!”, as they proceed to cite almost unbelievably low rental costs or transportation fees. Let’s go back a little in time to track some of the currency’s earliest developments… Emergence of the Egyptian Pound Prior to…
Behind the Doors of ACE Club: A Look Inside Cairo’s ‘Expats-Only’ Club
A few months ago, we were having a conversation with a friend about new places in Cairo that we should visit. She mentioned how there is this place in Maadi that is exclusive to non-Egyptians. Of course, the thought of that was instantly intriguing and a little disconcerting, to say the least. What is this place, and why does it exclude locals? We decided to venture out and find out more about this mysterious place. Through a quick Google search, we found out that it is called ACE Club and that it is located in a villa in Victoria Square in Maadi, one of Cairo’s most popular neighborhoods for expats. ACE, unlike the Ace of Spades, actually is an acronym for “Association of Cairo Expatriates” and was opened back in 1998. For 21 years, this spot has served as a popular home for members of Cairo’s expat community, a place to go and socialize with other expats and meet new people who may be sharing a similar experience. We were told that most of the club members and guests are teachers, teaching in international schools across the capital notably securing…
MoSalah Donates $3 Million to National Cancer Institute
According to various local news outlets, Egyptian football player Mohamed Salah has donated the equivalent of EGP 54 million to the National Cancer Institute (NCI) following Monday’s incident. On Monday night, the institute’s building was damaged by an explosion that killed 20 and injured 47, with many victims still in critical condition as per the Ministry of Health. The news was confirmed by Mohamed Al-Othman Al Kesht, the President of Cairo University. The university monitors the NCI which has for aim to provide cancer treatments for patients in Egypt. Salah’s generous donation follows Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan’s EGP 50 million to fund the restoration works of the NCI. This is not the first time that the Liverpool player has given generous donations to an Egyptian cause; he regularly donates to his home village ‘Nagrig’, leading him to be dubbed, “The Happiness Maker.” Former contributions went towards buying hospital equipment, renovating schools, and building an ambulance unit. Salah has previously turned down a luxury villa from Zamalek’s former president, Mamdouh Abbas, urging him to donate the money to his hometown instead. It is not only his village, however, that has…
Inspired by the River: A Diverse Selection of Films Featuring the Nile
The 6,650 kilometer-long Nile that flows northwards through Egypt towards the Mediterranean is not only Egypt’s primary source of water and therefore of economic and political importance, it also continues to represent a popular subject in art, ranging from literature, paintings, songs to films. When it comes to film and TV representations of the Nile, the river has received relatively frequent attention, especially in the documentary genre of the historical or geographical type, just as it has served as a popular backdrop for many Western, notably earlier Hollywood fiction films, where it has captured the imagination of directors wanting to portray an exotic ‘foreign land’. A number of prominent Egyptian films also feature the Nile, testament to the fact that the river forms an indispensable part of Egyptian culture and society, past and present. The following are a diverse selection of films that in different ways document this beautiful part of Egyptian landscape. The Nile in Egyptian Cinema Two exemplary Egyptian films produced in the 1970s feature the Nile and can be considered among the classics in the repertoire of Egyptian cinema, both also shedding light on important political and…
Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Donates 50M to National Cancer Institute After Explosion
Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the United Arab Emirates Armed Forces Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan donated EGP 50 million to fund the restoration works of the National Cancer Institute. On midnight Monday, the institute’s building was damaged by an explosion that killed 20 and injured 47, with many victims still in critical condition as per the Ministry of Health. The Ministry of Interior stated that Hasm, a terrorist group, was behind the attack. Hasm has been active in the country since 2016, and has previously claimed responsibility for an assassination attempt on the former Grand Mufti of Egypt Ali Gomaa and an attack on a checkpoint on a main road near the Giza pyramid complex on the outskirts of Cairo, which killed six police officer. Victims from the NCI were transferred to other hospitals due to the severe conditions caused by the explosion. Moreover, Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa has tasked Arab Contractors, a well-known construction company, with starting repairs of the building immediately. The Egyptian government qualifies Hasm as affiliated to the now-banned Muslim Brotherhood; however, the MB has staunchly rejected any association to terrorist group or violent group activity. …
Egypt to Start Teaching Primary School Students the Ethics of Tourism
Egypt’s Minister of Tourism discussed with her counterpart, the Minister of Education, the introduction of a “tourism ethics” class to primary schools’ curricula to teach children about the importance of tourism. The two sides also agreed to organize the first competition in Egypt under the title “Ambassador of Tourism” for secondary students in a number of governorates. This competition, according to the Ministry of Tourism, will familiarize the students about the heritage areas in their provinces. The competition will be launched at the beginning of the new academic year 2019-2020. The meeting also agreed on cooperation frameworks between the two ministries through the formation of a joint committee as well as the preparation of a cooperation protocol between the two ministries to implement the agreed terms. Minister Rania Al Mashat said that the cooperation comes within the framework of the structural reform program to develop the tourism sector, which includes linking the technical curricula to the needs of the labor market, and spreading the ethics of tourism to raise awareness amongst the upcoming generations. For his part, the Minister of Education, Tarek Shawki, stressed the importance of providing students with…
From Monroe to Rostom: The ‘Femme Fatale’ in Hollywood and Egyptian Cinema
Shadia, Samia Gamal, Soad Hosny, Hind Rostom, and Nadia Lutfi…these are names of female actresses and dancers that evoke contradicting feelings for many Egyptians today. While they are highly praised and watched for their art and performances on screen, their charm, beauty and bold sensuality is often seen as dangerous and threatening to society’s morals. They were, in other words, the ‘femme fatales’ of Egyptian cinema – a concept that is still hard to define and understand when it comes to explaining women in art. The ‘femme fatale’ is most commonly defined and known to be the popular female actresses in Hollywood, who constructed and propagated this fantasized female figure in cinema and popular culture. It refers to the sensually dangerous woman who posed a threat to the power of the man, whose charms often lead lovers into dangerous and deadly situations, and who is also a morally ambiguous figure. It is a feminine ideal that seems both emancipating and oppressive, allowing the female actresses to be in control of their own sensuality and character, and yet constraining them under the roles and imagination of their male directors. For instance,…
Ministry of Interior: Vehicle Behind Cairo Blast Packed with Explosives
Egypt’s Ministry of Interior has revealed that the vehicle which caused a large explosion in the surroundings of the Cairo Cancer Institute was packed with explosives. A blast caused by the car collision on midnight Monday in front of the NCI building in Manial neighborhood killed 20 people and injured 47 others, with many victims still in critical condition as per the Ministry of Health. Severe damage was also caused to the facilities inside the Institute. The vehicle itself had been stolen from Menoufiyah, a governate north of Cairo, months prior to the incident and was en route to carry out a terrorist attack said the Ministry of Interior. The Ministry has also stated that Hasm, a terrorist group, was behind the attack. Hasm, an Islamist militant group named Harakat Sawa’d Masr (the Arms of Egypt movement) commonly know as Hasm, has been active in the country since 2016. It has taken responsibility, over the years, for attacks specifically targeting security forces. In a statement, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi sent his condolences and wished for recovery of the injured victims of the attack on his official Facebook page….