A forest has a particular way of welcoming its visitors, where trees are lined and leaves rustle, it is where the light beams through the cracks, and birds sing from above. This is a place that tells tales, without uttering a human sound. While Egypt boasts more desert than greenery, it is not to say that some verdure cannot be found. On the outskirts of Cairo lies the Serapium Forest – away from the influx of industrialization and urbanization is a place that forgets the hustle and bustle of the city, where dreams of a green Egypt are planted. The Serapium forest, located a short distance from the Ismailia governorate, was originally a dry desert that saw no irrigation and plantations. Inhabited by almost 40,000 people, Ismailia’s residents have been estimated to produce a significant amount of wastewater everyday. In the 1990s, a research collaboration between German and Egyptian scientists directed efforts to utilize Egypt’s abundance of sunlight to grow massive plantations. Desertification is a major problem in Egypt, as over 96 percent of the country’s landmass consists of desert. Established in 1998 by the Ministry of State for Environmental…
