Sameh Fawzi, Ma'a Tahiyat Iblis (With Regards from Satan), Cairo: Dar Al-Maarif, 2020. pp150
Ma'a Tahiyat Iblis
In his new novel, With Regards from Satan, the journalist and writer Sameh Fawzi explores pragmatism in religion. His hero, Ihab (...)
Min Maalim Al-Islam (Islamic Signposts), Mohamed Farid Wagdi, ed. Mohamed Ragab Al-Bayoumi, Cairo: General Egyptian Book Organisation, 2000, pp336
Mohamed Farid Wagdi (1878-1954) was a traditionalist polymath and devout theologian who edited the (...)
When the novel coronavirus began wrecking havoc across the globe, I fished out my grandfather Tawfik Fakhoury's medal for an outstanding role in the campaign to eradicate the malaria-bearing Gambia mosquito from the Kingdom of Egypt and the Sudan in (...)
Available in the public domain through Hindawi, the 1945 masters thesis The History of Translation in Egypt in the Time of the French Campaign by Gamaleddin Al-Shayyal is a remarkable book to return to. A 1936 graduate of the Egyptian (later Fouad (...)
Tiba 1, a communication satellite that will boost coverage not just across Egypt but in some neighbouring African and Arab countries, uses the Ka band, a portion of the microwave segment of the electromagnetic spectrum — ie frequencies in the range (...)
Mahmoud Dessouki is a journalist with a peculiar habit. If he chances upon a pile of papers, or even a scrap, he can't rest until he figures out the minutest details of the story behind them.
Because of the persistence of this habit in this Upper (...)
Towards the end of the film version of Egyptian Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz's novel Bein Al-Qasrein (Palace Walk) a priest is seen mounting a pulpit in Cairo's Al-Azhar Mosque to preach to the public during the Egyptian 1919 Revolution. As unusual (...)
Towards the end of the film version of Egyptian Nobel laureate Naguib Mahfouz's novel Bein Al-Qasrein (Palace Walk) a priest is seen mounting a pulpit in Cairo's Al-Azhar Mosque to preach to the public during the Egyptian 1919 Revolution.
As unusual (...)
Egypt's Coptic Orthodox Church is celebrating 100 years since the opening of its first Sunday Schools in 1918, and to mark the occasion the Youth Bishopric has published A Vineyard of Red Wine, a book by Rami Atta, a university professor and winner (...)
Celebrated by intellectuals and enlightenment champions everywhere in the Arab world, Salama Moussa (1887-1958) divides opinion within the Coptic community whence he emerged. Some believe he held the key to the emancipation of the Egyptian citizen, (...)
The historic Merryland Park in Heliopolis, which recently reopened after it underwent years in comprehensive renovation, has shaped the memories of experiencing joy for older generations.
The new, revamped version of the park could give newer (...)
Every corner of the Merryland Park in the Cairo suburb of Heliopolis was once replete with family activities for all age brackets. There was the lake where couples and families with children would gather, waiting for their turn to hop on the pedaled (...)
Inspired by the flight of the Holy Family to Egypt, an artwork exhibition was inaugurated on 5 June at the Egyptian Centre for International Cultural Cooperation in Zamalek, headed by Heba Youssef.
Works on display include drawings on canvas, wood, (...)
The Palestine International Book Fair opened on 3 May under the slogan Palestine, the Motherland. It runs until Sunday, 13 May.
Held at the National Library in Sarda, north of Ramallah, the book fair is host to more than 500 Arab and international (...)
The Palestine International Book Fair opened on 3 May under the slogan Palestine, the Motherland. It runs until Sunday, 13 May.
Held at the National Library in Sarda, north of Ramallah, the book fair is host to more than 500 Arab and international (...)
The title of a current exhibition at the Antiquities Museum of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria was peculiar enough to arouse the curiosity of this writer.
Through a friend of a friend I got in touch with the curator of the “Chapels of the (...)
To mark Egyptian Women's Day, a three-day caricature exhibition titled “Tales by Egyptian Women's Fingers” opened on 14 March at the Cairo Public Library in Zamalek.
The opening was attended by the former Minister of Culture Emad Abou-Ghazy; head of (...)
The title of a current exhibition at the Antiquities Museum of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria was peculiar enough to arouse the curiosity of this writer. Through a friend of a friend I got in touch with the curator of the “Chapels of the (...)
The Egyptian National Library and Archives (ENLA) this week celebrated the centenary of Gamal Abdel-Nasser's birth with an exhibition displaying documents and periodicals tracing Nasser's life and achievements.
Nasser's 14 years as president were (...)
The streets of the Mediterranean city of Alexandria have witnessed many events that have changed the face of Egyptian history over the past two centuries. The names of these streets in Arabic and French and embossed on blue metal plates have for a (...)
It's an expression we can barely remember from the old days at the family house: Khatwa Aziza; literally: “a dear step”; a reference to the effort your visitor has made to come and see you, and an expression of how much you appreciate it.
But it's (...)
When Hesham Farghali speaks of the Nile Museum in Aswan, which opened on 10 January, he tends to be effusive.
“Imagine a boat sailing down the Nile and going through each of the countries it passes through from south to north. People are getting off (...)
“Ya hadret al-omda,” or “Mr Mayor”, is a phrase often uttered in classic Egyptian films. On screen, the omda, or village chief, is often portrayed as a grumpy old despot who tries to get his own way, no matter what. In reality, as I recently (...)
Medhat Kamal Al-Din, head of the Egyptian General Survey Authority (GSA), is the final authority for all official maps in the country. The GSA produces maps for the use of investors, government departments and legal authorities — but the tradition (...)
I had many questions for Nazih Girgis, an award-winning author and publisher of children's books in Arabic and English, as I prepared for our meeting.
Girgis emigrated to the US in 1980. He regularly returns to Egypt to write, produce shows, and (...)