This piece was written for Egypt Independent's final weekly print edition, which was banned from going to press. We offer you our 50th and final edition here.
From street art to a kitsch 1970s film, books that capture the zeitgeist to a striking (...)
A five-kilometer-long oil spill was discovered near Edfu, a town north of Aswan, in October. Aside from the usual environmental damage from oil spills — destroyed ecosystems and destruction of wildlife — the oil continued to drift north, reaching (...)
The Dahshour antiquities site south of Sakkara finds itself in a difficult situation as residents, antiquity authorities and conservationists fight over its development, and who the land really belongs to.
The large ancient Egyptian necropolis has (...)
It's not quite clear why or what exactly is happening, but over the past year or so, dozens of entrepreneurs and investors — particularly in Zamalek, but also in other areas, like downtown — have opted to get into the fast food and service (...)
Although the Nile is generally praised as the country's lifeblood, many people actually rely on its irrigation canals. But when the water started to dry up over the summer, they became a toxic mess, threatening the livelihoods of those who need (...)
Environmentalists, activists and bystanders gathered Saturday at various locations around Cairo and Alexandria to join a seed bombing campaign known as “Bozoor Baladi” (Seeds of My Country).
Seed bombing is considered a political act of “guerilla (...)
Upon entering Unloaded, Mina Farouk's first solo exhibition, one is instantly drawn into the artist's world. The intricate patterns of the 34 pieces on display at the recently opened Cala Art Gallery show endless forms that constantly change (...)
Tucked away in the bottom left corner of the Hilton hotel — formerly the Safir hotel — in Zamalek is a new Japanese restaurant called Makino, which had its soft opening back at the end of May.
With no official opening yet, my expectations on my (...)
On 11September, Egypt celebrated Farmer's Day. But the dire straits in which many farmers find themselves call for anything but celebration. Strangled by poor market access, marginalization and general disregard from the authorities, many of the (...)
A group of activists from the Middle East and Denmark attempted to bridge gaps between environmental organizations and the public with a recycling festival held at Darb 1718 cultural center over a week ago.
The group, the DEMENA Climate Ambassadors, (...)
Just under a year ago, two Americans, Will Raynolds and Josh Maricich, embarked on a long journey across Egypt from south to north to see how the revolution was manifesting throughout the country.
Rather than use the usual transport and (...)
According to the most recent statistics compiled by the Egyptian Environment Agency and published in 2009, Cairo produces up to 14,000 tons of municipal waste per day. About 60 percent of this waste — or 8,000 tons– is collected, managed and (...)
After a month of severe water cuts, with little to no water running through the canals of Abu Sir and Saqqara, the water finally returned at the end of last week.
However, while the water had been away, large quantities of garbage had piled up in (...)
Approximately a three hour bus ride north of New York City, and two hours west of Boston, sits a beautiful city in Western Massachusetts called Northampton. Located along the Connecticut River, the most strikingly beautiful aspect of Northampton is (...)
A group of Egyptian scientists have witnessed and filmed the first account of mass coral spawning in the Red Sea. The event last weekend is considered a scientific breakthrough, as mass coral spawning was previously believed to only occur in (...)
New research has begun at AUC's Energy Materials Laboratory, where scientists are attempting to efficiently turn solar energy into hydrogen fuel, a renewable energy carrier with three times the potency of gasoline.
An energy carrier is energy that (...)
“In art, the concept of parallelism is very valuable,” says Shady El Noshokaty, the art professor at the American University in Cairo who curated the “Parallel Visions” exhibition currently showing at Darb 1718.
According to Noshokaty, parallelism (...)
An Egyptian company, KarmSolar, has developed new technology that that will enable “off grid” farms to use solar energy to power their high capacity water pumps.
“Off grid” refers to areas that are off of Egypt's main power grid, which provides (...)
The majority of eligible Egyptian voters plan to cast ballots in the upcoming presidential election, with a recent Gallup poll suggesting increased interest in the vote.
The poll conducted in December suggests 86 percent of Egyptian adults intend on (...)
Underground musicians have established an Underground Music Federation, seeking to nurture the local underground music scene by providing a sympathetic platform through which musicians can interact and evolve.
Since its inception last spring, the (...)
Last year on World Pneumonia Day (12 November), the Egyptian Medical Students Association NGO launched the "Protect Your Child" campaign against pneumonia, aiming to expand awareness of the illness and vaccinate high-risk children.
Pneumonia is (...)
In attempt to increase the political weight of Egypt's farmers, NGO the Sons of the Soil has been hosting workshops throughout various governorates to provide extensive educational services on how to develop and implement an influential, bottom-up (...)
With Egypt's economy struggling over the past year, everyone from generals and government officials to presidential candidates and academics have jumped at the opportunity to offer their two-cents on how to avoid economic collapse, often employing a (...)
The French Cultural Center's main hall is currently hosting "Hyperrealisme," a selection of multimedia artist Ramy Dozy's latest works that features mid-sized color photographs of familiar statues from around Cairo.
The images have been reworked and (...)
The mismanagement of medical waste has been a problem in Egypt over the past two decades, and despite periodic efforts on behalf of the government and private bodies, it remains largely unresolved, says Ezzat Naiem, founder and director of the (...)