Apologies
I have been unable to post for a few days, no idea why I could not get a response from Tour Egypt
All change at the ferry port
The public ferry that links East and West Luxor is having a few changes on the West Bank at the moment. In fact the new development is causing chaos as there has been no provision made for the removal of the service car park. So when you land it is a nightmare. Hopeful when it is finished it will be all worth while
More from Dr Samir Farag
After less than one year from the beginning of its launch!!!
Wireless Internet service in Luxor wins the annual prize for innovation in the Middle East read more »
Convoys - the end in sight?
Our regular mini bus driver Rageeb who many of you know has been attending the first course for drivers in preparation for the end of the convoys. One of the first questions they asked was when this was going to happen and the top guy from Cairo said ………………………….we don’t know it could be tomorrow or it could be next year.
But at least with this course we know it is planned. The idea is there will still be check points but instead of going in a big group with a police escort at the same time every day you would go when you liked and your driver would have d to have been on this course and have a special pass. Wouldn’t it be nice to go to Abydos and actually spend a decent length of time there.
Jon Stewart on pandering
This gutsy June 5 segment of the Daily Show is a suitable backdrop to the Obama's visit to Israel, where he was at pains to underline his fealty to Israel, and his empathy for the challenges Israelis face.
Indecision 5768 | The Daily Show | Comedy Central
Saving Us...
Why do we sit around and Break each other's hearts tonight?
Why do we dance around the issues till the morning light?
When we sit.. and talk.. and tear each other's lives apart...
You were the one to tell me go...
But you were the one for me... And now you're going through the door
When you take that step.. I love you baby more and more read more »
Lebanon in the Aftermath of the Doha Agreement
An old blog favourite of mine, has penned an article for MERIP about Lebanon. The piece is called Lebanon’s Post-Doha Political Theater I havent read it yet, but the combination of the topic and the author makes me sure i can recomend it. The author is Stacey Philbrick Yadav, and she used to keep a blog called al Hiwar(if you look at it now it´s been kidnapped by some poker lover), while writing her dissertation and running back and forth Cairo-Beirut-Sanaá. Now she´s an Assistant Professor!
1000 Mabrouk on finishing the dissertation Stacey!
read more »
Top 5: Annoying things in the movie theater
5- Sitting on gum or any other icky matter
4- People talking on their cell phones like if they were in the comfort of their living rooms
3- People debating the film with noticeable sound
2- The crying episodes of babies and children; who shouldn’t be there in the first place!
1- If the movie sucked, you can’t leave until the break
10 activists from April 6th Youth and Ghad Youth arrested at Sidi Bishr in Alexandria
BREAKING STORY - 10 activists from Ghad Youth and the April 6th Youth has been arrested at the Sidi Bishr beach in Alexandria. They were singing songs about Egypt and raised the Egyptian flag on the beach as well as wearing specific T-shirts with 6th of April on. According to reports, they have been taken to the Alexandria State Security Headquarters, al Farana, the same place where Kareem Amer was taken after the Muharram Beq riots in October 2005.
This is still breaking news and a developing story and this will be updated as more become available.
Ayman Nour not among the pardoned
read more »
A 9/11 Carpetbagger Speaks
After September 2001, foreigners in Egypt, as a group, began to change. They used to be a motley connection of scholarly oddballs with an interest in Medieval weaponry, hieroglyphics, or Ottoman bureaucracy, scam artists with an interest in getting rich on oil or USAID contracts, or Marines with an interest in getting the hell out of here, and, if possible, getting drunk and laid in the meantime. I liked the scholarly oddballs and the Marines best. read more »
Updates
So it’s been a while, I know.
Goodness, so much has happened in the last couple of weeks. Good, bad, icky, heartbreaking, liberating, disheartening, elating, blah, blah, blah.
I know I haven’t been updating like I used to, and I’m not really sure why. I guess the best thing about blogging is that it’s optional. Which brings upon a thought that’s been swirling in my head for a while. When will the day come when I actually stop blogging? I know it’s coming. Does that sound pessimistic? I don’t know. read more »
Grow Up, Will You?
The best thing I like about the personal status (say on Google Talk or Facebook) is that you get the most unexpected comments. One time I had in my status that I was driving on the autobahn and an old friend, who I didn't talk with for months, got in touch and he told me a couple of interesting stories about when he was in Germany. That's why I always try to have my personal status as 'stand-alone' as possible, so that people can read it, understand it and if they choose act on it. Of course we've all occasionally felt a tat philosophical and had our status message as an old Chinese proverb, it's okay.
read more »
Trenchant and often perceptive review of Sanchez and Feith
Boston Review — Fault Lines
My earlier comment here on Douglas Feith.
Hundreds of prisoners pardoned in Egypt
TOMORROW, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak will pardon hundreds of prisoners who have served more than half of their sentences, an annual gesture of mercy coinciding with commemorations of the July 23, 1952, “revolution” that brought Egypt’s military-backed regime to power. If past practice holds, those freed will include some convicted of violent crimes such as murder and rape.
Will victims of Egypt’s human rights abuses be eligible as well? Or are criminals and rapists still favored by the Egyptian government than those fighting for free speech, and individual freedom? read more »
yet never blunt ...
I am the eye that cannot see
the abomination that cannot be,
the face that no one can see,
the sword that is tarnished , drawn, nicked and battered, yet never blunt ..
they say I roam the darkness, and the fallen ones, I will hunt,
they are right, that is me,
move away, towards the light, I beg of thee,
if you stay in this dreadful place, for company you will only have me,
too long and you will begin to change,
your facial muscles will rearrange,
a unique mask to mimic me,
an iron mask just like me,
then your precious blood will be spilt,
your name forgotten,
your bones be trodden,
by one an only,
me.
now bloody hell ... flee.
Il passaporto bordeaux
In fila, al gate dell'areoporto. L'aereo è in ritardo, il tabellone dice semplicemente "please wait". Dei bambini orientali corrono e frignano capricciosi. La madre aspetta, rasente al muro, lo sguardo perso nel vuoto. Il padre, accucciato a terra, tiene saldamente in mano i passaporti di tutta la famiglia. I passaporti sono rossi,bordeaux, emessi in un Paese europeo, ma loro continuano a parlare nel loro idioma lontano. Chissà se i loro figli saranno dei veri cittadini del vecchio continente un giorno, oppure sentiranno forte il bisogno di affondare le loro radici più a fondo nella cultura dei loro vecchi per succhiare la linfa che piano piano si sta annacquando e mescolando a quella altrui? read more »
Italy
...is the best place ever. I know I say that every time I go abroad but really, perfection. So I won't be blogging till I get back. Am taking mental notes though. Hang on.
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