Egypt Today April / May 2022 Issue

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egypt today the magazine of egypt

Special Ramdan Edition volume 42 • number 4-5

bringing the truth to light

This year's dramas challenge disinformation and chronicle events in Egypt's contemporary history

April/May 2022 vol 41 - number 4-5 Visit us online at www.egypttoday.com

COVER STORY BRINGING THE TRUTH TO LIGHT

This year's dramas challenge disinformation and chronicle events in Egypt's contemporary history

By Angy Essam Cover design by Hesham Amer

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THE GUIDE Culture 10 Celebrating Egypt's Heritage Egypt’s Academy of Arts in Rome celebrates World Heritage Day this month.

Art 14 Exploring the Aleph Ibrahim Khatab probes the significance of the first letter of the Arabic alphabet.

Environment 18 Our Planet, Our Health Celebrating World Health Day 2022

By Mustafa Marie Health 20 Nothing Stands in Our Way Orange Egypt Raises Awareness of Autism

By Mustafa Marie

FOOD TODAY 68 Follow the Vibes Ramadan outings are back in full swing this year. Here are our picks of the most exclusive venues in Cairo for iftar, sohour and overnight stays.

76 Six Tips to Keep Dehydration at Bay While Fasting Drinking water is essential to keeping our bodies hydrated, especially in the summer heat.

Here’s how to replenish fluid loss while you’re fasting.

By Rana Hamdy 78 Yogurt: The Perfect Iftar and Sohour Accompaniment

6 reasons why you need to eat more yogurt this Ramadan.

80 Gelato Treats There’s nothing better than these creative ice cream desserts from Dolato to help you cool off after a rich iftar.

82 Eating Right During the Holy Month Heliopolis Library presents online videos on proper nutrition during Ramadan.

TECH TODAY 88 Capture the Moment Capture your favorite Ramadan moments with HUAWEI and more.

90 Follow the Sun

Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and CNN International screen the ministry’s promotional campaign “Follow the Sun” in a number of targeted countries including the UK, Germany, Italy, France and the US.

Features 24 The Spirit of Ramadan

From the mesaharaty to our favorite qatayef desserts that we only seem to eat in Ramadan, we celebrate the long-held traditions of the Holy Month in Egypt.

By Walaa Ali

28 A Night to Remember El-Leila El-Kebira puppet show returns to the stage this Ramadan.

30 Riddles of the Nile

Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities launches its “Ramadan Riddles” competition.

32 Five Common Mistakes We Make During Ramadan How to make the best use of the Holy Month and give up our bad habits.

By Rana Hamdy

34 The Time for Giving

Egypt’s Food Bank steps up to provide hot meals for the needy.

36 Partnering for Charity

What are you watching this Ramadan?

By Angy Essam

42 El-Ekhteyar: The Right Decision

The third installment of the popular patriotic series serves as an artistic documentation of Egypt’s contemporary history.

By Angy Essam

46 El A'edoun.. A Preemptive Strike

The highly anticipated series tackles the issue of recycling and exporting terrorism to Egypt via returnees from ISIS.

By Angy Essam

48 Akram Hosny..

Destined for Success

Emerging as an accomplished all-round entertainer, the popular comedian is winning hearts this Ramadan with his outstanding performance in Maktoub Alaya

By Angy Essam

52 Youssra.. A Character Statement

Recognizing the companies joining forces with the Egyptian Food Bank to ensure donations reach the needy across the nation's 27 governorates.

The iconic queen of Ramadan mosalsalat returns this year with a very new but lovable role in the comedy series Ahlam Saeeda

38 Wahawi Ya Wahawi: Green Style

54 A Call for Change

Egypt’s Ministry of Environment makes ecofriendly Ramadan lanterns.

39 A Better Viewing Experience Watch Ramadan 2022 series on Shahid VIP, now available on the Sling application.

By Angy Essam Could Nelly Karim’s Faten Amal Harby pioneer amendments to Egypt’s personal status law? Read our exclusive interviews with stars Nelly Karim and Sherif Salama

By Angy Essam

40 The Race Is On

The annual mosalsalat marathon has begun.

ALSO...........

84 Around Town 90 Parting Shot

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Founder William Harrison (1940–1995)

Executive Editor in Chief

APRIL 2022 - VOL 42 - NUMBER 4

Mohamed Abdel Baky

Managing Editor Noha Mohammed

Ahlan Ramadan!

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e vow to be good at the beginning of the month, stay away from the temptations that are kunafa and katayef and reconnect with longlost family and friends. But it’s all easier said than done; ten days into Ramadan and we’re munching on katayef between dessert and sohour, making excuses to not catch up with family and slowly being driven to insanity as we keep ourselves awake trying to follow 15 different mosalsalat!

Ramadan flies by in the blink of an eye and it can be hard to make the most out of the flighty 30 days of forgiveness; all at once the month slips away as we indulge in desserts, television and a year’s worth of social life crammed into 30 days. This month, our special Ramadan edition will help you make the most out of the holy month.

With food being the focal point of our gatherings, we bring you our pick of exclusive spots where you can enjoy a wide array of iftar and sohour options.

Our Food Today section also looks at ways to keep yourself hydrated and well nourished, and features the many benefits of one star item on our iftar and sohour tables: yogurt.

In our feature section dedicated to the holy month we look back at traditions that have been in our hearts and minds for decades if not centuries. If you think you know everything about Ramadan, check out the Ministry of Tourism's website and answer their riddles for a chance to win a trip to one of Egypt's favorite seaside destinations.

The Ministry of Environment is also doing its bit for a greener nation, introducing its eco-friendly Ramadan fawanis (lanterns) which are made of recycled materials and are cheaper than plastic options currently on the market.

And because it’s that time of year again where we’ll be glued to our TVs, or more likely our phones and iPads trying to cram in as many episodes of series produced for the peak viewing drama season that is Ramadan, as always, we bring your our annual guide to the most prominent series vying for your ratings this Ramadan.

Picking up from last year, United Media Services and Synergy lead a massive campaign to raise patriotic awareness, offering star-filled productions that are taking Egypt and the Arab World by storm. This year’s installment of El-Ekhteyar (The Choice) uncovers the lies of the Muslim Brotherhood and reveals “The Decision” undertaken by then-Minister of Defense Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi to protect Egypt and its Army from forces working to tear the nation apart.

Read on for our exclusive interviews with superstars Youssra, Nelly Karim and the hilarious Akram Hosny.

We hope you enjoy and peaceful and fulfilling Ramadan.

— Noha Mohammed nmohammed@egypttoday.com

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Senior Writers Angy Essam Walaa Ali

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Art Director Wael Wahba

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Senior Public Relations & Advertising Eman Hassan

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July 2019

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THE GUIDE Art • Books • Film • Food • Health • Music • Stage • Style• Tech • Television • Travel • Culture

CULTURE Celebrating Egypt’s Heritage

Egypt’s Academy of Arts in Rome celebrates World Heritage Day this month.

ART Exploring the Aleph Contemporary artist Ibrahim Khatab probes the significance of the first letter of the Arabic alphabet.

HEALTH Nothing Stands in The Way Orange Egypt raises awareness of autism.

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Guide | Culture

Celebrating Egypt’s Heritage Egypt’s Academy of Arts in Rome celebrates World Heritage Day this month.

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o mark UNESCO’s World Heritage Day, which was launched in 1983 in cooperation with the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the Egyptian Academy of Arts in Rome will be sharing in the celebrations with its own World Heritage Day event on April 19.

As part of its program, a video produced by the Egyptian Academy of Arts in Rome will be screened to highlight seven Egyptian sites included on the UNESCO World Heritage List: The ruins of the ancient Christian city of Abu Mina, Old Thebes and its cemeteries, historical Cairo, Memphis and its tombs (the area from Giza to Dahshur), Nubian monuments from Abu Simbel to Philae, Saint Catherine and Wadi al-Hitan.

A lecture will also be given on “Reviving the Egyptian Heritage in Modern Design” by Mahinaz el-Mesiri. This will be followed by the exhibition The Magic of Egyptian Fabrics, which will take attendees on a magical journey into the very rich Egyptian folklore, from the colorful fabric to the style of ancient Egyptian costumes. A dance segment in pharaonic costumes will also be presented.

It is worth noting that the heritage agreement specifies two types of heritage classifications: cultural, which includes monuments, architectural works, urban complexes; and urban sites of exceptional value, and natural, which includes natural sites of universal value.

UNESCO’s World Heritage Day aims to raise awareness of the importance of the world’s

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cultural heritage, its monuments and its preservation. Building on last year’s theme “Complex Pasts: Diverse Futures,” this year’s theme is Heritage and Climate through open, constructive and intergenerational dialogues. “In 2020, ICOMOS declared the Cultural Heritage and the Climate Emergency, recognizing the potential of cultural heritage to enable inclusive, transformative and just climate action through the safeguarding of all types of cultural heritage from adverse climate impacts, the implementation of risk-informed disaster responses, delivering climate resilient sustainable development; and this from a perspective of equity and justice,” the ICOMOS website states.

“The Future of our Pasts report, published by ICOMOS in 2019, also advocated for solidarity between heritage professionals and those communities most affected by, or least able to bear the cost of, climate change. Solidarity must form the basis of the actions that we take in this decade on our race to Climate Justice and Equity, and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals,” ICOMOS further adds, emphasizing that, “Climate Justice and Equity are central to the ongoing discourse concerning the intersections of climate change and heritage.”

“The International Day for Monuments and Sites on April 18, 2022 provides a timely opportunity to showcase strategies to promote the full potential of heritage conservation research and practice to deliver climate-resilient pathways to strengthen sustainable development, while advocating for just transitions to low-carbon futures,” ICOMOS states, adding that International Heritage Day provides the perfect offportunity for nations to “showcase the myriad ways in which heri-

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tage can be a source of knowledge that can be employed to address climate change [such as] empowerment of communities displaced by climate change, low-cost interventions to disaster risk management in a heritage context, heritage and environmental education, especially on carbon literacy and just transitions, promotion of gendered narratives to climate adaptation, ecological transitions, equity and justice, and socio-economic development of heritage sites affected by climate change.

“The selected theme of “Heritage and Climate” offers the opportunity to respond to questions such as how to employ climate justice and equity to protect heritage and the ways in which we may achieve equitable protection of vulnerable communities through climate action while responding to the UN Decade of Action.”

For more information about the activities organized by Egypt’s Academy of Arts in Rome, visit https:// www.accademiaegitto.org

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Contemporary artist Ibrahim Khatab probes the significance of the first letter of the Arabic alphabet.

Images courtesy Safarkhan Art Gallery

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afarkhan has the pleasure of unveiling the fifth consecutive exhibition from one of Egypt’s youngest and brightest contemporary talents: Ibrahim Khatab.

Adam is an honorific commemoration of the First Man, and the letter aleph, the singular sources of the powers of creation and communication respectively.

Inspired by the great wisdom of ancient Farsi poetry, Khatab’s latest collection captures the purity, love and source of light that is represented in the universal figure of Adam, God’s first creation that spawned mankind. Khatab’s works explore the notion of Adam as the aleph as both are progenitors: the former of mankind, and the latter of the gift of communication.

Adam is represented by the first letter of the alphabet and it is his namesake, this remarkable fact remains curiously true not only in Arabic and English, but the lingua francas of antiquity in Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek and indeed most of the world’s diverse existing modern tongues, by no coincidence.

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In the artist’s own words, Adam is partly inspired by the lyrical wisdom of famed 13th century Iranian poet Hafez Saadi Shirazi, who wrote: “On the heart’s tablet, there is nothing but preceding the letter aleph. Oh, what must I do?

And my teacher taught me no other letter.”

The significance of this is best understood in the fact that the aleph is the only letter in the Arabic script that cannot be conjoined to another letter following it. It purposely retains this singularity, to stand and serve as an eternal symbol of uniqueness.

The curvature of the lower part of the letter indicates the path of all manifestations of cosmic existence from the very highest to the most lowly. The letter aleph also represents the number one, symbolizing God’s immutable oneness, and this value is unique to the most important of all letters.

The aleph when bent, becomes a dal, then a ra with another, and with both ends bent, a beh, with its two ends twisted upward, a nun, and in the same manner, the aleph, like Adam, whom it represents phonetically and scripturally, is the progenitor of all the letters of the alphabet.

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The works forming the collection Adam feature the artist’s pensive and sensitive amalgamation of ornate Arabic calligraphy, with ancient cultural motifs and symbols drawn from the Pharaonic, Babylonian and Farsi civilizations. In combining them together using his trademark technique of layering old newspapers and posters which are then chemically treated and painted upon, Khatab ruminates on the inherent meaning of these diverse pictorial and scriptural elements in synergetic harmony with one another.

Such elements include fruits with spiritual connotations and legendary powers of healing, to mysterious cryptic script seemingly moving with a melody of its own dramatic contours and elongated form, to the timeless relationship between man and beast, represented in anthropomorphic mythical creatures resembling the Lamassu and Sphinx.

In bringing them into contact and communication with one another, Khatab animates his canvases with a distinctly ethereal sensation which he has built his ever-growing reputation on, echoing the transcendental roots of our forefathers, from Adam, and the aleph, onward.

About the Artist

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Born in 1984 in Cairo Ibrahim Khatab is an Egyptian artist whose main interest is mixing between painting, video art and installations. He started his career at the age of 12 as a street billboard painter, and later on developed passion towards Arabic calligraphy which has been ever since a significant element in his work.

Khatab’s work has been shown in exhibitions at the Gezira Art Centre, Cairo (2013); Art Lounge gallery, Cairo (2015); Bamako Biennial, Mali (2011); Malmo Artist’s Book Biennial, Sweden (2008); Supermarket Art Fair,Sweden (2015); Nabad Art Gallery, Amman (2014); Arabian Youth Salon, Doha (2014); Investec Cape Town Art Fair (2016); Safarkhan Gallery, Cairo (2016,2018); Sharjah Calligraphy Biennial (2016,2018).

Since 2007, his work has been presented frequently at the annual Youth Salon, Cairo, and he has also led many workshops at the Visual Arts Center in Oman, the Fine Arts Association in Dohaand at the Sharjah Children Biennial (2013).

Khatab received a PHD degree in calligraphy from Cairo University in 2018.

—courtesy Safarkhan Art Gallery

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Our Planet

Our Health Celebrating World Health Day 2022.

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By Mustafa Marie

he World Health Organization has warned that nearly all of the world’s population, about 99 percent, breathes air that exceeds air quality limits set by the organization, and threatens their health. In its 2022 update of its air quality database—released ahead of World Health Day, which this year celebrates the theme “Our Planet, Our Health—the organization noted that a record number of more than 6,000 cities in 117 countries monitor air quality, but the people who live in it are still breathing in unhealthy levels of fine particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide, as residents in low and middle-income countries have the highest rates of exposure to these particles.

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Guide | Enviroment et The findings have prompted the WHO to highlight the importance of reducing fossil fuel use and taking other concrete steps to reduce levels of air pollution.

The organization’s update provides, for the first time, ground-based measurements of average annual concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a common pollutant in urban areas. It also includes measurements of fine suspended particles with diameters equal to or less than 10 µm or 2.5 µm. Both groups of pollutants arise from human activities related to the combustion of fossil fuels.

Particulate matter, particularly PM2.5, has the ability to penetrate the lungs and enter the bloodstream, causing cardiovascular, brain and respiratory effects. There is new evidence that these particles affect other organs and cause other diseases as well. Nitrogen dioxide is associated with respiratory illness, particularly asthma, leading to respiratory symptoms (such as coughing and breathing difficulty), hospitalization and emergency room admissions.

The WHO last year revised its air quality guidelines, making them more stringent in an effort to help countries better assess the health of their air. The 2022 database aims to monitor the state of the world’s air and feed into the progress tracking of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The new database is the most comprehensive, to date, in its coverage of air pollution exposure on Earth.

But while many governments have begun taking steps to improve air quality, the WHO is calling for accelerated action to adopt, review and implement national air quality standards in accordance with the latest WHO air quality guidelines. It also advises nations to monitor air quality and identify sources of air pollution; support the transition to the exclusive use of clean household energy for cooking, heating and lighting; and build safe, affordable, and pedestrian- and bikefriendly public transport networks.

Other measures include applying stricter standards on vehicle emissions and efficiency and imposing mandatory vehicle inspection and maintenance; investing in energy-efficient housing and power generation; improving industrial sector and municipal waste management; mand reducing the burning of agricultural waste, forest fires, and some agroforestry activities (such as charcoal production).

High-income countries experience less particulate matter pollution, but most cities have a nitrogen dioxide problem. In 117 countries that monitor air quality, air in 17 percent of cities in high-income countries does not

meet WHO air quality guidelines. In low and middle-income countries, air quality in less than 1 percent of cities meets the thresholds recommended by the World Health Organization.

Globally, low and middle-income countries continue to have greater exposure to unhealthy levels of particulate matter than the global average, but the patterns of nitrogen dioxide are different, and show less difference between high, low and middle income countries. People who live in low and middleincome countries are most exposed to air pollution. They are also the least covered in terms of air quality - but the situation is improving.

Europe and, to some extent, North America remain the regions with the most comprehensive data on air quality available. In many low and middle-income countries, PM2.5 measurements are still not available. They saw significant improvements in measurements between the last database update in 2018 and the recent update, with an additional 1,500 human settlements in these countries beginning to monitor air quality.

World Health Day, celebrated on April 7, will focus global attention on the urgent actions needed to keep people and the planet healthy and foster a movement to create health-focused societies.

The WHO estimates that more than 13 million deaths worldwide each year are due to avoidable environmental causes.

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Nothing Stands in The Way Orange Egypt raises awareness of autism.

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ome people halt to a standstill in front of challenges, others turn their challenges into opportunities to succeed and to go places. Socially responsible as always, Orange Egypt raises awareness of one of the most overlooked disorders, autism, and sheds light on heroes and successful models, who leave nothing standing in the way of carving a great career. The leading network operator seizes every opportunity to celebrate these models and share their stories with the community.

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In line with World Autism Awareness Day, which was declared by the United Nations General Assembly on April 2 every year, Orange Egypt honors Mohamed Khaled, Public Relations and Social Responsibility at Orange Egypt, who demonstrated a heroic example of willpower and persistence in combating the challenges of autism. Khaled, instead of allowing autism to stand in his way of building a great career, has worked on resisting its symptoms and its impact on his life. With a lot of grit and determination, Khaled has made tremendous progress and achieved good results both on a personal and professional level.

Honoring Khaled and other successful models emphasizes Orange’s core values and its social responsibility not only within the organization but also outside of it.

On a similar note, and on the occasion of Mother’s Day and World Autism Awareness Day, Orange Egypt organized a joyful event filled with love and good vibes at its headquarters inviting mothers and their autistic kids to raise awareness of autism and how to deal with it. As a token of love,

the mothers and gifts the mothers and their kids were given tablets with pre-installed applications especially designed for autistic children to develop their abilities. Among these applications is BabNoor, the number 1 application in Arabic that serves children with autism and other special needs groups by establishing a new alternative and assistive channel of communication, according to the best international practices of assistive technology, and in line with the Arabian culture and tradition.

The event, with its exceptional and heartwarming atmosphere, was designed to shed light on mothers of autistic children and the heroic role they play in their upbringing and helping them become effective members of the community. Both the event and honoring their outstanding employee, Mohamed Khaled, reflect Orange’s support for several causes and its keenness to present successful models in the community and to show its appreciation to every hero in every different story.

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Ahlan

Ramadan!

Kareem Abd El Aziz/Egypt Today

Your Guide to Ramadan

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The Spirit of

From the mesaharaty to our favorite qatayef desserts that we only seem to eat in Ramadan, we celebrate the long-held traditions of the Holy Month in Egypt.

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By Walaa Ali

orldwide, Muslims receive the much-awaited holy month of Ramadan with the same great joy; yet their Ramadan traditions differ according to their regional heritage. In Egypt, Ramadan has its own special taste and spirit, with fawanis decorating streets and homes, Mawa’ed El-Rahman charity tables lining the streets and people out and about all night until dawn. Here are our favorite traditions that we have been keeping alive over the decades and centuries..

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Kareem Abd El Aziz/Egypt Today

The Mesaharaty

The mesaharaty, or the night caller, takes upon himself the task of walking around the village or city to wake people for suhour, the light meal Muslims take before they begin the dawn-to-dusk fasting.

In small villages, the mesaharaty, also known as Al-Tabbeil (drummer) in other parts of the Arab World, will stop in

front of each house and call the residents by name to wake them up for the meal.

The job of mesaharaty first appeared during the time of Abbasid caliphs. Otbat Bin Ishaq, then governor of Egypt, was the first known mesaharaty in history. He walked through the streets of Cairo to remind people of sohour in the year 238 AH.

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Kunafa and Qatayef For many centuries, Muslims in the Arab World have enjoyed special traditional desserts during the holy month of Ramadan, including kunafa and qatayef, which are made of a mixture of flour, water, and milk.

Some Islamic historians say kunafa dates back to the Fatimid Caliphate, when Caliph Moezz Li-Din-Illah entered

Egypt in Ramadan and people welcomed him with the dessert. Other historians say kunafa and qatayef date back to the era of the Umayyad Caliphate, where Levantine dessert makers prepared these sweets for Muawiyah I, the founder of the Caliphate, after he complained of hunger during fasting Ramadan.

Ramadan Tents This is a relatively recent tradition. Ramadan tents are believed to have originated from the Egyptian “saradek,” tnts set up in Cairo for people to offer their condolences.

Saradek then changed over time to be used by organizations and merchants as well.

Saradek became a venue for providing food and shelter to the needy, particularly during the winter months.

This marked the beginning of their transition to becom-

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ing the Ramadan tents that are well-known today. Soon, the saradek merged with the preexisting traditions of Arab hospitality and lavish Iftar dinners to create the modern Ramadan tent.

Ramadan tents only became popular in the Levant following the end of the Lebanese Civil War in 1990, when they were introduced to Lebanon by a prominent businessman from the Tabbara family.

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The Ramada Cannon

Many Muslim countries announce the break of fasting during the holy month by firing a cannon at sunset, but Cairo was the first city to adopt the tradition.

In 865 AH, the Mamluk Sultan wanted to test a new cannon. When the cannon was fired at the exact time of sunset, people believed that the Sultan deliberately fired it to alert the fasting people that it was time to break their fast. The crowds then went to thank the Sultan, who subsequently decided to proceed with firing the cannon at breakfast and sohour.

In the middle of the 19th century, during the reign of Khedive Abbas I in 1853 AD, two Iftar cannons used to announce the break of fasting in Cairo: the first from the Citadel, and the second from the Saray Abbas Pasha I in Abbasiya, a suburb of Cairo.

During the reign of Khedive Ismail, it was decided to place the Iftar cannon in an elevated location so that its sound would reach the largest area of Cairo. Every day, the cannon would be rolled out from the Citadel on a cart with huge wheels to the hills of Mokattam where it would strike during sunset announcing iftar. At the end of Ramadan, the canon would be returned to its permanent location at the Citadel, awaiting Ramadan of the following year.

The function of the iftar cannon further developed as a tool to announce the sighting of the Ramadan crescent.

Once the crescent was observed, the cannons would fire from the Citadel to joyfully announce the month of fasting.

It used to also fire 21 bullets throughout the three days of Eid al-Fitr.

With the advent of the radio, firing the iftar cannon from the Citadel came to a halt, although the audio recording of it was broadcast daily on the radio and television until officials decided that the firing would be broadcast live on air during the Maghrib call to prayer from the Citadel. ThenMinister of Interior Ahmed Rushdi decided in 1983 to relaunch the cannon from Salah al-Din Citadel throughout Ramadan at sohoir and iftar, bringing back the cannon’s role and splendor.

However, in the early 1990s, the Egyptian Antiquities Authority asked the Ministry of Interior to stop the practice, fearing for the area, which is actually an open museum for Islamic antiquities, as it includes the Salah al-Din al-Ayyubi Citadel, which he built in 1183 AD, and the Alabaster Mosque built by Mohammed Ali in the Ottoman architectural style in 1830, in addition to the Sultan Hassan Mosque, Al-Rifai Mosque and the Four Citadel Museums.

The Antiquities Authority warned that firing the cannon 60 times during Suhoor and Iftar in Ramadan, and 21 shots for each call to prayer on the three days of Eid al-Fitr, will negatively affect the lifespan of these monuments due to the powerful vibrations it causes.

Two of the three remaining cannons that belong to Mohammad Ali’s family were transferred to Mokattam. The third cannon has been preserved as a tourist attraction in the courtyard of the Police Museum in the Citadel, overlooking Cairo from a high hill.

—Additional reporting by Mustafa Marie

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A Night to

Remember

El-Leila El-Kebira puppet show returns to the stage this Ramadan.

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opular folk puppet show El-Leila El-Kebera (The Big Night) returns to the stage this Ramadan for a two-week run. Director of the Cairo Puppet Theater Troupe of the Artistic House of Theater Mohamed Nour announced that performances will be staged during the second half of Ramadan at the ElHanager Theater at Egypt’s Opera House.

The show is the most popular puppet show in the history of Egypt’s puppet theater and has become

a large part of Egyptian artistic heritage. As one of the most important creations of the late pioneering artist Nagy Shaker, it is a panorama of the popular moulid celebration presented in a distinctive way.

First performed in 1961, the puppet-operetta was written by poet Salah Jahin with the music composed

by Sayed Mekawy. Running a little over half an hour, the show has been a part of local theater repertoires for the past six decades and remains extremely popular with viewers until today.

Over the years it has featured the voices of prominent artists such as Jahin and Sayed Mekawwi.

Set in an Egyptian village, the operetta describes the celebration of the last night of the moulid through dance and music, characterizing traditional moulid figures such as circus performers, food vendors, a fortune teller and belly dancers, all set to a catchy Egyptian folk score.

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A Journey Around Egypt Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities launches its “Ramadan Riddles” competition.

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hat is crescent shaped, is always on our iftar table and can be eaten sweet or savory?

Know the answer? Visit the Ministry of Tourism’s official Facebook page and send your answers on their Experience Egypt link and you could win a free trip!

To celebrate Ramadan, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, represented by the General Egyptian Authority for Tourism Promotion, launched a digital tourism fawazir [riddles] competition across their various social media platforms. The goal is to promote Egyptian tourist destinations while raising awareness among the public about tourist spots, archaeological finds and traditions related to the special month of Ramadan in Egypt.

Assistant Minister of Tourism and Antiquities for Promotion Lamia Kamel explained that the initiative involves posting 15 riddles throughout the holy month on the ministry’s official Facebook account, in addition to the authority’s official Facebook account and Experience Egypt. The competition features riddles about Ramadan habits, the nature of the holy month in Egypt, and the attractions that are synonymous with Ramadan with the goal of preserving traditional Ramadan customs and enticing tourists to visit Egyptian destinations this month.

Three lucky winners who post all the correct answers will get to go on a weeklong trip during the summer months to one of Egypt’s tourist cities, including Hurghada and Sahl Hasheesh.

For more information, visit https://www.facebook.com/ tourismandantiq

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Common Mistakes We Make During How to make the best use of the Holy Month and give up our bad habits.

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e’re at the very beginning of the holy month of Ramadan, the month of spirituality and healing for the mind, body, and soul. This month is not just about fasting and praying, but it is a great opportunity to slow down and reflect on habits you want to change, new habits you want to build, and to get yourself in check. While there are several habits associated with the month that we need to stop doing, there are others that we need to build and keep doing all year round.

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1. Spending too much time in front of the TV With all the series that come out during Ramadan, it is very tempting to just sit in front of the TV all day long switching from one series to another. Sooner than you think, you will realize that the day has slipped by and you have done nothing other than being sluggish on a couch watching TV. Instead pick two or three series rather than watching everything that is on TV: we know it’s hard but you shouldn’t yield. That way you will have more time in your day for other activities.

2. Having no control over our words If your words are harsh and not gentle, don’t say them. If your words make someone feel hurt, embarrassed, or ashamed, don’t say them. If you gossip or badmouth people, then you need to control your tongue and stop immediately. This bad habit is not one that we need to stop only in Ramadan, but it should be a way of living where gossip and negative talk have no room in our lives.

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3. Eating excessively at iftar There’s a healthy way to break your fast, and that is never about eating excessively.

Fasting for long hours gives us a magnified feeling of hunger so we tend to eat more than our body needs. Break your fast with dates, give a couple of minutes for your stomach to start and meanwhile you can go for Maghrib prayers. Start eating slowly with soup to warm up your stomach and salad to ease digestion. Avoid fried food for iftar, and try to include healthier options. Also, watch out for desserts. It is better to cut out sugar altogether, but if you are really craving it, have only a few bites three hours after your iftar.

4. Bad sleeping habits

5. Skipping sohour

We want the day to pass quickly so many of us sleep longer than usual, but as a result, we end up feeling more tired and lazier due to oversleeping. Think of other activities to kill time such as a short walk, reading Quran, journaling, or catching up on things you need to get done. Also, while the nights are longer in Ramadan with its gatherings and sohour tents, we sleep late and wake up tired for work the next day. So make sure your body is getting an adequate amount of sleep.

Both skipping and eating unhealthy sohour are bad for your health. Some people are too lazy to prepare a late meal, have had too much for iftar that they can’t eat anymore, or take it as an opportunity to eat less and lose weight. In fact, skipping sohour will make you feel tired and hungry the next day, but also watch it for your choices. Opt for dairy products, protein, and slowburning food like bread, and avoid salty as well as spicy food so you don’t end up thirsty.

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The Time for

Photography by Hassen Mohamed

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Giving

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Egypt’s Food Bank steps up to provide hot meals for the needy.

he Holy month is a time for sharing and sharing alike, and leading by example Egypt’s Food Bank is giving a helping hand by securing food supplies to the needy. At press time Chief Executive Officer of the Egyptian Food Bank Mohsen Sarhan has said the charitable organization distributed 500,000 cartons of dry goods to meet the needs of impoverished families during the fasting month of Ramadan.

Sarhan also said the Food Bank would be distributing 10 million hot meals during the holy month at an initial cost of LE 350 million, noting that additional assistance would be also given in the same month to provide food to the needy.

Ahead of Ramadan, the Food Bank began contracting with food companies before the recent price rise to overcome the repercussions of the global economic crisis.

The hot meals will also be put to good use at iftar charity tables, which have made a much-needed comeback after safety and health restrictions forced the government to discontinue them the past two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Cabinet has agreed to roll back some COVID-related restrictions during the holy fasting month of Ramadan,

such as removing the ban on charity iftar tables. The Cabinet’s higher committee for managing the coronavirus crisis also agreed to extend opening hours for cafes, restaurants, and stores till 2am during the holy month of Ramadan.

Event halls at mosques have also reopened and afternoon religious classes resumed only at congregation mosques, while observing all precautionary measures, especially wearing face masks and physical distancing, for everyone’s safety.

The Egyptian Food Bank is a non-profit, charitable organization that distributes food to those who have difficulty buying enough to avoid hunger, usually through intermediaries like food pantries and soup kitchens. Founded in 2006 and serving all governorates in Egypt, the EFB has since created a number of effective programs addressing hunger issues by cementing partnerships with those who care about the underprivileged in Egypt.

And with the spirit of Ramadan in the air, those who want to give charity or help the poor can visit the EFB website and decide the program they wish to donate through. From iftar meals to zakat El-Fitr, alms and school meals, the EFB website features a number of initiatives that make it easier to donate at the click of a button.

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Partners for

Charity

Recognizing the companies joining forces with the Egyptian Food Bank to ensure donations reach the needy across the nation's 27 governorates.

Amazon: Right Now Needs

Amazon announced that it will provide more than one million meals to support families in need across Egypt, the UAE, Jordan, and Saudi Arabia during the Holy month of Ramadan. The program, now in its second year, provided volunteering opportunities for hundreds of Amazon employees working alongside food bank and charity partners to pack food boxes at Amazon’s Fulfillment Centres across the region. Leveraging Amazon’s scale, the company is supporting the community and delivering the boxes to those who need it most.

Through Amazon’s network, one million meals will be delivered to underprivileged families in the safety of their homes across the Arab World. In partnership with the Egyptian Food Bank, Amazon will provide thousands of boxes containing essential food items to Egyptian communities.

Amazon will use its Fulfillment Centres across the region to pack the needed groceries, as well as its vast logistics and delivery network to distribute them across Egypt.

“We are always keen to partner with entities to serve our primary role of providing healthy and safe food for those most in need. Our partnership with Amazon Egypt enhances our continuous efforts to help alleviate the challenges faced by families without food, especially during the month

of Ramadan, which is one of our most important periods,” says Mohsen Sarhan, CEO of the Egyptian Food Bank.

“Since our launch in Egypt last year, we have been striving to stay close to our customers and bring them what they need in the comfort of their homes,” says Omar Elsahy, General Manager, Amazon Egypt. “In the spirit of giving during the holy month of Ramadan, we are humbled by the opportunity to utilize our network as well as our employee strength to reach out to the less fortunate families in our communities. Amazon has a longstanding commitment of working alongside community partners, so we are delighted to continue our work with the Egyptian Food Bank to help get more than one million meals, including essential grocery items, into the hands of those who need them the most throughout the month of giving. As we fulfill our promise of creating a great place to work, we continue to create programmes that enable employees to give back to the community.”

This Ramadan campaign is a part of the company’s global community engagement pillar, Right Now Needs, that seeks to eliminate the impossible choices posed by poverty, homelessness, hunger, and natural disasters. This pillar is one of many in Amazon’s community engagement programme.

Carrefour Egypt: “Ramadan Kareem bel Kheir with Carrefour” Carrefour, owned and operated by Majid Al Futtaim in Egypt, announces the completion of its first mission in partnership with Egyptian Food Bank by facilitating the donation process for the community and extending its generosity initiatives.

Following the theme of “Ramadan Kareem bel Kheir with Carrefour”, the brand has partnered with the Egyptian Food Bank, an NGO dedicated to fighting hunger across the country, where they delivered 2,100 Ramadan boxes to families in need across Egypt.

Carrefour launched the initiative in partnership with the Egyptian Food Bank on March 13, 2022, by bringing colleagues together to pack and prepare the Ramadan boxes for families.

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Carrefour has also extended its partnership with the Egyptian Food Bank by introducing an additional activity for shoppers: “Kart El-Kher,” the generosity card, which customers can purchase across all Carrefour stores to help donate a hot meal to those in need during Iftar. To further ensure the safe delivery of the meals, the Food Bank has specialized a delivery program for Carrefour’s meal cards.

Carrefour continues to prioritize the growth and prosperity of its communities by providing the public with opportunities to give back - as the trusted local partner that creates value for the local industry and economy.

For more information on Carrefour’s Ramadan activities and the many ways the brand supports the communities it serves, visit https://www.carrefouregypt.com/

Feature et DHL: #GoHelp Initiative DHL Express Egypt announced that it is partnering with the Egyptian Food Bank for the seventh consecutive time this Ramadan with the objective of distributing food boxes to benefit 10,000 people living in underprivileged areas across a number of Egyptian governorates. This initiative comes as part of DHL’s social responsibility efforts towards improving the quality of people’s lives while also mitigating the challenges posed by global events.

DHL will assist the Egyptian Food Bank in distributing thousands of Ramadan boxes containing basic items that include tea, pasta, sugar, rice, oil, and beans.

“At DHL, we believe in taking action that aims at connecting people and improving lives; it is what guides our decisions and influences our overarching strategy. We are truly thrilled to be partnering with EFB this year in order to provide a helping hand for communities in need during the month of Ramadan,” Ahmed ElFangary, Country Manager of DHL, said. He went on to highlight DHL’s efforts through its #GoHelp initiative, “this particular program employs our logistics expertise, global network, and the personal commitment of our individual employees towards adding value to the lives of anyone in need. Using all the tools at our disposal to achieve that goal does not only align with our vision of meaningful connection with community members, but also with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, especially goal number 1, targeting communities struggling to acquire basic needs. We believe in the role corporates can play in enhancing people’s lives through providing solutions and making a difference all year round.”

Mohsen Sarhan, Egyptian Food Bank CEO, described the partnership as “a consistent step that highlights the values DHL and EFB have and that mainly focus on humanity, dignity, and ensuring food security. We are proud to see our partnership go through its seventh year this Ramadan season, and we look forward to making a difference year after year.”

DHL is dedicated to taking the lead in advancing sustainability and harnessing its core strengths to have a long-term social impact, and that is why it strives to make partnerships that have a direct impact on people’s lives. Apart from #GoHelp, DHL’s corporate social responsibility efforts extend to reach various directions and are supported through its Go Programs, including #GoGreen and #GoTeach to preserve the environment, influence the economy, and ensure sustainable development across the board.

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Wahawi Ya Wahawi:

Green Style

Egypt’s Ministry of Environment makes Eco-friendly Ramadan lanterns.

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elebrating the holy month of Ramadan, Egypt’s Ministry of Environment has launched a new line of Ramadan lanterns (known as fawanees) made out of household waste. The Green Corner Unit team at the Central Administration for Information and Environmental Awareness at the Ministry of Environment presented a distinctive design for Ramadan fawanees made of eco-friendly components found among household waste such as fabric, newspapers, magazines, cardboard, spoons and plastic bottle caps.

Cairo is famous among Arab and Muslim cities as one of the best destinations for observing an authentic Ramadan experience. In Egypt, the spiritual and religious aspects of the Islamic holy month are combined with entertaining activities and cul-

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tural traditions. One of these unique traditions is Ramadan lanterns, which have always been very special in Egyptian history. They come in various shape and colors, and the tradition of decorating homes and neighborhoods with fawanees during Ramadan has passed from generation to generation.

For many families, Ramadan is not complete without their children happily playing with their fawanees in the streets, singing the Egyptian Arabic verse composed by Ahmed Sherif, “Wahawi Ya Wahawi.”

With the new fawanees, the Ministry of Environment aims at raising environmental awareness among all groups and segments of society. And with fawanees retail prices skyrocketing this year, buyers can also save money by buying the recycled products.

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A Better Viewing Experience

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Watch Ramadan 2022 series on Shahid VIP, now available on the Sling application.

orget about the old days, Shahid VIP is now available on the Sling application! Yes, you heard that right.

With a press of a button, anyone can watch absolutely almost any Arabic content they please. Get ready to access hundreds of shows, wherever you like, whenever you like!

So why are we super excited about our Shahid integration?

Sling TV already and for years, has been providing its US subscribers with the latest and the greatest Arabic content there is. And while doing this, they partnered with Shahid VIP to bring in even more exciting content to subscribers.

And now, they have finally merged both apps in one press of a button. This means that all channels, live streaming and on demand shows are within reach with a simple click.

Offering a smoother experience and an even more exciting Ramadan ahead, Shahid can now guarantee that no one is going to miss a single show this coming holy month.

Don’t miss these shows available on the Shahid VIP library this Ramadan: El Meshwar: This Ramadan, Mohamed Ramadan takes us on one of his many adventures as a fisherman who finds himself involved in endless loops of illegal antiquity trading and many more turmoils. The show is directed by Mohamed Yassin, written by Mohamed Farid, and produced

by Saady Gohar Group. Joining Mohamed Ramadan is Dina Elsherbiny, Amr Abdul Gelil and Bayoumy Foad.

Al Ekhteyaar S3: Ahmed El Sakka, Karim Abdel Aziz and Ahmed Ezz take us on another exciting and heart shattering story in El Ekhteyaar. The show is directed by Peter Mimi, written by Hani Sarhan, and produced by Synergy Group. Along with the three mega stars is Yasser Galal, Iman Elassy, and Mohamed Riad.

El Kebeer Awy S6: Ahmed Mekky is taking us on the funniest adventure as usual that will definitely have us on the floor laughing! We travel to Upper Egypt with him, Mohamed Salam Hisham Ismail and Bayoumy Foad. The show is directed by Ahmed Elgendy, written by Moustafa Sakr, and produced by Synergy Group.

Faten Amal Harby: The beautiful Nelly Karim takes on the role of a middle-class Egyptian tax worker who together with her two daughters and husband lives with her mother in law. As their clashes escalate, life becomes more and more unbearable with her husband. The show is directed

by Mohamed Gamal Eladl, written by Ibrahim Issah, and produced by Eladl Group. Along with Nelly Karim the series stars Hala Sedky, Fadia Abdelghany, Sherif Salama and many more stars.

Viewers can also take their pick from a slew of exciting Lebanese, Turkish and Arab world series, and Sling TV’s many features will make their experience even more awesome!

Subscribers can access three different streams on three different devices at the same time, with the Al Ostoura pack featuring over 130 live Arabic channels and thousands of hours of the newest on demand series, movies and shows.

The package includes access to the entire libraries of Shahid VIP and MySatGo. Viewers can also watch Sling and Shahid VIP’s rich library on more than 15 devices that are compatible with the app.

Sling Arabic TV has the largest lineup of new Ramadan series every year across all of their live Arabic TV channels and the largest on demand libraries including Shahid VIP & MySatGo.

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El-Ekhteyar: The Right Decision

The third installment of the popular patriotic series serves as an artistic documentation of Egypt’s contemporary history.

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By Angy Essam

he third installment of the hugely popular patriotic series El Ekhteyar (The Choice) documents the events Egypt witnessed during the years that followed the January 25 Revolution and how the Muslim Brotherhood manipulated their way into power. The sequel carries the theme of “The Decision,” and highlights how Mohamed Morsi (played by Sabry Fawaz) served as the president of Egypt, from June 30, 2012 to July 3, 2013.

But with millions taking to the streets to protest Morsi’s rule, former Minister of Defense and current President of Egypt Abdel Fattah El Sisi (played by Yasser Galal) took the decision to support the Egyptian people during June 30 Revolution, saving Egypt from the dark path of the Muslim Brotherhood regime.

After the June 30 Revolution, Morsi was given a 48-hour ultimatum by the military to meet their demands and to resolve political differences, which Morsi disregarded, along with the demands of Egyptians. El Ekhteyar reveals facts and presents leaked videos released for the first time tackling the protests that erupted across Egypt on June 30, 2013 in which protesters called for Mohamed Morsi’s resignation. Over the course of its episodes, the drama documents the behind the scenes of the most critical 96 hours in contemporary Egyptian history.

Chronicling contemporary history El-Ekhteyar part 3 is docudrama sequel that features throughout its episodes dramatized re-enactments of historical events that we have all witnessed and were part of. These re-enactments were perfectly employed in the series, building up patriotic sentiment and adding a nostalgic sense of pride.

The credit goes to the maestro of the El Ekhteyar sequel, director Peter Mimi.

Ingenious scriptwriter Hani Sarhan created two parallel plot lines in this series. The first revolves around the characters of former Minister of Defense Abdel Fattah El Sisi (played

by Yasser Galal), ousted president Mohamed Morsi (portrayed

by Sabry Fawaz), Muslim Brotherhood leader Khairat El

Shater (Khaled El Sawy), former Supreme Guide of the MB Mohamed Badie (Abdel Aziz Makyoun), and Field Marshall Mohamed Hussein Tantawy (played by Ahmed Bedeir).

Yasser Galal provided an amazing performance, dazzling viewers as he mastered all the details of the character, from his walk, facial expressions, gestures and of course his voice which is impossible to tell from the President’s. His role also presents the personal side of the then-Minister of Defense as a caring husband who helps his wife with the housework and a dedicated father who listens to his daughter and gently advises her.

Sabry Fawaz succeeded in reflecting Morsi’s ineffectual character in the majority of the scenes, but Fawaz and Mimi should have worked more on the body language, not to mention the physical appearance, with the make up artist and the stylist.

The veterans, on the other hand, proved a cut above. Abdel Aziz Makhyoun knows well how to employ all his tools as an actor and that was clear in his convincing performance of Badie’s character. Meanwhile Khaled El Sawy exerted huge effort performing the character of one of the most influential and controversial members of the Muslim Brotherhood, Khairat El Shater. Shater was famous for his sullen look which Sawy APRIL-MAY 2022

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Feature managed to convey throughout the series; without directly imitating Shater, Sawy brilliantly captures the spirit of the character he is performing. And in his few scenes, Ahmed Bedeir managed to reflect the calm and wise character of Tantawy.

Framing the heroic actions of the nation’s police, intelligence and army, the series also captures the human side of how these critical events affected Egyptians. As such the second plot line features the triangle of General Intelligence colonel Marwan El Adawy (Ahmed Ezz), Military Intelligence colonel Mostafa Khalifa (Ahmed El Sakka) and National Security Agency colonel Zakaria Younis (Karim Abdel Aziz).

There is no doubt that the cooperation between three megastars added great value to the series; there was a good harmony between the three giants that helped them to accurately reflect the coordination between General Intelligence, Military Intelligence and the National Security Agency.

Zakaria Younis was the leading character of El Ekhteyar part 2 and Abdel Aziz continues in this part with the same disciplined performance. Ahmed Ezz’s natural sense of humor adds a human touch to his role and doesn’t affect the seriousness of the Intelligence Officer’s character. Ahmed El Sakka’s overall performance was a bit traditional and he has to work more on his facial expressions because he appears a bit unemotional in some of the scenes.

Exposing the lies As in previous installments, Part 3 continues to refute the claims of Muslim Brotherhood and uncover their illegal actions, presenting to the public a number of truths including how Muslim Brotherhood leaders used to confiscate Identity cards from people at Rabaa sit-in to force them to stay; and how Muslim Brotherhood leader Khairat El Shater (portrayed

by Khaled Elsawy) tried—and failed—to have several national security officers dismissed. The series unveiled for the first time how Shater planned to destroy the reputation of former general commander of the Armed Forces and Minister of Defense Mohamed Hussein Tantawy (played by Ahmed Bedeir), get him dismissed and appoint someone else who is loyal to the Muslim Brotherhood and not to Egypt.

The episodes go on to disclose how the Muslim Brotherhood conspired to take over the Egyptian Armed Forces, planning the 2012 Sinai attack which killed 16 soldiers. The involvement of one Muslim Brotherhood leader in a massive operation to smuggle weapons into Sinai is also revealed.

Colonel Marwan Kadry (portrayed by Ahmed Ezz) from the Egyptian Intelligence cooperated with Colonel Mostafa Khalifa (played by Ahmed El Sakka) from the military intelligence to thwart this massive operation to smuggle weapons into Sinai. The operation showed the complete coordination between General Intelligence and Military Intelligence to protect Egypt from the destructive plans of its enemies.

The series chronicles the destructive plans of the Muslim Brotherhood to smuggle weapons, incite civil war and divide the Egyptian people. The episodes also chronicle their plans to fly in jihadist elements from abroad to form militias on Egyptian soil. In one such episode, viewers are shown for the

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first time how Morsi signed Presidential pardon lists that contained names of Jihadist elements and people involved in terrorist operations.

In another episode ousted President Mohamed Morsi asked Field Marshal Tantawy to give the presidency $2 billion from the Army budget but was refused. In a leaked video, El Shater can be seen announcing, “I am capable of mobilizing one million people to burn down National Security Agency headquarters. . . .Why? because I can easily confront National Security Agency officers, there is no problem in that.” Such a declaration proved beyond any doubt the desire of the Muslim Brotherhood to destroy the National Security Agency.

Coming to light for the first time is the fact that the Brotherhood appointed Abdel Fattah El Sisi in 2012 as minister of defense only because they thought he would be loyal to their organization; they are quickly proved mistaken. Part 3 explores the relationship between former Minister of Defense Sisi, Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. We are shown the details of the meeting between Shater and Sisi where Shater offered joint economic cooperation between the Egyptian Army and Muslim Brotherhood but Sisi completely ignored his demand.

In another instance, when Sisi invited Morsi to attend the military show of the second army, he deliberately announced his invitation was so “you could see part of the strength of the Egyptian Army.” El Ekhteyar revealed Sisi’s desire to develop the Egyptian Army by boosting their morale and dealing with them with love and respect. “If I humiliate someone he will never be a fighter,” Sisi says in the same episode. “He has to feel proud that he is a soldier in the Egyptian Army.”

In another recorded meeting, Sisi tells Morsi: “The Egyptian Army is untouchable and has managed to preserve its neutral stance during the past period, so please keep it away from your political conflicts.” He goes on to state that the Egyptian Army is great, patriotic and strong and that it’s strength is derived from its honor, but a single word can hurt the army.

“Any respectable country must not accept the humiliation of its army and I will not accept this,” Sisi tells Morsi.

The series also shows how Sisi was keen to strengthen the relationship between Egyptian army and Sinai people.

The conversation between Sisi and Supreme Guide of Muslim Brotherhood Mohamed Badie reflected clearly Sisi’s stance from day one toward the Muslim Brotherhood’s destructive plans. “I only care about the interest of my country,” Sisi declared. “The Muslim Brotherhood interferes in matters that are none of their business; Morsi is supposed to be a President to all the Egyptians not to Muslim Brotherhood supporters only, so why are Khairat El Shater and Mohamed Beltagy trying to interfere in the work of the government security agencies? The Egyptian Army [does not have] any religious orientations. The Egyptian Army shouldn’t be divided into different political factions. If you care about Egypt, you should care about its army. The Egyptian Army is only loyal to God and Egypt, so my answer is no, I won’t let the Muslim Brotherhood interfere in the the Egyptian Army.”

In a leaked video, presidential candidate Abdel Moneim

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Aboulfettouh can be seen talking to Egyptian Army leaders about his fear of the Muslim Brotherhood taking control of the regime. “If I were to choose who rules Egypt, I would choose someone from the Egyptian Army, not from the Muslim Brotherhood,” he confided.

Another leaked video shows a meeting between Tantawy, Sisi and Morsi where the latter threatened violence across Egypt in the event he lost the presidential race. Morsi can be seen asking Tantawy to cancel the High Constitutional Court’s sentence that dissolved the People’s Assembly but Tantawy refused, saying he couldn’t cancel a sentence issued by the court. The Field Marshall firmly refused all of Morsi’s demands, adding that he couldn’t interfere at all in the results of the presidential elections.

The violence that ensued following Morsi’s election is well documented. The series uncovers the involvement of the MB in the murder of journalist El-Husseini Abu-Deif, who died after being injured in the clashes between Morsi supporters and police in December 2012.

In search of truth Not only does El Ekhteyar attempt to expose MB lies, it also serves to bring to light other revelations that were not known to the public at the time. For example viewers are only now learning how Military Intelligence discovered that the social media accounts insulting the Egyptian Army and spreading

rumors about the dismissal of former Minister of Defense Sisi were created by a company owned by Muslim Brotherhood leader Khairat El Shater. The series also revealed further secrets about the creation of the 95th Division, one of the most dangerous armed branches of the Muslim Brotherhood which was founded by Shater and supervised by former minister of youth Osama Yassin.

The birth of the Tamarod grassroots movement is also portrayed. The series follows its spread among Egyptians to collect millions of signatures, reaching more than 20 million signatures demanding the ouster of the Muslim Brotherhood’s violent regime that abused millions of Egyptians to create religious fascism (Christians in Egypt facing unprecedented levels of persecution during ousted President Mohamed Morsi regime was another theme touched on by the series.

Egyptian star Essam Elsakka embodied the role of political activist Mohamed Abdel Aziz, the founder of the Tamarod movement and who is now a member of the Egyptian Parliament for the Coordination Committee of Parties’ Youth and Politicians (CPYP).

Following the violence and ahead of the June 30 popular uprising, Sisi can be seen warning Morsi and Shater: “We are responsible in front of God for the words we say,” Sisi says.

“If Egypt is deteriorating and we don’t take any stance to prevent this deterioration because we care about our political positions, then God will definitely punish us.”

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El A'edoun A Preemptive Strike

The highly anticipated series tackles the issue of recycling and exporting terrorism to Egypt via returnees from ISIS.

By Angy Essam

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ased on true stories from Egyptian Intelligence files, El A’edoun (The Returnees) explores the notion of recycling terrorism and exporting it to Egypt through the returnees from ISIS, how they were prepared there in order to return to Egypt and the Middle East to terrorism, and most importantly how the Egyptian state effectively faced this challenge with a proactive and preemptive plan.

The highly anticipated series gives us an in-depth look into the work of Egyptian Intelligence through officers Omar (Amir Karara) and Nabil (Mahmoud Abdel Moghny) in addition to aide Nadine (Amina Khalil).

Written by Baher Dewidar, directed by Ahmed Nader Galal and produced by Saadi-Gohar production company, El A’edoun presents a number of well-crafted master scenes that have made waves on social media. Among these is was when Head of the General Egyptian intelligence assigned his team to work on the “returnees from ISIS” file and not to wait to see ISIS fighters entering Egypt carrying out tasks that will destabilize the country.

But arguably the most talked-about scene is that where Egyptian agent Hussein (Mohamed Farag) is burned alive by ISIS. Farag, who appeared as a guest of honor, provided an impressive and credible performance that moved viewers to tears. The masterful scene was able to highlight Hussein’s strong belief in God and his cause, and at the same time it entrenched the brutality of ISIS as they burned him alive.

The ISIS leader gave an order to burn Hussein alive after he failed to reach an agreement with him to record a video in which he disavows those he worked with and declares his repentance to leave him alive, but Hussein refused. The execution scene reminded viewers of Jordanian pilot Muath al-Kasasbeh who was captured and burned to death by ISIS after his F-16 fighter aircraft crashed over Syria.

After the incident Omar vows to save the last Egyptian intelligence’s agent in ISIS named Abou Omeira. In a series of action scenes, Omar is able to free Abou Omeira from inside a hospital located in an area under ISIS control.

El A’edoun sheds light on ISIS and the internal divisions in-

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side the terrorist group, revealing disagreements such as the one between the military leader of ISIS and ISIS Caliph. The two argued over the need to comply with ISIS’s plan to follow in the footsteps of Al-Qaeda and consider the entire land as its territory rather than confine themselves to Syrian territory only. While the Caliph disagreed with the new plan and felt ISIS needed to stay in Syria, the military leader was intent on following ISIS. Interwoven with the terrorist plot is a romantic story line which sees a love story unfold between Omar and Nadine, tempering the intensity of the series’ political incidents. The chemistry between Karara and Amina Khalil helped her a lot to master Nadine’s character and she was able to convincingly convey the mixture of contradicting feelings Nadine carried around inside.

Amir Karara has arguably reached a stage of artistic maturity, his performance natural and smooth. His fitness also enabled him to effortlessly pull of the action scenes.

Mahmoud Abdel Moghny was what we could describe as the tempering element of the series as his disciplined rendition balanced the performance of the rest of the cast. Meanwhile Mido Adel brilliantly performed the role of Alaa, the agent that the Egyptian Intelligence planted in ISIS. Baher Dewidar is an acclaimed scriptwriter who has a vast experience in writing patriotic works. His extensive research into the ISIS societies makes the events of the series all the more believable.

In making El A’edoun the cast and crew had to address a number of challenges including shooting abroad. But their efforts paid off and the series has managed to draw in viewers with its exciting plot line mixing action with politics, social commentary and romance. “It was necessary to mix all of this in order for the series to have one color, so that the social part, the excitement, and the action scenes that took place outside Egypt would not be disjointed from the rest of the drama. This was the biggest difficulty I faced,” director Ahmed Nader Galal said ahead of the airing.

From the audience’s overwhelmingly positive reviews, it’s clear that he has managed to overcome the challenges and win the bet.

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Akram Hosny: Destined for Success

Emerging as an accomplished all-round entertainer, the popular comedian is winning hearts this Ramadan with his outstanding performance in Maktoub Alaya.

Angy Essam

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ur cover star for this Ramadan issue is just as special as our annual edition. He is not just an acclaimed comedian who fills our hearts with joy and happiness but he also enjoys great popularity and has an ethereal glow like no other. Egypt Today was delighted to sit down with the hilarious Akram Hosny to chat about the debut of his artistic career, his milestones and his highly popular series Maktoub Alaya.

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Feature People mistakenly think that the comedian is someone who laughs and jokes 24/7. Tell us about the man behind the comedian Akram Hosni.

Yes this is true, I definitely don’t laugh and joke 24/7, but that doesn’t mean I am gloomy (he laughs). I am an extremely simple person who has his own problems, hardships and sometimes passes by difficult times like everyone else. But my main profession is to entertain people and make them happy so I forget anything when I stand in front of the camera.

You are an entertainer in every sense of the word: an actor, singer, composer, screenwriter, and TV presenter. How did you work on yourself to succeed across all these fields, and all in parallel? If you had to choose just one, which would it be?

Thanks for seeing me as a multi-talented entertainer, I only hope I can live up to everyone’s expectations. I started my media career as a radio presenter on Nogoom FM then I started portraying Abou Hafiza in Asaad Allah Masa’akom. At the beginning I took acting workshops to enhance my performance, to learn to be in command of my emotions and facial expressions. I learned how to write songs by experience. As for composing music I can’t say that I am a composer, but while I am writing songs sometimes some music that conveys more my words jumps to my mind.

What I can say is that it is all about passion, I love everything that I am doing and I hope it is well received by people.

I love doing all of the previous things but if I had to choose one it would be making songs. The mechanics of song making are very appealing and enjoyable for me, from writing the song to choosing music, because in general when I am not in the mood I listen to music. Music is a very important thing in my life.

Your first radio interview was with legendary actor Adel Imam, at that time you had to make a difficult decision so you could succeed—what’s the story behind that first experience?

It was my first mission as a radio presenter after I quit my job as a police officer. I was covering a movie premiere and iconic actor Adel Emam was attending and I had to interview him. There were a lot of journalists, TV hosts and radio presenters, so I found that the only way to ask Emam was to get down on my knees so I could get the microphone closer to his mouth. My pride as an ex-police officer made me hesitate for like 10 seconds, but I swallowed my pride and told myself that if I wanted to be a successful radio presenter I’d have to do what any presenter would do in such a situation and it was a great lesson for me. Emam praised my performance and told me that I would be successful one day.

People knew and loved you as Abou Hafiza for a very long time. How did you manage to emerge from this character and go on to achieve huge success?

This is true, Abou Hafiza introduced me to people, and became a very popular character. I tried to convince producers to start working on other projects but Abou Hafiza for them

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was a safe bet and they didn’t want to take any risk. The man behind the real change was the director of the last three seasons of “Assad Allah Masa’akom” Ramy Rizkallah who advised me that if I wanted a break as an actor no one was going to give it to me except myself. He meant that I had to give myself the chance by appearing as myself in the artistic sketches of Assad Allah Masa’akom instead of hiding behind the character of Abou Hafiza. I was afraid that the audience might feel confused but I followed Rizkallah’s advice and gradually managed to shrug off Abou Hafiza’s persona. Being locked inside a certain character will negatively affect any artist.

Which role do you consider a milestone in your career?

Bahgat in Rayah El Madam because it was my first role as an actor after Abou Hafiza. Rayah El Madam was so special to me also because I worked with my lifetime dearest friend Ahmed Fahmy, he supported me and I owe him a lot. Fahmy is a big star he could have demanded a solo lead but because he is supportive and has self confidence we co-starred together in the series and it was a big success, perhaps because of this lovely friendship.

There is a lot of chemistry between both of you in front of the camera, do you have any future plans for joint projects?

There are always ideas of joint projects floating between both of us but we agreed that each one us of would finish his individual projects first and then we will work together again.

Tell us more about your first theatrical experience in Otl Fany (Technical Error) and now that you’ve been on stage and on both small and silver screens, which is you favorite medium?

There is no comparison between the three mediums, each has its own taste and audience, but one of my dreams was to perform on stage. I remember when I was a kid and my father used to take me to watch plays, I used to get up on the stage after the play ended to see the entire audience in front of me.

Acclaimed songwriter Amir Teima produced Otl Fany.

He also co-wrote the script and wrote all the play’s songs.

He asked me to join the cast along with Chico and Hisham Maged. Of course I agreed because it was a dream to co-star in a play, and Chico and Maged are my friends. The play ran during Riyadh Season and achieved huge success—it was originally planned to run for four nights but it was extended to 13 nights because it was fully booked. I really enjoyed this experience; there is huge chemistry between me, Chico and Maged.

We are working currently to present Otl Fany here in Egypt because we want the Egyptian audience to watch it.

The main theme of Maktoub Alaya is being destined to our fates. How did you manage to discuss this profound concept within a comic format?

When Maktoub Alaya’s scriptwriter Ehab Beleibal told me the main theme of the series I immediately said yes let’s do it.

The series as you said tackles an extremely deep and important thing to all of us whatever our age, generation or background—

Feature et the notion of satisfaction, how we have to be satisfied with what we have and not what we do not have. God always grants us many gifts, but we are always dissatisfied and want more. To achieve happiness we should be thankful for what God gives us; this is the main message of Maktoub Alaya.

While we were preparing, director Khaled Elhalafawy, scriptwriter Ehab Belibal, producer Karim Abou Zekry and myself all agreed that we would present a comedy and entertaining series but at the same time we wanted to deliver this important message. It was like a difficult equation, and that’s why we worked a lot on this series to make every scene a comic one but at the same time deliver the main theme and people at the end will judge whether we’ve managed to succeed.

Behind the scenes what was it like working again with director Khaled El Halafawy and co-starring with Ayten Amer, Hanady Mehana, Amr Abdel Geleil and the rest of the cast?

One of the key factors of the success of Maktoub Alaya is its cast. We all care about each other, everyone is keen that the entire cast gives their best performance, not only caring about his or her role. We used to give each other advice and that was very constructive. Definitely working with veteran actors like Amr Abdel Geleil and Hanan Soliman enriched the series, the great sense of humor of Ismail Farghaly, Mahmoud El Sisi, Mohamed Teima and Hala Roushdy added a lot to the show.

I don’t want to forget anyone; everyone was great ,especially under the supervision of the series’ maestro, the great director Khaled El Halafawy.

Which series are you following this Ramadan?

Unfortunately because I was busy shooting I wasn’t able to

watch a complete series but I am planning to watch Geziret Ghamam because my friend and great actor Ahmed Amin gave a critically acclaimed performance. I will also watch El Ekhteyar, El Kebeer Awi season 6 because I miss El Kebeer. And I’ll be watching Faten Amal Harby too.

Like Galal in Maktoub Alaya, write a message to each of your following close friends and family.

Ahmed Fahmy: My dearest friend, my brother from another mother, God bless you always and to many more successes together.

Chico: You are my kind and close friend but please try to calm down a bit because you become nervous easily.

Hesham Maged: Love you my friend. May our friendship last forever.

Mohamed Mamdouh: Not because you are my friend but you are one of the most brilliant actors of our generation. Love you my friend.

Ahmed Amin: My friend who owns a kind, golden heart. A one-of-a-kind actor and human being, love you.

Your son: You are my hero and you will always be, I love you.

Your daughter: Please continue that beautiful girl inside out don’t change, I love you.

You’re known to be an open-minded father with your daughter, tell us more about that.

I always try to think the same way as Ruba, my daughter, because the way we were raised is not suitable for the current generations. We are good friends, I discuss with her things that I go through and she does the same. I put myself in her shoes and always ask myself if I am in her place and my father gives me a certain order or punishes me, would I accept it?

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Yousra:

A Character Statement The iconic queen of Ramadan mosalsalat returns this year with a very new but lovable role in the comedy series Ahlam Saeeda.

By Angy Essam

E

gyptian megastar Yousra competed in this Ramadan’s drama marathon with Ahlam Saeeda (Happy Dreams), playing the role of Farida. Egypt Today chatted with Yousra about her foray into TV comedy and her experience playing the funny, snobbish yet kind character audiences have come to love since the series began airing at the beginning of the month.

Tell us more about Farida in Ahlam Saeeda Farida is different from all the characters I have played before, but I prefer to leave the audience to give their feedback about her. All I can say is that I wanted to present a comic character this year and Farida fulfilled my wish.

What was it like cooperating for the first time with Hala Khalil as a scriptwriter?

I am delighted to work with Hala Khalil in her first comic series and in general I am happy with the whole experience, especially that I got to work with a number of young talented comedians.

You are always keen to help and support the entire cast.

What was it like behind the scenes of the series?

The whole cast were really great, behind the scenes was lots of fun and we were all helping each other. Having several comedians in one show helped very much in increasing the comic dosage of Ahlam Saeeda.

Ahlam Saeeda is a female lead series. To what extent did his help in creating a comic setting?

It is true that Ahlam Saeeda is a female lead series, and the friendship between these ladies created a lot of funny situations. The series housed a bunch of talented female stars including the adorable Ghada Adel who perfectly embodied the role of Sherine , Mai Kassab who is a great actress and comedian, the hilarious Shaimaa Seif who made us all

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laugh in all of her scenes. Ans also Outaka, Entissar, Hisham Ismail, Hamdy El Merghany, and Samy Meghawery are all strong comedians who added a lot to Ahlam Saeeda.

Amr Arafa is a director who is famous for his acclaimed comedy works. What was it like working with him on this series?

Amr Arafa is my lifetime friend and we have shared together unforgettable memories. Arafa was the production supervisor of the only movie I produced “Dehek wi Leb wi Gad wi Hob” and being a producer was so hectic for me that I decided not to repeat experience, but Arafa helped me a lot in this movie with his great artistic capabilities. We also worked together on “Saraya Abdeen.” Arafa is a renowned director, who knows how to direct his cast to provide the best performance and he did that with all of us.

Every Ramadan viewers eagerly wait to see what Yousra will be presenting. Does that put pressure on you?

I always have a huge feeling of responsibility and continuously work hard to entertain and please the audience by presenting high-quality work, whatever the genre whether comedy, tragedy or social drama.

It is hard to please all viewers, how do you deal with this?

You are definitely right, I can’t please the entire audience with their different taste but I exert the maximum effort so that my conscience is satisfied because it is always my guide.

Satisfying the audience is undoubtedly difficult, but if the audience loves an artist, they will love him or her unconditionally and have absolute admiration for him or her. The audience’s love is the energy that always pushes the artist forward.

You’ve been known to sometimes interfere in the script.

Can such interference negatively affect the work?

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Of course not, as long as my suggestions don’t change the general context of the script. Sometimes I see that I have the right to interfere as I have experience that allows me to do so.

How do you evaluate the role digital platforms currently

play in the filmmaking industry?

Digital platforms were able to open many doors for all people to present their work without the need to wait for long periods of time.The idea of p ​ resenting 10-episode series is an excellent idea that breaks from the boredom of the long series.

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A Call for

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Change

Could Nelly Karim’s Faten Amal Harby pioneer amendments to Egypt’s personal status law?

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Nelly Karim..

Empowering Women

By Angy Essam

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aten Amal Harby is a social drama series that revolves around the sufferings of Faten (Nelly Karim), a divorced woman with two daughters. The series highlights hot-button societal issues including partner violence, divorce, as well as the injustice and hardships Egyptian women face when opting for divorce, including child custody rights. Faten is a strong woman who decides to challenge the Personal Status law, which she sees as an unfair law that deprives her of her rights.

Egypt Today chatted with superstar Nelly Karim about the role of Faten and how she views the impact of social drama on societal issues.

Who is Faten Amal Harby?

Faten is one of thousands of women that we can find in all Egyptian families. She is a woman who is going through very difficult circumstances, and she’s always fighting to survive for the sake of her daughters. Through the series we highlight the incidents that Faten is going through, the situations she faces, and how she deals with her life crises.

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Can we consider Faten a strong character?

Of course, Faten is a very strong character and despite her moments of weakness, she is able to persevere in the face of the difficulties she is going through. Faten is not a fictional character, she is an Egyptian woman who is typically described as “the pillar of the house,” a metaphor that expresses the importance of Egyptian women and their ability to keep their families together in times of hardship. Faten is that woman who remains strong and steadfast to face the challenges life throws at her.

Who was your inspiration while getting into character?

There is no specific inspiration but any artist throughout his or her life meets different and varied personalities, and hears many realistic stories so when they perform a certain character they start to use all these experiences and data stored in their mind. Although there is no specific character in my life that totally inspired me to play Faten, I have met some women that are similar to her, who have suffered the same things or have similar circumstances. I hope that the messages we send through Faten’s character are well received especially after the great feedback to the series till now.

Feature et Do you worry about audience reaction to your character choice when taking on a new role?

No, I do not think about the audience’s reaction toward any work I present, I only exert the maximum effort to perform the role with full credibility. As for whether the work will succeed or not, I do not think about this issue during the preparation stage at all, I only concentrate on embodying my role.

Most of your works tackle vital societal problems, is that your mission?

Frankly speaking, discussing such issues depends on a number of factors, including the production company, the director and the scriptwriter. It is true that most of my works tackled societal problems but that was not really intentional. At the end of the day I am an actress who presents multiple roles, some of which have important social aspects and different dimensions, but if you are asking about this series, the idea was the brainchild of the director Mando AlAdl, and he discussed it with the great writer Ibrahim Eissa.

How do you feel the series can empower women?

The series supports women, and discusses major defects in the family law pertaining to divorce and child custody that hundreds of women are suffering from in the family courts nowadays. If we take a look at the laws that were made more than 50 years ago, we will find significant weak points in them that negatively affect women rights. Despite the judges’ sympathy, they are at the end governed by this law. The law needs to be changed, especially in light of the government’s steps to support women, and President Abdel Fattah El Sisi’s great efforts to empower Egyptian women.

This is crystal clear from the number of female ministers

and judges we have now, that’s why the series tried to support women and shed light on major challenges that many divorced women like Faten suffer from.

Films like Oreedu Halan (I Need a Solution) have been known to prompt the government to change legislation, do you think this series has the power to set changes to the law in motion?

I certainly hope that this happens and the series contributes to making a radical change in the law in question. The series highlighted many problems that thousands of women currently suffer from in Egypt.

How would you describe this latest cooperation with veteran producer Gamal El Adl? As usual the cooperation with veteran producer Gamal El Adl is always fruitful. Some may view the producer as a rich guy who is investing his money in cinema or drama only to maximize his profits, on the contrary the producer is a person who has an artistic vision to choose a professional cast who must work together in full harmony. Gamal El Adl is one of these producers who has an artistic sense and the ability to make high-quality series and movies.

Tell us about your first-time cooperation with Sherif Salama Sherif presented a totally different role that took viewers by surprise. He is a talented actor who provided a distinguished performance of Seif El-Dandarawy’s character which was no easy feat. Audiences admired his performance, especially since he’s never played anything like it. Behind the scenes with Sherif were really great as well.

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Sherif Salama..

Making an Example Sherif Salama’s portrayal of an abusive husband on Faten Amal Harby aims to encourage male audiences not to take his character as a role model.

By Angy Essam

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herif Salama is dazzling us all after with his credible performance as abusive husband and reckless father Seif El Dandarawy on Faten Amal Harby.

Egypt Today interviewed the young actor about his recent work and how he views the impact of drama in general.

Tell us more about Seif El Dandarawy For me, Seif El Dandarawy is an extremely important role. Through him we highlight how some husbands greatly underestimate the real value of marriage. Seif is a selfish guy who treats his wife cruelly and abuses her in every sense of the word. We tried through the series to shed light on this type of man who we unfortunately see a lot in our

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society, men who have totally wrong perceptions of women.

What motivated you to embody such a complicated character?

Actually there are a number of factors. The first is the director Mando El Adl. I worked with Mando before, he is an extremely talented director who always seeks to present realistic issues and discusses vital societal problems. The second factor is El Adl Group which is a reputable production company that always presents high-quality and distinguished productions that tackles crucial subjects. The third factor is the well-written script by acclaimed author and scriptwriter Ibrahim Eissa and finally working with a big star like Nelly Karim who is famed for her credible per-

Feature et formances and compelling Ramadan series.

Have you ever met someone like Seif El Dandarawy?

In general I don’t imitate real characters on screen, but sometimes I meet or know someone who has the same mentality or has one or two of the personal traits of someone like Seif, so I gather all these details to help me embody the role but in general I don’t play the character of someone I know on screen.

Do you think social drama is closer to people’s hearts because they reflect their problems and suffering?

This is certainly true, and was confirmed after the release of the series poster. The viewers found it relatable and put a real picture of a woman in front of the family court similar to the picture of the poster, this reflects to what extent the series is realistic and conveys its ability to highlight an issue from the Egyptian society, and this exactly what attract the audience to social series because they witnessed situations in real life similar to those in the series.

Any social work is double-edged sword, either it achieves great success, or it becomes bleak and the public stay away from it. Weren’t you afraid of that?

No I wasn’t afraid, because I know we are discussing in this series crucial societal problems and crisis that the audience will interact with and find relatable. On the other hand the series is more dedicated to women, it sends powerful messages and explains them to the public in general.

Faten Amal Harby is a series that is primarily concerned with women and their crises, but also it sends several messages to men in order not to be like Seif who made his wife and daughters suffer. I am happy with

the great success the series has achieved and that the messages we have sent were well received.

Ibrahim Eissa’s works and thoughts are usually subjected to a torrent of criticism. Is it at all possible that this will affect the percentage of viewers following the series?

No, I do not think that this has affected the series viewership. The series is well executed, the plot is not traditional, and the audience are interacting with its incidents.

To what extent do you see that it is important to raise societal issues in drama?

Certainly, as we raised the issue of child custody in Faten Amal Harby series, there are many important issues that must be raised through a number of artistic works. It is important to society and drama alike.

How do you feel about other series this Ramadan?

I am against comparisons because each series has its own ideas, issues and genre. At the end of the day we all do our best to entertain the audience that’s why I refrain from comparisons or even considering it a competition..

What is the main target that you want to achieve through your work?

I strive all the time to present meaningful works that have purposeful ideas, presented in a way that suits general audiences and contributes in raising people’s awareness.

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The

Race Is On

The annual mosalsalat marathon has begun. What are you watching this Ramadan?

By Angy Essam

Dayman Amer Mostafa Shaban presents a new social comedy blend with Dayman Amer, in which he plays the role of a social worker at a school. The series highlights recent problems in education in Egypt and tries to discuss solutions to the crises of teachers, parents and students. The series houses a notable cast including Lebleba, Amr Abdelgelil, Salah Abdallah, Myrna Noureldin, Karim Afifi, Mohamed Tharwat, Ahmed El Shamy and Cynthia Khalifie.

Dayman Amer is written by Magdy El Hawary and Ahmed Abdel Fattah, produced by Kamel Abou Aly and directed by Magdy El Hawary. The series screens on ON and Al Hayat channels in addition to WATCH IT.

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Ra’geen Ya Hawa (We Are Back Love) Who said that creative artists die? They never die because they will continue to live on through their art. The proof of this is that late renowned scriptwriter Osama Anwar Okasha is participating in the Ramadan drama marathon with Ra’geen Ya Hawa, 12 years after his death.

Ra’geen Ya Hawa’s plot was penned by Okasha, while the script and the dialogue were written by Mohamed Soliman. After being heavily in debt, Baligh Abou El Hana (Khaled El Nabawy) decided to leave Europe and return to Egypt to regain his share in his family inheritance, but his mission soon turns into an attempt to reconcile with his family and bring them together again. Baligh finds himself falling in love with doctor Maggie (Nour) and at the same time will meet again his ex, Farida (Hana Shiha).

The star-studded cast also brings together Anoushka, Wafaa Amer, Ahmed Bedeir, Nour Khaled El Nabawy, Islam Ibrahim and Salma Abou Deif, among others.

The series is produced by Tamer Mortada and directed by Mohamed Salama. Catch it on DMC and CBC channels in addition to WATCH IT.

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Feature Gezeiret Ghamam (Ghamam Island) This series stars a notable group of celebrities including Tarek Lotfy, Mai Ezz Eldin, Ahmed Amin and Fathy Abd El-Wahab among others. The setting is a virtual island called “Ghamam” which resembles the Egyptian city of Qusseir around 100 years ago. The events of the series take place in a social context in Upper Egypt where the lives of the residents of Ghamam Island are turned upside down when a mysterious group of strangers arrive on their island.

A Synergy production, the series is directed by Hussein El Manabawy, written by Abd El Rahim Kamal, and airs on Al Hayat channel as well as WATCH IT.

El Meshwar (The Journey) This series brings together the two popular Ramadan stars Mohamed Ramadan and Dina El Sherbiny. The events of the soap revolve around the married couple Maher (Mohamed Ramadan) and Ward (Dina El Sherbiny) who work as temporary day workers in Max Company in Alexandria. They live with their son Rahim in the house of Maher’s aunts. Events unfold as the couple face difficulties in dealing with their hard work. The show also tackles issues including antiquities smuggling and gang culture.

El Meshwar is written by Mohamed Farid, directed by Mohamed Yassin and produced

by Saadi-Gohar production company. The series will be screened on DMC and WATCH IT.

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Malaf Serry (Secret File) Hany Salama presents a completely new and different character in Malaf Serry (Secret File), playing Judge Yehia Ezz El-Din who is assigned to issue his sentence in the case of a wealthy family named El Malky who were accused of corruption, but his desire for justice will send him on a dangerous adventure.

Starring alongside Salama are Maged El Masry, Mohsen Mohy El Din, Merihan Hussein, Aicha Ben Ahmed and Nedal El Shafie. The series is written by Mahmoud Haggag, produced by Fenoon Masr production company and directed by Hassan El Balasy.

Malaf Serry airs on CBC, DMC, Al Hayat and El Mehwar channels in addition to WATCH IT digital platform.

El Kebeer Awi 6 Season six of the highly popular series El Kebeer Awi airs exclusively on ON channel and Watch IT during Ramadan 2022. The adventures and stories of the three hilarious brothers El Kebeer, Johnny and Hazaloum continue to amuse us in season six.

El Kebeer, Johnny and Hazaloum appear together again after six years of hiatus since the release of season five in 2015 and in this season we see how El Kbeer is raising his children, El Etra and Johnny, after he decides to marry a woman to take care of them. Continuing his search for a profitable job, Johnny starts shooting videos on social media for the villagers of El Mazarita. The third brother, Hazaloum will continue to be a funny trouble maker.

The season stars Ahmed Mekky, hilarious newcomer Rahma Ahmed, Mohamed Salam, Bayoumy Fouad, Hisham Ismail, Sama Ibrahim, and Mohamed Otaka, in addition to a wide range of guests of honor who will appear in every two episodes. El Kebeer Awi season 6 is written by Mostafa Saker, directed by Ahmed El Gendy and produced by Synergy.

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Feature Suits Arabia This Ramadan sees the release of the Egyptian version of the popular American crime drama series Suits, which tackles issues pertaining to influential men and the dirty business of law. The plot revolves around a man who failed to receive his bachelor degree in law but managed to land a job as an associate with one of New York’s top lawyers while keeping his lack of degree a secret.

Nine seasons of Suits have been released so far and it garnered positive reviews by critics and audiences all over the world. The Egyptian version stars Asser Yassin, Ahmed Dawoud, Saba Mubarak, Tara Emad, Reem Moustafa and Mohamed Shahin.

The series is produced by Tarek El Ganainy and directed by Khaled Marei. Catch it on CBC, OSN and WATCH IT.

U-Turn Riham Haggag competes in the Ramadan drama marathon this year with U-Turn which will see the comeback of veteran actor Tawfik Abdel Hamid after a long hiatus.

The series discusses the relationship between fathers and their children and houses other drama lines.

Alongside Haggag and Abdel Hamid the drama stars Abeer Sabry, Karim Kassem, Mohamed Kilany, Safaa Eltoukhy and Hisham Ashour, among others. U-Turn is written by Ayman Salama, directed by Sameh Abdel Aziz and produced by El Adl Group.

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Feature et Fe Baitna Robot (We Have A Robot in Our House) II After the success of part one, the makers of Fe Baitna Robot decided to release part two in Ramadan 2022. The events of the second part of the series continue to follow the funny stories of the two robots Laziz (Amr Wahab) and Zoomba (Shaimaa Seif) who were made by Youssef (Hisham Gamal).

In this series Youssef and Sarah (Laila Zaher) are expecting their first child, and events begin to escalate due to the couple’s suffering from family problems during pregnancy. Part two also introduces a new character who owns a competing company and a powerful robot named Mateen, and many competitions are held between them to determine the best robot throughout the episodes.

The second installment stars Hisham Gamal, Laila Zaher, Shaimaa Seif, Amr Wahba among others. The series is written

by Amr Wahba, directed by Osama Orabi and produced by Roznama. The series airs on Al Hayat channel and WATCH IT.

Betloe El Rouh Since the release of its poster, Betloe El Rouh has stirred wide controversy.

After her husband deceived her and smuggled her into anISIS den in Syria, Rouh (Menna Shalaby) tries to escape only to end up in a camp for escapees from ISIS and returning to Egypt becomes a distant dream.

The series houses a notable group of stars including Menna Shalaby, Elham Shahine, Ahmed El Saadany, Mohamed Hatem among others. The series is written by Mohamed Abeya, directed by Kamla Abo Zekri and airs on MBC Masr.

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FOOD TODAY

Tastes of Ramadan Where to go for exclusive iftars and sohours

Plus:

Tips for Ramadan nutrition

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Vibes

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Follow the

Ramadan outings are back in full swing this year. Here are our picks of the most exclusive venues in Cairo for iftar, sohour and overnight stays.

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Feature et Embrace the Spirit of Ramadan at The Nile Ritz-Carlton, Cairo The Nile Ritz-Carlton has geared up for a blissful Ramadan filled with captivating #RcMemories and enticing culinary journey. Experience Ramadan with a Ritz-Carlton flair as you gather with your family and friends over a delectable Iftar, or savor Suhour at the rooftop with an exquisite view of Cairo’s skyline.

Go on a delightful culinary journey this Ramadan as you break your fast with a delectable Iftar buffet at Culina restaurant. Culina’s Chefs have put together a selection of appetizing, gourmet Arabic and International dishes for the ultimate buffet experience. With main courses provided through interactive, live cooking stations and a sumptuous selection of salads and desserts on display, rest assured that it is the fine experience you would want to feast on.

Exquisite Suhour nights awaits you, your family and friends under the stars in their unique rooftop Ramadan Lounge, “Wust El Balad”. Combining contemporary design with oriental accents, their stylish, yet refined ambiance welcomes you with family-style set-menus, to share, featuring hot and cold mezzehs, mouth-watering grills and delicious oriental desserts for a suhour worth gathering for! Overlooking glorious views of the Nile and Cairo tower from the 12th floor, Ramadan nights spent there are like nothing you have seen before.

What are your post-iftar coffee and tea rituals? Whether you like your tea traditionally made with mint on charcoal or your Turkish coffee slowly prepared in sand, our Lobby Lounge shall cater to your every need. Pair your favorite cup of tea or coffee with one of the delicious desserts on display as you enjoy authentic oriental tunes. Even better, extend your evening and enjoy an à la carte suhour menu, every night, through the month.

Ramadan in Downtown Cairo has a one of a kind taste, incomparable to the ambiance of anywhere else. Escape the hustle and bustle of the city and getaway this holy month to the heart of the Nile in downtown Cairo. Enjoy a tranquil twenty-four hours staycation where you shall relax soundly during your fast followed by a delectable Iftar or Sohour.

Enjoy a downtown Cairo retreat with captivating views of the Nile or the Egyptian Museum and get rewarded with USD 70 per room, per stay. Redeem your credit for a rejuvenating journey at The Nile Ritz-Carlton Spa or for an exquisite dining experience at one of their flavorsome restaurants.

Give your health and wellness some attention during Ramadan and indulge in your favorite spa treatments with 30% savings.

If you are a Marriott Bonvoy member, enjoy your rejuvenating treatments during the holy month with 50% savings.

For the joyous occasion of Eid Al Fitr, The Nile Ritz-Carlton, Spa treats its guests with 10% savings on its signature Royal Ritual Hammam experience during the last ten days of Ramadan and all throughout Eid. Last but not the least, as the holy month graciously comes to an end, get together for a fun-filled Eid El-Fitr with magnificent views of the Nile and unlimited basking under the sun by Downtown’s largest pool.

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Exquisite Ramadan Experiences at Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence Ramadan is a time for reflection, gratitude and most importantly to connect and spend time with those who are dearest to us, be it family or friends, welcome the Holy month in Cairo with a collection of culinary experiences presented by Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence.

Whether its outdoors with a Ramadan experience “under the stars” in Aura restaurant with the glistening pool in the backdrop, or panoramic views of the Nile on the roof deck aboard The First Nile Boat at the recently, revamped and re-opened Zoe restaurant; that serves Greek cuisine, in addition to local and regional favorites.

In the heart of First Mall, La Gourmandise presents Al Saraya Tent with an international buffet, focusing not only on traditional local and Middle-Eastern specialties but will include Italian, Asian and Greek dishes, drawing inspiration from the First Nile Boat’s restaurants, Riva, Nairu and Zoe. A team of chefs lead by Executive Chef Erwan Laurenceau prepare for an extensive array of Ramadan offerings, Chef Laurenceau who is deeply connected with Egyptian culture has lived for over ten years in Cairo and is well acquainted with local traditions “Egypt is one of the best places to experience Ramadan, while the city is quiet and reserved during the day, it awakens and re-energizes after the sun sets”. “This year I am proud to introduce a more varied Ramadan menu, which includes such as Chicken Briyani Lamb Murgh Makhani Thai shrimp noodles, Greek inspired salads and appetizers and even pizza and risotto will be featured in this year’s Ramadan buffets.

“Our varied offerings will be unlike any other in the city” adds Chef Laurenceau.

Break the routine between fasting throughout the Holy Month and book a luxurious stay with Four Seasons and enjoy some of the city’s largest rooms and suites.

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Feature et Ramadan Experiences by Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence and The First Nile Boat Iftar at La Gourmandise Al Saraya Tent Cuisine: Egyptian and Middle-Eastern Iftar buffet with an international flair • Rates: EGP 650 per person includes Ramadan beverages and water, excludes service charge and taxes • EGP 325 for children aged 6 to 12 years old; includes Ramadan beverages, excludes service charge and taxes; complimentary for kids aged 5 and below.

Lebanese Family Style and Sohour menus at Aura Cuisine: Lebanese at its finest specially prepared by Chef Ahmed Zoghbi • Rates: EGP 650 per person includes Ramadan beverages and water, excludes service charge and taxes • EGP 325 for children aged 6 to 12 years old; includes Ramadan beverages, excludes service charge and taxes; complimentary for kids aged 5 and below • Sohour a la carte menu minimum spend of EGP 350 inclusive all applicable taxes per person • Private Cabana Iftar rental supplement EGP 500 inclusive all applicable taxes • Private Cabana with minimum spend of EGP 1200 inclusive all applicable taxes.

Iftar and Sohour on Roof Deck with Nile Views in Zoe Cuisine: Greek specialties with Egyptian and Mediterranean flair • Rates: EGP 650 per person includes Ramadan beverages and water, excludes service charge and taxes • EGP 325 for children aged 6 to 12 years old; includes Ramadan beverages, excludes service charge and taxes; complimentary for kids aged 5 and below • Sohour a la carte menu minimum spend of EGP 350 inclusive all applicable taxes per person

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Create Unforgettable moments this Ramadan at InterContinental and Holiday Inn Cairo Citystars This Ramadan InterContinental and Holiday Inn Cairo Citystars have a full line-up of tailor-made Ramadan offerings for everyone to experience the authentic spirit of Ramadan. With an extensive range of dining venues, we welcome our guests to indulge in sumptuous feasts of Iftar and Sohour with our world-class hospitality.

Spend magical Ramadan moments with family and friends at Esplanade Café. Indulge in a lavish Iftar buffet including soft drinks, mineral water, tea or coffee for EGP 700 per person. Delve into the spirit of this occasion with the music of authentic oriental takht while enjoying delicious Sohour buffets featuring the best traditional dishes for EGP 450 per person. Treat yourself to Al Khal’s tempting Egyptian Iftar set menus in the open air.

Relish the traditional flavours and unique Egyptian cuisine creations in an authentic atmosphere for EGP 650 per person.

This Ramadan, satisfy your appetite with an array of Lebanese specialties and tuck into a flavour packed Levant inspired Iftar in Fayruz Lebanese Restaurant, where they bring you the genuine taste of Lebanese cuisine with scrumptious Iftar set menus for EGP 650 per person, including a soft drinks, mineral water, tea and coffee.

Pool Bar offers you appetizing Iftar set menus for EGP 650 per person. Invite your loved ones to enjoy a relaxed Sohour in al fresco joyful setting in and experience delicious menus and taste the best seasonal konafa in town from My Bakery. Made with love, by our talented chefs, My Bakery offers

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you mouthwatering konafa and a special fusion of oriental pastries.

For an impressive Iftar feast, order a rack of lamb or a whole turkey or any of your favourite Ramadan delicious dishes to be prepared and picked up for a warm Iftar home gathering.

Delight your appetite in Holiday Inn Cairo Citystars Windows with an array of fine international delicacies in an extensive Iftar buffet for EGP 550 all-inclusive, or join us for an exquisite Sohour buffet for EGP 275 all-inclusive. And for further joy, throughout the first week and the last week of Ramadan, guests can enjoy 10% discount on Iftar*, so don’t miss that deal.

If you are an Indian food lover, Indira restaurant offers authentic Iftar set menus featuring the best Indian dishes created by Chef Vikram for EGP 600 all-inclusive, that’s not everything, Indira’s guests who choose to book their Iftar during the first and the last weeks of Ramadan, will enjoy their Iftar for only EGP 500 all-inclusive.

In Pool Garden, enjoy an ultimate Sohour experience under the stars with special set menus. The hotel serves you a delicious Sohour for EGP 275 all-inclusive, or add a specialty mixed grill dish for EGP 400. That’s not all! You can enjoy tempting oriental pastry with two hot drinks for EGP 120. Don’t miss the live band on the weekends from 11 pm till 2 am.

Watch your favorite Ramadan series in Star Corner and enjoy Holiday Inn tasteful oriental pastry with two hot drinks for EGP 120 all inclusive. Enjoy live oriental takht on weekends from 11 pm till 1 am starting the second week of Ramadan.

Explore a variety of delicate Ramadan oriental pastry. Pick your favorite item from Holiday Inn booth located in Citystars Mall, level 1, phase 1, and indulge in an unforgettable experience of sweetness.

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Goz W Loz Tent at Hilton Zamalek Creates Nostalgic Ramadan Vibes Hilton Cairo Zamalek Residences recently celebrated the opening of Goz W Loz Ramadan tent.

To mark the launch, the hotel held an elegant Sohour party the event was full of 90’s vibes and made us all reminisce the good old days, while the opening was on fire with the nineties singers stars. Everyone enjoyed the Sohour night with the presence of foreign Ambassadors, the media sector, TV presenters, celebrities, football players, influencers, and bloggers.

AHLAN RAMADAN at Sonesta Cairo Hotel Experience the genuine Ramadan spirit at Sonesta Hotel, Tower & Casino – Cairo.

Enjoy the summer breeze and charming Ramadan atmosphere accompanied by live entertainment and our Chef’s specially created Iftar and Sohour menus.

Don’t miss our special Ramadan accommodation package and ask about our special prices for companies Iftar / Sohour along with our mouthwatering Ramadan catering menus.

For reservations please call: 02.2264.1111 ext. 301-302 Facebook Link: https://www.facebook.com/ SonestaCairo Instagram Link: https://www.instagram. com/sonestahotelcairo/

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Ramadan Magical Times at Safir Hotel Cairo

Celebrate Ramadan Lebanese-Style at Loris Beirut’s staple Lebanese restaurant Loris launches its exclusive Iftar and Suhoor set menus with a wide variety of Lebanese platters taking its customers on a journey of traditional Lebanese delicacies.

Loris thought of every detail to bring its customers an exceptional Ramadan experience full of flavorful surprises. During the Holy Month gather up family, friends and corporate for iftars on the generous tables of Loris. Wrap up your night with Fawazir Loris over a vibrant sohour. Guess and win every night and make your Ramadan more special.

Ramadan Kareem! Safir Hotel Cairo team is delighted to invite guests to Ramadan experience to remember where every moment is precious and expresses Ramadan vibes. As joyful get-together is back, we proudly present special accommodation packages to whom look for a five-star hotel experience combined with the genuine feeling of home warmth and serenity. Also, our gifted Chefs enriched our menus with all dishes you crave for and more.

Palm’s Restaurant offers extravagant iftar buffet with a wide array of favorite culinary classics, middle eastern & Lebanese dishes served with delicious Ramadan Oriental desserts, Chef’s creation and refreshing Ramadan drinks. Simply our buffet variety represents a temptation to every Appetit.

Gather family and friends experience Ramadan Magical nights at HALA RAMADAN TENT by the pool side where you can enjoy a mouth-watering Iftar or Sohour at our stunning Hala Ramadan tent, and to spend a quality time with your family & friends while enjoying the tunes of oriental bands every night.

This Ramadan, celebrate with your loved ones at the comfort of your home. Get together for a gourmet Iftar and Sohour experience tailored by excellent team of professionals & delivered to your doorstep. Or simply book one of our ballrooms business iftars & sohours simply pick the date and let our Banquet team handle all details to ensure a cheerful team up.

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Food | Main Course

6 Tips to Keep Dehydration at Bay While Fasting

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Food | Main Course et Drinking water is essential to keeping our bodies hydrated, especially in the summer heat. Here’s how to replenish fluid loss while you’re fasting.

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ith the long hours of fasting in Ramadan, not to mention the rise in temperature, we’re all feeling thirsty during the day. Take advantage of the hours between sunset and sunrise to quench your thirst and replenish fluid loss while fasting.

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water throughout the Drink a minimum of 8 glasses of not only in the last and ise sunr and et time between suns needs to be hydrated few hours before fasting. Your body throughout. a lot of time directly Avoid, as much as possible, spending sure to sunlight reexpo and heat in the sun. Excessive dration. sults in sweating and eventually dehy

re iftar. When you Avoid high-intensity workouts befo r by sweating. So, wate of work out, your body loses a lot t drink water can’ you n whe ng working out while fasti dehydrate your body will make things worse and you will rather too quickly.

While thirst becomes Take cold showers in the morning. le of days in Racoup first the after a common feeling show signs of dehymadan, parts of your body will still and dry skin. Cold ue, dration such as chapped lips, fatig refreshing and do e mor are ers, showers, unlike hot show e. stur moi its of not strip the skin y in sohour. Make Avoid spicy and salty food, especiall much of either as too de inclu sure your food doesn’t behind dehydration. both are one of the main reasons les and salted fish as Stay away from foods such as pick they cause water retention. are high in water Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables that berries, cucumbers, content such as watermelon, straw keep your body will se bell peppers, and pineapple. The include one or to idea good a is feeling replenished, so it two of these during sohour.

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Food | Main Course

Yogurt:

The Perfect Iftar and Sohour Accompaniment 6 reasons why you need to eat more yogurt this Ramadan.

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ogurt is a kitchen and dining table staple, especially in Ramadan; wondering why? It’s light, versatile, and filled with benefits. Yogurt is very beneficial for your gut health and is packed with several important nutrients for your body. Additionally, yogurt is a healthy and light snacking option; whether you want to add it to some oats, honey, and fruits, or just eat it plain; it is filling without having to worry about those extra calories.

Benefits of Yogurt

Natural yogurt is a low-calorie, highly nutritious food.

Yogurt, especially Greek, is rich in protein which is important for metabolism, appetite regulation, and aids in weight loss.

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Yogurt is good for the bones as it is rich in calcium and Vitamin B6, and Vitamin D.

The probiotics in yogurt promote a healthier gut, aid in the digestion process, and reduce problems such as bloating and constipation.

Unsweetened yogurt can help regulate blood sugar levels which makes it good for type 2 diabetes patients.

Regular consumption of yogurt boosts the immune system due to the rich content of zinc, selenium, and magnesium.

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Ingredients

Cucumber and Yogurt Salad This recipe is light, delicious, and also flavorsome. It is also an excellent dip for several dishes such as stuffed vine leaves.

• 4 Large peeled cucumbers • 2 cups low-fat yogurt • ½ tablespoon salt • A pinch of ground black pepper (optional) • 2-4 minced garlic cloves • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil (optional)

Directions

• Grate the cucumber or cut it into two halves and cut crosswise into quarters to be chopped into small pieces.

• Place the cut pieces of cucumbers in a bowl with some salt and let it sit while you prepare the rest.

• In another bowl, mix the yogurt with the minced garlic, fresh ground mint leaves, pepper, and olive oil and stir well.

• Simmer the cucumber of any excess water then pour to the mixture and mix well together.

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Food | Main Course Feature

Gelato

Treats

There’s nothing better than these creative ice cream desserts from Dolato to help you cool off after a rich iftar.

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Food | Main Course et

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ntroducing the Italian texture into Ramadan’s atmosphere, with six types of gelato specially for Ramadan and the same for Ramadan tarts, Dolato puts its mark on the sweets market, and for more taste and creativity they merged their unique Dolato minis with Oriental sweets kunafa and basboussa ,that we all love in Ramadan.

Don’t miss their newest creations: kunafa cones topped with Dolato’s yummy gelato.

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Food | Main Course

Eating Right During the Holy Month Heliopolis Library presents online videos on proper nutrition during Ramadan.

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his Ramadan Heliopolis Library is screening a series of videos to raise awareness of healthy eating during the Holy Month. In an online broadcast via the Heliopolis Library’s official page on Facebook, Head of the Heliopolis Association Nabil Helmy announced the release of a number of films on proper nutrition, starting on April 7 and running for a week.

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Marking World Health Day this month, the educational videos were produced by the Ministry of Health and the Institute of Nutrition in an effort to shed light on the most beneficial health and nutritional practices to be followed during the holy month of Ramadan. The videos also serve to raise awareness among community members of the health benefits of fasting, address common harmful nutritional practices prevalent during Ramadan, and give advice on how to divide nutrients between iftar and suhour meals.

Commemorated every April 7, World Health Day draws attention to a specific health topic of interest to people around the world. The date was chosen to mark the anniversary of the establishment of the World Health Organization in 1948.

Over the past 50 years World Health Day has highlighted important health issues such as mental health, maternal and child care, and the health impact of climate change.

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Around Town Ramadan Lavish Open Buffet Iftar at Fairmont Nile City!

On the 9th of April 2022, Fairmont Nile City hosted a VIP Iftar event at its main authentic restaurant, L’Uliveto, with a gathering attended by a group of elite celebrities, media representatives, food bloggers and lifestyle influencers.

L’Uliveto during the holy month of Ramadan, provides the guests with the oriental open buffet vibes for iftar from the richest oriental items, changed daily serving the food that satisfies the different cravings with a special taste. You can try the various special dishes as the goulash stuffed with ducks, the turkey stuffed with fereik, the peigons stuffed with shrimps or many other special dishes that are served on the open buffet with the salads, appetizers, mezzes and the other dishes besides the sweet corner that consists of oriental desserts in the open buffet, that will boost your adrenaline. Not just that, but also the mezzes, salads, and tajines that are served on the tables during the iftar time.

Ramadan at Fairmont Nile City is like no other.

That’s a wrap! Emirates concludes a stellar six months at Expo 2020 Dubai

Majid Al Futtaim brings happiness to 250 children in Egypt by celebrating National Orphan’s Day at its malls Majid Al Futtaim, the leading shopping mall, communities, retail and leisure pioneer across the Middle East, Africa and Asia, invited 250 children from El Balsam El Shafi and Sand Masr to experience Mall of Egypt, City Centre Almaza, City Centre Alexandria and City Centre Maadi in celebration of National Orphan’s Day on April 1. With the aim of drawing a smile on their faces, Majid Al Futtaim hosted a range of action-packed activities in collaboration with retailers from the malls and employees, providing the children with engaging experiences and memorable moments.

For 16 years, Majid Al Futtaim has been committed to showcasing its support and raising awareness of National Orphan’s Day across its shopping malls in Egypt. This year, the malls celebrated the occasion with a tailored agenda by partnering with leisure, entertainment, and F&B retailers.

Activities during the day included visits to Gravity Code, Magic Planet, Carrefour and VOX Cinemas, and giveaways were provided to the children by a selection of stores.

Commenting on the initiative, Hanny El Messiry, Managing Director of West Region Shopping Malls at Majid Al Futtaim — Properties, stated: “Celebrating National Orphan’s Day at Majid Al Futtaim is a tradition that we have proudly established since 2006. This year, we managed to host the occasion across all four of our properties, continuing to instil happiness within the orphanage communities in Egypt. We will continue to value and prioritise the happiness and wellbeing of the communities in which we operate, all in line with our mission to create great moments for everyone, everyday. This is why we are proud and honoured to be celebrating such a special occasion, especially with the start of Ramadan, and we look forward to continuing to foster a more inclusive environment that sees members of the society, our employees and retailers come together to give back to the community.”

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Emirates has wrapped up a stellar six months at Expo 2020 Dubai, wowing hundreds of thousands of visitors at it ultra-futuristic Pavilion. As the world’s greatest show lowers its curtain, the airline looks back at 180 days of unique experiences at its Pavilion - teleporting visitors into the future of commercial aviation in 2071.

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman and Chief Executive of Emirates Group, said: “It has been an incredible journey. What started off as a bid and dream has turned into a reality. Emirates has been a partner of Expo from the very start and we are proud to have played a significant role in the success of this megaevent. Dubai has an unbeatable record of always doing things bigger and better, and Expo 2020 Dubai was just that. Emirates’ extensive route network and seamless connectivity has truly made Dubai the world’s meeting point and the best place to be this year, and every year.”

As the Premier Partner and Official Airline of Expo 2020 Dubai, Emirates has played a significant role with bringing visitors across the world to the event. Over the past six months, the airline has brought millions of passengers to the Expo, from over 120 destinations, across six continents.

More than 40 Emirates’ aircraft donned with special Expo liveries have flown across the airline’s network to spread awareness of the global event. Emirates has invested more than AED 100 million in advertising and other promotional campaigns to promote and spread awareness on Expo 2020 across its global markets. From partnering with famous actor, Chris Hemsworth, to launch a bold campaign during the opening of Expo, to captivating the world with a viral ad featuring its cabin crew on the tip of the Burj Khalifa – the airline has played a massive role in placing Expo 2020 Dubai on top of the world’s travel agenda.

Around Town et Cairo Festival City Celebrates Orphans Day

Mashreq Names New Group Head of Technology, Transformation and Information Mashreq Bank, one of the leading financial institutions in the United Arab Emirates, has appointed Alexander Raiff as its new Group Head of Technology, Transformation and Information.

Raiff is a seasoned technology professional with over 30 years of experience; noteworthy is his role as Chief Information Officer in Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank from 2012 to 2020. More recently, he has been an Advisor & Angel Investor for Digital Banking, FinTech/RegTech & Crypto Asset Platforms. Alexander was also associated with Daimler Financial Services and Mercedes Benz from 2003 to 2012 as CIO across their Offices in Europe, China and Japan.

“Alexander joins Mashreq at a crucial moment as we lead the evolution of digital finance and the wider digital economy through the innovation and deployment of truly transformational platforms and solutions,” said Ahmed Abdelaal, Group CEO, Mashreq.

“It is a great honor to join Mashreq and to be given the opportunity to meet the demands of the new transformed economy post COVID, to help shape a new kind of financial services and develop a strategy for collaboration across Mashreq, its many stakeholders and the wider digital ecosystem,” Raiff said.

Cairo Festival City, an affiliate of Egypt’s leading real estate developer Al-Futtaim Group Real Estate (AFGRE), hosted a marvelous event in celebration of Orphans Day at the heart of its luxurious gated community “Oriana I..

Held from 11:00 AM to 03:00 PM, The event was organized in cooperation with The Egyptian Sports Federation for Mental Disabilities, Together to Save a Human, and McDonald’s, who sponsored the meals presented to the participating children.

Like every year, Al Futtaim Group Real Estate ensured a festive atmosphere for the participating children, who were entertained through different activities. The ceremony hosted over 100 kids, including 50 children of determination. The Group also dedicated charity boxes for donations, as well as toys, and clothes for children.

Mercedes-Benz Egypt announces signing an extended Collaboration Protocol Supporting Baheya Foundation In celebration of the Women’s month, Mercedes-Benz Egypt announced the start of a long-term cooperation protocol with the Baheya Foundation to support their ambitious humanitarian projects including the early Detection and Treatment of Women’s Breast Cancer; as well as the establishment of the new breast cancer hospital in Sheikh Zayed City, Giza.

Since its establishment in 2015, Baheya Foundation has been able to receive almost 200,000 women cases, between early examination, diagnosis and tumor detection. This milestone achievement was celebrated during a high profile yet compassionate event, attended by representatives from both entities, ministerial representatives, in addition to a number of VIP guests and society figures.

The company’s support for Baheya Foundation, per the signing of an extended cooperation protocol, builds on the successful partnership that started in 2021 supporting women with breast cancer and raising awareness about the importance of its early detection. In addition, Mercedes-Benz Egypt will support the NGO’s heartfelt community initiatives throughout the year.

Social responsibility is one of the brand’s core values.

This latest social commitment and healthcare initiative aligns with the profound efforts of Baheya Foundation.

At Mercedes-Benz, sustainability means permanently creating value and sustainable benefits for all stakeholder groups, including the society as a whole. Economic, environmental, and social responsibility go hand in hand — along the entire value chain, a responsibility to which Mercedes-Benz is committed.

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Around Town The St. Regis Almasa Hotel Welcomes Mahmoud Sakr As The New General Manager The St. Regis Almasa Hotel is pleased to announce the appointment of Mahmoud Sakr as the new General Manager. In his new role, Sakr will lead the hotel’s efforts and spearhead a new era of luxury in the new Administrative Capital of Cairo by introducing the style, innovation, and cherished traditions of St. Regis.

Sakr is a veteran hotelier with over 30 years of experience in the hospitality industry. Sakr spent the first 13 years of his career with Le Meridien across Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Senegal and then moved to UAE. Sakr’s first time General Manager Position under Jumeirah Group was at Mina A’Salam, then he moved to the Jumeirah Beach Hotel in 2012. Following that, he moved to Jumeirah Emirates Towers in 2017 which paved the way for his promotion as Managing Director of the luxurious Jumeirah Zabeel Saray & Royal Residences at the Palm Island of Dubai from 2019 to January 2021.

Sakr has been recognized as one of the most experienced business leaders during his time with Jumeirah Group in UAE as he brought operational excellence and won the most prestigious awards globally for hotels under his leadership.

Ahmed Hozaien, Area Vice President - Saudi Arabia, Bahrain & Egypt said: “We’re delighted to have Sakr at the helm of the first and most luxurious hotel of his country’s New Capital, The St. Regis Almasa Hotel. With Sakr’s vast operations background and knowledge of the Middle East and regional markets, he is the ideal candidate to take the property to the next level of success.”

Commenting on his appointment, Mahmoud Sakr said: “It is a great honor for me to join one of the most prestigious and luxury brands like the St. Regis. The New Capital is indeed on the fast track to becoming Egypt’s new hub for citywide key events; and I look forward in my role to bring to guests the exquisite luxury experience of the brand, with its exceptional offerings, distinctive moments and iconic celebrations.”

Sakr is happy to return back to Egypt after decades of expatriation, bringing wealthy experience of world class hospitality to the heart of the new capital in Cairo.

Mahmoud Sakr received his post graduate general management program from the renowned Ithaca Cornell University, USA. Sakr is a diligent football fan, shares a passion of writing daily thoughts and is a pet lover with a passion for dog training.

Downtown Is Welcoming A New Era Of Unmatched Weddings With The St. Regis Cairo’s Indoor Ballrooms Overlooking The Nile River More than a century ago, The St. Regis brand is renowned for its tradition of innovation and commitment to impeccable service at more than 40 hotels and resorts around the world. Since the opening of The St. Regis New York, St. Regis has become a symbol of uncompromising refinement and bespoke service. Moving on the same steps, The St. Regis Cairo brings its legacy of butler service and signature rituals for the first time in Egypt.

The most spectacular events and weddings will take place at Astor Grand Ballroom, located on the first floor. Guests enter through The Crystal Hall, which is located at the Porte Cochere, outside the lobby and this allows an exclusive and private entrance for the guest. Before entering the Astor Grand ballroom, guests will enjoy a series of crystal glass chandeliers; and an extravagant Swarovski chandelier with 250,000 individual crystals hanging from the centre of the hall and the startling crystal staircase, which is overlooking the River Nile. The ballroom surroundings incorporate refined dark brown wood with bronze detailing that is inspired by the authenticity of the arabesque Egyptian designs.

Included in the wedding packages is the exclusive butler service. A female butler will be present to support the bride during the whole day, and consequently there will be a male

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butler to assist the groom. The St. Regis bespoke services intends to make the wedding day a dream come true.

The St. Regis Cairo hosted many of Cairo’s most exclusive and memorable events and wedding receptions outdoors, and now the hotel is ready to host the most exquisite indoor weddings at its magnificent ballrooms. The huge Swarovski chandeliers and crystal staircase offer a rich backdrop for intimate occasions and unprecedented celebrations.

Request an appointment with a St. Regis Specialist and explore exceptional rates for your friends and family’s stay at Cairo’s best address for weddings.

Around Town et Palm Hills Developments successfully concludes Islamic Sukuk issuance worth EGP3.251 billion, in cooperation with Sarwa Capital

Palm Hills Developments (“PHD” or “the Company”) and Sarwa Capital (“Sarwa”), a subsidiary of Contact Financial Holding, jointly announce the successful closing of the Company’s first sharia-compliant bond (“Sukuk”) issuance worth EGP3.251 billion with a maximum tenor of 10 years, with the purpose of securing funding of construction works for Badya, PHD’s upcoming sustainable and innovative city in West Cairo.

The Sukuk received a “BBB-” rating from the Middle East Rating & Investor Service (“MERIS”). PHD and its subsidiary Palm for Urban Developments (The Badya project Company) were rated at “BBB+”. The Sukuk issuance is the first of its kind of partnership Sukuk, whereby the subscription proceeds will be used to finance the investment cost of Bayda, an integrated urban development in West Cairo, provided that the financing is based on a partnership between the beneficiary and the issuing Company.

Sarwa acted as the issuance coordinator. The promotion and underwriting were led by Sarwa, Misr Capital, Banque Misr, National Bank of Egypt, Arab African International Bank and Baque Du Caire. Ali El-Din Weshahi (ALC) acted as legal advisor. Al Baraka Bank Egypt, Suez Canal Bank and Arab Investment Bank participated in the subscription coverage.

Yasseen Mansour, PHD’s Executive Chairman commented: “I am very pleased with the successful closing of this milestone and securing alternative funding for Badya, our largest project spreading 12.6 million sqm. The issuance is considered a strong testimony to PHD’s leading position and paves the way for further acceleration in the pace of construction and development in Badya. The issuance is considered a new and innovative approach towards more fruitful cooperation with the Financial Regulatory Authority, which will provide good opportunities for other companies operating in the real estate sector to follow our steps in this new financing approach. I would like to thank everyone who helped in making this transaction a success.”

Said Zater, Contact Financial Holding’ CEO commented: “Supporting the real estate industry and real estate developers is vital to the Egyptian economy, as real estate projects are an extension of the strength of the Egyptian economy, in addition to the real estate sector being one of the most vital sectors in Egypt. We have a long-term vision regarding the Egyptian real estate sector in terms of providing the tools of necessary financing to support the sector at various levels.”

Nasser Fadly Appointed IHG Group Area Director of Human Resources Nasser Fadly, Area Director of Human Resources InterContinental Hotels Group Africa and Sultanate of Oman has been announced a member of India Middle East and Africa Diversity, Equity and Inclusion board.

IHG Diversity, Equity and Inclusion board was founded in 2018 and it was formed to guide, monitor and challenge Diversity, Equality & Inclusion activities and ensure IHG hotels all over the world are delivering their commitment to create a diverse culture in which every member can thrive. India Middle East and Africa DE&I is chaired by Haitham Mattar, Managing Director IHG IMEA. Nasser has been part of the IHG family for over 36 years and in his current role oversees Human Resource operations in more than 30 hotels across several IHG brands in Africa and Sultanate of Oman. Nasser has founded a capable representation of diverse talents throughout the IHG hotels that he oversees, strengthened leadership accountability and capabilities for L&D and managed empowerment of female future leaders, moreover, he has given a great support to hiring calibers of determination to reinforce equality employment opportunity in the hotels that he is in charge of.

Speaking of his expertise, Nasser held several roles in Africa, and the Middle East, spanning daily operations, human resources and L&D efficiently leading his teams through many critical challenges. He was also named twice Human Resources Leader of the Year by the Egyptian Chamber of Human Resources for the years 2018 and 2019, in addition to scooping Best Employer award for InterContinental Cairo Citystars for three consecutive years. Thanks to his leadership and dedication InterContinental Hotels Group Egypt achieved Aon Global Best Employer Accreditation by Aon Hewitt for two consecutive years in 2017 and 2018. Moreover, Nasser played an integral role in IHG’s rise program for aspiring female leaders and general managers in IHG Citystars hotels.

On this new assignment Nasser commented that he is very proud and happy to be part of this excellent assembly and he added “a diverse work environment is better able to attract top talent; to improve guest orientation, employee satisfaction and decision-making process” He added “Over the years, we have learned that diverse teams have a wide range of ideas that help us understand and support our guests better. They also help us grow as an organization, and I will be focusing on providing inclusive leadership training to all colleagues and support our commitment to equal opportunities for both women and men in all levels and positions, including boards and committees.”

Nasser graduated from the Faculty of Tourism, and further obtained a hotel management diploma from Cornell University in Paris in 2001.

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TECH TODAY Capture your favourite Ramadan moments with HUAWEI nova 9 SE: Tips and tricks to get the most out of its powerful 108MP High-Res photography and more.

Spending time with loved ones is always fun, but even more so in Ramadan. In fact, everything is a lot more exciting in Ramadan with all the delicious Iftars, evening hangouts, and late-night chit-chats. That’s also why this month is filled with a lot of opportunities for all kinds of pictures and videos to make these memories last forever. Selfies with friends and family, close-ups of delicious Iftar tables, etc. But if you want to shoot great snaps and videos, not just okay ones, it takes some creativity and a good camera. Well, if you have the newly launched HUAWEI nova 9 SE, you already have a fantastic tool. Balancing both form and function, the HUAWEI nova 9 SE boasts a High-Res AI Quad Camera system, 66W fast charging, and a FullView Display in a sleek and slim design.

Here are some tips that you can use to snap some incredible pictures of Iftars and Suhours with this brilliant smartphone.

Experience the extraordinary with 108MP High-Res Photography Those lovely Iftar gatherings, humorous chatter with our family and loved ones, and children making paper lanterns.

All these are amazing moments that you want to keep forever.

Nobody can freeze time, but you can still hold on to those moments with pictures. You can capture all your precious Ramadan moments in crystal clear detail with the 108MP AI Quad Camera on the HUAWEI nova 9 SE. The high resolution can help you crop in and reframe your pictures without losing quality.

Most of the photo-worthy events in Ramadan happen after nightfall, which in turn means less light. Luckily, the HUAWEI nova 9 SE is equipped with a 1/1.52-inch large sensor with excellent resolution and light sensitivity. This results in exquisite picture quality and better low-light performance. Besides the wide-angle camera, there are also the urtla-wide-angle and macro cameras if you want to change up the feel of your pictures. Urtla-wide-angle is what you need to fit all the guests in one frame. Try the macro camera if you want to take pictures of the sweets and dishes in more interesting ways. It can be real fun!

The awesome thing about the HUAWEI nova 9 SE is that even the front selfie camera can shoot excellent pictures at night. So, it doesn’t matter whether you are shooting selfies in backlit or low light conditions; everybody in the frame will look amazing regardless. Also, the selfie camera has a wide enough field of view to fit lots of people in the frame.

Sounds perfect for those group selfies with all your friends and family, right?!

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Never run out of power You will have more time to play games, watch your favourite series and so on during Ramadan. All of these require a lot of power. But you don’t have to worry about running out of battery when you have the power of 66W HUAWEI SuperCharge. It will only take you 15 minutes the charge the phone up to 66% and just 36 minutes to fill up the battery completely. That’s enough power for several hours of entertainment in a short charging session.

Be as creative as it can be The Creative Vlogging features on this phone make it easy for you to shoot from multiple perspectives and combine them together in single footage. Thanks to Continuous Front/Rear Recording, you can switch between the front and rear cameras, allowing you to fluidly capture the story in a single video file. Dual-View Video recording allows you to showcase your live reaction to events, simultaneously using the front and rear cameras with no editing required. Similarly, when you want to show the big picture and more detail, you can capture a wide-angle and close-up shot simultaneously using the 108MP main camera and 8MP urtla-wide-angle lens. After all the shooting is done, use the preinstalled Petal Clip app to add a bit of artistic flair to your videos.

Super cool EMUI 12 features to simplify your life With EMUI 12, you can enjoy a buttery smooth experience even after using the device for a long period of time. Thanks to One Hop Connection via near field communications (NFC), the HUAWEI nova 9 SE can pair with other Huawei devices directly. The display can be wirelessly projected, providing an expanded view that is perfect for the entire household watching Ramadan shows and series. When pairing the HUAWEI nova 9 SE with a Huawei smartwatch, speaker, the experience is intuitive and effortless.

With the Distributed File System, HUAWEI nova 9 SE allows users to access files from a PC. Alternatively, users can send files between the smartphone and other Huawei devices via Huawei Share, or transfer MeeTime calls onto HUAWEI devices and speak with up to 11 parties simultaneously by taking advantage of the larger display, camera, and speakers.

Last but not least, the phone comes with the trusted, innovative, userfriendly and secure AppGallery, where users can easily navigate, explore, find and download a wide range of high-quality apps.

Tech | Today et Mercedes-Benz Egypt sponsors Egyptian Esports champions Anubis Gaming

Emirates launches powerful platform for customers to browse and book bespoke Dubai and UAE itineraries Emirates has launched Dubai Experience, its powerful and intuitive platform for customers to easily browse, create and book their own customised itineraries including flights, hotel stay, visits to key attractions, and other dining and leisure experiences in Dubai and the UAE. Egyptian customers can choose from pre-curated itineraries if they are first-time visitors, or if they have specific interests in sports, culture, adventure, or entertainment and the arts. They can also have fun creating their own unique itineraries from scratch, pulling from an extensive list of recommended activities and dining options, or mix and match, using pre-curated itineraries as a starting point.

Whether it is one of the many popular free attractions across the UAE, or one that requires pre-booking and payment, the easy-to-use itinerary planner provides details such as estimated duration, location map and cost, allowing customers to confidently plan and maximise their Dubai and UAE visit.

Adnan Kazim, Emirates’ Chief Commercial Officer said: “We are proud to promote the very best that Dubai and the UAE have to offer on Dubai Experience, which is fully integrated with emirates.com. This powerful platform offers our customers the ability to plan their Dubai journeys and stopovers, and benefit from exclusive rates and expertly curated recommendations.

“Through the Dubai Experience platform, Emirates aims to add value to our customers and enrich their journeys, and ultimately drive more people to visit our beautiful home and hub in the UAE. We will continue to add more exciting content on Dubai Experience and look at opportunities to launch it to customers in more markets.”

Today, Emirates’ customers in 19 countries can build rich and customised itineraries from a selection of over 100 hotels and 200 activities – all of which can be added onto an existing Emirates flight booking or created around a new one.

Customers who plan and book their journeys via the Dubai Experience platform can enjoy flight and hotel benefits, discounted rates and exclusive pricing on over 200 activities, and a one-stop planner on emirates.com. Customers can also enjoy curated recommendations of over 200 top Dubai suggestions including free things to do, pay at the door options, and prepay attractions for complete convenience. Dining recommendations can also be booked directly with the restaurant and added to the bespoke itinerary

Mercedes-Benz Egypt is the proud sponsor of Anubis Gaming, the first and most successful Esports team in Egypt, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Founded in Egypt in 2015, Anubis Gaming is the first League of Legends regional champion. Timeout Sports Management, the leading sports marketing agency in Egypt, is responsible for Anubis commercial rights. Per Mercedes-Benz Egypt’s sponsorship agreement with Anubis Gaming, the Mercedes star will be adorning the front of the Anubis Gaming shirts, where the luxury brand will support their Esports calendar throughout the year, helping shape a promising future for the field in Egypt.

Esports engagement is part of Mercedes-Benz’s strategic focus on future-oriented fields such as Esports.

Mercedes-Benz first entered the Esports arena in 2017 by partnering with the world’s largest ESports company, ESL. In 2020, Mercedes-Benz became the exclusive automotive partner of all global League of Legends (LoL) Esports events from Riot Games. The partnership focuses on the League of Legends community.

“As a global brand, we want to open ourselves up to new target groups. Esports gets us into a dialogue with younger generations, especially those with an affinity to technology. We are pleased to be part of the rapidly growing gaming community and support Anubis gaming in further advancing this action-packed and thrilling sport” said Sascha Van Ryssen, Marketing & Sales Director, Mercedes-Benz Egypt.

Youssef Mohsen, Anubis Gaming founder and Managing Partner mentioned, “Our target at Anubis is to pave the way for regional Esports, by leading the industry through success and development. Mercedes-Benz and Anubis share the same values, the history of such a brand speaks for itself and we believe this will be the start of something truly magnificent.”

“We are witnessing a turning point in the Esports industry in Egypt and the MENA region. When a leading brand like Mercedes-Benz supports the dream of Anubis gaming, the leading E sports team in Egypt, this will encourage more brands to engage in the Esports industry” added Tamer Yousry, CEO, Timeout Sports Management.

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Parting Shot

Follow the Sun Egypt’s Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities is cooperating with CNN International to screen the ministry’s promotional campaign “Follow the Sun” on various social media platforms in a number of targeted countries including the UK, Germany, Italy, France and the US. The campaign aims to highlight Egyptian tourist destinations, the country’s distinguished and diverse touristic and archaeological sites and its young and vibrant identity.

“Follow the Sun” promotes Egypt as an attractive tourist destination for many tourists who end up wishing to stay longer or decide to revisit the country numerous times.

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