113 Articles
CAIRO: After 99 single matches and over 240 sets, Russia’s Galina Fokina emerged as the winner of the Palm Hills International Ladies Tournament after the finals on Saturday at the Palm Club in 6th of October City. With over 100 players from more than 20 countries, it broke attendance records for locally organized international tournaments …
It was a gutsy move on the formidable production team of Lucas Films and Paramount to brush the dust off Indiana Jones’ fedora and send him on another wild goose chase. Whether it was spurred on by a bout of nostalgia or shrewd business acumen, moviegoers worldwide were eager to take their seats in theaters …
CAIRO: Traditional comic book heroes don their costumes – no matter how bizarre in some cases – and race to the rescue. They may be fictional characters but local charity organization, Khairazad, is using them as inspiration for their family event. So dig out those Spiderman costumes for your sons and Wonder Women tiaras for …
The word “terrorist has been brandished about liberally since 9/11. We hear it spoken on the news, we read it in the papers, and we listen to politicians around the world use it to point fingers at their enemies. John Updike’s novel, “Terrorist is one of the first novels by an American author that tries …
Our guide led our party to a table shaded by a canopy of thick foliage of the tropical rainforest. Sounds of the parrots chirping and the chest-pounding gorillas calling out to their mates intermingled with the island music. Thunder crashed and flashes of lightening peeked through the foliage. An Anaconda hissed in the bushes nearby. …
“A controversial novel written by a young Saudi woman is breaking taboos in the Kingdom s conservative society. ‘Banat Al-Riyadh,’ or ‘The Girls of Riyadh’, speaks openly of sex, lesbianism and young women s desire to lead freer lives, read the opening lines of an article on BBC. Let’s face it, sex sells. Similar headlines …
English readers who have been anticipating the translation of “Chicago, are quickly depleting bookshops’ stocks. And the question on everyone’s minds is: Will it be as good as “The Yacoubian Building ? That’s a lot of pressure for any author to face, but Alaa El-Aswany does not disappoint his English-speaking fans. He was inspired when …
Tucked away in suburbia, is a gem of a restaurant: Saffron. Part of the club house at El Gezira compound, the restaurant sports an outdoor terrace overlooking the pool, plus a cozy restaurant and bar. It’s fast becoming a hub for Friday family lunches that are drawn to Sixth of October city by the relaxed …
Bookshelves are stacked with nostalgia. Browsing through the books is a flash from the past year. Readers everywhere were treated to a literary rollercoaster of emotions.We witnessed the end of an era with the final installment in the Harry Potter series (though there are hints at an encore) while Middle East politics heated up with …
Christmas is just around the corner. If you’re still wandering the shopping malls for original gifts to put under the Christmas tree, check out the “Spirit of Giving charity gift catalog. It’s the ideal gift for people who seem to have everything, and who would appreciate a gift for someone who has very little. The …
The Farrelly brothers’ newest comedy “The Heartbreak Kid has hit the local cinemas, but that doesn’t mean you should. The movie sports their signature over-the-top garish sense of humor, Ben Stiller, and a lanky blonde babe. All the right ingredients for a blockbuster comedy but save for a few chuckles, falls short. Stiller stars as …
Walking down the plank to Le Pacha’s, it feels like a small world after all. Well, that is in a culinary sense. We walked past a Greek tavern, we took a right at the Lebanese restaurant, we passed by Italian Piccolo Mondo and Asiatique, and made our way to India. Maharani, Le Pacha’s latest culinary …
CAIRO: Egyptians are, generally speaking, charitable. It’s an essential element of our cultural values. We’re all familiar with the mobile phone messages petitioning on behalf of a charity case. In fact, I received one last night requesting financial aid for a widow who cares for her four daughters as well as an elderly mother. “Things …
The cornerstone of healthy living is healthy eating. It’s common knowledge. But what’s not so apparent is how to eat healthily. Low carb? Low fat? Atkins? Food combining? There is so much conflicting advice, it can be confusing. Canadian nutritionist Lynda Aune provides a simpler approach in her “Healthy Eating cookbook. “No tricks, just straight …
Along with the suburban lifestyle adopted by Egyptians who have moved to the compounds on the capital’s outskirts, is the variation in international holidays. Last Wednesday (and in some cases Thursday), children dressed as vampires, witches and pirates took to the landscaped streets of compounds and went house-to-house demanding treats. Spiderman – though surprisingly much …
Anything short of an uninterrupted seven hours of sleep, and I’m a force to be reckoned with in the morning. The children have to tiptoe around me so as not to unleash my wrath, my husband hands me a cup of coffee before he utters a word that might trigger an unwarranted response, and I’m …
During Ramadan, ironically, food is plentiful. Family and friends gather around the dining room table at iftar, partially to indulge in a meal after a day’s fasting, but also to enjoy the company. While calendars are chockfull of iftar and sohour engagements, it’s also a time for hosting guests. The ordinary pressures of preparing a …
The photographs that hung on the stark white walls of Downtown’s Mashrabiya Gallery were mesmerizing. The repetitive images – forming patterns that drew in the audience into a trance-like state – induced a sense of calm and serenity. It was not surprising that the artist Amr Fekry’s work was inspired by the Sufi master, Al …
Over 200 people attended Egyptian artist Nader Sadek s exhibit “The Faceless which opened earlier this month at Michael Steinberg Fine Art in New York s Chelsea district. The exhibit deals with experiencing cultural extremes in both Egypt and New York, and feeling ostracized as a person living on the fringes of mainstream society. “For …
CAIRO: Minister of Tourism Zoheir Garanah stated during a meeting with the Oxford Business Group earlier this week that the total number of tourists visiting Egypt reached a staggering 9.1 million in 2006. “There are 183,000 rooms [in Egypt], plus more than 130,000 rooms under construction, he added. Chairman of the Egyptian Tourism Authority Amr …
Ratatouille, Pixar s latest animated film about one rat s dream of haute cuisine, leaves viewers hungry. In the true spirit of haute cuisine, beautifully presented dishes were served up, but in such miserly portions. The quirky storyline had potential. The animation was superb. The chemistry between the characters, however, lacked spice. The story was …
“Someone told me, it s all happening at the zoo, I hummed the lyrics to the classic Simon and Garfunkel song as I scoured Morad St. for a parking spot. The jovial soundtrack running through my mind set me up for disappointment as I finally entered the gates of the Cairo Zoo last week. Kids …
Getting the kids to bed at a reasonable hour is only part of the challenge, and it’s no longer a simple matter of checking for flashlights under the covers of children who can’t seem to put their book down. With tech gadgets invading the home, more and more children are falling asleep listening to music, …
Recent book studies the religious dimension of architecture Walking through the narrow streets of Zamalek or Garden City, I often stop for a moment, taken aback by the architectural detail of an old building. The contrast between the delicate detail of the arched entrances, the balcony balustrades, or the decorated facades of the old architects …
Fastest growing franchise of women’s fitness clubs reaches Cairo For women, going to the gym can be traumatic. Floor-to-ceiling mirrors reflect a heaving and huffing image, not to mention all those jiggly bits we are working so hard to get rid of. The unpleasantness is magnified when you catch a glimpse of yourself doing a …
Samia Abdennour offers a brief introduction to local customs and festivals First time visitors to Egypt may be lucky to find a brief note or two about local etiquette, or a few quaint references to holiday traditions in their travel guides. This may be sufficient for a tourist who will rarely venture far from the …
ikan3 and Karim Francis Gallery join forces to create new ‘concept’ gallery “Inviting is the first word that comes to mind as you walk into the Karim Francis Gallery. The apartment in Zamalek’s famous Baheler’s Mansion feels more like a home than a commercial venue. The rich, colorful fabric pillows are strewn on the couches, …
Cairo pays tribute to 60 years of the House of Christian Dior The House of Christian Dior, under the tutelage of John Galliano, has been celebrating 60 years of feminine glamour and elegance. The anniversary of the fashion house’s creation will be marked in Cairo with a spectacular gala fashion show at the Ramses Hilton …
They met at the Baltimore, Washington international airport in August of 1997. The two families, though they lived mere miles apart, were vastly different. The Donaldsons were model middle-class liberal Americans. The Yazdans were first-generation Americans whose parents came from Iran. That day, however, their differences were set aside when both couples adopted baby Korean …
Reading is often voyeuristic. Cradling a book in your lap, with every turn of a page, you watch a character, you’re privy to his innermost thoughts, eavesdrop on his conversations, and sometimes even hear what other characters say about him. The talents of writer Anne-Marie Drosso indulge these voyeuristic tendencies in her recently published collection …