The Return of the #NDP Rascals

No I will not write what happened in Egypt  on Friday, it has become a routine as we have become like Lebanon. The only thing I can say that the protest law and designating the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization have been so successful in cracking down the protests of the Brotherhood in Egypt !! So damn successful !! Of course I am being sarcastic 
I will write about the return of the NDP and Mubarak rascals back again boldly and madly in the media and in public shamelessly.
Shamelessly the former speaker of Mubarak's parliament for 2 decades Fathy Sorror is giving lectures about how it is important to vote "yes" in the constitution referendum and about the 30 June revolution. 

Shahinaz Al Naggar , the former NDP MP and the ex-wife of Gamal Mubarak's best friend and steel tycoon Ahmed Ezz is back also and she is going to present a TV show on Al Hayat TV channel called "The Gains of the Revolution"  !! 

 

Oh yes the gains of the revolution and I will assume she does not mean the 25 January revolution. 
Of course people are mocking her show on Facebook. 
Mohamed Kamal , policy maker of NDP is back again and is writing op-eds in Al Masry Al Youm about the Civilian military relations mentioning what happened in January 2011 as protests. 
It is no surprise actually. Almost all the columnists and journalists of Mubarak era that kissed that rotten regime's ass are back in media boldly praising Mubarak and accusing the revolutionaries of being traitors working for the intelligence services in this realm and other realms.
This return of the rascals after 3 years is represented perfectly in how F-List belly dancer and attention seeker "another term can be appropriate to describe her" Sama El Masry has now a TV channel on Nile Sat "Do not ask me from where she got the money to own a TV channel on Nile Sat" called "El Felol". "El Felol is a term referring to the Mubarak regime's remnants and his supporters.The first production of this channel is a song by Sama El Masry dedicated to Al Jazeera channel and it is called "Yes we are the salves of the military boot". 

Of course she speaks about herself and those like her.
Politically speaking the NDPers are organizing themselves now in parties and coalitions from.At best case scenario the next parliament will be a mix of Salafists and NDPers.
The so-called pathetic revolutionary parties like Free Egyptians party , Social Demcoratic party and constitution party will lose as usual
Democracy and those people do not mix. Stagnation , retardation , poverty and dictatorship mix with them.They are the living characters of any third country dictatorship Pro-regime society.
I do not think any sane person with self respect and dignity can accept this song or this human being.
This all happens in the same time the #Jan25 activists and protesters are being crucified in the media and are standing trials in courts.  

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#TimePOY ; The Battle that the General's supporters Did not understand

The fake Time Cover

And Time magazine announced its short-list for the its world famous Time's person of the year 2013 and not so surprisingly General Abdel Fatah El Sisi was not among the names in the list. Many hearts and minds in Egypt are angry and broken over the news. After all the Pro-Sisi supporters thought that our so-much popular minister of defense and commander of armed forces will land on the Time magazine's cover next December 11, 2013 after winning the battle against the Turkish Sultan Erdogan in the Face-off and the readers' poll.
Of course the Time itself had to explain how Egyptian media was lobbying for the General's win.
The Pro-Sisi supporters do not want to understand that there is a difference between the Time's person of the Year chosen by the editor of the famous Magazine and the recent Online readers' poll . The Online readers' poll is a new thing added to the Time in cooperation with Twitter.com
The Pro-Sisi supporters do not want to understand that being the Time's person of the Year does not mean you are the greatest and you are being recognized by the world as Mr. Universe. The Time's person of the year is about the Most controversial people of the year that created news and changed the world in their own way. Hitler , Mussolini and Khomini were the Time person of the Year for God's Sake.

  Anyone reads how the magazine described the general , you will know that he will not make it to the short-list easily and if he did , it would be in a negative way. " The Egyptian defence minister (and top army general) spearheaded the controversial removal of democratically-elected President Mohamed Morsi in July this year." Oh yes this is what is being said and as you see they say "democratically elected president" !!
"Ironically last year the Pro-Morsi supporters were on fire too because the ousted president behind bars was in the list too and actually he was a runner up !!

Newspapers and News Websites like Dostor.com and Al Watan continue to lie and say that El Sisi was excluded deliberately the general despite his victory in the people's vote !! Al Watan today said that General's supporters are going to boycott the international magazine as if they buy it in the first place.
Former BBC correspondent and Mrs. Abdel Latif Al Manawy's wife aka TV host Rola Kharsa is claiming that Time Magazine is controlled by MB on TV.

BY Nadine Marroushi

Anyhow I am not surprised that those TV hosts, newspapers and news websites continue lies , they won't dare to admit that they lied and even fabricated fake Time magazine covers.
For God's sake , even the Chocolatier specialized in General El Sisi's chocolates aka Cocoa made special chocolates with the general's Time Cover that never was !!!!!
Now we got the infamous Pro-El Sisi group claiming to be an Anonymous related group threatening to bring down the Time magazine because of the editors' action to remove the general from the Shortlist when he won.  
The Pro-El Sisi groups urging him to run for the presidency are claiming that the Time editors are forced by the US administration and the mighty International organization of the MB to opt the true winner. They do not want to admit that the General lost that battle , lost fairly and honorably if You ask me after all he won the readers' poll against Erdogan and the Queen of Twerking Miley Cyrus who lobbied for votes through her twitter accounts. "Her followers are more than the twitter users in Egypt for God sake !!"
These are just examples of El-Sisi cult mania , God knows what will happen if this man decided to run for presidency. We had a fake battle to send the world a message it did not to hear or receive.
 There is a whole process of deception and misinformation in Egypt. Take the Time Person of the Year as an example and I will not lie to see that it is the role example of how mainstream as well social media act. Of course things are much worse in the social media where the Pro- El Sisi as well Pro- MB Facebook groups and Pages besides the twitter account spread lies.
This is why I am urging Time magazine to publish in Arabic a statement explaining Time's Person of the Year exactly and the difference between the readers' poll and editors' poll which is the main poll. This statement is important considering the amount of information spread shamelessly in the Egyptian media. Not all the Egyptians on social media know English and understand the true meaning of its poll I am afraid.
Anyhow let's leave the groupies and the general because in Foreign Policy we got three Egyptians in its annual Global Thinkers list. We got Bassem Youssef  , Hossam Bahget and Heba Morayef 
The Time Magazine Person of the Year , I believe it should Edward Snowdon. Look how many political crises and social media crises he caused with his NSA revelation. 

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#RIP Ahmed Fouad Negm (1929-2013)

The Fagomi has passed away :(
Renowned Egyptian Poet Ahmed Fouad Negm has passed away earlier this morning after long controversial life full of revolutionary poems. His funeral will start soon in Cairo at Al Hussein Mosque. I do not know
what to say now except I represent my deepest condolences to his family especially his daughter Nawara Negm.
Through his life Negm refused to be the regime's poet insisting to be the voice of the poor and the oppressed and I think this is why he will be remembered more than any poet in our time.
Let's respect death for God sake.
Ahmed Fouad Negm has gone but his poems and songs remain as the words of the revolutionaries not only in Egypt but across the world. Here is a collection of his poems translated to English. 
I will be storifying his funeral.

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It is official.. Bassem Youssef ends his contract with #CBC

It is official now Bassem Youssef and his show’s producing company QSoft announced that they ended their contract with CBC TV network. QSoft issued an official statement regarding this matter.

Here is a summary for the statement in English

The company was patient and silent towards the unfair campaign launched by CBC Network against the show , its host and our company in order to press them and to put restriction on the content. The campaign started with the CBC statement on 26/10/2013 denying its relation with the episode aired on 25/10/2013. And on 1/11/2013 CBC’s administration did not air the next episode after receiving it in unprecedented move in media. After that CBC issued a shameful statement defaming the company with fake accusations and reasons.

The decision to suspend the show already reflected a negative image to the world about democracy and freedom of expression in Egypt after the revolution of 30 June especially after how the Western media expressed its concern about the aggression against freedoms in Egypt.

QSoft will sue CBC as it seems.

You know that Youssef was suspended indefinitely after the second season premiere because the world famous satirist dared and mocked the growing El Sisi cult !! 

Good for Bassem , I hope that if he reads those lines to think about returning back to YouTube instead of those TV channels that are taking orders whether from State security or from the Morale Department.

P.S I heard rumors that Bassem and QSoft have got an offer from MBC Misr.

This Tuesday , oh yes the big November 19 , 2013 the state security prosecution will start to investigate the complaints against Youssef accusing him of insulting the armed forces. It won’t investigate him yet.

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Nasser in Moscow : Newsreel

As we were reviving the Nasser legacy in a way or another , I could not ignore that rare newsreel clip from Russia showing the visit of Nasser to Moscow in 1965.

By the way time changes indeed as well political alliances even faster as we may think 

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#Egymedia : Bassem Youssef Starts his show and his enemies are ready for war !!

This post should have been written right after the end of Bassem Youssef’s season three premiere but thanks to an awful migraine I had , it was postponed.

First here is the full episode. The first part was about June 30 and whether it is a revolution or coup then the second part was about the crazy El Sisi-Mania in media and the third part was a serious message about the show’s policy in the new era.

El Bernmag : Season 3 episode one–”Arabic”

I think the best part was the third one ,the show’s policy in the new era. Bassem Youssef said it clearly we did not replace the religious fascism with nationalist fascism or in another words military fascism.

The Islamists are angry from Bassem Youssef as usual. Already they used to hate him during Morsi so there is nothing new about it.

The new thing is the reaction of the Pro-military rule/Pro-El Sisi supporters who used to cheer for Bassem . The Pro-Military supporters are extremely angry because the famous satirist dared and spoke about the general !! He did not even mock him directly.

The last two parts made the Pro-Military and Pro-Sisi supporters especially the from the anti-25 Jan revolution haters aka felol go coco online and offline. Suddenly those people remembered how Bassem and his show are not family friendly and that his producer comes from a Muslim brotherhood family .. etc.

As I hinted before Bassem Youssef did not mock even general El Sisi directly and yet the general’s groupies went mad with crazy comments online. “Bassem is jealous from El Sisi , die Bassem we still love him” and so on !! It was just crazy !!

I am afraid those people should know that this is the tax of getting engaged in politics , General El Sisi and the army want to engage in politics then they have to bear the consequences.

Needless to say I am astonished with the comment of the self claimed major general Sameh Seif El Yazal on Facebook.

Seif El Yazal is one hell piece of work without doubt. The former intelligence officer claiming to be a general “he is not”- turned in to national security/Strategic analyst- slammed Bassem Youssef in a  very serious Facebook post shared 1,288 times. The strategic analyst said that insulting General El Sisi and the army was in the best interest of the Muslim brotherhood now.

He also added that he knew that the episode had a negative impact on the morale of the Egyptian armed forces yesterday !!

As far as I know El Yazal , the CEO of G4S branch in Egypt is retired intelligence army officer so I do not know how he could survey the Egyptian armed forces in less than 24 hours to know their reaction.

Not to mention what kind of armed forces is this that would be affected by those segments for God sake !? What El Yazal claimed actually in my point of view is more insulting to the armed forces and its men than the episode of Bassem Youssef altogether !!

Already we woke up to find some guy presenting reporting Bassem Youssef to the prosecution office for defaming and insulting minister of defense Abdel Fatah El Sisi.

This man is none other Judge Ahmed El Fadaly, the head of the Muslim youth association. This man is already among the accused in the battle of the camel massacre in 2011.He is known to be another Pro-Mubarak Pro-Military supporter.

I found also this Facebook page made by the military El Sisi fans in Egypt “Not the Egyptian army and its icons you clown !!” and the same old accusations are back “He is a US agent from ElBaradei gang”. Same thing was echoed in the General’s fan page “Ultras El Sisi” that is promising Bassem Youssef with hell for mocking the great revolution of 3 July ,the army and the general.

Now Youssef is being called a clown by both clown the Islamists and El Sisi fans , the clown that scares everybody.Oh yes we moved forward from the religious icons to military icons !!

I expressed my opinion as well my concerns about Youssef’s show before. I believe that this was a balanced start for Bassem Youssef and his show. The real test will be in the upcoming days and from what I see that won’t be easy test.

Again I fear that Bassem Youssef show would turn in to some sort of buffer zone , the revolutionary vent to absorb the people’s anger and refusal to the regime.

Anyhow I will end this post with what Bassem tweeted last night.

ماكنتش حلقة في برنامج يا جدعان.

— Dr Bassem Youssef (@DrBassemYoussef) October 25, 2013

Guys it is just an episode in some show !!

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Bassem Youssef To return To Bigger Challenge

After  being absent for several months following the vacation of his successful famous show “Al Bernmag” Satirist TV host Bassem Youssef will be back to TV screen next weekend. Youssef will present the first episode of in his show’s newest season next Friday 25 October 2013 on CBC after being absent for three months.
Everybody is waiting for his return from Islamists to Pro-Military to revolutionaries to normal Egyptians. All people are anticipating how the renowned TV host will return back and who will be his next victims.
The revolutionaries are wondering whether he will criticize and mock the new regime figures above them General Abdel Fatah El Sisi just like he used to do with ousted President Morsi.
The Islamists are waiting to see if Youssef will be bold enough like in the days of Morsi and will criticize explicitly ,freely and rudely from their point of view Abdel Fatah El Sisi. The Islamists and Pro-Morsi supporters believe that Youssef was actually used by the deep step and the army in order to turn the people against Morsi.
The Pro-Military/Pro-Sisi love to remember that Youssef’s producer is from the famous Qazaz’s Muslim brotherhood family.
The famous satirist did not deny that and it is true that his producer Tarek Qazzaz comes from him the famous MB’s Qazzaz family whose member Khaled Qazzaz is currently detained among other Morsi’s top aides and advisors. Khaled was Morsi’s secretary on foreign affairs.Still Tarek is not a member in the brotherhood.
The regular people are just waiting to see the show.
Bassem Youssef has got even bigger challenge now in those days , the true days of polarization and radicalization in Egypt. Radicalization in Egypt now is longer associated with religion only.
By the way Youssef writes a weekly column in Shorouk Daily newspaper every Tuesday. So far he has been speaking about the Islamists and radicalism. I hope he speaks about other types of radicalism in the country.
It is worth to mention that CBC is one of the top Pro-Military Pro-Sisi TV channels now in Egypt.
Youssef once promised to mock Adly Mansour , El Sisi and Beblawi just like the former Muslim brotherhood icons as soon as they got their own blunders on twitter last August.
To be honest there is a huge material from Abdel El-Fatah El Sisi’s speeches if Youssef and his crew are serious and … bold but he won’t dare I believe personally to speak about Egypt’s newest idol for fear not only the wrath of that new idol but for fear of his losing his fans. Youssef is smart and I think before CBC would impose any new censorship , there will be self censorship unfortunately more importantly.
Bassem Youssef gained a lot of audience including those from Pro-Mubarak supporters and Pro-Military supporters as well those who hate the revolution and do not believe in freedoms in the first place just because he used to mock the Muslim brotherhood.
I do not think that he is ready to lose that audience especially it is unfashionable now to have only revolutionary audience if we are going to speak about ratings and viewership in showbiz.
I hope that I will be wrong but I think Bassem Youssef will mock the current regime , he will be allowed to make fun of El Sisi himself in certain limits and of course he will be more than welcomed to make fun of the Islamists.
I hope that I will be wrong but in this time when freedoms of expression in Egypt are under attack , Youssef will be portrayed as an evidence on how much freedom in the country in the new era worldwide considering his international fame. In fact I will not be surprised to find the official spokesperson of armed forces Ahmed Ali invited as a guest in one of the episodes.
Anyhow I am not waiting that much for Bassem Youssef because honestly I care more for the absence of serious talk show hosts like Reem Magued and Yosri Fouda on ONTV.  Fouda is going to return by November 2013 according to his crew.
Reem Magued has been absent since Ramadan , we do not know if she is going back again to ONTV or any TV screen but we know that the famous anti-Islamist/anti-military rule revolutionary TV host pissed a lot of people last Ramadan when she said clearly down with the military rule on TV.
It is enough to know she was going to have an radio interview in Ramadan in some FM station but it was cancelled because of her public political views. Needless to say ONTV can not be watched now without those two.
With all that sick 1960s TV propaganda now , people like Reem Magued are needed to break the circle.

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Pilgrimage in #Mecca Decades ago

Very happy and blissful Eid Adha for all the readers of the Egyptian Chronicles. Now today I share with you this video clip I found online showing the pilgrimage in Mecca many decades ago.

Rare footage for pilgrimage

It is very beautiful and rare footage in Arabic.
The creator the video says that the material he got in the video was hundred years ago and that its source was pilgrims from South East Asia. Well I believe that the material was from an old Egyptian newsreel film based on the accent of the narrator and his style of reading. It is the same as the one used in the old Egyptian newsreel.
By the way,Saudi News Channel announced that it was found out that the oldest photograph for the Holy Kaaba in Mecca was taken by an Egyptian army officer and geographer Mohamed Sadek  in 1880. The army officer who was fond by geography and photography wrote books about Saudi Arabia and the trip of Pilgrimage during then. He took about 18 photos then.

Photo for the Kaaba in 1880 by Mohamed Sade

A photo for Al Masid Nabawi in Medina in 1880

Amazingly the photos of Mohamed Sadek Beh were not found in Cairo in the forgotten Geographic Society but rather in the archives of King Abdel Aziz Al Soud. It turned out that a German explorer and geographer bought the photos from Sadek in 1883 during a trip in Tunisia. The photos since then disappeared then resurfaced again in 1989 in some auction where some collector bought the 18 photos for $ 2,900,000. I guess the collector was a Saudi Royal figure. I respect their efforts to collect this history and heritage.

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From 40 Years ago

This post is dedicated to those men who against all odds astonished the whole world and changed the course of history once more.

I do not know how today will end but regardless of what happens, God bless this country and those heroes. May their sacrifices may not go in to vein.  

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And #ElBaradei has become the enemy of #Jan25 and #June30

Here is Ahram Arabi magazine’s cover for this week.
The magazine publishes the blacklists of the 25 January revolution and 30 June revolution enemies and members of the fifth column. The cover includes a group of photos for public figures; some of them are Muslim brotherhood supporters and some of them are not Muslim brotherhood supporters but rather democracy supporters.

Among the photos and the names featured in that blacklist : Mohamed ElBaradei “yeah ElBaradei is from the enemies of the revolution !!” , Amr Hamzawy , columnist Balel Fadl and singer Hamza Namira !!
I have not read the rest of the names as it seems that it has not been published online yet but you can say it is a mix between the Islamists and Pro-Democracy faces in Egypt including the faces that criticized publicly the policies of the current regime. ElBaradei’s resignation because of the use of force in dispersing the Raba’a and Nahdaa sit it , Hamzawy’s criticism to the dispersal as well the McCarthyism in Egypt and Balel Fadl’s recent firing op-eds in Al Shorouk warning from any future dictatorship “Here is a translated example for one of his latest op-eds” earned them a spot in the blacklist !!
They even included Mohamed Abu Tarika because he supports the Muslim brotherhood !!
The state-owned magazine publishes a blacklist for public figures as fifth column and as enemies for the revolutions of January and June. This means something for sure if you connect the dots to that campaign working perfectly in the media to defame 25 January revolution.
There is even an active hashtag on twitter called “Fifth_Column” in Arabic where people share the names of those agents sabotaging Egypt and its army from public figures and human rights activists.
The list of the fifth column that works against the nation and the army for the sake of the Muslim brotherhood and United State include the following : Mohamed ElBaradei , Amr Hamzawy , Reem Magued, Yosri Fouda , Wael Ghonim , Mahmoud Saad “He returned back to air recently on the same channel” , Mona Seif, Alaa Seif , April 6 Youth movement members , Israa Adel Fatah , Wael Abbas , Asmaa Mahfouz and revolutionary socialists. These are the primary 25 January suspects in Egypt.
According to the people who are keeping this hashtag active , the fifth column agent is anyone who dares to speak about his rejection to human rights abuse and state of emergency as well to that “War against terrorism” rhetoric and military trials and above them military/police state !! Of course in their view all these points mean that you are against the army thus you are a fifth column that wants to bring the Egyptian state down after the fall of Syria and Iraq.
Ironically most of these names “except Wael Abbas” supported the 30 June and called for it.
In short these names are those who supported the original 25 January revolution and stood against the violations of SCAF. Of course there are other similar hash tags now on twitter like “The January Setback” as people buy more of the conspiracy talk.
Sadly enough this McCarthyism flourishing in Egypt is forcing to people to rethink their positions and even fear to express their opinions freely online or offline as before for fear of the backlash.
Reem Mageud’s TV show is stopped on ONTV for no apparent reason , of course I can not imagine someone like her appearing in the channel now. Wael Ghonim does not update Kolena Khaled Said Facebook page , in fact he does not update his own Facebook page for God sake !!
All this makes the youth that believes in the revolution disappointed and desperate , their voices are not heard because the people will attack anyone who say anything different. Some young people I know unfortunately believe that the deep state of Mubarak has won and there is no other option except to leave the country.
Of course it is a long road but you can not blame them when all the media whether TV or radio or press or even social media is full of Ultra-nationalism,McCarthyism and old ugly faces from Mubarak’s era returning back. People are affected by this extensive propaganda.
It is a long road but you not blame them because they are now trapped between two hells with no third road to escape , with no hope , with no true leadership that can inspire and unit them once again. They want to revive their hope once again.
ElBaradei has left Egypt and is back to the blacklist of the State owned media after being the Vice president of Egypt. Unfortunately that old man was the one that used to give young people hope for true change.
We need a new hope.

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The 50 members Committee : Who is Who

I am getting tired from these Who is Who posts I am doing over and over nowadays !! Here is the list and Who is Who of the 50 members committee that is assigned by the presidency to revise the amendments of constitution 2012.
The constitution amendments were presented to the presidency last week by the 10 members committee made of Constitutional law experts. The 50 members committee should represent the society through a specific quota announced last month by the presidency.

Here is the list of names:

1. Kamal El Helbawy as a representative of Islamist current :The former leading member of the Muslim brotherhood is in the committee and this has to say something especially with what I hear from unconfirmed news from the backstage. El Helbawy who was one of the top figures of MB abroad and was from those responsible from spreading the teachings of the brotherhood internationally. He lived in London for decades.He resigned from the MB when the brotherhood announced that it would have a presidential candidate in 2012. It is worth to mention that his wife is still a member in the Sisterhood branch of the MB.
2. Bassam El Zarqa as a representative of Islamist current: The co-founder of Al Nour Party , El Zarqa was a member in the Constituent assembly of 2012.He was also an advisor to Morsi during this presidency. Bassam El Zarqa is the only representative of the Salafists in the committee, and this is making the Salafists extremely angry. The Salafists are here to defend the articles they planned proudly in constitution 2012.
3. Amr Moussa as a public figure : Amr Moussa is not only a public figure but he is the former leader of Conference party that is expected a role in the future. He is a member of the NSF. He was chosen as a member in the Constituent assembly in 2012 but later he left it.
4. Diaa Rashwan as a representative of journalists :  The current head of journalists syndicate and head of Ahram Center for Strategic studies. The Upper Egyptian researcher in Islamist groups affairs got Nationalist Nasserite Leftist tendencies. He is also close to the army , at least this is what was shown in the past three years. He was an advocate of marshal laws during SCAF time. Rashwan and journalists syndicate are angry that the 10 members committee ignored their suggestions in the Constitutional amendments.
5. Sameh Ashour as a representative of lawyers : The head of lawyers syndicate and the leader of Nasserite party. Well Ashour is not your typical revolutionary Nasserite as on January 27,2011 that ousting Mubarak was completely wrong. He is a member of the NSF by the way.
6. Major General Mohamed Maged El Din as a representative of armed forces : The current head of military prosecution. I think the army avoid sending Major General Mamdouh Shahin. It does not make difference in my view because in the end Maged El Din or Shahin will represent what the army wants in the constitution and from what I know from the amendments the army related articles are not touched.
7. Mahmoud Badr as a representative of Tamaroud movement : The well known co-founder of Tamaroud movement is a Nasserite.
8. Mohamed Abdel Aziz as a representative of Tamaroud Movement : Another well known co-founder of Tamaroud movement is a Nasserite and a member of the popular Current.
9. Ahmed Eid as a representative of The 30 June Front Youth Coalition : Another youth activist who is originally a member in the Constitution Party
10. Amr Salah as a representative of the 30 June Front Youth : A revolutionary youth activist who is also a member in the Constitution party.
11. Police General Ali Mohamed Abdel-Moula as a representative of ministry of interior.
12. Mervat El-Talawy as a National council for women representative : The former minister and ambassador is well known to everybody. By the way she was among the co-founders of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party.  I do not know if she is still a member or not.
13. Mohamed Salmawy as a representative of writers in Egypt : The famous writer is the head of Egypt’s Union writers. He is also a member in the Free Egyptians Party. Despite he believes in liberal economy , I heard he got nationalist Nasserite tendencies.
14. Khaled Youssef as a representative of artists in Egypt : The leftist Nasserite director and film writer is a member of the Egyptian Popular Current.
15. Sayed Hegab as The high council of culture representative : The famous leftist/Nationalist Poet once compared El Sissy to Nasser. Amazingly in 2011 he described January 25 revolution as bigger than Nasser.He is a member of popular current.
16. Mohamed Alba as a representative of artists in Egypt : The leftist artist is well known for his views against the military trials and SCAF.
17. Mona El Zulfakr as a representative of human rights activists : The current member of the human rights council. Mrs. Zulfakr is a board member of several corporations, in fact she is the CEO of EFG-Hermes. The famous cooperate lawyer is not the typical human rights advocate of the revolution to be honest , she is not Mona Seif or Huba Morafey but she played an important role when it came to family and women’s laws before the revolution of 25 January.
18. El Sayid El Badawy as a representative of liberals : The leader of Al Wafd Party represents liberals in Egypt in a big joke !! Everybody knows that El Badawy is more of a shadow party leader now who supports whoever rules !! The owner of a huge pharmaceutical company and Al Hayat TV network once said on TV that his party is not liberal. He is a member of the NSF.
19. Mohamed Aboul Ghar as a representative of liberals : Dr. Aboul Ghar was one of the founders of the National association of change before the revolution. He is the leader of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party which is more of social democrat than typical liberals. He is from the co-founder of the 9 March movement for Universities indenpendence.
20. Dr.Adel Galil Mostafa as a public figure : The University professor and political activist is a member in the National association of Change. He is also a co-founder of the 9 March movement for Universities indenpendence.
21. Gaber Nassar as a public figure : The professor of Constitutional law and former vice dean of law school in Cairo university was elected as the head of Cairo university.
22. Dr. Hoda El Sada as a public figure : Despite her name is not known publicly but Dr. Hoda El Sada is well known Egyptian and Arab feminist academic. I am amazed that I have not read about her before.
23. Azza Al Ashamawy as a representative of the National council for Motherhood and Children : Dr. Azza is the head of the counter human trafficking unit in the council.
24. Hussein Abdel Razek as a representative of leftists : Hussein Abdel Razek is the leader of Tagammou party. I am surprised for choosing him as representative for leftists now in Egypt when there are more active Leftist parties in Egypt like Socialist Popular Coalition Party. Just like Al Wafd Party , El Tagammou Party was a shadow opposition cartoonish party during Mubarak’s era especially in the last decade.
25. Mohamed Sami as a representative of Nationalists : As if there is no representation of nationalists and Nasserites so we have got the leader of Karma Party as a member in the committee !! Karma Party “which is founded by Hamdeen Sabbahi” is a member of the NSF.
26. Haggag Oddoul as a representative of Nubians : Haggag Oddoul , the famous Nubian writer and novelist is considered from the important advocates of Nubian lost rights in Egypt. Oddoul was among the names nominated by the Nubians themselves.I believe it is a good choice. He is a leftist. 
27. Mosad Abu Fagr as a representative of Sinai : The outspoken Sinai activist , blogger and writer is well known Leftist yet he is a founding member of Constitution Party in Sinai last time I checked. Au Fagr used to be critic to the military state in the past, I do no know about now. Nevertheless I can not get over his conspiracy theories about the United States and Palestinians.
28. Dr. Mohamed Ghonim as a public figure : Another respectful figure , Ghonim was among the founders of the National association of change that stood against Mubarak.He got some socialist tendencies. He is currently a member in the Popular Current
29. Dr.Magdy Yaccoub as a public figure : Sir Magdy Yaccoub , the true humble Egyptian surgeon icon. He is a very respectable and modest man.
30. Sheikh Shawky Allam as a representative of Al Azhar.
31. Sheikh Abdullah Mabrouk Al Naggar as representative of Al Azhar.
32. Sheikh Mohamed Abdel Salam as a representative of Al Azhar.
33. Bishop Paula as a representative of Coptic Church : Many Christian activists as well Christians rejected his nomination. I need a separate post to explain it.
34. Bishop Antonius Aziz Mina as a representative of Catholic Church.
35. Dr. Safwat El Baiady as a representative of Evangelical Church.
36. Hossam El-Massah  as a representative of the special needs people in Egypt.
37. Ahmed Mohamadan as a representative of the Supreme Council for Universities.
38. Talaat Abdel-Kawy as a representative of the NGOs in Egypt.
39. Mostafa Badran as a representative of students in Egypt : Badran won the elections of Egypt’s students unions after a very tough competition against the Muslim brotherhood. As far as I know he is politically independent.
40. Ahmed El-Wakil as chambers of commerce representative.
41. Elhamy El-Zaiat as a chamber of tourism representative.
42. Mamdouh Hamda as a representatives of cooperatives.
43. Mohamed Abdel Kader as a representative of farmers.
44. Ahmed Khairy as a representatives of farmers.
45. Gebali El-Maraghi as a representative of labor : Gebali El Maraghi’s name as a Pro-Muarak labor unionist was mentioned in the battle of the camel case.
46. Khairy Abdel Dayam as a representative of doctors : The head of doctors’ syndicate is not a Muslim brotherhood but he was backed by the brotherhood as far as I know.
47. Saad El Din El Halali as a public figure : The Islamist scholar is known for his unorthodox controversial views. Choosing him made many conservatives angry.
48. Dr. Amr El Shobaky as a public figure :The former MP and political sciences analyst and professor was a member of the Constituent assembly in 2012. He was accused of supporting the Muslim brotherhood then. Well now I think he is no longer supporting them.
49. Abla Mohie El-Din as an industrial chambers representative : The Benha university professor works as an advisor in the ministry of industry and commerce.
50. Osama Al Shawky as a representative for engineers.

In quick look , we got some how a domination for the Nasserites and Leftists and boy who can imagine that !! Of course there is huge overlapping between them because you can find Nasserite Leftist at the time “I know some socialists will be offended but it is true !!”. On the other hand you find you will find a Nasserite who rejects Leftism economy or Leftist who rejects military state. It is just crazy !!

Quick numbers :

• We got 5 women.
• We got 4 Christians.
• We got 1 Conference Party members.
• We got 3 Constitution party members. 
• We got  5 Popular current members
• We got at least 16 NSF members
• We got at least 1 Egyptian Social Democratic Party member
• We got 1 Salafist/ Al Nour party.
• We got 2 Political Islamists
• We got 5 Islamists in general “Including Al Azhar , El Helbawy and Basse Al Zaraqa”
• We got 4 members at least who were members in the previous constituent assembly.

Despite some say that the women should have got a bigger quota , I believe it is not by number as much as the end product itself. Hoda Sada seems to be an excellent choice along with Azza Al Ashamawy.
There is a huge change and we have got a Sinai representative and Nubia representative but no West desert tribes representative as ethnic groups. Also it may be silly but I do not understand why we do not have a single representative for Muslim Shiites when we have representatives for the main three Churches in Egypt. Of course there is not single representative for the Egyptian Jews !! I know it is cheesy but hell I had enough of speaking about the new era of liberalism in Egypt after the departure of Muslim brotherhood.
Good luck for those guys , hopefully they will learn from the previous constituent assembly’s mistakes. Personally I believe this will not be the end.

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Jonathan Rashad Presents : Raba’a .. on the eve of Eid

Talented photographer Jonathan Rashad was in Raba’a sit last Wednesday night capturing shots from the Eid’s eve in the sit in.

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#RIP Princess #Fawzia , The Beautiful Sad Rose of the #Nile

As she lived in complete silence , she departed our world in even more silence that does not suit a figure like her. After all she was not only the surviving sister of late King Farouk but she was also the ex-wife of Shah of Iran Reda Pahlavi.
Princess Fawzia Fouad passed away last July 2,2013 in complete silence in Alexandria. Her very small funeral that did not suit her was held last July 3, 2013 from El Saida Nafisa mosque in old Cairo. She was not buried in the royal cemetery besides her brother late King Farok in Rafai , she was buried in her husband's family "The Shereens" cemetery in Cairo.
Only very few relatives attended the funeral. Of course the media was not that interested in covering the funeral but I found couple of clips from the funeral.

The media was not that interested because it is not a secret that we are having political unrest in the country.
I do not know what to say about that beautiful princess honestly as I have always admired her as a person and as a royalty figure.

 In 1939 the 18 years old Princess Fawzia married crown the 20 years old prince of Iran Reda Pahlavi in one of the most famous political marriages in the Middle East in the 20th century. It was said that king Farouk tried to lead the Muslim world and at the same time Pahlavi was trying to support his rule with a regional alliance, a great one too.Of course my generation looks to it as when a Sunni princess married a Shia prince and everyone was happy for it.

Princess Fawzia gave a birth to Princess Shahnaz Pahlavi in 1940.

Princess Fawzia with Princess Shahnaz in Iran "Hassan Kamel"

Amazingly Princess Shahnaz is just like her mother , a media shy person who is living away from lights unlike the rest of her family.
Unfortunately the princess that became a young beautiful Queen returned Cairo in 1945 leaving her daughter in Tehran. The sad look of the princess since then became her trademark. Many people spoke about why the royal-imperial marriage did not work  but the young princess who came from different royal court and different country could not coup with her mother in law and sisters in law not to mention the young Shah had a mistress.
I once read the memories of Adel Thabet , King Farouk's relative that the young Queen was extremely depressed to the level that she fell sick, extremely sick. After knowing what happened to his sister , Farouk ordered her return immediately to Cairo to be divorced.
In 1949 she married colonel Ismail Chirine , another Mohamed Ali family member and an army officer/diplomat. They were considered the most cutest couple in Egypt then according my grandma.
The princess got two children : Nadia and Hussein.

After 1952 , the citizen Fawzia carrying her son Hussein "Kelisi"

It is worth to mention that Nadia Chirine was the first wife of famous actor Youssef Shaaban.
Princess Fawzia was like an acting first lady of Egypt till the short marriage of King Farouk from Queen Neriman especially with the departure of Queen Nazli to the States.
In 1952 the princess who was married to the minister of defense then was said to predict that something was going to happen and it did happen. The free officers did their own coup which was regarded later as the 1952 revolution n Egypt.
She refused to leave Egypt unlike the rest of sisters. She lived in Alexandria along with her husband and her children Nadia and Hussein.
Princess Fawzia led very extreme quiet life refusing to speak the media decades even in time of Mubarak. The only recent photo for the princess we found it in her daughter's ex-husband Ardeshir Zahedi's website during her visit I think to the States from a decade ago.

With princess Shahanz's ex-husband Ardeshir Zahedi

Of course my generation rediscovered her from the old photos thanks to the Nostalgia to the old black and white Egypt.
Now I know this is not a proper obituary for such personality.
Below one of the biggest flickr photo album dedicated Princess Fawzia. Please pray for her or read the Fataha on her soul.

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And We Have Got a PM At Last !!

At last we have a PM in Egypt. Interim Adli Mansour  appointed Liberal prominent economist Hazem Al Beblawi after hard labor to get an interim prime minister.
Already I wonder why Al Nour Party reject Mohamed ElBaradei and Ziad Bahaa El Din as prime ministers Egyptian Social Democratic Party. The Salafists were requesting a non partisan figure. I do not understand the Shift in their opinion.

PM Beblawi

and accepted Dr. El Beblawi. He is liberal last time checked and like Bahaa El Din he is co-founder of the Egyptian social Democratic Party.
A quick look to the bio of the 1936 born liberal economist will make you wonder why Egypt did not hire him earlier as PM. Well from what the former minister in Essam Sharaf’s cabinet after 25 January revolution refused all the offers from Mubarak and his regime. It is worth to mention that the Freedom and Justice Party website is using an op-ed for him where he said that he would vote for Gamal Mubarak to prove that he is bad. Ironically and sadly enough no one bothered to read his 2010 Op-ed where he actually slammed Gamal Mubarak reaching to the conclusion that he would not vote for him.
Of course it is worth to mention that the MB leading figures including the former president himself had similar quotes praising Mubarak, his son and the NDP icons in the media.
Appointing El Beblawi was not the only thing Adly Mansour did today, aside from meetings with revolutionary youth political figures to discuss the Constitutional declaration , he appointed Mohamed ElBaradei his vice President for foreign affairs and democratic transition.
Mahmoud Badr of Tamaroud revealed that El Bob does not want to be a PM and preferred an economist to be the PM of Egypt now where as he would responsible for the political transition file.
Anyhow there is a new saga facing El Beblawi or rather Mansour to form a technocrat cabinet in Egypt.Mansour already got more powers than El Beblawi according to the new Constitutional declaration.
That Constitutional declaration has been rejected by several political groups like the NSF and Tamaroud. Supposedly it will be amended this week. We will see.
Now trivia time
The majority of Egyptians on Facebook got nothing to speak about except the old age of our new PM. There are jokes that the first thing Dr. El Beblawi will do in the cabinet is to revise the 1936 treat and that former PM Ganzoury considers him a reckless young. Another joke that is taking the social media by storm “The youth of 1919 revolution have got their chance in rule”
On the other hand some Egyptians , few began to discuss the man’s economic polices and thoughts. The Leftists consider him a neoliberal who will not have the social justice goal of the revolution in front of his eyes. Well I am afraid he has to put it in front of his eyes because if no social justice polices are adopted sooner we will have hunger revolution.

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#30June : The mother of Martyr speaks

Mohamed El Gindy’s mother Mrs. Samia spoke in the 30 June Front conference yesterday.You should watch and hear her speech.

Her speech was emotional. She is calling the youth as well parents to accompany their kids to Tahrir square. Mohamed El Gindy was tortured till death last January 2013. El Gindy ,a member of the popular current and revolutionary young man who endorsed Morsi in the presidential elections.

I want to hint out that during her speech she asked Syrians to stay away from Egypt’s internal affairs in order to continue staying in Egypt.

There are rumors now circulating that Syrians will do the Hamas so-called Job in supporting the Muslim brotherhood thanks to Morsi’s fake support to Syria. I am so worried that this may create problems for Syrians in Egypt.

Here is a video for the press conference itself.

By the way minister of investment , the MB member Yahia Hamed has issued a decision to fire Yahia Hussein, the manager of the leadership institute that hosted this event and other opposition groups’ meetings and conference in the halls of the institute. The institute allows its halls to be rented and as it is owned by the State Hussein opened its doors to everybody whether Islamists or not Islamists, whether the Muslim brotherhood or their opponents.

Yahia Hussein stood against Mubarak and his son when he revealed the scandals of Umar Effendi’s privatization. This man paid a lot when he stood against the privatization of Umar Effendi , now he is paying a price for not being a member in the Muslim brotherhood. 

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#30June Palooza : Ghonim Tells #Morsi to Resign

Wael Ghonim has published a today a video message to President Morsi telling him to resign before the 30 June.

 I believe it is a very powerful balanced message from a person that once stood with Morsi in the Presidential elections.
You can read the Arabic text of the message here.

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#Egypt From More than 100 years In Color

The Brooklyn Museum published on Flickr this amazing collection of photos or rather Lantern slides taken in Egypt in year 1882. Yes in 1882 and they are in color , it is just amazing.
The photos were taken in different parts of Egypt in 1882. It is just amazing to see how our country and our people , our ancestors looked like during then. This is how Egyptians lived then. There are extremely old photos from Cairo, Giza, Alexandria, Assuit , Luxor , Aswan and the newly founded Suez Canal and its cities like Ismailia.
You can a whole photo gallery with more than 100 photos from that year.
I was running through the photos and try to see how places had changed. For instance the photo of Wadi Es Sebua made me wonder about the fate of the ancient temple as I did not know before that we had an ancient temple with that name. I found that it was located in Lower Nubia in Egypt and it had to be displaced because of the Aswan High Dam. 

Just imagine that those photos were taken in 1882. Just see the photos you may be looking for your grandfather without knowing.
It is worth to mention that in 1882 Egyptians and their Egyptian army as well Sudanese under the leadership of Ahmed Orbai rebelled against their ruler Khedive Tewfik. Unfortunately this rebellion , this revolution was ended with occupation when the Khedive asked the help of the British. The British wanted to protect the new Suez Canal by all measures. This was one of the oldest invasions I believe using the minorities paper.
The Orbai revolution was the first time the Egyptian army of the Egyptian modern State truly stood with the people.
I wish people to learn and read about that revolution and its lessons.

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And #Maher Was Detained And Released in Old New #Egypt !!

I was outside Cairo visiting one of the villages in Sharkia governorate for extremely important assignment I heard the news that Ahmed Maher , the founder of April 6 Youth Movement was arrested upon his arrival from the united States in Cairo airport.We found out from the news that he would be detained for another 4 days pending investigations and that he was transferred to the top guarded prison "Al Akrab".
In the morning we found out that the prosecutor general appointed by the president has ordered the immediate the release of Maher.
There is news that minister of interior has withdrawn the complaint he filed against Apirl 6 Youth movement and its members as well. 

Ahmed Maher and Asmaa Mahfouz by my iPhone cam

Maher was detained according to an arrest warrant issued as we have known on 4 April 2013 and strangely he traveled to the US after that date and no one stopped him from traveling or arresting him earlier. He is being accused of inciting protests against the minster of interior at the minister’s home. Early April 2013 a group of April 6 Youth members went in the mid of the night and protested at minister Ahmed Ibrahim of interior’s house in New Cairo. During that protest the protesters held women’s underwear with signs hinting out that the ministry of interior is like a prostitute who sleeps with everyone in the regime in reference to how the MOI is now following the MB’s orders.
Already four April 6 Youth members were arrested in that protest that ended with clashes against the security forces. Only recently the 4 members were released pending investigation after weeks in bad detention.
The news of Maher was received by mixed feelings among activists and social media users. Old activists who know Maher personally were alarmed and remembered how the old regime , SCAF as well the new regime of the Muslim brotherhood consider Maher the enemy.It is ironic that from couple of days ago Maher remembered how he was tortured in 2008 by the state security of Mubarak. 
The biggest irony of all in this affair that Maher said that he did not want to vote for Shafik because Shafik would arrest him and other revolutionaries !! Well time showed us that there is no big difference between Mubarak's regime and Morsi's regime 
April 6 Youth Movement believed that this is an episode of escalation between them and the regime vowing to continue to their work against injustice in the country.
 Some people considered what happened to Maher is a lesson to all people not to trust the MB because they turn against all those who support them to reach to rule in the end. Maher is a good example , he supported the Muslim brotherhood in the Presidential elections despite all odds. Then he was chosen in the constituent assembly, of course he resigned later to object how things were taking place in the assembly that produced a constitution that April 6 Youth campaigned against.
Of course for those hate and mistrust April 6 Youth Movement from Pro-Mubarak supporters as other well Pro-Revolutionaries the arrest of Maher this is a cheap charade to increase the low popularity of Maher as well the Muslim brotherhood.
Unfortunately this theory is supported by the tweets of people like President Morsi´s aide Pakinam El Sharkawy. El Sharkawy tweeted today on her personal twitter account about how no one can ignore the patriotic role of Maher and April 6 in the revolution hoping that the situation facing him to end soon. 
There is another theory that Ahmed Maher was detained and then released by Prosecutor General Talaat Abdullah in order to embarrass East Cairo district attorney Mostafa Khater 
If you remember Khater had a huge role in the Presidential clashes on 5 December and his decision to release the detainees embarrassed not only the MB but rather the President Himself.
Of course this theory is supported by the fact that the MB members and supporters are now saying that the old regime Pro-Mubarak district attorney Khater is prosecuting the revolutionaries while Talaat Abdullah whom the revolutionaries do not like that much is releasing them !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Media of course slammed the decision to arrest Maher attacking Morsi and the MB all night long yesterday. 
Everyone is trying to use the whole issue for their own sake in the end. 
Personally after hearing the detention of Maher in the airport , I remember JFK's quote " Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable" immediately. I wondered how the next wave of the Egyptian revolution will be like and how much violent it will be when youth see the iconic activists who supported peaceful revolution , who supported the Muslim brotherhood are treated like that whether Alaa Abdel Fatah or Ahmed Maher.The anger next time will not be that peaceful compared to last time "actually it was not that peaceful on 28 January 2011"
I do not care that much about whether it is a conspiracy yet I care that  Maher was detained in the airport for a very alarming charge "Calling for a protest"
I do not doubt that Maher's fame will cause bad headache for the regime and the Muslim brotherhood and will create more headlines in international press than less famous activists who are hunted down on a daily basis across the country. 
It is very alarming charge and many people can be next if they want to organize a peaceful protest.
Anyhow there are other activists than Maher whom we should remember and make noise for like Alexandrian activist Hassan Mostafa who is less known than TV and social media activists yet more energetic and powerful on ground.

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RIP Aisha Ratab “1928-2013”

Today Egypt lost a fine lady who played an important in its history. Today Dr. Aisha Ratab “1928-2013” ,

Young Aisha Ratab

 Egypt’s first woman ambassador passed away in silence.
Many people especially from young generations that late Aisha Ratab defied social norms in 1949 after her graduation from the faculty of law applying to become a judge in the state council. Of course her application was refused and so she decided to sue the government. Amazingly during the case , one of the State council’s judges stated that there was nothing in Egyptian laws then and Islamic Sharia to have a woman judge but it was more of a social problem !!
Anyhow Aisha Ratab became the first professor of international law in the faculty of law, Cairo university
Dr. Aisha Ratab  was appointed as the minister of social insurances and social affair in 1974 during late president Sadat. She resigned  in 1977 during the January 18 and 19 uprising to object the sudden economic decisions taken by Sadat.

With President Sadat in 1970s

The late law professor was later appointed as Egypt’s first woman ambassador ever. She served in Denmark from 1979 to 1981 and later in Germany from 1981 to 1984.Former minister Ratab earned the respect , admiration and love of many Egyptians who were shocked to know that she passed away in silence.

Late Dr. Aisha Ratab

I respected this lady so much.A true role model. May Allah bless her soul.

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This is How We treat our Art in #Egypt

Earlier this week I was shocked to see this beautiful statue of Egyptian woman peasant in miserable condition neglected like that near the entrance of Al Hawamidiyya city ,Giza governorate. It is extremely beautiful statue

The statue neglected

It is just sad.This photo was sent to Egypt Military pictures Facebook Page last week.
This beautiful sad statue was made by artist Fathy Mahmoud “1918-1982” in a series of statues he made in Al Harm area , Giza from many decades ago. That series of statues suddenly disappeared from couple of years ago. When I searched I found out that the Giza governorate decided to spread those statues all over the cities entrances in the governorate.
The family of Fathy Mahmoud is extremely angry and they have to. I know Fathy Mahmoud’s granddaughter and they want to do something to save it.
Fathy Mahmoud’s portfolio includes the famous Talaat Harb statue in Cairo and the famous Mermaid as well the Students Memorial in Cairo University , Talaat Harb statue in Sharkia and Sails statue in front of Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria. “The last one in Alex is extremely beautiful”.

Talaat Harb statue in Cairo by Martin Misr

Talaat Harb statue in Sharkia by Walkademagmal

The Mermaid and sail by May Mustafa

The Mermaid and sails by Rick Wiepking

I think we should raise this matter in the media. This is part of our contemporary art heritage and we are not doing enough to protect it or keep it.

Links :

• Fathy Mahmoud “Al Marefa Wiki” in Arabic

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