Monthly Archives: September 2007

Having peered down the slope of Egypt’s dark side in el Hussein yesterday I decided to launch myself fully down it by attending a protest tonight, downtown. Organised by Kefaya it was a demonstration against torture, against the imprisonment of … Continue reading →

How can Egypt be so spectacularly cruel and yet so alive, so vital? A thousand little deaths – ordinary tragedies – take place every day, unremarkable and ignored. It is as if the dividing line between happiness and misery here … Continue reading →

The British Council, God bless them, hosted a free concert in their lovely garden yesterday as part of a season called ‘Ramadan Nights’ which when you see it written down actually sounds rather like the name of an American person … Continue reading →

I attempted to attend the launch of a new publishing house, Malame7, today, but was driven out by poetry. In a suicidal move I arrived fifteen minutes early, and during the over forty minutes I waited outside for the thing … Continue reading →

Umm Nakad and Amnesiac are in Sayyeda Zeinab. They have just been to the mosque, where Umm Nakad prayed, and Amnesiac watched a cat rolling around on the carpets. They are now strolling through Sayyeda’s animated streets, deep in conversation.They … Continue reading →

Brian Whitaker warms my cockles with the news that an Abu Dhabi prince is diverting some of his money away from yachts and Philippino maids and investing it in a scheme called Kalima whereby ‘high-quality works of classic and contemporary … Continue reading →