Culture
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Greater Cairo
Whose Grave Is This? Naguib Surur, Dante, and the Elegy That Haunts Egypt
On what would have been his birthday, we revisit Naguib Surur, the Egyptian poet who found perfection in an anonymous…
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Lower Egypt
Mohamed Meeda, Guardian of Egypt’s Simsimiyya Heritage, Dies at Nearly 70
Mohamed Meeda, the master musician and instrument maker who helped document the simsimiyya for UNESCO, has passed away after a…
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Lower Egypt
The Rise and Fall of Menatel: Ghosts of Egypt’s Public Phone Booths
Once, 33,000 green-and-yellow booths connected lovers, shattered families, and changed fates across Egypt. Today, they stand as silent ruins. A…
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Lower Egypt
In Port Said, an illiterate artist’s Hajj murals still haunt the city’s walls
In Port Said’s working-class alleys, illiterate artist Taha Shehata painted Hajj murals that transformed poverty into spiritual triumph. More than…
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Greater Cairo
In Egypt, the Pilgrimage to Mecca Begins With a Song
On the eve of Eid, lanterns are lit and songs rise from kitchens. These are the vanishing rituals of Egypt’s…
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Upper Egypt
“They Still Live in Our Hearts”: Why Upper Egypt Won’t Let Its Hajj Songs Die
What happens when 22 million YouTube views meet centuries of tradition? Upper Egypt’s pilgrimage songs face an uncertain future. By…
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Lower Egypt
The Damanhur Opera House: A Sovereign Union of Italian Elegance and Islamic Heritage
Damanhur Opera House, an architectural masterpiece blending Italian elegance with Islamic heritage, now restored as Egypt’s radiant cultural beacon. By…
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Greater Cairo
Remembering Hani Shukrallah
Remembering Hani Shukrallah (1950–2019): the Egyptian journalist, leftist thinker, and poet of the impossible. Hani Shukrallah would often repeat Salah…
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Greater Cairo
Amira Howeidy writes: My editor, Hani Shukrallah
Amira Howeidy remembers her editor Hani Shukrallah: the man who saw her before she saw herself and transformed Al-Ahram Weekly…
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Greater Cairo
Lina El Wardani writes: Hani Shukrallah, always present
Egyptian journalist Lina El Wardani remembers Hani Shukrallah—her first and last editor: his humour, his defiance, and his unforgettable spirit.…
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