Hussein Soliman Farag built homemade solar panel collectors on his roof to save money on gas and to help the environment in Cairo.

Story published June 19, 2010 by Daily News Egypt

The Fishy Fatwa: a top cleric nixes an Egyptian culinary tradition.

Story published March 26, 2010 by GlobalPost:

CAIRO, Egypt — Stocks in Egypt tumbled when anxiety-ridden investors heard the news. President Hosni Mubarak had checked into a hospital in Germany for a minor surgery, but on the streets of Cairo, there was speculation he was seriously ill, maybe even dead.

It wasn’t Mubarak’s first health scare, but with no successor named for their aging president, Egyptians begged the question: Who will take over if he dies?

To dispel the rumors, the president scheduled an appearance on Egyptian state television. And so, from his hospital room, a coherent, but pale Mubarak finally spoke as the video camera rolled: “I do thank my fellow citizens who care for my health. …” said Mubarak. “After finishing treatment, I will be back home to assume my responsibilities, God willing.”

That was in 2004, during a two-week stay in Munich to treat a slipped disk.

Now, the 81-year-old — Egypt’s longest serving leader, having assumed the presidency of the Arab world’s most-populous country in 1981 — is recovering in a different German hospital after surgery on his gallbladder nearly three weeks ago.

Read the rest of this entry »

Story published March 18, 2010 by GlobalPost:

BAWATI, Egypt — The windswept peak of Black Mountain could be the perfect place to watch a sunset. Normally quiet and isolated from the rest of the world, the narrow ridge overlooks Bahariya Oasis, a lush depression of palm trees in the middle of Egypt’s remote Western Desert.

But everyday, minutes before the sun dips below the horizon, buses and SUVs packed with foreign tourists climb the barren rocks of the mountain. The tranquility is disrupted into a loud jumble of languages, as tourists snap photos and toss rocks off the cliff, before hurtling off to the next stop on their guided oasis tour.

Ecotourism is taking off throughout Egypt, boosting an economy already heavily dependent on tourism revenue. Bahariya is among those destinations increasingly popular for their pristine natural environment.

However, Egypt is quickly learning the need for balance between environment and  development, amid concerns that tourism is stressing the country’s fragile ecosystems to the point of collapse.

And the debate on ecotourism is even being had here, on the dusty streets of Bahariya’s largest village.

Ali Abdel Salem, 58, has lived in Bawati all his life. He has fond memories of the days before an asphalt highway was built linking the oasis to Cairo. Read the rest of this entry »

Can a new impotence warning dent the manhood of Egypt’s smokers?

Story (and video) published February 17, 2010 by GlobalPost:

CAIRO, Egypt — A picture may be worth a thousand words, but many Egyptians are speechless over an image that recently hit the streets in this bustling capital city.

Last month, Egypt’s Ministry of Health unveiled their latest weapon in the war on smoking: a graphic warning label of a drooping cigarette, symbolizing the potential for tobacco-induced impotence, plastered on every pack sold throughout the country.

Next to the picture of the limp butt, a statement in Arabic warns, “long-term smoking will affect marital relations.”

It wasn’t the first such graphic message to illustrate the dangers of smoking, but for many Egyptian men, it was the first they had heard of a connection between impotence and tobacco.

And among some of the heaviest smokers, confusion gave way to bravado.

Read the rest of this entry »

In December 2009, a flash of light appeared over a church in Cairo. Was it the Virgin Mary or just a hoax?

Getting a tattoo in Cairo is a centuries old expression of faith – for Egypt’s Coptic Christians.  Produced for GlobalPost with an article by Theodore May.

I won’t get into the backstory of working this piece, because my co-reporter Theodore May has already done so (very well, I might add) on the GlobalPost blog.

Instead, let me give a shout-out to Mohamed Effat, our amazing fixer and translator on the story.  Mohamed worked around the clock to make sure that Theo and I got the access we needed to tell this story.  His connections at the FIFA U-20 World Cup worked wonders to get us onto the field at Cairo Stadium after a warmup game between Egypt and Venezuela.   Read the rest of this entry »

The article below was reproduced from the Daily News Egypt and the video above was an audio slideshow I produced to correspond to the written story.

Metro Construction Causes Sinkhole In Geish Street

A 10-meter wide section of Geish Street in Abaseyya collapsed Thursday due to work on the new underground metro line in the area.

No injuries were reported, but two parked cars fell into the 15-meter deep pit at the time of collapse, according to official news agency MENA. Five other cars were rescued before falling, the agency reported.

The underground tunneling drill of the third metro line cut through weaker soil and burst through the neighborhood’s main water line, which was eventually sealed, after the sinkhole was completely filled with water.

Engineers raced to fill the sinkhole right after the incident. Read the rest of this entry »