Egypt

INTERVIEW: Squaring Cairo’s old and new

Al Ahram Weekly (excerpt: Interview: Squaring Cairo's old and new)

Prominent architect and conservationist Soheir Zaki Hawas explains to Al-Ahram Weekly that urban development and heritage preservation can be reconciled, even in a growing city like Cairo

Hawas

It was with a sigh of relief that Egypt’s heritage preservation community reacted to an official announcement from the Cairo governorate that “there are no plans to remove the cemetery of Taha Hussein” as part of urban development work in the cemeteries area.

 The announcement, made over the weekend, put an end to months of debate on the fate of the tomb of this prominent Egyptian literary figure, dubbed “the dean of Arabic literature”, as part of wider plans to remove the cemeteries to make way for the construction of flyovers to connect the capital with newly constructed areas.

The debate over the fate of the tomb has been only part of a wider and longer debate about finding ways to reconcile plans to “facilitate movement” across the city with heritage preservation more generally. There was speculation, later quashed, about the construction of a flyover next to the iconic Basilique de Notre Dame in Heliopolis and of a Cairo Eye attraction or car park in two-century-old Zamalek parks; one of which is the Fish Garden

To the dismay of conservationists, part of the city’s Mameluke-period cemeteries was removed, including the tomb of prominent 20th-century novelist and journalist Ihsan Abdel-Quddous. According to an official statement from the Islamic Monuments Department of the Ministry of Antiquities, this tomb and surrounding areas were not registered as historic buildings.

However, according to Soheir Zaki Hawas, a Cairo University professor of architecture and member of the National Organisation for Urban Harmony (NOUH), responsible for heritage-related planning decisions in the city, the debate on how to square the old with the new in Cairo is much older than the recent debates allow.

In 2009, the then relatively new NOUH had to “go through a tough public-opinion campaign with the help of the media” to stop a scheme to build a multi-storey garage in the vicinity of the Cairo Train Station, she said. The campaign failed to stop the construction before it started, but the construction work, which cost over LE30 million, was eventually knocked down.

“The authorities at the time came up with a conciliatory statement saying that the building was demolished due to security reasons. But we did not care to contest this pretext, as we had managed to save the façade of the station, which was what we cared about,” Hawas said.

She added that a couple of years later the NOUH failed to preserve the interior of the Station despite a lot of lobbying. The argument used in the autumn of 2011 for eliminating part of the original interior was that “there had to be an inverted pyramid carrying the names of those who had been martyred in the 25 January Revolution.”

For Hawas, as for other conservationists, the Cairo Station, which dates to the late 19th century, did not need to honour the sacrifices of the revolution. However, “at the time it was a taboo to oppose anything of this sort, even as there should be no taboos when it comes to discussing the preservation of the city,” she said.

Ten years on, Hawas was again dismayed to see commercial kiosks being put up in front of the station. They are not as intrusive as the multi-storey garage, but they should not have been allowed to encroach on this historic monument, she said.

“Nobody is opposed to development. Of course, [Cairo] needs to have development, just like any other city with a growing population. The argument is not against development, but rather for making development compatible with heritage conservation,” she said.

“It is not a new battle, but it is a long one,” she added.

Read on here. 

 

Egypt demands Netflix, others adhere to 'societal values'

Coast Reporter

I knew this would happen. 

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s media regulator demanded Wednesday that Netflix and other streaming services adhere to this majority Muslim county’s “societal values” — a veiled reference to programs featuring members of the LGBTQ community.

FILE - This Netflix logo appears on a tablet in North Andover, Mass., Jan. 17, 2017. Gulf Arab countries on Tuesday, Sept. 6, 2022, asked Netflix to remove "offensive content" on the streaming service, apparently targeting programs that show gays and lesbians. (AP Photo/Elise Amendola, File)

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s media regulator demanded Wednesday that Netflix and other steaming services adhere to this majority Muslim county’s “societal values” — a veiled reference to programs featuring members of the LGBTQ community.

The statement came a day after Gulf Arab countries asked Netflix to remove “offensive content” on the streaming service, apparently targeting programs that show gays and lesbians.

According to the Egyptian government's statement, streaming services should comply with “societal principles and values of the country” they are streaming in. The statement called for them to undertake “necessary measures if they air content contradicting values of the society.”

The statement by the Supreme Council for Media Regulation did not elaborate. Netflix, based in Los Gatos, California, did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Wednesday.

Homosexuality is highly taboo in Egypt, where a 2013 survey by the Pew Research Center found that 95% of those polled said it should be “rejected by society."

Though it is not explicitly prohibited by law, members of the LGBTQ community are often prosecuted under charges of “immorality” and “debauchery.” Authorities regularly arrest gay men, with large police raids on private parties or locations such as public baths, restaurants, and bars.

Egypt's movie industry, long celebrated in the Mideast, also bans films and programs from featuring gays and lesbians.

In June, countries in the Muslim world banned the public showing of Disney’s latest animated film “Lightyear” which has a brief moment showing two lesbian characters kissing. After that, the company’s Disney+ streaming service said its “content available should align with local regulatory requirements” in Gulf Arab countries. .

In January, the first Arabic Netflix movie, “No Dearer Friends,” sparked controversy, with critics claiming it was a threat to family and religious values, encouraged homosexuality and that it was allegedly unfit for Arab societies. At least one lawmaker, Mostafa Bakry, called for Netflix to be banned in Egypt.

The film contains scenes unprecedented for audiences in the country: an Egyptian wife discreetly slips off her black, lacy underwear from under her clothes before heading out for dinner; a man reveals that he is gay, and a Lebanese father tells his teenage daughter she is free to choose whether to have sex with her boyfriend despite his reservations.

The Associated Press

Biden and the 'Soul of the Nation'

Al Ahram Weekly

Azza Radwan Sedky, Tuesday 6 Sep 2022

US President Joe Biden’s speech in Philadelphia last week described an America that is more polarised than ever, writes Azza Radwan Sedky

On 1 September, US President Joe Biden gave a compelling, unforgiving speech that he pitched as a battle for the “soul of the nation” in Independence Hall in the US city of Philadelphia. Whether it was Biden’s intention or not, the speech exposed the deep rifts facing the US today.

The speech was essentially a mid-term election campaign speech as it came two months before Americans head to the polls for yet another sharply disputed election. Biden also framed the speech in order that it should not come across as being about him or the Democratic Party, but instead should be about democratic freedoms, former president Donald Trump, and the MAGA (Make America Great Again) Republicans, who he said remain a threat to the American democratic vision. 

Early on in his speech, Biden said that “too much of what is happening today in our country is not normal.” This is a revealing statement that should be scrutinised further, for it is no understatement to say that the US today is polarised as never before.

The speech was also a sharp turn from Biden’s inaugural speech as president over a year ago, when he hoped to bring about the unity of the nation. In fact, the speech’s tone and the rebuttals it has caused are indicative of the divisive threshold that the US is at today. If anything, the speech proves the disunity enveloping the US, with two Americas facing each other and both split, distrustful, and wary.

Biden sounded the alarm. “I’m an American president, not a president of red America or blue America, but of all America,” he said. “And I believe it’s my duty to level with you, to tell the truth no matter how difficult, no matter how painful.” 

Though he had earlier said that inflation was his top domestic priority, the speech focused on voting and the dilemma that would face the US with the wrong party at the helm. Not once did he mention inflation or the burdens inflicted on US citizens by the Ukraine war. 

Biden referenced Trump by name only twice, but it was still something that he has never done before in his first year in office. As Biden took on Trump, he stepped up his attacks and accused him of promoting an extreme ideology that threatened democracy. 

More significantly, Biden attacked Trump loyalists, demonising the 74 million people who voted for Trump in the 2020 presidential election. From their perspective, the speech will not have brought them any closer to their Democratic counterparts, their leader, or their country. It will not coax them to change their voting choices. After the speech, Jim Dornan, a Republican and a member of the anti-Trump wing of the party, said that “he’s not going to gain votes from people like me.”

In an earlier campaign event, Biden branded Trump supporters as “semi-fascists,” leading some Republicans to accuse him of being a “divisive” leader. Kevin McCarthy, the House minority leader, asked the president to apologise for calling Trump followers “fascists.”

Biden did not go that far in his Philadelphia speech, but he did intensify his attack on MAGA Republicans. “MAGA Republicans do not respect the Constitution,” he said. “MAGA Republicans look at America and see carnage and darkness and despair. They spread fear and lies. Lies told for profit and power.”

“Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans represent extremism that threatens the very foundations of our republic.” 

Biden stepped back from blaming all Republicans, saying that he did not believe that most follow the ideology he was speaking about. But he did say that many do embrace it. 

“Not every Republican, not even a majority of Republicans, are MAGA Republicans; not every Republican embraces their extreme ideology,” Biden said. “But there’s no question that the Republican Party today is dominated, driven, and intimidated by Donald Trump and the MAGA Republicans, and that is a threat to this country.”

Biden spoke of a loss of democracy in the US. “For a long time, we’ve reassured ourselves that American democracy is guaranteed. But it is not. We have to defend it. Protect it. Stand up for it. Each and every one of us,” he said.

In reply, McCarthy tweeted that “in the past two years, Joe Biden has launched an assault on the soul of America, on its people, on its laws, on its most sacred values. He has launched an assault on our democracy.” 

Other Republicans responded to the speech with similar antagonism. In fact, the back-and-forth arguments that followed it demonstrate how alarming the situation has become. One Republican, J D Vance, tweeted that “it depicts the president of our nation, as he took to the airwaves and spoke about his fellow citizens as if they were sewer rats.” Rick Scott, a Republican Senate campaign chief, called Biden a “raving lunatic.”

Juxtaposing Biden’s attack with his own provocations, and proving Biden’s line of thought to be exact, hours before the speech Trump said he planned to give financial support to those who have been charged by the US Justice Department in relation to the 6 January insurgency in Washington at the beginning of last year.

He said he was considering offering blanket pardons to these people if he is re-elected president in 2024. He is planning a rally this weekend in the Scranton area of Pennsylvania. 

Biden’s speech was an existential warning about the state of the United States. A unified country it is not.

---

 * The writer is a former professor of communication based in Vancouver, Canada.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 8 September, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.

رحلة غفران

الاهرام

رحلة غفران

السبت 7 من صفر 1444 هــ 3 سبتمبر 2022 السنة 147 العدد 49579

د. عزة رضوان صدقى

فى شهر يوليو الماضي, فى رحلة تاريخية غير مسبوقة, زار رئيس الكنيسة الكاثوليكية قداسة البابا فرنسيس كندا لتقديم الاعتذار وطالبا الصفح والأمل فى المصالحة لدور الكنيسة الكاثوليكية فى الانتهاكات التى تمت فى مدارس السكان الأصليين

وصف البابا فرنسيس زيارته لكندا بأنها حج للتكفير عن الذنب. على مدى ستة أيام زار البابا مقاطعات ألبرتا وكيبيك وإقليم نونافوت الشمالى

كان البابا فرنسيس مقعدًا على كرسى متحرك فى معظم الوقت، لكنه كان مصممًا على متابعة الاعتذار. أدى البركات والصلوات ونثر الماء المقدس فى طريقه إلى التجمعات، حيث كان ينتظره أتباعه المخلصون، وقدم قداسًا فى الهواء الطلق للآلاف، واستمع إلى أغان وطبل وزغاريد وكلمات السكان الأصليين. الأهم من ذلك أنه اعتذر أيضًا عن كيف تعاون أعضاء الكنيسة الرومانية الكاثوليكية, على الأقل من خلال لامبالاتهم, فى مشاريع التدمير الثقافى والاستيعاب القسرى التى روجت لها الحكومات فى ذلك الوقت

كرر البابا فرنسيس نداءه فى كل محطة وقف فيها طالبا الصفح عن الإساءة التى دامت لسنين. قال: لقد جئت إلى وطنكم لاُعبِر شخصيًا عن حزنى، وأطلب مغفرة الله والشفاء والمصالحة والتعبير عن قربى لكم والصلاة معكم ومن أجلكم. وفى مناسبة أخرى قال: أنا آسف. أطلب المغفرة لا سيما فيما يتعلق بالطرق التى تعاون بها العديد من أعضاء الكنيسة والمجتمعات الدينية فى مشاريع التدمير الثقافى والاستيعاب القسرى

كانت المدارس الداخلية إلزامية، وتدار من قبل الحكومة الكندية والسلطات الكاثوليكية

كان أطفال السكان الأصليين يؤخذون بالقوة من ذويهم فى ظل سياسة استعمارية مشينة. بين ١٨٦٣ و١٩٩٨ أكثر من ١٥٠ ألف طفل وُضعوا فى مدارس كانت بمثابة مستعمرات. نظرًا لعدم السماح للأطفال بالتحدث بلغتهم أو ممارسة ثقافتهم، وتعرض الكثير منهم لسوء المعاملة والايذاء، فقد كانت سياسة ترقى الى مستوى الإبادة الجماعية. يتردد صدى تأثير هذه المدارس حتى اليوم. كما كشفت التحقيقات الأخيرة النقاب عن العديد من مواقع فى محيط المدارس بها المئات، إن لم يكن الآلاف، من قبور لأطفال بدون تحديد لهوية الرفات

مؤخرا توالت الاعتذارات للسكان الأصليين من قبل الحكومة الكندية والكنيسة. فى ٢٠٠٨ ستيفن هاربر, رئيس وزراء كندا آنذاك, اعتذر علنًا عن عواقب المدارس الداخلية. ثم أقرت لجنة الحقيقة والمصالحة الكندية التى أُنشئت فى ٢٠٠٨ بالتاريخ المؤلم الذى عانت منه الشعوب الأصلية، وتعهدت بدعم المتضررين

فى أبريل ٢٠٢٢ ذهب وفد من السكان الأصليين الكنديين إلى روما ليطالبوا الكنيسة بالاعتذار، واعتذر البابا فرنسيس آنذاك ووعد بالمجيء إلى كندا. وفى كندا وسط الناجين من السكان الأصليين وعائلاتهم اعتذر مرارا. إلا أنه لم يعتذر عن الدور المؤسسى للكنيسة الكاثوليكية فى النظام، قائلاً بدلاً من ذلك: إنه عمل عدد قليل من الأفراد أو الجهات السيئة. دفع هذا البعض إلى الاعتقاد بأن اعتذاره لم يكن كافياً فبعضهم يعتبر دور الكنيسة محرضًا على الأعمال الوحشية. أوضحت الحكومة الكندية أن اعتذار البابا فرانسيس للشعوب الأصلية عن الانتهاكات فى المدارس الداخلية التى أدارتها الكنيسة لم يكن كافياً

يتوقع السكان الأصليون فى كندا المزيد من الكنيسة الكاثوليكية ويريدون أفعالاً ملموسة وليس كلمات فقط. إنهم يريدون تسلم سجلات الكنيسة عن أولئك الذين فُقدوا فى المدارس وتمويل البرامج العلاجية للناجين وتسهيل التحقيقات مع المسئولين عن الانتهاكات

التسامح شيء والنسيان شىء آخر تمامًا، والبعض غير قادر على فعل أى منهما. لا يمكن للشعوب الأصلية التخلص من الماضى ببساطة والتغلب على ما حدث لهم، لأن الألم لا يزال حيا والماضى لا يزال إرثا مروِعا. بالنسبة للناجين من المدارس الداخلية، بغض النظر عن عدد المرات التى تم فيها تقديم اعتذار صريح, فإنه لا يزيل الألم. ومع ذلك كانت زيارة البابا استثنائية، وستلعب دورًا مهمًا لمحو الذكريات الأليمة، وعلى الرغم من الألم والتاريخ الاستعمارى الذى لن يُمحى أبدًا فإن اعتذار البابا للناجين من المدارس الداخلية فى كندا هو خطوة أساسية نحو المصالحة، ويستحق الاقتداء بضحايا آخرين فى جميع أنحاء العالم وفى الأماكن الأخرى وقعت فيها كوارث إنسانية

على نمط ما فعله البابا فرنسيس عن طيب خاطر ياليت الولايات المتحدة تعتذر عن القصف النووى لمدينتى هيروشيما وناجازاكى اليابانيتين الذى شوه وقتل أكثر من ٢٥٠ ألف يابانى. ليت الإسرائيليين يعترفون بالفلسطينيين وحقوقهم. الآلاف من الكوارث تستحق نفس التكفير عن الذنب

يمكن للاعتذار أن يصحح الخطأ حتى بعد مئات السنين. من هذا الجانب كانت زيارة البابا إلى كندا حدثًا تاريخيًا بالغ الأهمية

لمزيد من مقالات د. عزة رضوان صدقى

A now-dry branch of the Nile helped build Egypt's pyramids, new study says

CTV News

The Pyramids of Giza, seen here in 2021, are the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. (Sui Xiankai/Xinhua/Getty Images)

New evidence about the Nile bolsters a long-standing theory of how ancient Egyptians managed to build the massive pyramids of Giza thousands of years ago.

Researchers led by geographer Hader Sheisha at Aix-Marseille University in France used paleoecological clues to help reconstruct what Egypt's Nile river might have looked like over the past 8,000 years.

They determined the pyramid builders likely took advantage of a "now-defunct" arm of the river to move construction materials, according a study published August 24 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Their findings show "that the former waterscapes and higher river levels around 4,500 years ago facilitated the construction of the Giza Pyramid Complex," the study said.

 

The Great Pyramid stands about 139 metres high and was commissioned by Pharaoh Khufu in the 26th century BC. Comprised of 2.3 million stone blocks with a combined mass of 5.75 million tons (that's 16 times more than the Empire State Building), it's the largest of the group of pyramids at Giza. The other two main pyramids belong to Khufu's son Khafre and grandson Menkaure.

Built on the Giza plateau bordering Cairo, the structures -- surrounded by temples, cemeteries and workers' quarters -- are the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.

ANCIENT ENGINEERS USED FLOODS LIKE HYDRAULIC LIFTS

Scientists have long theorized that ancient Egyptians must have exploited former parts of the Nile to move the tons of limestone and granite required to build the giant structures. (The Nile's current waterways have moved too far away from the pyramid sites to be of use.)

This explanation, known as the "fluvial-port-complex" hypothesis, posits that ancient Egyptian engineers cut a small canal across from the site of the pyramid to the Nile's Khufu branch, along the river's western edge of the river's flood plain, and dredged basins down to the river's bottom. The annual flood waters functioned like a hydraulic lift, allowing them to move massive blocks of stone to the construction site, the researchers said.

But until now, scientists have lacked a specific understanding of which landscapes were involved, according to the researchers.

Using a combination of techniques to reconstruct the ancient Nile floodplain, the research team found that Egyptian engineers could have used the Nile's now-dry Khufu branch to move construction materials to the site of the Giza pyramids.

First, they analyzed the rock layers of cores drilled in 2019 from the Giza floodplain to estimate water levels in the Khufu branch thousands of years ago. They also examined fossilized pollen grains from clay deposits in the Khufu area to identify vegetation-rich areas that are indicative of high water levels.

Their data showed that the Khufu area flourished during the first half of Egypt's Old Kingdom period, from around 2700 to 2200 BC, when the building of the three main pyramids likely occurred.

The branch still had high water levels during the reigns of the pharaohs Khufu, Khafre and Menkaure.

"From the third to the fifth dynasties, the Khufu branch clearly offered an environment conducive to the emergence and development of the pyramid construction site, helping builders to plan the transport of stone and materials by boat," the research team noted in the study.

But by Egypt's Late Period, from around 525-332 BC, the Khufu branch's water levels had fallen during a dry phase -- a finding that is consistent with studies of the oxygen in mummies' teeth and bones from the time period that reflect low water consumption, according to the study.

By the time Alexander the Great conquered Egypt in 332 BC, the Khufu branch was just a small channel.

Altogether, the data shows these ancient engineers used the Nile and its annual floods "to exploit the plateau area overlooking the floodplain for monumental construction." In other words, the Nile's bygone Khufu branch was indeed high enough to allow ancient engineers to move enormous blocks of stone -- and construct the magnificent pyramids we know today.

PALEOCLIMATOLOGY AFFECTS OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PAST AND FUTURE

For Joseph Manning, a classicist historian at Yale University, the "revolutionary" research is an example of how paleoclimatology is "fundamentally changing our understanding of human history."

"We are getting a more realistic, and more dynamic understanding of human societies further back in time," he told CNN.

These new techniques -- like the pollen analysis used in this study -- allow scientists to peer into societies thousands of years ago, Manning said.

"Climate science, like in this paper, is giving us fundamentally new information ... (that is) very relevant to what's happening today." Understanding how climate changed during ancient Egypt's Old Kingdom, for instance, gives scientists context for the climate change trends of today.

Previously, ancient Egypt historians depended primarily on texts to derive their understanding of Egyptian society, Manning said. But increasingly, environmental science is "throwing everything out the door" and allowing new insights about the ancient world.

The most novel part of the new research is that it identifies a naturally occurring waterway that could have been used to transport pyramid materials, whereas some researchers previously thought a man-made canal must have been needed, said Manning.

Making the most of environmental history will require scientists to collaborate and work with historians, he said. "There's resistance to it, because it's a different way of working," Manning said.

But the possibilities, he added, are "super exciting."