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What Sisi Told Ammar Ali Hassan in June 2011: Book Review

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 In June 2011, Dr. Ammar Ali Hassan received a call from Major General Mohamed al-Assar, inviting him to a meeting at the Triumph Hotel along with other public figures. On the way, Dr. Ammar recalled his conversations with the soldiers standing around the tanks in Tahrir Square before Mubarak stepped down. Ammar asks them: What orders did you receive? "To protect vital facilities and citizens." "Do you have orders to disperse the demonstrations by force?" They answer no. "And if you were given such orders, what would you do?" They said quite simply: "We won't carry them out." "Why?" "Because you are our brothers, and we are with you in your demands." At the meeting, Dr. Ammar found Dr. Hossam Eissa and the writer Mohamed el-Makhzangi, and they were later joined by the TV presenter Reem Maged. As soon as he arrived, Major General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi told him: "First of all, we will hand over power to civilian...

Three Swedish Women in Cairo: A Swedish Family’s View of Egypt from the 1930s to 2011

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  سويدية في القاهرة Between the 1930s and 2011, Swedish writer Anne Edelstam tells the story of her family in Egypt through the novel “Three Swedish Women in Cairo.” It begins with her grandfather, who worked as a judge in Egypt’s Mixed Courts, then her mother, who spent part of her childhood in Cairo, and finally Anne herself, who spent her youth in Cairo in the 1970s. The book presents the views of three different generations on Egypt across the eras of Kings Fuad and Farouk, then the reigns of Abdel Nasser, Sadat and Mubarak, up to the January 25 revolution of 2011. The novel appears sympathetic to royal-era Egypt, critical of Abdel Nasser (under whom many foreigners left Egypt), and appreciative of Sadat and his policies. Responding to this observation, the author said she did not write about the Nasser era because her family had already left the country. She admired Sadat’s peace initiative but realized that the economic Infitah (open-door) policy was not in the interest of t...

"Egyptian Arabic Lessons in Cairo – Online & In-Person

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    Arabic is A language for more than 200 million tongues allover the world, in the daily life colloquial Egyptian Arabic greatly spread due to Egyptian Culture influence , While colloquial Egyptian Arabic is an ethnic Arabic accent which is easily understood allover the Arab world due to the Egyptian Culture spread. Abu Nadara is offering to help you in learning both Formal Arabic and Egyptian Arabic, with flexibility in time, locations in Cairo, and learning techniques, also availability of classes through Zoom, ِAbu Nadara has been working as an Arabic Tutor for more than 5 years, tutored many different nationalities For inquiries  call: +2012 8344 0058 What's App number,  Or myehia7@gmail.com

The French Diplomat Who Escaped the Fate of “Regeni” … A Chapter in the History of Repression in Egypt

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André Michel André Michel’s Le repas du soir , published by the National Translation Centre and translated by Rasha Saleh, takes on particular significance when compared with what happened to the French diplomat André Michel and the Italian student Giulio Regeni. The book, set between the autumn of 1961 and the spring of 1962, recounts a nightmarish experience endured by the French diplomat in the State Security services and the appeals prison in Egypt. André Michel’s arrival in Egypt came at a time when cultural relations between Egypt and France were being restored after having been interrupted by the 1956 Tripartite Aggression. He began his mission in Cairo with optimism and enthusiasm, seeking to strengthen cultural ties between the French and Egyptian peoples through development projects focused on education and Egyptian antiquities. André, who had studied Arabic before coming to Egypt, began his activities with sightseeing and attempts to integrate with the Egyptian people, whom...

we had our Lord, Russia, “Mickey” and “Samir”… Stories of the October War from old clippings

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  egyptian mickey “At a time when farmers were ready to sacrifice everything, we would find the grocers who were trying to take advantage of the situation and report them to the Department of Supply Investigation who arrested them.” – Attiyat Hijazi Saoudi, Farmer from the village of Ad Dalatun in Menofia Governorate.  We are accustomed to dealing with the October War, the 50th anniversary of which we are commemorating this year in Egypt, in terms of military and political battles and with an economical and geographical lens, only mentioning societal solidarity in passing. This is often represented by a scene of men sitting in a traditional Cairene coffeehouse during Ramadan shouting “God is great! (Allahu Akbar)” as they listen happily to the armed forces’ first statement being broadcast at two in the afternoon, without delving in to the details about the daily lives and personal stories of the people.  So, was it really as ideal as this scene leads us to believe? And ho...