Celebrating Christmas in Egypt
Did you know that Christmas in Egypt is celebrated on January 7 each year? I didn't either until I got to celebrate this holiday when I was living in Dahab, Egypt in 2012. Why is Christmas in Egypt on January…
The Tradition of Family Revenge Killings in Upper Egypt
Very little is written or known about a certain aspect of the culture of *Upper Egypt ‑ the tradition of revenge killings, also known as blood feuds or vendettas. One of the Connect the Cultures partners, Joseph Nazir, is a…
Habiba Organic Farm – WWOOFing in the Sinai
Is any region of the world entirely organic and self-sustaining? Probably not. But one entrepreneur in the South Sinai, Egypt has a vision of organic farms being the sole source providing produce to his region, and his goal could become…
The Bedouin Sense of Community (Video)
Bedouins are a large part of the Middle Eastern population. They live in all Middle Eastern countries as well as North African countries, numbering in the tens of thousands if not hundreds of thousands in each country. The Bedouin culture…
Life as Child in a Village in Upper Egypt
In my village in Upper Egypt when I was a child we played in the dust. We collected it, we built small walls, tiny walls in the ground. We would make a small fence with the dust and say this…
A Bedouin Perspective on Life (Video)
Bedouins are a mystery to most people, and the Bedouin perspective on life is almost unknown. Bedouins are Arabs whose origins are primarily in Saudi Arabia. Traditionally nomadic, most have settled now and have permanent homes throughout the Middle East and North…
On Being Born in Egypt
My parents were cousins. This is normal for Egypt and all of the Arab world. People marry their cousins. When my parents got married, they lived in a room in my father's parents' house. This was normal for Egypt too,…
Meet a Middle Eastern Cartoonist
"I just wanted to do what I love to do in my way," says Saadany, a 28-year-old Egyptian cartoonist with Koshk Comics in Cairo. The world of comics had always appealed to him because "creatively all you need is your…
One Positive Effect of Egypt’s Downturn in Tourism (Video)
Egypt's downturn in tourism was originally caused by the January 2011 Revolution and has become drastic and prolonged due to the subsequent events the country has suffered. This is bad. However, tour company employees now have plenty of time to do other things,…
I am a Coptic Christian
First of all, I want to say that I am Egyptian. I am not Arab. People think Egyptians are Arabs, but this is not true. Arabs are from the Gulf countries. Egyptians are different. We are of a different ethnic…