Egypt

The Quarterly Magazine of the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
Volume 1, No. 4
Summer 2006
Global Summit of Women
Convenes in Cairo
he Global Summit of Women was held in Cairo June
10–12, 2006. Informally known as the “Davos for
Women,” the summit convened under the theme
“Redefining Leadership,” with some 900 delegates from
88 countries meeting to “advance women’s economic and
entrepreneurial progress worldwide.” The Summit
focused on accelerating women’s economic development
through the effective use of technology, and maximizing
the benefit of cross-border business alliances.
Throughout the three days of meetings and workshops,
the business leaders, politicians, NGO officials and
researchers focused on the “empowerment” of women,
especially in the region.
First Lady Suzanne Mubarak.
Egypt’s first lady Suzanne Mubarak inaugurated the
Summit. In her speech, Mrs. Mubarak emphasized the importance of women’s contribution
to the world’s economies as entrepreneurs, consumers, wage-earners, educators and managers. This contribution “should be recognized and made visible,” Egyptian first lady said
T
2
Photograph: © Andreas F. Voegelin, Antikenmuseum Basel and Sammlung Ludwig
Horizons
Ambassador Fahmy on
economic and political
reform in Egypt—the
Winds of Change
continued on page 8
The Changing Face of
Egyptian Society
r. Tarek Kamel, Minister of Communication and
Information Technology, visited Washington from June
18th to June 20th. During his visit, Dr. Kamel held several meetings with US officials in the Executive office of the
President, the Department of Commerce, the USAID, and the
US Congress. The Minister also held several meetings at the
World Bank where he signed an agreement between Egypt and
the Bank for Technical Cooperation to reform the Egyptian
Postal Service as well as E-Signature and Convergence.
D
8
King Tut in America
After more than a
quarter century, the King
returns to US shores.
see related article on page 5
Dr. Tarek Kamel
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
2
3
4
6
8
Horizons
World Economic
Exonomic Forum
Forum Convenes
Convenes in
in Egypt
Egypt
Marsa Allam
Oil and Gas Sector in Egypt
King Tut Tours America
9
10
10
11
12
The Grand Egyptian Museum
The Yacoubian Building
ADC Honors Omar Sharif
Visiting the Volunteer State • In Brief
Inside Egypt: Nubia, The Land of Gold
EGYPT
Volume 1, No. 4
Summer 2006
Egypt is published quarterly by
the Embassy of the Arab Republic
of Egypt as a service to those with
interest in Egyptian affairs and
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Horizons
Winds of Change in Egypt
By Ambassador Nabil Fahmy, Ambassador of Egypt to the U.S.A.
gypt is currently witnessing unprecedented economic reforms. Economic
reforms gained great momentum since the advent of Dr. Nazif’s new government in July 2004. Privatization of state-owned enterprises has been expedited.
The tax system has been reformed in order to encourage business and build confidence with tax payers, as it brought down the ceiling of corporate tax to 20%. Tariffs
were cut from an average of 14.1% to 9% and the 27 tariff bands were replaced by six.
An ambitious plan to reform the banking sector has been announced. It prepared
state-owned banks for privatization, re-organized public banks, and took action
against bad and doubtful debts. So far, the Egyptian Economy has responded positively to these reforms. In 2005, the Egyptian Stock exchange increased by 125% (the
largest annual increase in the world). The annual economic growth rate has doubled
in three years and is expected to reach six percent in 2006. Investments in non-oil
sectors increased by more than 300 percent, and total investment flows in the 2006
first quarter almost doubled compared to the same quarter last year. Inflation rate
was reduced by 75 percent in three years, to less than 5 percent today.
That said, it should not be assumed that Egypt is done with its economic reform as
there is still great room for improvement. Egypt’s unemployment rate is still around
9.5%, which reflects the need for further local and foreign investment to create jobs for
the expanding labor market. The stock market decreased by 14% since the beginning of
the year (following the trend of the world financial markets), sending a signal that longterm stability needs further and continued reforms.
Likewise, political reform has gained great momentum in Egypt after President
Mubarak’s initiative to amend the constitution. Since then, Egypt conducted its first-ever
multi-candidate presidential election and a widely contested parliamentary elections
resulting in a 70% change in the composition of the parliament and a 25%-strong opposition block. Freedom of expression is being exercized by a wide range of political activists,
including free press and frequent demonstrations. In addition, President Mubarak promised to abolish the emergency law and replace it with an anti-terrorism law. The draft of
the new law is to be submitted to the upcoming session of the parliament in November.
Further political reforms are still to come. The Egyptian Parliament has been discussing a new legislative and constitutional reform agenda based primarily on President
Mubarak’s election campaign platform. The legislative agenda includes political reform
laws dealing with judicial sovereignty, publication offences, and remand-in-custody regulations. The remand-in-custody bill aims at reinforcing respect for human rights and
abolishing the detainment of citizens for indefinite periods of time. Furthermore, reforms
are expected to tackle the issue of the electoral system. Several members seek to relinquish the current individual candidacy system in favor of the slate system. Also, a rising
trend among MPs calls for assigning a certain quota of female MPs. Some members also
call for the abolition of the article stating that 50 per cent of parliamentary seats be
reserved for representatives of workers and farmers. Needless to say, members often
have different opinions on these and other matters.
It is true that sporadic clashes between political activists took place during and after
the elections last year. However, it is only fair to say that significant—if not monumental—progress is being made on reform in Egypt, and further efforts need to be exerted
from all parties to sustain it. Freedom in Egypt is in renaissance. Reform in Egypt is a
process not an incident, thus it needs to be digested by different players.
E
Planning a trip to Egypt?
Visit www.touregypt.net
2
Summer 2006
World Economic Forum Convenes in Egypt
Over 1,100 businessmen, economists, and politicians gathered in Sharm el Sheikh from May 20th to May 22nd as
the World Economic Forum held its Middle East meeting. The meeting was set out to highlight the “Promise of a
New Generation” against a background of profound challenges.
resident Hosni Mubarak inaugurated the World
Economic Forum on the Middle East with a call to
the international community to work together to
resolve regional conflicts. “Peace and development are
indivisible,” the President told the government, business
and civil society leaders from 46 countries meeting in
Sharm el Sheikh. “The Middle East stands at a crossroads and it is up to us to make choices. Egypt’s choice
is peace as it is the only path to development. We seek
international partnership based on investment and not
on aid and assistance. We are confident that building
democratic societies is the only way to a better future
that we seek,” Mubarak told participants. Klaus Schwab,
Founder and Executive Chairman of the World Economic
Forum said the meeting was “the most powerful demonstration of hope and will and determination to create
the necessary conditions for economic, social and political development.”
Throughout the three-day meeting in Sharm el Sheikh,
participants highlighted the challenges facing the Middle
East: the conflict in Iraq—which could deteriorate into civil
war, the unresolved Israeli-Palestinian problem, heightened
tensions over Iran’s nuclear program, the negative impact of
higher oil revenues such as widening income gaps, insufficient investment in essential infrastructure, middle-class
P
“Red carpet in, red tape out”: rebranding the Middle East
Business leaders discussed the roles of marketing and
branding in the promotion of the Middle East as a destination for tourism and inward investment. During a
WorkSpace session, participants considered how the
image of the Middle East might be revolutionized and proposed a number of innovative campaign ideas during the
process. The main outcomes were:
• Create a task force of stakeholders from the private sector to fund a marketing campaign for the Middle East.
• The private sector should ensure that sufficient money is
made available to fund the campaign.
• Bring Middle Eastern leaders together so that stakeholders can understand better what the region offers and
represents.
• Project Middle Eastern opinion leaders onto the international stage.
www.egyptembassy.net
dissatisfaction over slumping securities markets, and most
important of all, the need to create 80 million jobs in the
region over the next 20 years to stem the rise of extremism
among youth.
The World Economic Forum meeting witnessed a
sizeable US delegation presided by Mr. Robert Zoellick
Deputy Secretary of State, Mr. John Snow Secretary of
Treasury and Secretary of Education Ms Margaret
Spellings. The US Congress was also represented
during a meeting by a Congressional Delegation from the
House of Representatives headed by Congressman Jim
Kolbe of Arizona and the membership of Congressmen
Bermann, Baird, Kilpatrick, Lowey, Moran and Wicker.
From the Senate side, Senator Hatch and Senator Smith
participated in the meetings.
Fresh hopes for the Peace Process
The Sharm el Sheikh meeting provided a forum for several bilateral meetings. Israel and the Palestinians have
held their highest-level meeting since June 2005 as
Israel’s Deputy Prime Minister Livni met with Mr. Abbas,
President of the Palestinian Authority. Livni announced
after the meeting that Israel would release a part of the
frozen tax revenue due to the Palestinians. Abbas and
Livni both called on the Hamas-led Palestinian government to recognize Israel’s right to exist, to renounce violence and to recognize international peace agreements of
their predecessors as a crucial step towards continuing
the peace process.
Egypt launches the Egyptian Education Initiative EEI
During the meeting in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt adopted the
World Economic Forum’s Education Initiative, which aims
to improve schooling in the country through Information
and Communication Technologies. The Egyptian
Education Initiative (EEI) was announced at the World
Economic Forum on the Middle East taking place in
Sharm el Sheikh. “Investing in our children’s education is
investing in Egypt’s future”, said Mr. El Gamal, Minister of
Education of Egypt.
The EEI will focus on four tracks: pre-university education, higher education, lifelong learning and e-learning
industry development.
3
Marsa Allam
Discovering Marsa Allam: a hidden treasure on the Red Sea with much to explore—from reefs to wrecks.
he Red Sea continues to serve as one of the top havens
for more is that it has been one of the more preserved sites;
for scuba divers all over the world. With its warm water and has much less “underwater traffic” then other popular
temperature all year long and amazing underwater visidiving locations such as Sharm El-Sheikh. Most visitors take
bility of up to 50 meters, it is no wonder that visitors keep
a diving safari for a few days where they live on a yacht and
coming back for more. Marsa Allam, located in the southern
sail the clear pristine waters. In Marsa Allam, there are four
part of the Red Sea coastline, is a hidden treasure. At one
main marine parks which provide divers with clear water and
point, Marsa Allam was a small fishing village, but it has
a multitude of corals and big colorful fish. For non-divers,
received increased attention since it opened an international
there is also the option of snorkeling along the reefs in more
airport, thus making it much more accessible, especially to
shallow water.
those visiting from outside of Egypt. This picturesque destiMarsa Allam is also known for its wrecks. Some of them
nation is backed by open
date back to the early 1800s.
deserts, mountains, oases,
One wreck a hundred
wildlife, emerald and gold
meters off the shore of Um
mines, and treasures from
Galawa beach is always a
Roman, Pharonic, and
striking site to visitors. It is a
Islamic historical eras.
large, wooden, half-sunken
Marsa Allam’s beauty
boat. It makes for a picturcomes from combining virgin
esque scene, especially with
marine life and pure nature
the clear sky, pristine water,
with luxurious touristic viland the mountains, which
lages. It has maintained its
make for the perfect backhealthy reefs and corals,
ground. Moreover, there are
home to hundreds of differno large commercial hotels,
ent reef species. Moreover,
which is what makes Marsa
there are a multitude of
Allam so special. Just a few
things to explore such as
kilometers away from Um
caves, pinnacles, and shipGalawa, a massive marina is
wrecks.
being built, known as the
Although it seems that
Port Ghalib project. Once an
very few native Cairenes
empty coastline, today it can
have seen Marsa Allam, for
hold about 1,000 yachts. A
years it has remained a
few kilometers away from
haven for divers all over the
Um Galawa, a boardwalk
world. Marsa Allam has a lot
with hundreds of elegantly
to offer, and one thing that
designed stores is under
Exciting diving, reefs, marine life, and shipwrecks await in Marsa Allam. construction.
keeps diving fanatics coming
T
4
Summer 2006
The Changing Face of Egyptian Society:
Egypt's Information Society Initiative
hase 1 of the Egyptian Information Society Initiative
(EISI) has been successfully completed after six years
of efforts that have had a real impact on the people of
Egypt. Behind the project, the Ministry of Communications
and Information Technology (MCIT), which has worked
steadfastly since its inception in 2000 to fulfill the two main
objectives of increasing the use of ICT and establishing a
thriving ICT export industry, has much to be proud of. The
foundations of infrastructure and training have been laid, a
legal and regulatory environment conducive to e-commerce
created, and efforts to inform the population at large
of the benefits of ICT have proved successful. At the
same time, MCIT has worked to establish Egypt as a
global exporter of ICT services and to support other
export-oriented and high income-generating sectors as
they seek to reap the benefits of greater use of ICT.
The broad range of EISI projects has included
spreading basic awareness of ICT and ensuring the
availability of telecom services nationwide, as well as a
number of home-grown initiatives: “Free Internet,”
“PC for Every Home,” and “IT Clubs.” A new round of
initiatives is now set to support the rapidly developing
needs of society, focusing on broadband, e-content
and innovation, among other areas, to foster a vibrant
and prosperous knowledge-based economy.
The technology-driven course that Egypt has
taken to support its socio-economic development
strategy stems from a vision to create a vibrant ICT
industry and an information-literate society—and the
government and the business sector have joined
forces to ensure its success.
P
Signs of Growth and Maturity
Prior to 2000, Egypt had a total of 5 million subscribers
to telecom services, fixed and mobile. This figure has
since grown to 25 million. The use of computers and
broadband Internet has also witnessed rapid growth. The
result is that ICT-based jobs and industries reliant on ICT
infrastructure have flourished. Egypt now has more than 1,500
ICT companies employing some 50,000 individuals.
Egypt has established itself as an ICT hub for the Arab
region, as evidenced by the number of multinational companies
choosing the country as the home for their regional headquarters and research and service centers. The abundance of highly
qualified human resources, advanced infrastructure and various government incentives make Egypt a destination of choice.
The home of Egypt’s ICT community, the Smart Village
technology park, has attracted multinationals, Egyptian compa-
www.egyptembassy.net
nies, start-ups and incubators, as well as various government
offices and NGOs. Its success has empowered local industry
and attracted the world's attention to Egypt as a regional business hub. And it is not only in Cairo that the impact is being
felt. Similar growth across the country has seen the creation of
numerous companies working in ICT and related fields, such as
the development and use of smart card technology.
Response with Vision
A major part of the socio-economic reform under way in
Egypt is related to education and health. On May 20,
Egypt launched a National Educational Initiative, the
goal of which is to revitalize the education sector by
making ICT an integral part of the academic experience. This initiative involves the establishment of
Smart Schools, the provision of high-speed Internet
for 7,000 middle schools, illiteracy eradication programs, and sector-specific lifelong e-learning and professional e-training programs.
As for the ICT industry itself, the establishment of
R&D centers of excellence will guarantee an environment where innovation thrives. Such centers will provide a platform for local R&D in various fields and will
lead to the establishment of new companies specialized in related domains.
Egypt recently announced a four-year export
strategy for software and ICT services in order to guarantee its continued progress, especially in the fields of
software development, localization/Arabization and call
center services. Within this framework, the recently
established IT Industry Development Agency has
assumed responsibility for the development of e-signature infrastructure and promotion of e-commerce, IPR
issues related to software and databases, and the
development of the local ICT community.
Public-Private Partnership
In keeping with the spirit of public-private partnership that
has been the basis of all MCIT efforts—from liberalization of
the telecom sector to various “Access for All” programs—the
next round of development will bring business opportunities
in several ICT-related sectors, such as 3G mobile networks,
call centers, certification service provision, CDMA wireless
local loop deployment and postal services.
Learn More…
www.mcit.gov.eg
5
Oil and Gas Se
The promising Petroleum and Gas Sector in Egypt is witnessing increased growth
and on-going expansion. Egypt is currently the sixth-largest producer and exporter
of Natural Gas, particularly after the completion of the two Liquefied Natural Gas
LNG projects in Idku and Damietta in addition to linking the Arab Gas Pipeline from
Egypt to Turkey, sending Egyptian Natural Gas to Europe.
Facts about Egypt’s Oil and Gas Sector
Egyptian production from Oil & Gas is currently approximately 2 million barrels per day. The
average production of crude oil ranges from 680 to 700 thousand barrels and the production
of gas amounts to 5.6 billion cubic feet with a 30% export capacity via the Arab Gas pipeline
network or by super-tankers, the remaining 70% is designated for domestic purposes. Egypt
has approximately 125 trillion cubic feet (tef) of potential natural gas reserves in various areas
of the country in addition to the current proven reserves of 67 tef. Major foreign companies
involved in natural gas exploration and production in Egypt include British petroleum, British
Gas, ENI-Agip. Union Fenosa and Shell.
Egypt owns a well established Gas-pipeline infrastructure with a network stretching over 14,000 km. There are also newly established plans to extend the natural gas
network to cover the remaining parts of the country
including upper Egypt and Sinai. This follows through
Foreign Companies in Egypt
on the current reality that gas has become the cornerThe Italian ENI corporation intends to develop its natural
stone of the energy needs in Egypt as it is indeed a raw
gas fields in order to increase production from 44 million
material that is employed as an input in many major
cubic feet per day to 80 million over the next three years.
strategic industries such as petrochemicals and fertilizers. Egypt is now the sixth-leading country worldwide in
Shell Egypt will start a new exploration project in its
terms of the export of liquefied natural gas (LNG) with a
North East Mediterranean (NEMED) project employing the
total capacity of 17.5 billion cubic feet / day. Total foruse of super rigs and employing new technologies such as
eign direct investment (FDI) in the oil & Gas sector
using robots for the first time in deep water drilling that
amounted to 2.6 billion USD the past year while total
are known to require a huge amount of investment.
exports of petroleum and petrochemicals and natural gas
British Petroleum approved a new plan to increase
reached 9.8 million USD.
investment in Egypt from 4 billion USD to 10 billion by 2010,
New exploration and development projects are currentwhich would allow for the tripling of its known reserves in
ly
underway,
with investments amounting to 20 billion USD
accordance with its 40 year plan.
during
the
next
five years. It is worth mentioning that Egypt
The Spanish firm Union Fenosa has built the two-train
has
achieved
the
highest success rate of discoveries in the
liquefaction facility at Damietta with an average capacity
Mediterranean
area,
averaging 60% compared to the averof 268 bef per year. The first shipment of cargo was in
January 2005 upon the completion of the first train. The
age global rate of 10-15%, and in this respect, Egypt has
majority of the gas exported will be used for the supply of
assumed a 46% share of all foreign direct investments in the
new ‘cleaner’ gas-fired power stations in Spain. This LNG
North African region.
project is the first facility of its type in Egypt and is one of
In addition to its role as an oil exporter, Egypt has
the world’s largest capacity single train facilitites.
strategic importance because of its operation of the Suez
The Mediterranean Oil Conference (MOC) was held
Canal and Sumed (Suez-Mediterranean) Pipeline, two
from 2-5 April 2006 in Alexandria with the participation of
routes for the export of gulf oil.
delegations from 26 countries and the representatives of
Egypt’s success in opening up markets for exports has
180 international companies as well as the attendance of
helped in attracting a number of foreign companies and
1500 experts from all over the world.
increasing investment in exploration and production as well as
the establishment of liquefaction factories for export purposes.
6
Summer 2006
ctor in Egypt
The Idku Liquefied Natural Gas Complex
The complex was opened on the 15th of April 2006 in the Beheira province, which
accounts for 40% of Egypt’s natural gas production. 60% of the total exports of LNG are
expected to be produced by this novel mega-facility.
The complex is built on an area of 390 feddans and the project has been heralded as
the largest Oil & Gas project in the history of Egypt and is considered a major transformation in Egypt’s ability to intensify the benefits from its own natural resources. The
investments in the complex relating to liquefaction and export amount to 2 billion USD
while total investments including liquefaction and export as well as exploration and
development amount to 4.6 billion USD. The complex consists of two factories with a
combined capacity of 7.2 million tones earmarked for export to France and other
European countries as well as the US.
The complex has been successful in providing 5 thousand new job opportunities during its construction phase as well as in continuously providing one thousand new jobs in
the fields of production, facilitation and procurement and in the liquefaction facilities in
addition to myriad indirect job opportunities in the fields of maintenance and marine
services and support services.
Egyptian national companies such as Enppi and Petrojet and the Egyptian
Contractors Company and the Marine Services Company all played a major role in this
project. British Gas and Petronas of Malaysia both contribute in the complex with a
35.5% share each while the Egyptian General Petroleum Council contributes with a share
of 24% and Gaz de France owns 5%.
The Arab Gas Pipeline
On the 19th of March 2006, a ministerial meeting was held with the participation of the
petroleum ministers of all four countries involved in the Arabian Gas pipeline network
namely Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria as well as the participation of the Turkish Minister
of Energy and natural Resources and the First Assistant Minister of Economics and Trade
from Romania.
A joint ministerial communiqué announced the formulation of a timeline for extending
the network from the Jordanian border to the Syrian border and up to the Turkish border
within two years. The ministers agreed on the creation of a working group to discuss the
various possibilities of linking the Arab network with European network. They also agreed
on the establishment of a joint Egyptian-Jordanian gas company to serve Jordanian homes
and electric generation plants in the industrial and housing complexes in that country.
Additionally, an agreement was also finalized to establish a joint Egyptian-Turkish company
to transport and market natural gas in Turkey and Europe.
The conference also discussed the necessary deadlines for concluding the extension of
the Arab Gas pipeline from the south of Syria to the south of Lebanon as well as the schedule of the implementation of the third phase of the project in the Syria.
The participation of Turkey and Romania in the ministerial meeting of the Arab ministers
shows their understanding of the importance of this major strategic project. It is worth noting
that the Arab gas pipeline requires complete coordination between neighboring countries.
European representation in the meeting is considered a continuation of the EU’s policy
to diversify its energy resources in accordance with the principles of the Euromed cooperation conference.
www.egyptembassy.net
Learn More…
Ministry of Petroleum:
www.emp.gov.eg
Ministry of Electricity and
Energy: www.moee.gov.eg
7
King Tut Tours America
After a 26-year absence, the King is back!
traveling exhibition of treasures from Ancient
Egyptian King Tutankhamun’s tomb is currently
touring the United States for the first time in over
25 years. National Geographic, AEG
Exhibitions, Arts and Exhibitions
International, and the Egyptian
Supreme Council of Antiquities organized the 27-month U.S. tour, which
began in Los Angeles on June 16, 2005.
The exhibition, titled “King
Tutankhamun and the Golden Age of
the Pharaohs,” features 50 major artifacts from King Tut’s tomb, as well as
more than 70 artifacts from other royal
graves of the 18th dynasty and is twice
the size of the original 1970’s collection.
The exhibit is currently featured in the
Field Museum of Chicago, where more
than 200,000 tickets have already been
sold and a million more are expected to
sell. Los Angeles and Fort Lauderdale
sold about 937,000 and 700,000 tickets
respectively.
King Tut was the son of the controversial King Akhenaten, who changed
the Egyptian religion to worship a single god and inherited the throne as a
young boy around 1333 B.C. Tut only
ruled for nine years and was largely a
Photograph: © Andreas F. Voegelin, Antikenmuseum Basel and Sammlung Ludwig
A
figurehead due to his young age. However, Egypt
returned to its traditional, polytheistic religion during his
reign, which was a very significant event. King Tut’s mysterious death in his late teens was
often theorized to have been a murder,
but CT scans of his mummy in 2005
showed no evidence of foul play. One
current theory is that he died of gangrene from a broken leg.
King Tut’s modern international
fame began in 1922 when archaeologist
Howard Carter unearthed his tomb in
the Valley of the Kings. His tomb
remains to this day the most well-preserved pharaonic tomb by far and its
discovery made headlines around the
world and provided important new
insight into Ancient Egypt. Treasures
from his tomb attracted more than 8
million visitors in its original tour of the
United States in the late 1970’s.
The King Tut exhibit is currently at
Chicago’s Field Museum, where it will
remain until January 1, 2007. The
exhibit will then reside in
Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute until
September 30, 2007, at which point it
will travel to London and finally return
to Egypt in early 2008.
Global Summit of Women continued from page 1
at the opening ceremony. Summit president Irene
Natividad said that one of her main goals was to introduce
a “more complex picture of the Arab woman.” She told a
news conference: “At this year’s summit, we want to introduce the delegates to Egyptian and other Arab women in
business who go against the stereotype of the veiled silent
woman who does not participate in a major way in her
country’s economy.”
During the summit, participants exchanged creative
ideas and best practices that have inspired and energized the deliberations. The summit decided on the formation of national and regional networks to the launch
of numerous successful business initiatives to less tangible results—the women who are increasingly driving the
global economy.
8
Suzanne Mubarak Honored
The Global Summit of Women awarded Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak
its 2006 Prize for Pioneering Achievement for her earnest
efforts in improving the economic and political status of
women in Egypt, and protecting childhood. At a ceremony that
closed two days of three brainstorming sessions and activities
of the women’s Davos, Summit President Irene Natividad said
Mrs Mubarak, in her capacity as the chair of the National
Council of Women and the Egyptian Red Crescent Society, has
been playing a pivotal role to empower women financially and
politically. She said Mrs Mubarak has set herself up as an example of leading women, who left their indelible marks on pressing issues of women. Mrs Mubarak thanked Natividad, dedicating the prestigious prize to all Egyptian women who greatly
contributed to the development process in the country.
Summer 2006
The Grand Egyptian Museum
n 2005, the Ministry of Culture launched a fundraising
campaign to help support the Grand Egyptian Museum
(GEM) initiative. The museum, with an unprecedented
design, will be located on the Giza plateau. The creators
hold a vision for the museum as “a place where people
from different nations and cultures will be able to
immerse themselves in the rich cultural heritage of more
than 5,000 years of ancient Egyptian civilization”. The
GEM, which will be the biggest museum of Egyptian antiquities in the world, illustrates how art has operated as “an
inherent trait of Egypt and its inhabitants.” The Japanese
government has offered a $300 million long term loan to
help construct the Museum. The loan will be due after 10
years, and will be repaid in installments for a duration of
30 years at a 1.5% interest rate.
Internationally acclaimed architect Shih-Fu Peng of
Heneghan has come up with the museum’s design. Peng
believes that the museum will stand as a “link” between
the ancient Pyramids and modern Cairo. The Grand
Egyptian Museum will be made from translucent alabaster
and the main exhibition will be centered on the Dunal
Eye, and it will have a series of bridges, streets, and piazzas connecting the different sections of the museum.
Inside, there will be a large staircase that leads visitors
through a route to view the collections, and at the end
one will reach a picturesque view of the Pyramids from
the museum’s uppermost floor. Collections include artifacts from the Nile Valley and displays on kingship, religious practices, and the lives of Ancient Egyptians,
including their cultural and social practices such as
games, arts, sport, and music. There will be a building set
President Hosni Mubarak lays the
foundation stone of the Grand
Egyptian Museum at a February 4,
2003 ceremony.
Photographs: www.gem.gov.eg
I
aside for library and
media purposes.
Finally, there will be an
area with “flexible
spaces”, set aside for
temporary exhibits and
conferences. Furthermore, the museum will
contain an information
center and a training
center that will offer
Egyptology courses for
museum curators. There
will also be a section
designated for children
that is designed to help
teach them about
Egyptian heritage.
The Grand Egyptian
Museum is expected to
stand as the “world’s
largest museum”, and
this vast project will
bring about many promising returns to Egypt.
This project will provide
at least 5,000 new jobs
for Egyptians; and it
expected to bring in
about 3 million visitors
each year.
The prize-winning design for the Grand Egyptian Museum from Shih-Fu Peng, Heneghan.Peng.Architects. Inset: a planning page from the submission.
www.egyptembassy.net
9
The Yacoubian Building
laa Al Aswany’s bestselling novel, The
Yacoubian Building
(Omaret Yacoubian) has
been made into a big-budget
Egyptian film. It tells the
story of an actual building in
downtown Cairo that was
built in 1934 by an Armenian
“Yacoubian”. The building is
said to have housed “Cairo’s
bourgeois elite,” namely
“upwardly mobile intellectuals, beautiful heiresses, and
moneyed foreigners”. Today,
the building has transformed into a melting pot for the untitled classes. This novel tells the story of several of the building’s inhabitants. The characters include Bosaina, a shop
girl, Taha, the son of the pious doorman, Zaki, an elderly
alcoholic playboy, Hatim, a controversial journalist, and
Azaam, a character that learns that money is not all that is
important in life.
A
The novel is said to be an attempt to “bridge the culture
gap between a secular Muslim public and a selective
Western audience,” giving readers a piece of contemporary
Egypt through these characters. Al Aswany tackles the issue
of corruption that has permeated Egyptian society, revealing
hypocrisies existing in religion, power and everyday life. The
movie adaptation of the novel is the most expensive Arabic
Language film ever made. Director Marwan Hamed estimated it cost around $3 million, which is twice that of any
Egyptian film previously made.
Due to its sometimes controversial and unique storyline,
The Yacoubian Building has received a lot of attention.
National Public Radio (NPR) broadcasted a program on it
last year. The program discussed briefly the plot of the movie
and its significance as an artistic piece. Moreover, it followed
the cast on set one day; including the Director Hamed.
The movie was also featured in the 2006 Tribeca Film
Festival in the International Narrative Competition from
April 25th to May 7th in New York City. Moreover, the film
was screened at various locations in NYC during this period.
The movie was also showcased in the 2006 Berlin
International Film Festival.
n June 16, 2006, Omar Sharif, the reknowned
Egyptian and International actor, received the
“Lifetime Achievment Award” of the Arab American
Anti-discrimination Committee during its 26th Annual
Convention. Sharif, already an accomplished Egyptian movie
star before he hit the world stage, starred in many Egyptian
and Hollywood films. He has performed in his native Arabic
language as well as in English and French. He is also fluent
in Greek and speaks some Italian and Turkish.
Born in 1932 in the coastal Egyptian city of Alexandria,
Omar Sharif was schooled in Alexandria’s prestigous Victoria
College and then graduated from Cairo University with a
major in mathmatics and physics. He debuted his movie
career in Egypt in 1953 and has since performed in more
than 80 Egyptian and international films. His first role was
in the Egyptian film Siraa Fil-Wadi in 1954 (English The
Blazing Sun). He also starred in International movies as Dr.
Zhivago (1965) in the film by the same name, Lawrence of
Arabia (1962) as well as more recently in the 13th Warrior
(1999), Hidalgo (2004), and the French film Monsieur
Ibrahim et les fleurs du Coran (2003).
O
10
In 1962, Sharif was
nominated for an Academy
Award as “Best Supporting
Actor” in his first English
language film, Lawrence
of Arabia. Throughout his
career, Sharif received
many awards, including
the prestigious “Life
Achievement Award” at
the 60th Venice
International Film Festival
in 2003. In November
2005, he was honored with
a medal by the United
Nations Educational
Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) in
recognition of his significant contributions to world
film and cultural diversity.
Photograph: © Saed Hindash/Star Ledger/Corbis
Egyptian Actor Omar Sharif Receives ADC’s
Lifetime Achievement Award
Summer 2006
paid a visit to Nashville on June 6, 2006 to participate in
the opening night celebration of the exhibition entitled
“The Quest for Immortality: Treasures of Ancient Egypt”,
hosted by the Frist Center for Visual Arts. The exhibition
was organized by United Exhibits Group, Copenhagen, and
the National Gallery of Art, Washington, in association with
the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Cairo.
The exhibition is one of the largest groups of antiquities
ever on loan from Egypt for exhibit in North America. The
antiquities are in the collections of the Egyptian Museum in
Cairo, the Luxor Museum of Ancient Art, and the sites of
Tanis and Deir el-Bahari. They dramatically illustrate the
ancient Egyptian concept of the afterlife, and include
approximately 107 magnificent works, ranging from monumental stone sculptures of Egyptian royalty and deities to
such luxurious tomb furnishings as gold jewelry, ornate
coffins, a model of the river ship of the pharaoh Amenhotep
II, and a sarcophagus painted with scenes of the afterlife.
Ranging in date from the New Kingdom (1550–1069
B.C.) through the Late Period (664–332 B.C.), the works in
the exhibition are divided into four sections: the King and
Society in the New Kingdom, Tombs of Nobles, the Royal
I
In Brief
• On July 23rd, Egyptians celebrate their country’s national day,
commemorating the anniversary of the 1952 revolution. After
more than five decades, the Egyptian revolution remains a
landmark in Egyptian, Arab and regional history as well as the
history of national liberation movements in the third world.
The revolution, led by the late Gamal Abdelnasser, changed
the face of life in Egypt through, inter alia , agricultural land
redistribution, an industrial revolution, expansion of the middle
class and provision of free education at all levels. It rapidly
transformed the Egyptian society into a modern 20th century
society that became a model for other third world countries to
follow. It also instantiated the aspirations of Arabs and third
world peoples in Africa, Asia and Latin America, thus placing
the revolution as a milestone in the post-WWII peoples’ strug gle for independence and sovereignty.
• The Egyptian Cultural and Educational Bureau (ECEB) in
Washington D.C. is organizing an exhibition on Egyptian Nubia
this fall. The exhibition will include photos, musical performances
and presentation of Nubian food. The ECEB also organized—in
cooperation with the Embassy and the World Artists
Experience—an Egyptian cultural immersion day on June 26th for
about 20 children from Annapolis. On June 8th, the ECEB hosted a
lecture by the Egyptian DCM Dr. Walid Mahmoud Abdelnasser on
www.egyptembassy.net
Photograph: Gary Layda
Visting the Volunteer State… June 2006
The Nashville skyline at night.
Tomb, and the Realm of the Gods. Also on view was a fullscale reconstruction of the tomb of Thutmose III, as well as
an educational exhibition on the ancient practice of mummification, which includes both human and animal mummies.
While in Nashville, I had the pleasure of visiting Nashville’s
Mayor Bill Purcell, a truly result-oriented consensus builder.
Two other stops were also imperative. At Vanderbilt University,
I spoke about the changing political landscape in the Middle
East. And finally, I did a quick tour of the Country Music Hall of
Fame. Regrettably, I couldn’t stay longer in Tennessee.
—Nabil Fahmy, Ambassador of Egypt to the U.S.A.
“the roots and evolution of religious reform discourse in Egypt,”
and on the occasion distributed a book published by the ECEB
compiling four lectures by Dr. Abdelnasser under the title of
Dialogue of Civilizations: An Egyptian Perspective.
• The Egyptian American Cultural Association (EACA) hosted a
screening of the Egyptian movie halet hub (state of love) on
June 18th, followed by an open discussion about the movie.
The movie featured Hani Salama and Hind Sabri and received
positive critique when shown last year in a number of international and regional film festivals. EACA is planning a series of
lectures on Egyptian history, particularly targeting 2nd and 3rd
generation Egyptian Americans. The series will start on July
9th by one where the worldwide famous Egyptian Geologist Dr.
Rushdy Said will address the revolutionary period from 1952 to
1970, while Dr. Walid Mahmoud Abdelnasser will address the
so-called liberal era in Egyptian modern history (1923-1952).
• Al-Hewar Center for Arab-American Dialogue hosted on May
19th a book signing event for both the Palestinian Dr. Kamal
Khalidi for his autobiography and the Egyptian Dr. Walid
Mahmoud Abdelnasser for his Al-Ahram recently published
Dialogue of Civilizations and the Challenge of Globalization .
Both books are in Arabic. The Center also hosted on June 9th
the Egyptian Mr. Alaa Bayoumi who gave a talk on the Muslim
American Community.
11
Inside Egypt
Nubia: The Land of Gold
ubia extends from the First Cataract of the Nile in
ened by submergence due to the ongoing construction of
southern Egypt into Sudan by the Sixth Cataract,
the High Dam and had to be moved. In 1959, UNESCO
just north of Khartoum. It is divided into several
started a project with the Egyptian government to help
regions: Bathn EL Hajar, “Belly of Rocks”, flat plains of
preserve the various sites in Nubia. Part of the operation
Dongola Reach, and the sands of Abri-Delgo Reach.
included the movement of the Abu Simbel Temple. In
Geographically, Nubia is divided into Upper Nubia and
1964, in a combined effort by the Egyptian Government
Lower Nubia. Upper Nubia is the southern region which
and UNESCO that lasted until 1968, the temples of Abu
extends from Khartoum up to the Sixth Cataract. Today,
Simple were dismantled into 1,036 pieces and raised up
this region is known as central Sudan. Lower Nubia is the
60 meters on the sandstone cliff where they were
northern region, which extends from the First Cataract to
reassembled. The project managed to reconstruct the
the Second Cataract, and is known today as southern
temples in the same manner that they had originally been
Egypt and North Sudan.
built 3,000 years ago in the exact relation to each other
Nubia has one of hottest and harshest climates in the
and to the Sun.
world. Due to the high temperatures and arid nature, rainNubian history and culture are preserved in the
fall is rather infrequent. This in turn makes farming rather Nubian Museum located in the Aswan. The Museum docdifficult. At one point, Nubia
uments the history of Nubia,
was known for its vast natural
referred to the as the “Land
wealth, especially of ivory,
of Gold” in the Hieroglyphic
ebony and gold mines. The
language. The museum, conNile River splits the Nubian
sidered to be one of the most
desert, but its lack of arable
important in Egypt, is the
soil and water have caused
only one of its kind. Today,
Nubia to be unable to support
the museum has three floors
any type of a large population.
that house various displays
Nonetheless, Nubia remains a
and is attached to an informa“center of achievement”.
tion center and a library for
Nubia’s rich history can
further research. The largest
be traced back to 3100 BC,
part of the museum is dediand it is considered by some
cated to various monumental
to be “the homeland of
The Nubian Museum in Aswan.
pieces that illustrate different
Africa’s earliest black culphases in the history and
ture”. Some believe they are
development of Nubian civione of the first human races on Earth.
lization. They registered over 3,000
Today, all that we know about the
pieces from different ages; namely
Nubians is second hand through what
Pharonic, Roman, Coptic, Islamic, and
was said about them by the Greeks and
Geological. There is also an open door
Egyptians and through their archaeoloexhibition that houses 90 monumental
gy. Historically, Nubia was predominantpieces, while the indoor hall houses 503
ly controlled by Egypt. Only during cerpieces from the Pharonic Age, 52 from
tain periods was Nubia able to flourish
the Coptic, 103 from the Islamic, 140
and enjoy sovereignty. This allowed
from the Nubian age, and 50 that date
Nubia to form its own kingdoms that
back to prehistoric times. The museum
would compete with Egypt.
plays an important role in that it has
Nubians contributed to Egypt’s modhelped to preserve and maintain monuern history by their remarkable “Nubian
ments, promote Nubia and its rich culsacrifice” during the building of the
ture, and support and teach researchers
High-Dam. Nubian villages were threatinterested in Nubia.
Nubia is known for its outstanding arts.
N
12
EGYPT
The Quarterly Magazine of the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt
Summer 2006