The expected final acquittal of Mubarak

March 3, 2017, 2:16 pm

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On Thursday, Cairo court of Cassation officially acquitted ousted President Mubarak in the final stage of his retrial for killing the protesters during the 18 days of the January revolution.
The verdict of the cassation court can be appealed and thus the 88-years-old ousted president is off the hook when it comes to the killing of the protesters.
This case or rather trial since its start in 2011 seemed to be a farce as the prosecutor general gathered a very poor case to stand in the court especially in the retrial.
The court of cassation has not issued its reasoning on why it acquitted him but his defense team is saying that Habib El-Adly and his aides involved in the case were acquitted and thus it was logical for the court to acquit him.

Hosni Mubarak transferred to court from Maadi military hospital  to court on Thursday by a helicopter (AP/Amr Nabil)

Now a quick timeline to Mubarak's trial involving the killing of the protesters in the 18 days of the January revolution aka the trial of the century.
In June 2012, the Criminal court sentenced Mubarak to a life sentence in jail for giving the orders to kill the protesters during the 18 days of the January revolution.
In January 2013, the Court of Cassation overturned the conviction and ordered a retrial for Mubarak and Adly as well the rest of the defendants.
In November 2014 the Criminal court acquitted Mubarak and the co-defendants in the retrial reasoning the prosecution initial decision to refer Mubarak to court in 2011 lacked the legal basis.
On Thursday, the court of Cassation rejected the appeal of prosecution and upheld the acquittal of Mubarak.
If you look carefully to the dates, you will know the stages of the January revolution itself.
According to journalists who covered the "trial of the century" that no one is following carefully as before, the prosecution's evidence presented to the court in retrial was weak, too weak to stand in any court.

Gamal Mubarak looking from the window of Mubarak's suite at Maadi military hospital to his father's supporters in the street on Thursday (AP/Amr Nabil)

The acquittal is very expected in our time where all the men and faces of Mubarak are having a strong comeback.
I am not a legal expert but I think you need a new case with new evidence to present to the court once again from scratch to convict him for the killing of the protesters.
I do not know when this can happen.
Now the official question after the acquittal of Mubarak and his men: Who killed the protesters ??
The Pro-regime/Mubarak/Sisi/State supporters and media are that the Muslim Brotherhood,Hamas and Hezbollah.
Those who lived the 25 January revolution and its 18 days know exactly what happened and who really killed the protesters.

Mubarak is the no.1 defendant in the killing of the rebels State-owned Al-Akhbar quoting the first fact-finding committee assigned by SCAF to investigate what happened in January 2011

The whole world knows as this history is documented in photos and videos.
Despite Mubarak is officially not convicted of killing the protesters, he is officially convicted of corruption in January 2016.
According to that conviction, he should have lost the privileges as an ex-president and should not be granted a military funeral.
Mubarak is up till now staying at this suite in Maadi Military hospital. It is unclear if he will leave the Maadi hospital now or not but he is free to go.
His sons Alaa and Gamal Mubarak have been active recently when it comes to public appearance.
Justice will come sooner or later whether this life or the life afterward if you believe in it.

---

Kodak Agfa Presents : Fatima Haider's Palace of Alexandria

March 7, 2017, 12:14 pm

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There are lots of hidden gems in Egypt that even Egyptians do not know that they exist. Among those gems, a palace in a very quiet Upper-class Zezenia neighbor in Alexandria.
Not only that place is a hidden gem but it also hosts gems.
I paid it a visit last May while I was in Alexandria for a short visit. 
That place is Princess Fatima Haider's Palace that hosts a collection of the Mohamed Ali-Royal family's Jewelry.
Officially, that palace is called the Royal Jewelry Museum.
This post I am dedicated to the Palace itself and you will know why.
The Fatima Haider Palace seems just like any 1920s Neo-classical European style Palace from outside.

The Western wing of the Palace

It is big as we are speaking about 4185 sq.m including the surrounding garden.
The Palace was originally commissioned by socialite Zeinab Fahmy, the wife of Prince Ali Haider in 1919 but she died leaving it to her daughter Fatima Al-Zahra Haider.
Princess Fatima Haider continued supervising the design and construction of that place adding her touch to the final design adding a Western wing to the original Palace.
The construction of that palace was finished in 1923 amazingly
According to some sources that the palace was designed by Mohamed Ali-Royal Family's favorite architect Antonio Lasciac while other sources say that famous architect Ali Pasha Fahmy whom I am going to speak about later.
I do not know which information is true.
The two-floor-palace is made of two wings, an Eastern and Western wing connected by a gallery of beautiful stained glass.

The gallery or the tunnel and its stained glass windows

The kitchen and the Servants section are in the basement.
It was the summer residence for Princess Fatima Al-Zahra Haider who married Mohamed Bek Yaken in 1930.

The re-inauguration plate from 2010

The couple had two boys and one girl.
After the coup of 1952, Princess Fatima Al-Zahra's properties and possession were confiscated by the State aka nationalized.
Yet, She was allowed to live in that palace.
She lived there till 1964 when She gave it up to the Egyptian government.
Some sources say that the former Princess headed to Cairo where she lived until her death in 1983. while other sources say she lived in Marseilles, France until her death.
Since 1964 till 1986, the Palace joined the rest of the Royal palaces that became presidential palaces.
In 1986, ousted President Mubarak issued a presidential decree designating the Fatima Haider's Palace into a museum in Alexandria hosting a collection of Mohamed Ali-Royal Family jewelry in Alexandria.
The Palace was renovated twice in 1986 and 1994 in a horrible way.
 In late 2004, Egypt's ministry of antiquities started to renovate the palace in a proper way.
The cost of that renovation as well correcting the mistakes of previous renovations reached LE 10 Million.
The renovation finished and it was reopened once again in 2010.
But like a diamond in the rough, it has not caught enough attention.

Now, this museum contains a collection of Jewelry and other valuable possessions that once owned by the members of Mohamed Ali-Royal family that ruled Egypt from 1805 till 1952.
According to the official information, there are 11,500 pieces or artifacts owned by the former ruling royal family in the museum.
I will dedicate a separate post for the Jewelry of Mohamed Ali-Royal Family but I will just say that this collection at the museum represents a very small percentage of the true Jewelry and Jewels owned by the Egyptian Royal family.

The entrance is from the East wing that leads directly to one of the main halls where you start to see the amazing collection of Jewelry.

Ignore that black bag on the left, this is the entrance of the museum and pay attention to the other beautiful details

Since you enter that place and start moving around, you will be distracted by the ceiling as well the walls in some chambers and the stained glass balconies.

Exhibit No.1 for the ceiling.

This is just the start

Exhibit No. 2 for the ceiling and pay attention to the initials

European Renaissance mural  in the ceiling of one of the chambers with FH initials

The murals on the walls Little wall boiserie are also beautiful. I am trying to imagine the kind of furniture that would fit with such walls and I fail.
Exhibit No.3

Angels murals on the walls of the first wall chambers

Every little detail in the chambers of that palace is interesting
Exhibit No.4

The initials of FH aka Fatima Haider can be seen over the engravings near the ceiling

The gallery between the Eastern and Western bridge is another masterpiece of art in that palace.
Exhibit No.5

The gallery between the Eastern and Western wing, an amazing piece of art

The ceilings got three different main murals depicting imaginary renaissance scenes about lovers, angels, muses and arts.
Exhibit No.6

The mural depicting a love scene, also pay attention to that 1920s art nouveau chandelier lamp

Exhibit No.7
Not all the chandelier lamps are working as usual in Egyptian museums.

Two celestial beings or whoever, one is playing the harp and the other one is engraving on something on a pot

Exhibit No.8
Another scene for those two beings.

Again the theme is about arts, one being is coloring a pot and the other one seems to be drawing or writing something

On both sides of that gallery connecting the Eastern and Western wings, there are colored stained glass windows on depicting romantic scenes from European renaissance era.
Exhibit No.10 and No.11

A romantic scene from 17th century Europe

A romantic scene from 17th century Europe

There is also an Arabian style chamber, I think the smoking room. You can see again the initials of "FH" near the ceiling if you zoom in.
Exhibit No.11

The Arabian style chamber

You will find as well a Greco-roman chamber where you will find the walls oil painting showing scenes from the Greek and Roman mythology.
Exhibit No.13 and No.14

A Greco-Roman scene depicted on the walls of that chamber

Another scene, this time we see a romantic one from the Grece-Roman culture.

On the first floor, there is this ceramic room which could be the guests' bathroom or the kitchen but as far as I know the kitchen was in the basement as it was the custom of palaces in the old days.
Exhibit No.15

The ceramic room also with stained glass and illustrated ceramics. That section of the Palace was covered by ceramics with European farmers scenes as will Eastern style titles.  Exhibit No.16

A mix of several styles here I guess :)

The Upper part of the ceramics in that section includes lotus flowers and wheat, strangely that mix of different styles looked good.
Exhibit No.17

The Upper section of the titles and again you can that there are birds in the above section of the wall engraved directly.

The staircase leading to the second floor is so beautiful with its colored stained glass.
Exhibits No.18 and No.19

The staircase and I admit I used filters here because it was so dark but the rest of the photos got no filters

The staircase to the upper second floor, the staircase itself does not show in the photo but here is the stained glass.

The second floor includes several chambers used to show collections of Jewelry owned by the Mohamed Ali Family too and again you have to pay attention to the ceilings.
Exhibit No.20

More of those murals

In the second floor, there are two private bathrooms and they are actually time capsule chambers as they are keeping their items from toilet, sink and bathtub in a perfect condition.
Here is the first private bathroom. It is not the main bathroom. 
Exhibit No.21

This is is a luxurious bathroom in the 1920s,  I think the smaller tub is a bidet

Now, the main private bathroom of late Princess Fatima Al-Zahra Haider is another piece of art.Yes, I am using that terms more than once in this post but for a good reason.
Exhibit No.22
The bathtub unit and pay attention to the details

The bathtub surrounded in ceramic and got two colored stained glass windows

And here is the 1920s Shower box where you can see that even that small space got ceramic depiction of some girl taking a bath in some river or sea naked.
Exhibit No.23

The 1920s shower box and that little tub/bidet

Here is a full view for those ceramic depictions of fairy tales.
Exhibits No.24 and No.25

On one side of the bathroom

On the other side of the bathroom

We are not finished yet from that bathroom because just like the rest of the chambers in the palace , you must look up to the ceiling.
Exhibit No.26

This is the ceiling of the main bathroom and yes it is a bit racist

You can see the rest of the photos of the palace here on Flickr. 
Now seeing this amazing palace of Princess Fatima Al-Zahra Haider who was not really famous in the Egyptian society like the sisters of King Farouk, I am trying to imagine the palaces of Princess Fawzia and other prominent members of the former Royal family.
I am trying to imagine the kind of furniture or carpets in that palace.
Needless to say despite I may seem to be a Royalist but I won't deny that seeing such interior of that palace only without the furniture made me understand the true problem of social justice pre-1952.
Unfortunately , the Egyptian Republic and the presidents who came after king Farouk have not truly solved it.
Again this is the palace only , you have not seen the Jewelry collection in it.
Speaking about the Royal Family, again Princess Fatima Al-Zahra Haider was the daughter of Prince Ali Haider, the great grandson of Mohamed Ali Pasha and Socialite Zeinab Fahmy.

There is no much about this man except that he loved Turkish and French poetry.
I do not know much about Fatima Haider or her mother except that they had one hell of an expensive amazing taste.
Personally, I think Fatima Haider was wealthier than many members of the Mohamed Ali-Royal Family because of her mother.
Zeinab Fahmy descends from the Pre-1952 Filthy rich Fahmy family.
Zeinab and her sisters Aziza and Aisha Fahmy were the daughters of famous Ali Pasha Fahmy, the head architect of the Royal palaces in Egypt.
Both Aziza and Aisha Fahmy got two palaces that still are standing up till now high in Cairo and Alexandria.
The Aziza Palace Fahmy in Sidi Bishr is still standing with its vast garden against the plan to turn it into a mega-7 stars ugly hotel complex.

Aziza Fahmy's Palace standing among ugly modern building in defiance

There has been a bitter between the government represented in EGOTH and the remaining members of Fahmy family.
Located directly on the Nile bank in Zamalek island, the Aisha Fahmy palace at the end of the 26th July street is owned by the ministry of culture.
It has been renovated in the past few years. I do not know if people are allowed to visit it or not but it looks luxurious.
Maybe, if Zeinab Fahmy did not die earlier, Fatima Haider's Palace would be named publicly after her.
Now seeing the Fatima Haider Palace , I believe Aziza Fahmy palace should be turned into some sort of a Museum or a cultural center to spread awareness in the society.
I am planning inshallah to visit the Fatima Haider's Palace again in the future to film it. 

And the people demanded bread at first

March 7, 2017, 3:01 pm

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Despite everybody was expecting something like this to happen but strangely when it happened on Wednesday, many were surprised.
Hundreds of Egyptians in several governorates protested because of the lack of subsidized breads in bakeries.
It started Tuesday afternoon in Alexandria when hundreds of protesters protested the decision of the supply ministry to reduce the quantity of subsidized bread quota to bakeries.
The protests were in Eastern and Western parts of Alexandria in the working class areas. The protesters began to catch attention when they blocked the famous tram track

In Alexandria: Protesters chant we want bread

They also blocked the train track.

In Alexandria : Protesters blocking the train track

More videos coming from Alexandria showing that we are not speaking about small protests here or there.
Strangely, nobody called for an organized protesting movement against the decision.
Sooner, the protests transferred to other governorates.
In Kafr El-Sheikh governorate, women blocked the train traffic in Desouk city for several hours. The security forces managed to convince them to end their protest.

In Kafr El-Sheikh , protesters against the decision of the supply ministry

In Giza, there were similar protests in Imbaba, the famous working class neighborhood.
The protests reached Upper Egypt in the South. In Minya governorate, the people protested in several towns and villages.
Surprisingly, this is the second day of protesting. The protests started on Monday but on a very small scale that no one paid attention to.
In a rare wise move, the security avoided clashes with the protesters especially many of them were old ladies in popular working class areas and so any attack on them would result in a real violent reaction from the public.
Instead of clashing with the public, the security forces distributed loaves of bread in Alexandria for free.

Police distributing bread in Alexandria

Sometimes, Egypt becomes a surreal country in its own way.
I have not seen any reaction from the Pro-regime e-battalion about Tuesday's protests so far.
"The_Break_uprising" hashtag in Arabic has been active and top trending in Egypt all day long.
Ali Moselhy, the minister of supply held a press conference later Tuesday to defend his ministry's decision. Despite apologizing for citizens for the lack of bread in the bakeries, the Mubarak-era minister who made a comeback in the latest ministerial insisted the decision was right.
This is just a small scene. Now, I wonder what will happen if more subsidized commodities are canceled as part of the IMF deal
I think those who run this country should remember this fact: On 28 January 2011 , Egyptians chanted "Bread, Freedom and Social Justice".
It started on Monday with demanding the bread

Me and Ultras "Asmahan"

March 11, 2017, 4:44 am

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From Nine years ago, I was like millions of Egyptians who watched admirably the TV series " Asmahan" which was based on the short life of famous Syrian Singer "Asmahan".

Asmahan

Like any other talkative Egyptian who has an opinion about everything, I wrote a post about Asmahan and what I think about her based on the TV series and a couple of books as well articles I read.
Up till now I get comments, mostly angry comments with threats from Asmahan "Ultras" fans.
I used to comment back that this is my personal space and you can send back a post to defend your point of view so I can publish it.
I have received another angry comment calling me names in the past 48 hours and it made me think about what I wrote from 9 years ago.
I read the blog post on Friday and it is great to return back to read what I had written then and compared with what I think now.
I can admit easily that I was harsh in my first opinion about Asmahan which was based upon a couple of books and a TV series.
Asmahan's life was an enigma without a doubt.
Just like from 9 years ago, I would say that even if a young lady living in the West had a similar life, she would be a legend and a talk of the town till our day.
Just like from 9 years ago, I would say that she was a victim of a man's world starting from her father who abandoned her family in Cairo.
Even the books wrote about her either demonizing her or making her the Mother Teresa were written about men.


Just like from 9 years ago, I would say that that woman lived like there was no tomorrow.
Just like from 9 years ago, I would say that her troublesome life and sudden death in addition to her voice turned her to a legend
Just like from 9 years ago, I would say that Asmahan wanted to live like a Princess in Cairo.
She was troubled person without a doubt.
I feel that from 9 years ago that I tried to understand why a woman was gifted a voice like hers and beauty like hers as well opportunities in life whether as a singer in Egypt or as a Princess in Syria with her daughter ended like that. I feel that I was angry when she rejected those opportunities.
Simply neither the famous shallow TV series nor the books I read then gave a logic answer especially when it comes to Asmahan, we are talking about politics, arts and Arab world in WWII.
 It is a toxic mix knowing just the names involved in the life of that woman who seemed lost between glamour, glory and freedom.
What I failed to understand then is that she was not meant to have those opportunities.
Her gifts from voice , beauty and lineage were also her curses that eventually led to her death if it was really a murder and not just a car accident.
Why do I write this post now?
Again, I read that post and I felt that I was harsh especially that I described her "Selfish".
Now, I know that humans and life are complicated.
To her angry fans in 2017,
Chill and listen to her songs instead of attacking and threatening a talkative blogger like me who got a trashy blog like mine.
You won't prove your point calling me names and Asmahan's legend won't be affected about what I wrote. 

She is the first "woman governor in Egypt" but....

March 11, 2017, 3:03 pm

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On Wednesday the world celebrated the International Women's Day worldwide and as the usual our Egyptian media reminded us with all women's achievements especially in the time of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in a silly cold cliché.

Governor Nadia Abdou

One of those achievements was in February when Nadia Abdou was appointed as the governor of Behaira governorate.
Abdou is the first woman to be appointed as a governor in the history of modern Egypt.
It is important thing indeed and the media is cheering up for the historical milestone.
As much as I know this is a historical thing but I can not get past the fact that Nadia Abdou was a member of Mubarak's former National Democratic Party "NDP" and that she won a seat in the People's assembly in one of the most corrupted elections ever in 2010.
Abdou does not deny the fact that she was a member of the NDP. In fact she claims that "three-quarters of Egypt" was NDPian during the Mubarak's role.
Either ways, the NDPians are having a strong comeback whether in the parliament or government or media as we have seen lately.

She was also accused of corruption when she was a CEO of the Water company in Alexandria from 2002 to 2012 and the workers of the company started an open sit-in demanding her dismissal in 2012.
Interestingly, she was the first Arab woman to hold such position as the CEO for a water company.
More interestingly, Abdou stated also in February that Prime minister Sheriff Ismail offered her to become the governor of Alexandria but she rejected the offer because "the governors of Alexandria were misfortunate" and "Alexandria has got huge problems like garbage that needs a lot of time !!"
Al-Behaira is bigger in size than Alexandria and got difficult and different problems especially we got rural and industrial areas as well population that works in agriculture, fishing and industry.
Also, Al-Behaira is considered a hot spot for illegal immigration especially in the city of Rosetta if You remember.
What I am really concerned about is that Abdou may not be able to solve the governorate's problems if she follows the old ways.
Thus publicly the idea of having a true woman governor will be rejected in the future and the conservatives will welcome that without a doubt.
So far I have seen debates online about her gender aside from the Salafists. The debates are about her qualifications and her past experience mostly.
There is still hope.
Personally, I will consider having a woman governor is a true achievement and milestone in Egypt when the first woman is elected freely by the public.
I will consider having a woman governor is a true achievement when it is not really a decoration.

Seen in Cairo : El-Botroseya Church's bells still ring after all

March 14, 2017, 7:36 am

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Seen in Cairo: El-Botroseya Church aka St.Peter and St.Paul Church's renovation continues as its bell rings in one fine March afternoon.The church was a target of a cowardly terrorist bombing by Daesh that killed more than 26 people, mostly from old women and children in early December. Built in 1911, the church is located in the vicinity of Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Church, the seat of the Pope of the Orthodox Church.
Here is a video showing the church and its bells. 

el-Botroseya church aka St.peter&st.Paul church renovated after the terrorist bombing in #Cairo#Egypt. الكنيسة البطرسية و أجراسها و ترميمها pic.twitter.com/W1sNdvSWx4

— Zeinobia (@Zeinobia) March 14, 2017

Life goes on. 

May God bless the souls of the victims of the bombing and bring solace to their families and friends. May God have mercy on our souls. 

Psamtik "Not Ozymandias in Matareya

March 20, 2017, 3:33 pm

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On Thursday, Egypt's minister of antiquities Khaled Al-Anany announced that the newly discovered parts of a colossus statue for an ancient Egyptian king in a North Cairo did not belong to King Ramses II as initially announced and believed.
The partial statue most probably belonged to 26-dynasty King Psamtik I, a less known pharaoh who actually did heroic things in his reign above them freeing Egypt from the Assyrian Empire and unifying it as well.

Prince Henrik of Denmark stands beside the colossus at Egyptian museum in Cairo last Thursday "Reuters"

The announcement puts an end of a very exciting Egyptian black comedy.
It started on 9 March when the ministry of antiquities announced that two newly discovered ancient Egyptian statues were unearthed by a joint Egyptian-German archaeological mission from a mud pit at a Cairo local market "Souq Al-Khamis".
"Souq Al-Khamis"  is located in populated working class Al-Matareya district, Ain Shams.
According to the first statement issued by the ministry, the two new "19th dynasty" royal statues were found in "parts" in the vicinity of King Ramses II temple dedicated to the God of the sun in ancient Heliopolis "Oun".
The statement described the first statue as an 80 cm tall bust of King Seti II carved in limestone with fine and clear facial features.
On the other hand, the second statue is actually a 8 meters long bust carved in the strong quartzite.
Lacking any engravings on that part bust identifying the statue's owner, the archeologists suggested it could be part of Ramses II's statue as it existed on what they believed to be Ramses II temple's entrance in the city of Oun. "Plus the late King loved having his statues everywhere"
The Egyptian team described the discovery as very important because it showed that the sun temple was enormous with many huge statues and obelisks.
The temple was damaged according to archeologists during the Greco-Roman and that many of its obelisks and colossi were transferred to Alexandria and Europe.
Also during the Islamic era, the blocks of the temple's remains were used in building Cairo in the tenth century. 
The whole world went mad on that day and the foreign media spoke about the new discovery of "Ramses II statue " despite archeologists said that "it could be Ramses II" only and we found sensational headlines like "Ozymandias returns back in a Cairo slum".
Back in Cairo and its slums, it was something different because Egyptians were focusing on other things in that discovery for nearly four days other than the greatness of Ozymandias and how he ended up in ruins in a slum.

As the photos and videos emerged from Matareya, many Egyptians were stunned and shocked to see one of the statues pulled out of the mud pit using a bulldozer.

Yes, a bulldozer was used to dig the first part of the statue, its right ear and partial parts of his left ear and crown out of the mud pit.

The bulldozer carrying the first part of the statue "Egypt's ministry of antiquities"

Despite most of those concerned Egyptians are not archeologists, they felt that there was something wrong. They even suspected that the bulldozer destroyed the statue into two halves.
As Egyptians, we are used to seeing photos and videos of antiquities excavation and we have not seen that a bulldozer being used before.
Photos of other past excavation operations were shared on the social media for four days showing how it is very delicate thing
Personally, I was concerned that that bulldozer could destroy whatever beneath or beside that piece of a colossus causing a collapse but I thought at the same time that it could be the only way to pull such heavy thing.
I knew that the there were two parts of the colossus already and the bulldozer is innocent of destroying them because I read both statements of the German commission in Egypt and the ministry.
Still, we are speaking about an Egyptian ministry and Egyptian people usually mistrust their government.
Needless to say , the antiquities ministry issued a statement defending on March 9 evening what had done.
The ministry stated that bulldozer was used only to dig up the statue's head while the lower part was still in the mud.
The statement added that the bulldozer did not affect the statue and it was used under the supervision of the German and the Egyptian archeologists.
Next day the ministry published a statement by its former minister and renowned archeologist Zahi Hawass defending the way the Seti II was pulled by.
Those concerned Egyptian citizens did not believe the ministry nor Hawass' statement and kept criticizing the ministry.
The head of the German archeological mission Dr. Dietrich Raue also spoke and stated in a cute Upper Egyptian accent that it was completely correct to use the small bulldozer because the head was extremely heavy.

◄ رئيس البعثة الألمانية: طريقة انتشال رأس رمسيس بـ"الونش" صحيحة#المطرية#رمسيس_الثاني#تمثال_رمسيسpic.twitter.com/V0ee3AzwP6

— مصر العربية (@masralarabia) March 13, 2017

Soon enough, renowned archeologist Monica Hanna spoke about the matter in a balanced way.

" The lifting of the head statue seems to happen in a particularly difficult situation with (sewage) water all over the place. This water leaks into the area from the illegal buildings erected on the extension of the former archaeological site."

She also added a very important remark.

In normal archaeological practice, it is recommended to pump away the water before any operation. In addition, heavy objects are usually lifted using belts/ropes or are padded to avoid contact with the metal parts of the fork lift as there is always risk of shock however minimal during the difficult operation.

In her statement Hanna raised a very important issue that was completely ignored by mainstream media as well the social media. It is the true problem in this whole matter.
It turned out that both colossi were discovered in a former archeological land  that was ceded by the antiquities ministry to the ministry of endowment to build a new market for street vendors aka "Souq Al-Khamis" !!!!!!
Yes, the Egyptian officials claimed at first that the area had no historical interest !!
It is interesting because in 1990 this land or rather 54 fedans were under the antiquities ministry or rather the supreme council of antiquities because it is the location of ancient Oun city.
Also , in 2005 the German archeologists started their excavation there and they found the remains of Oun temple as far as I read in 2006.
That location already fell under the curse of illegal construction violations as you see from the footage and photos with all those surrounding red brick informal building.
In July 2014, I found in the news archives that Cairo governor and ministers of endowment and antiquities  how to better invest in those fedans !!!
They agreed to build a market called "Khamis market" to solve the traffic and street vendors problems in Matareya there !!
Ironically that 2014 news spoke aboutGerman archeological mission searching for artifacts in the area that would finish its work within 5 or 3 months !!
Realistically speaking I thinking the German archeological mission could not finished its work in Matareya due to the deadly clashes between Pro-Morsi supporters from local residents and security forces in that year.
Tens of people died as I remember in 2014 there.
The news also spoke about parts of the old Oun city were found there while building that new market and its related buildings !!!!
Another news from 9 February 2017, I found endowment ministry wanted to hire consultants for its market project.
One month before the discovery , the government was just thinking about its market there with its 323 shops and 264 residential unit !!
Anyhow , the people and the media ignored and focused on the bulldozer fiasco and the locals of Matareya !!
The locals of Matareya dared to act in a simple way with the remains of the mighty rulers of Egypt.
Some people were angry on how the simple kids acted and took selfies with the Ozymandias' supposed head with their slippers.

The children playing with the head of the statue "Sada El-Balad"

They were angry how the yellow caution tape did not stop the people of Matareya from taking photos with that head normally.

The yellow caution tape surrounding the head "Al-Masry Al-Youm"

They were angry how a Spider-man blanket covered the head.

In a surreal scene, the workers wrapped a Spider-man around the head From Twitter

I love those photos.
Four days later, Egyptians had another date with the Matareya and its Khamis market full of antiquities.
The German Egyptian archeological mission succeeded in lifting the second part of the statue from a pit in a North Cairo district and it was a big cheerful scene.
There were no bulldozers used this time. A big crane with bedded ropes was used in the correct way to lift up the second part of Ramses II statue which almost weights 3 tones alone.
According to the Egyptian officials, the German and Egyptian prepared for the lifting operation since Sunday. Some of the archeologists and workers wore gloves.

Lifting the rest of statue by a crane and ropes "Egypt's ministry of antiquities"

Expert workers who got experience in dealing with antiquities were brought up from Qift city, Qena.
As their neighborhood became a scene for an event followed by the whole world, the local residents watched the scene. Many of them were excited.
I see in the videos many kids skipped school on Monday watching and cheering for the late Pharaoh in some surreal scene. The kids and teenagers chanted Ultras-alike chants for Ramses II !!!

هيلا هيلا وهيلا هيلا اهو رمسيس التانى مفيش زيه pic.twitter.com/FcvxPC26jv

— مُصْطَفى حَمْدِي (@MostafaHamdy_) March 13, 2017

I think the famous king would love those chants !!
Boldly, minister of antiquities Khaled Annay claimed that he refused the use of the bulldozer respecting the feelings of Egyptians only !! I do not know what to say but let's agree on a fact here.
Social media plays a role in delivering public opinions to officials.
Both colossi were transferred to the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir square for restoration before making one last journey to the Grand Egyptian museum in the future
King Pstamik I returned back to life again.
On the other hand , Matareya and its people are ignored once again in the media.

Happy Mother Day Egyptian style

March 20, 2017, 3:48 pm

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Happy Mother Day.
Today we celebrate the Mother Day in Egypt.
There is no better mother to remember on that special day than Isis.
The original and first mother of Egypt.

A collection of Isis at the Egyptian museum in Cairo

Happy mother day from Egyptian Chronicles to mothers around the globe and not only Egypt

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Abu El-Dahab and Al-Azhar Mosques [Flickr]

March 23, 2017, 4:25 pm

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Kodak Agfa posted a photo:

ِAbu El-Dahab and Al-Azhar Mosques in Al-Azhar

Al-Azhar administration Building [Flickr]

March 23, 2017, 4:25 pm

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Kodak Agfa posted a photo:

Al-Azhar administration building in front of Al-Azhar Mosque

Al-Azhar Mosque and Mohamed Abu Dahab Mosque [Flickr]

March 23, 2017, 4:25 pm

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Kodak Agfa posted a photo:

Al-Azhar Mosque and inf ront of it Mohamed Abu El-Dahab Mosque in Al-Azhar

Besides Abu Dahab Mosque [Flickr]

March 23, 2017, 4:25 pm

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Kodak Agfa posted a photo:

This building is located beside Mohamed Abu Dahab Mosque in Al-Azhar , I do not know what is

Al-Azhar Mosque's Minaret [Flickr]

March 23, 2017, 4:32 pm

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Kodak Agfa posted a photo:

Al-Azhar Mosque's minaret and its restoration works

The Prince Soliman Agha gate [Flickr]

March 25, 2017, 2:53 pm

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Kodak Agfa posted a photo:

Written above the gate's entrance words in Arabic about Prince Soliman Agha , the commander of the Egyptian army in the 19th century

A gramaphone from King's time [Flickr]

March 25, 2017, 2:53 pm

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Kodak Agfa posted a photo:

A HMV gramaphone with King Fouad I picture

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Antique shop in the Khan [Flickr]

March 25, 2017, 2:53 pm

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Kodak Agfa posted a photo:

There are also several antiques shops in Khan El-Khalil selling old clocks , gramophones and ...etc.

Arabesque shop in the Khan [Flickr]

March 25, 2017, 2:53 pm

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Kodak Agfa posted a photo:

A shop selling arabesque tables and boxes in Khan El-Khalil

Inside the khan [Flickr]

March 25, 2017, 2:53 pm

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Kodak Agfa posted a photo:

Khan El-Khalili market and its old narrow street at night

She knows Why the caged bird sings very well now

March 26, 2017, 3:10 pm

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On Thursday, Egypt's Cairo criminal court set April 20 to declare its final verdict in the trial of Beladi Foundation, which is known in the media as "the case of Aya Hegazy".
Originally, the court set March 23 for its final verdict but decided to adjourn it to April 20 as it was waiting for "the technical experts' " report about the case.
The 29-years old and her husband Mohamed Hassanein as well the rest of defendants in the trial are accused of who are accused of human trafficking, kidnapping, and the sexual exploitation and torture of street children in Beladi Foundation.
It is worth to mention that according to official forensic reports in the case, the children did not suffer from any sexual abuse.
Just like in their previous session on February 14, Aya Hegazy and her husband Mohamed Hassenein's photos together in the court room's cage went viral like fire throughout the weekend.
You can see why they had gone viral.

The hug between Hassenein and Hegazy inside the cage "By Mostafa Bassim Adly"

Hasseinein and Hegazy in the cage "By Mostafa Bassim Adly"

Hasseinein and Hegazy in the cage by Mostafa Bassim Adly

Hasseinein and Hegazy in the cage by Mostafa Bassim Adly

Still, those photos did not stop me as much the photo of Aya while reading a book inside the cage before Hassenein's arrival.
Aya was reading Maya Angelou's 1960s autobiography "I know why the caged bird sings".

Aya reading Maya Angelou's book by Youm7

I think in her detention since 2014, Hegazy knows why the caged bird sings.

The upcoming legal scenarios

Realistically speaking, these are the expected scenarios when it comes to the verdict in the trial of "Beladi Foundation" and its members specifically Aya.
First scenario: Aya Hegazy and her team will be acquitted "I hope that this will happen inshallah"
Second scenario: Aya Hegazy and her team will be found guilty and sentenced to jail for a number of years. "Heavens forbid"
Legally, it will be a first-degree order and can be appealed in front of the appeal court. It will take months to the court of appeal reaches to decision to accept the appeal or reject it.
If the court accepts the appeal, then it will send back the case to the criminal court to start from all over again.

If the trial ends in another jail sentence "mostly reduced according to previous cases" then it will head to the cassation court whether to accept the appeal and orders a retrial.
If the court rejects the appeal and upheld the sentence, then I think it will head to the court of cassation but it can take years till the cassation court reaches to a verdict.
The cassation court is considered the final stage in our judicial system in Egypt.
Legally, the Presidential pardon for both Egyptians and Non-Egyptians are possible after the court of cassation's stage.

I believe if Aya is not acquitted in any of the previously mentioned steps above, then Abdel Fattah El-Sisi as a president can issue his pardon as she is an American citizen.
She and her team can also be pardoned through the Presidential committee organized by the Presidency to look into the case of the Youth imprisoned because of a political issue.
I think Aya Hegazy needs more noise because even though she is an American-Egyptian citizen, I do not think that the U.S administration now will care that much like before.

Yes, members of the US embassy attended the last two sessions from the trial but I do not know if the current U.S administration got the enthusiasm to help their dual nationality U.S citizens.
Already El-Sisi is going to visit Washington D.C next week in his first visit to the U.S capital to meet president Donald Trump.   

Seen in Alexandria : Once again Stanley bridge

March 27, 2017, 3:29 pm

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Seen in Alexandria: Once again the famous Stanley bridge at night.
It was built in the late 1990s over Stanley bay and became another landmark in the Mediterranean sea city after its inauguration in 2001
And a nice couple of photos for Stanley bridge after the break.

Stanley Bridge at night

Stanely Bridge at night

Here is a very rare photo showing Stanley bay and beach without the bridge in the 1930s.

Stanely Bay without a bridge

You can think villas and green gardens in the 1930s photo. Those villas and gardens disappeared and ugly cement buildings built instead.
Stanely Beach is still popular destination thought.
The Stanely beach is known for its cabins which you can rent. I do not know how you can rent them or from where.

Stanely bay and beach without the bridge

A trivia: Stanely bridge is turned into a Love lock bridge on the Valentine's Day whether the international day or the Egyptian day.
Read more about my visit to Alexandria in May. I think you probably got bored of it but guess what !? There are couple of photos I have not shared about Alex