Kodak Agfa Presents: A quick visit to Egypt’s North Coast in 2020

As we are starting summer, here are some vibes from 2020 summer when Kodak Agfa and family managed to take some time off and headed for the North Coast.

We headed to North Coast’s Sidi Abdel Rahman.

This is how it looks like.

This is an Egyptian beach

Yes, this beach is in Egypt and not in the Maldives. I know it sounds cliché but I will use it anyway.

But first, there was a three-day- vacation in Porto Marnia but it was more of sick leave in August where I could not swim or stay long at the beach because I had a bad ear infection whose medication made me sleepy most of the time.

“It returned back this week mildly but thank God I treated it quickly”

At Porto Marina and the other side of the lagoon Marina 

It was a good break thought and my camera accompanied me in that break.

Coronavirus on the Nile: 16 months of COVID-19 in Egypt in graphs

Another monthly post as part of the COVID-19 coverage in Egyptian Chronicles.

Egypt's Healthcare workers in protective suits "Xinhua" 

This time it is a quick look into COVID-19 numbers in Egypt after 16 months since its arrival to the country in February 2020.

Coronavirus on the Nile: Egypt’s COVID-19 May 2021 numbers in Graph

This is the time of our monthly post about the coronavirus pandemic and its numbers in graphs.

The official numbers of coronavirus cases in Egypt continued officially surged and then declined in May 2021 following April 2021.

In the first half of May 2021, we had Ramadan, Orthodox Easter and Eid. It was like a big social gathering despite warnings and official preventative measures that actually were not to be seen on the ground.

Eid Prayer on 14 May 2021, foreign students wearing masks
before heading to pray Eid prayer at Al Azhar Mosque "AFP" 

May finished as the numbers of cases began to decline in its last week officially.

Disclaimer: According to Minister of Health Hala Zayed in early January, the official numbers of cases represent between 10%-15% of the real number of cases worldwide Egypt included.

Now to the graphs of May numbers.

#Coronavirus on the Nile : June’s Coronavirus “Live Coverage”

It is another new month under the coronavirus pandemic.

It is June and we supposedly start to witness the end of the third wave of coronavirus that hit the country in April and May.

The official number of cases began to decline in the last week of May.

At the same time, we began to witness a true increase in the number of people who got vaccinated “I got my first dose in the last week of May” as Egypt began to receive more shipments of coronavirus vaccines.

Still, Egypt got a long road to safety for real.

The majority of the people in Egypt still act as if there is no coronavirus unfortunately despite all the infections and fatalities.

Please stay safe, keep your social distance and get vaccinated as soon as possible.

Here is our monthly live coverage of everything coronavirus below

#SaveSilwan : Stop the Forced Displacement in the Occupied East Jerusalem

On Friday, an Israeli Jerusalem district court decided to postpone its final ruling in yet another case involving Palestinian citizens fighting eviction orders from their homes in their occupied city by the Israeli occupation authority.

It is not another new episode in the bitter fight over Sheik Jarrah neighbourhood, but it is rather another episode in the older fight over Silwan district of East Jerusalem.

Yes, the district court decided to postpone its final ruling in the case of Silwan’s Btan Al-Hawa neighbourhood till next December where seven Palestinian Jerusalemite families are appealing against the evict orders issued by the Israeli authorities.

Save Silwan from a protest organized by the Palestinians on Friday "AFP"

We are speaking about at least 700 people on the verge of losing their homes.

The Israeli court decided to adjourn its ruling because there are two appeals filed by other Palestinian families in Silwan against the Israeli evict orders.

Israeli authorities claim that those Palestinian families are living on land owned by Jewish owners, which is untrue historically and legally.

Before we go to the history of Silwan, I must state some fundamental facts.

Legally Silwan district is in East Jerusalem, an officially recognized occupied territory by international law, the UN Nations and its Security Council as well as most of the World Community.

Israel, its orders, its laws and courts have no jurisdiction officially in East Jerusalem.  So, all the past, present and future eviction orders are officially null.

It is also worth mentioning that forced displacement can reach the level of a war crime.

The History of Silwan

Historically, Silwan is from the ancient villages in Jerusalem and actually, it is one of the areas that were originally built by the Jebusite Canaanites. The Jebusites were the true builders historically of Jerusalem if we are going to speak ancient history.

Watch “Inside the Battle of Jerusalem” .. inside the battle of Sheikh Jarrah

Please watch this short documentary produced by Vice News about the recent events in Palestine that started technically in the small neighbourhood of Sheikh Jarrah in occupied East Jerusalem and the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque. 

The video is focusing on the case of Sheikh Jarrah and its Palestinian residents who are facing illegal forced evictions.

The documentary includes the storming of the Al-Aqsa Mosque on video.

I was following Vice News reporter Hind Hassan on that day the Israeli forces stormed the Aqsa Mosque from two weeks ago.

It turned out that she was doing this short documentary on Sheikh Jarrah but things got escalated fast.

Now this short documentary got a special appearance of the Arab World’s favourite Fauci aka Jacob Fauci or Yacoub Fauci

We knew more information about our infamous blatant illegal settler from New York’s Long Island.

Unsurprisingly, he is a Kahanist Trump support and COVID-19 truther.  It is like a whole package !!

Kodak Agfa Presents: Quick look to Tahrir square after renovations at night

Here is a small glimpse of  World famous Cairo's Tahrir square after its renovation from the car in April.

Tahrir square after renovation 

The facades of the neoclassical, modernist and Art deco buildings were recoloured and re-painted with the pastel beige and had this new lighting system at night.

The building at the intersection of Tahrir square and Mohamed Mahmoud street

The new lighting system was made by the Public sector ministry and it cost LE 60 million. 

I wonder if all those lights are turned off at a certain time at night or how they manage it. Here is a shaky photo of some of Tahrir square’s buildings.