Egyptian Chronicles’ Movers and Shakers of 2020

Welcome to the 2020 edition of Egyptian Chronicles' Movers and Shakers.
Here is my list of those I believe that have been the shakers and movers of 2020.
I started writing down this post at 2:44 PM, yet once again my epic procrastination and being burned out for the year rules.

It is not procrastination, more than it is being burned out between work and anxiety this year.

I guess this year one must be thankful for because it taught us that there are some fundamental things we took for granted but we learned in 2020 about their importance above them health, freedom of movement and family.

That tiny virus coming from China’s Wahun turned the world upside and down and it will take a lot to recover.

We are still on a verge of a new world that is shaping as a result of the economic and political consequences and repercussions of that pandemic.

I feel sorry for everyone who lost a relative or a friend in this pandemic. I feel sorry for everyone who lost his or her job or business because of this pandemic.

Hopefully inshallah 2021 will be better.

Now enough of that wise talk and let’s go to our movers and shakers
This is not the list of the top people but rather those who made an impact whether positive or negative based on my own views
This list is without any order.

These names were the ones that came into my mind in those few hours.

Locally :

Nadeen Ashraf, Mayar Sherif, Hala Zayed and Afsha 

• Egypt’s Health sector workers: The current frontline protecting millions of Egyptians despite we are not the richest country in the world. Egypt’s Health sector lost more nearly 300 people from doctors, nurses, physicians and administrators and they are still standing up as much as they can. This year we know first-hand that the health sector is truly part of our national security.
• Egyptian Medical Syndicate: For defending the rights of Doctors’ long lost financial rights and speaking up despite the attacks and accusations.
• Egypt’s Health Minister Hala Zayed: A year to remember for Zayed who will not forget 2020 by all measures. I do not have doubt in my mind that when she swore in as a minister, she did not imagine things would turn like this and her ministry would be in the focus. I am waiting for her memories already.
• Egypt’s Education Minister Tarek Shawky: Usually the ministers of education in Egypt are under fire but this man is under double fire with his plan to upgrade the education system “The ultimate dream of every education minister in Egypt since I was a student” or his decisions to continue study in schools despite coronavirus “a  decision which is always cancelled by a presidential directive to save the days and kids winning the hearts of the concerned parents. Shawky Vs. Mommies are still on.FYI, he may not be in the upcoming cabinet 

Coronavirus on The Nile : Official COVID-19 cases in Egypt by governorates

Last Wednesday, Egypt’s Health Minister Hala Zayed held a press conference to discuss the latest developments concerning the coronavirus situation in Egypt.

Zayed stated at last Egypt was having its second wave moment of the pandemic, it was not a big secret.

She also spoke about how the official numbers of coronavirus witnessed a leap in the past two weeks.

This was not secret too.

Because aside of every day talk between Egyptians themselves concerning the real numbers of cases and fatalities, we got members of the official coronavirus committee in the government speaking in mainstream media about how the real numbers of coronavirus patients are higher than the official numbers because patients do not go to the hospital except in late deteriorating case according to them.

Minister Hala Zayed at the Ministry of health's presser in Cairo 
last week by Mohamed El-Raai

Now one of the things that were important in the Health Minister’s presser that was completely ignored by most of the news outlet is the official percentage of COVID-19 cases in Egypt by governorates.

I believe that the ministry of health should including daily cases per governorate in its daily tally because it will warn the citizens.

Already countries like Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Lebanon are doing so.

One of the reasons we are having an increasing number of cases every day is that false feeling of being safe during the pandemic.

Anyhow according to the statement of the minister, Cairo tops the cases of coronavirus since February with nearly 31.7% of the cases.

Merry Christmas 2020 from Egyptian Chronicles

Merry Christmas to all Egyptian Chronicles friends and readers who are celebrating around the globe tonight.

I hope next year inshallah, it will be better.

Lady Mary, baby Jesus and Joseph arriving Egypt's Giza 

Merry Christmas 

Remembering Nabil Farouk , the man who succeeded in his mission

Famous Egyptian novelist Nabil Farouk passed away last 9 December 2020.

The renowned author passed away after having a heart attack in Cairo.

The physician-turned-into a young adults author had a long history with heart disease.

Now, this is a personal post, not a professional obituary. I can’t arrange my thoughts because it is hard especially now to mourn another person from those who were part of my teenagerhood and my views in the world.

Nabil Farouk and his brainchild "Adham Sabry" in the portrait
behind "Wikipedia" 

Once Nabil Farouk wrote that he had begun to write the “The Man of The Impossible” series, he and the publisher, the underrated Hamdy Mustafa had to take the permission of the General Intelligence and national security and that one of the officials told him that it was his mission as an author targeting teens and young adults to bring up a generation “that loves the country”.

I believe Nabil Farouk succeeded in that mission beyond his imagination or that official’s imagination.

Kodak Agfa Presents : Egypt’s Temple of Luxor in photos 2012 “Part 2”

Hello again,

We are back to in time and place to Egypt’s Temple of Luxor in February 2002. You can check the first part of this series of posts here.

We stopped at the Sun court or rather the first courtyard inside the temple complex itself as made by Ramses II.

Before hosting a small church and then above it a small mosque and shrine for a Sufi sheikh born in Baghdad, the Ramses II court look quite different.

Ramses II court 

For instance, it was mostly covered by a ceiling, but that ceiling disappeared by time.

Just like the pylon, it was reportedly coloured too.

Ramses II court 

Coronavirus on the Nile : A Very COVID-19 Special Christmas coverage

In Advance Happy Christmas and Happy New Year to all of you regardless COVID-19.

This is the start of our two-weeks-live-updated-coverage for all things coronavirus in the Arab world.

It is the last two weeks of 2020, the year of COVID-19 by all measures.

Currently, the talk in Egypt is about the vaccine as Egypt received the first batch of vaccines from China and whether we should take or wait.

 A Very COVID-19 Special Christmas "Shutter stock" 

It is big talk and from what I see on social media, many will wait to see its effects in Egypt.

The numbers of cases are still rising and expert warning the peak will be in those couple of weeks.

Yet again the public seems to ignore all warnings and precautions when it comes to masks and social distance.

Personally in the previous two weeks, I had five cases of coronavirus in my family where four of them are young people under 40 and I got a colleague of mine in work who got the virus too.

Many banks and companies are back to the rotation system to reduce the number of employees.

I began to read many deaths due to coronavirus on Facebook once again

I work from home now. 

Please stay safe and stay at home or wear a mask and follow the social distancing rules. 

Another thing, Time Magazine can choose Joe Biden and Kamala Harris as it wants but for me, the true heroes of the year are the Medical teams from scientists, doctors, nurses, technicians, pharmacists, administrators and maintenance workers.

Anyhow, let’s start our two weeks live coverage for coronavirus in the Arab world.

Coronavirus on the Nile: Ten months of COVID-19 in Egypt in graph

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

This time it is a quick look into COVID-19 numbers in Egypt after ten months, after the month of November that witnessed a surge in the number of daily coronavirus cases.

According to Egyptian officials, Egypt is having its second wave of the pandemic.

Seen in Cairo by Moussa El-Zerif in November
An Egyptian old couple wearing masks in Cairo 

They are all based on official numbers released by the Egyptian Health Ministry.

Click on the tabs to move to each graph.

Coronavirus on the Nile: Egypt’s COVID-19 November official numbers in Graph

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

yet before we go into our graphs, I must hint out when the head of the state aka Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi warned the public and said that people should wear their masks and follow social distancing rules.

At an Egyptian Metro Station in November by Sahl Bin Abdel Rahman

According to all health officials in the country, we entered the second wave of coronavirus officially in November and so it was not a surprise to see an increase in the daily rate of infections in this month.

We had constant warnings that we return to the partial lockdown if people do not follow the rules.

We are back to read and hear about cases in our areas and families once again. In fact, I forgot to say that this is the month that witnessed how Mo Salah and Mohamed EL-Nanny got COVID-19 in Egypt before they recovered. 

Now to the graphs based on the numbers released by Egypt’s Ministry of Health on a daily basis

Coronavirus on the Nile : A Coronavirus December “Live updated"

It is the end of  November and the beginning of December.

The official number of coronavirus cases in Egypt is increasing as expected.

The unofficial number of coronavirus cases is also increasing and here we are speaking about the cases that tested positive and decided to be treated at home without going to the hospitals

Already I expect the number will jump those two weeks following the huge celebrations of our Ahly SC fans in the streets till the early hours of the morning following it won its ninth African Champions League title.

I am Ahly SC fan and I am very proud and happy.

I also understand why those guys are on the streets but I am worried about their health.

An Egyptian man wearing his mask at Al Azhar mosque
on Friday " AFP

Health officials warned that December and January may see the peak of cases in the second wave of coronavirus.

Please stay safe and stay home as much as you can.

Wear your mask when you are outside.

Winter is here : Hail, rain and thunderstorm in Great Cairo

Winter is officially in Great Cairo, we have just had a hail storm and thunderstorm.

At Mid-day Wednesday, probably there were million Egyptian mothers screaming at the same time “The laundry” in Great Cairo area horrified that the laundry they left to dry in the balconies would be soaked wet.

Those mothers head after the quick rescue mission to the kitchens to make hot lentil soap, the unofficial meal of Egyptians when it rains.

In Downtown Cairo by Ahmed Hassan

But it was not like any rain because it is more of a hail storm accompanied by a thunderstorm.

The Egyptian Meteorological Authority has already warned a couple of days ago but not all people like to listen or read the weather forecast.

Kodak Agfa Presents : Egypt’s Temple of Luxor 2012 in photos “Part 1”

This is a very belated post, truly belated post.

Remember when I visited Luxor and Aswan in 2012 and how I shared photos from the trip especially in Aswan!?

I shared photos from Aswan’s High Dam, Temple of Philae, Kitchener’s Island, Temple of Kom Ombo and Temple of Edfu. I shared also photos from Luxor’s world-famous Karnak Temples complex.

I remembered that I have not shared or uploaded the photos of other landmarks in Luxor: Luxor Temple and Hatshepsut Temple. I visited the Valley of the Kings too, but I followed the instructions then that said explicitly “No photography”. Now, people take photos and film videos easily thanks to mobile phones.

Yes, I forgot to post them all those years and I do not have any good excuse, to be honest

Anyhow, I guess now it is the perfect time to share those photos especially it seems that we are on the verge of another possible wave of coronavirus lockdown in the world and we may have to stay at home once again till the vaccines are distributed fairly and freely hopefully.

Kodak Agfa will go back in time to February 2012 and visit the great and marvellous Luxor Temple in two-parts posts.

There is a little reminder here: The photos are not that great as Kodak Agfa was still finding her way with photography using baby Sony Nex 5.

The Temple of Luxor's great pylon with its famous obelisk 

I do not know where I shall start the story of Luxor Temple. It is uneasy to recount the history of one of Egypt’s oldest temples that still standing after 3,000 years of its construction and inauguration. The history of that temple complex is like a layer over layer.

Most of the Temple Complex of Luxor was constructed during the New Kingdom but it may go further than this.

Some say that its area which is close to the bank of the Nile was considered scared and was dedicated to the cult of Amun since the 11th dynasty in the Middle Kingdom but the actual construction itself of the current temple complex was during the New Kingdom especially during the 18th and the 19th dynasties aka the Golden age of the New Kingdom.

The construction in the temple complex did not stop after those two dynasties, on the contrary, it continued playing a role in the city of Luxor and Egypt itself till the Greco-Roman era and even beyond as you will see.

The avenue of Sphinx outside Luxor temple

Here is my best attempt starting with the first photo I took for this majestic place from our bus.

There we were in front of the iconic entrance of the temple and in front of it the famous Sphinxes avenue.

The sphinx avenue used to connect between the Luxor temple complex and Karnak temple complex.

Coronavirus on the Nile : A COVID-19 November

It is the second half of  November and the official number of coronavirus cases in Egypt is increasing as expected.

Salah wearing the Liverpool FC mask 

Every week, there are warnings from the officials that we should not abandon the preventive measures; otherwise, we may have to have another partial lockdown.

The challenge is that it seems very few people across the country who are following the preventive measures as recommended by the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Health.

Even the officials and celebs do not follow those measures to set an example to the public in Egypt.

Last week concluded on Friday with the big news that Egypt’s top international footballer Mohamed Salah contracted coronavirus after allegedly returning to Egypt.

Photos and videos of Salah not wearing a face mask or following the social distancing rules are viral and they are providing good material for memes and online jokes as well.

Please stay safe and at home as much as you can.

Anyhow here is our 14-days live update for all things coronavirus in MENA. Please stay safe and stay home.

Concerning Trump , Biden and the Middle East

Trump’s presidency was actually a reality TV show from the beginning, thus it was natural to have this ending the world is currently watching.

I am happy that Trump is gone and honestly it is a good radiance in 2020. Yes, Biden is not the greatest choice but this is what has got. 

Donald Trump will go in history as one of the most demagogue chauvinist racist misogynist populist presidents the world has seen in the 21st century.

Trump’s true danger was making demagogue racist populist far-right the new normal after being “Far”.

He is the President of the United States, what else those guys need.

For four years, misinformation and truly fake news were normal in the social media and believe me if I tell as Arabs we know what misinformation and propaganda mean first hand.

It is God’s mercy that Trump stopped right now and his cronies like Stephen Miller and Steve Bannon are stopped before creating more chaos in time of the coronavirus and what followed.

Already in case, you do not know but coronavirus is reshaping the world for real.

We, as world population can’t afford now having far-right Nazis in the command of the West once again.    

I hate to say it but the world needs balance again

Kodak Agfa presents : Halloween 2020 Blue Moon

Do you know that last October 31 Earth has its full blue moon !?

Yup, we had a full moon on Halloween night.

The last time we had a full moon on a Halloween night was from 76 years ago in 1944.

Coronavirus on the Nile: Nine months of COVID-19 in Egypt in graph

Another monthly post as part of the COVID-19 coverage in Egyptian Chronicles. “I know you can’t take anymore when it comes to numbers and percentages after the US elections 2020 circus.”

This time it is a quick look into COVID-19 numbers in Egypt after nines months, after the month of October that witnessed the return of students to schools.

The students on the first day in school on 15 October by 
Mohamed El-Raai

They are all based on official numbers released by the Egyptian Health Ministry.

Click on the tabs to move to each graph.

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

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

Here is our October's post based on the official numbers released daily by the Egyptian Health Ministry.

First of all, this month witnessed the start of the academic year in Egypt’s schools and universities.

Second of all, the month witnesses also serious warnings from government officials and WHO officials that Egypt may witness a peak in the cases in the upcoming weeks.

A girl wearing a mask in Cairo in Downtown Cairo "Reuters"

Nevertheless, the official numbers were steady and did not exceed 200 cases per day.

Coronavirus cases in Egypt: Daily infection cases in October 2020
Infogram

Two important notes here :

• These numbers include 49 cases of coronavirus documented among the school students according to the official numbers of the government
• Minister Hala Zayed said that nearly 80% of the coronavirus cases have their quarantine in their homes, which means the official numbers can be less than the real numbers.

Coronavirus on the Nile : A Coronavirus November

It is November and more countries are declaring new lockdown restrictions due to the spread of coronavirus, especially in the West.

The winter is knocking doors.

So far, officially it is not alarming yet in Egypt despite the numbers of cases are increasing madly in the region.

The WHO officials believe that Egypt will join those countries within weeks.

Currently, many Egyptians suffer that fall cold or that cold which they wish it is not coronavirus.

Masks in Cairo "Reuters" 

The thing is that the symptoms are too similar.

There is a demand for the seasonal flu vaccine.

Anyhow here is our 14-days live update for all things coronavirus in MENA. Please stay safe and stay home.

Days at the Egyptian Museum of Cairo : Halloween edition 2020

Happy Halloween.

I always wanted to do special Halloween posts to celebrate Egypt’s horror heritage and God knows we got a lot to share but it is 2020

Needless to say, the true Halloween night is not tonight but rather next Tuesday 3 November 2020 in the first place.

I mean the whole world is holding it breathe for real.

I wanted to write this post from a long time about the ancient Egyptian pieces that I felt to be a little scary at the Egyptian Museum of Cairo.

Yup, that smile !! 

By far, this could be the scariest thing for me at the Egyptian Museum of Cairo

When I saw this clay head at the EMC, it took me by surprise because for me it was too spooky with that sinister smile surviving all those years.

All that we know about that it was from the time of predynastic Egypt aka prehistoric Egypt, which means it is older than the Giza Pyramids.

It was found in Upper Egypt, I believe in El-Badari of Asuit governorate aka Badrian Culture which is kind unknown historical territory.

I thought that the lighting condition was not that great when I took that photograph in 2016 and it made the head sinister.

But I was wrong because in 2018, I took another photo for it and it looked more sinister to me.

Kodak Agfa Presents : The Moulid Sweets traditional stand on the Go

I wanted to go and to film as well to snap photos for the Moulid sweets aka Halwa El-Moulid traditional makeshift stands but I remember the wise Cardi B when she said “Coronavirus !!”

Buying and eating Moulid sweets and candies are the most famous traditional associated with celebrating Prophet Mohamed “PBUH” birthday anniversary in Egypt.

Since the Middle ages and specifically the time of the Fatimids, Egyptians had been celebrating it this way.

The sweets are made of sugar-coated nuts and stuff like hummus and sesame. There is also Turkish delight sweet aka Malban which is too sugary for me and sticks in your mouth.

But I am kind happy to find this small cheerful traditional Moulid makeshift in front of a local bakery in Downtown Cairo selling not only the traditional sweets.

The Moulid sweets stand 

It did not only sell the traditional sweets but sold the original sugary statuettes of Moulid aka “Moulid Maids" and “ Moulid horse” representing the beautiful maidens and knights. 

Concerning the #Frenchproductboycott thing : Excuse my French for real this time

I write this post without arranging my thoughts concerning the latest controversy concerning France and the Muslim world aka the French Products boycott over publishing the infamous controversial cartoons mocking Islam’s Prophet Mohamed “PBUH” last week.

I will try to arrange my thoughts while I am angry.

Excuse my French for real this time but I know that shit would hit the fan when French President Emmanuel Macron went on with his historical speech about fighting “Islamist separatism” and how ‘” Islam was in a crisis”.

Macron in the famous Zaitouna Mosque in Tunisia in
2018 "AFP"

I do not know much about Macron’s advisers but that speech was alarming. I do not know how a sane person in the position of Macron as a Western Non-Muslim speaks about the crisis a whole religion of nearly two billion currently lives so easily. 

I do not know how no one in the French administration thought for a moment that this speech is like an official endorsement to the dangerous growing Nazi right-wing political powers of Europe. 

Dear Ahmed Zaki put it perfectly “Islam as religion does not live a crisis, Muslims live in a crisis and not even all Muslims” and that the crisis of Muslims in the Middle East, for instance, is different than in Asia and even on nations level; the problems of Muslims in Malaysia are different than Egypt. This is one.

The French president ignores how his country and its support to corrupted regimes for decades were part of this long crisis. I do not want to get in France’s colonial history in the Muslim countries.

I know also first hand as a citizen of the Middle East how you can divert attention from things that matter in society. I know first hand that poverty and stigmatization play a role in making youth join terrorist organization too 

I believe it was easier to put the blame on Islam as a religion than to admit that the French republic failed miserably in integrating many French Muslims into its society by insisting that they give up some of their beliefs to become part of the French society.

Egypt’s parliamentary elections 2020 : Shake it to the beat

After a few hours from now, the House of Representatives elections' first stage will kick off in 10,240 polling stations will be operating in 14 governorates where 1,879 candidates are competing on the votes of nearly 33 million eligible voters.

In this stage, those candidates are fighting over 284 seats; half to the individual candidates and the other half to the party lists. 

This is the first elections after the new amendments of 2019 that brought the Upper House and Lower House to Egypt once again.

The Upper House elections aka were held in September and they recorded the lowest turnout in Egyptian elections since the March 2011 referendum “only 14.23% of the eligible voters participated in the 4 days of the Senate elections while in the runoffs attracted only 10.22%”.

We got nearly 66 million voters. The Senate elections were held when almost all Egyptians were taking vacations after months of a lockdown or simply they did not know unlike the House of Representatives’ elections.

I expect a higher turnout without a doubt but smashing turnout because we are speaking about pandemic time and less publicity and interactions with voters on the ground.

Now in the time of coronavirus, this could be the quietest elections I have seen with less noise on the ground from the usual elections campaigns.

You will know that there are elections only from the banner everywhere with the faces and names , mostly you only see once;  in the time of the elections.

The first stage's 14 governorates are Giza, Fayoum, Beni Suef, Minya, Assuit, New Valley, Sohag, Qena, Luxor, Aswan, Red Sea, Alexandria, Beheira and Marsa Matruh.

Giza is the second biggest governorate and the extension of the Egyptian capital Cairo is witnessing the clash of the titans of names from businessmen, public figures and media figures.

Coronavirus on the Nile : Schools are back officially in Egypt

Officially, the new academic year “2020-2021” in schools and university has kicked off in Egypt.

It is the challenging year of the pandemic where many parents, teachers and ministry alike waiting to see what will happen in this semester.

Egypt has 23 million school students classified into four stages: from kindergarten to secondary education according to Minister of Education Tarek Shawky.

To solve the huge challenge of the overcrowdedness in schools, especially in public schools and to achieve social distancing, the ministry adopted a system where the students do not go school all the days of the weeks.

Each stage has a limited number of days to attend school. The youngest would go most of the days because they need more human teacher-student interaction according to Shawky. 

The Ministry has adopted an ambitious plan to combine both homeschooling, e-learning and in-school teaching but now Egypt’s internet speed woes, I do not know if this plan will reach its goals successfully.

A photo from a class in an Egyptian class on Saturday by 
Mohamed El-Raai 

The ministry also made a plan if a school witnesses an outbreak in one class or more.

International schools have already started their academic earlier but here we are speaking about the Egyptian educational system.

I really hope that the Education Ministry in Egypt follows the steps of its counterpart in Tunisia and issues updates about the number of cases if any because transparency is the only way to deal with such matter.

Egypt will witness within days its House of Representatives’ elections.

It will be another challenge. So far the official numbers show a stable situation when it comes to coronavirus but officials worry about a new wave in the fall and the winter.

Anyhow here is our live blog following all things coronavirus in Egypt and the Arab world in for another 14 days inshallah.

Coronavirus on the Nile: Eight months of COVID-19 in Egypt in graph

Another monthly post as part of the COVID-19.

This time it is a quick look into COVID-19 numbers in Egypt after seven months.

I started doing those posts when we hit the six months benchmark and actually, I found them useful.

Sensitizing the Giza plateau "Reuters"

They are all based on official numbers released by the Egyptian Health Ministry.

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

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

Here is our August post based on the official numbers released daily by the Egyptian Health Ministry.

First of all, this month witnessed the beginning of not only autumn but also the beginning of the ordinary of the seasonal flu and cold despite the weather was hot.

Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed "SIS"

Second of all, I have been away for a week in the North Coast and the message I got that nobody followed the face mask and social distancing rules.

The same thing when I returned to Cairo and to work at the office, it was like that we are back to February 2020.

It seems that very few that still cares.

I believe that people began to neglect those basic rules because the official numbers of coronavirus infection patients in Egypt released by the Health Ministry continue to be stable not exceeding 200 per day.

On the other hand, you still hear about people dying because of coronavirus including doctors.

Here are September’s daily infection numbers in the graph.

Egyptian Faces : Remembering Ragaa

I have a confession.

When I first wrote about how Egyptian veteran actress Ragaa El-Gedawy was admitted to hospital and sent a voice message to her fans because she contracted coronavirus in the Daily COVID-19 Updates on the Blog, I felt that I was writing her obituary.

"The Kasr Al-Nil Model Ragaa El-Gedawy
strikes a pose

This made so worried hoping that my feeling was wrong and the 81-years-old actress was going to make it but she did.

Miss Egypt or rather the Egyptian Province 1958 “Egypt was part of the United Arab Republic with Syria and there were two provinces then” lost her battle and passed away on 5 July 2020 after nearly a month or more in the country’s top coronavirus Abu Khalifa Hospital in Ismailia.

El-Gidawy was admitted to Abu Khalifa hospital on 24 May 2020 after her daughter Amira Mokhtar reached out to officials including the health minister when her mother’s health deteriorated and it turned out that she was coronavirus positive.

There is not clear when or how Ragaa El-Gedawy contracted coronavirus but days before she fell very ill, the veteran supporting actor wrapped filming a TV series in the Holy Month of Ramadan.

Despite the warnings, studios continued filming claiming that they could not delay or suspending shooting the TV series.

Photos from the last day of filming emerged online and even shared on Instagram by the popular actress, showing no masks nor social distancing.

Coronavirus on the Nile : Egypt’s Fallen Healthcare workers in Graphs

From two weeks, Egyptian Chronicles published a small attempt to commemorate the fallen victims of Egypt’s healthcare sector since the outbreak of the coronavirus in Egypt till half September.

Thanks to aspiring journalist Moataz Weza, me and others are able to know in more details as much as we can the sacrifices of those doctors, nurses, pharmacists, technicians and workers in those 8 months.

They were not only numbers and thanks to Weza, we know more about them with their names and faces.

May Allah bless their souls and bring patience to their families.

The documentation of Weza had also huge raw data that gives us a very interesting insight when it comes to this pandemic that is reshaping the world currently.

An Egyptian doctor checking an x-Ray "AP"

We know the locations, the dates and the specializations of those victims on the front line. In a very modest attempt, I looked to this raw data to know more information about how coronavirus hit Egypt’s first medical defence line.

I know that the world is still in a tough battle with coronavirus and the more accurate information we have, we will win more ground and more lives can be saved.

Now after this attempt to have a decent and appropriate introduction, here is what I found. 

Again this information is based upon the official statements of the Egyptian Medical Syndicate, the doctors syndicates, pharmacists syndicates, news websites and victims' families on social media.

This is from the period from March where the first case of Egyptian doctor to die due to coronavirus till 15 September. 

General Information

The list documented nearly 280 healthcare workers' fatalities in Egypt. 

On 8 October 2020, Egypt has officially recorded in total 6,017 fatalities since the outbreak of the virus in the country so we are speaking about 4.65% of the fatalities here or rather 5%. 

When I checked online, I found that it is a global issue to find an accurate number of victims among healthcare workers there are official attempts thanks to unions and human rights organizations. 

According to tot the Nurses Union in the United States, more 1,700 healthcare worker passed away due to coronavirus since the outbreak of the virus till September. 

Amnesty International published an analysis in early September saying that the world recorded over 7,000 deaths among the Healthcare workers globally. It considered Egypt among the countries with the highest estimated numbers of health workers who have died from COVID-19 despite it only counted the Doctors only. 

Now to our data. 

According to the information available online, 71% of the victims are doctors followed by the pharmacists then nurses then technicians and other workers.

Happy 6th October war anniversary

 Happy 6th October war anniversary from Egyptian Chronicles to all Egyptians as well as Arabs who remember this day and respect the sacrifices to our heroes who died for the sake of our land and dignity. 

"Our forces control completely the front" and "The exchange of POWs and injured starts"
said Al-Akhbar in October 1973

This is the issue of Al-Akhbar Daily was speaking about how Saudi Arabia stopped exporting oil declaring the famous oil embargo. 

Kodak Agfa Presents in photos : A small red dot

Do you see that that small red dot in the night sky this weekend !?

This small red dot appearing in the night sky is Planet Mars and you can see it by the naked eye currently at least in the Middle East at night.

A small red dot known as Mars

You can see it right above the moon, a red shining dot without any telescope.

A Full moon and above it a full planet

Here is another photo for Mars right above a very shinning full moon.

It was not the brightest idea but it was so tempting.

Coronavirus on the Nile : Early October COVID-19 Live updates

A new month while living under the coronavirus pandemic that killed one million people around the globe.

October has one hell of a start with the news of how the current US President Donald Trump whose policies during coronavirus pandemic were not the best, test positive along with his wife for COVID-19.

Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. We will get through this TOGETHER!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 2, 2020

It is like 2020 has still somethings up in its sleeves.

Some countries in the Arab world are witnessing a re-surge in the cases of the coronavirus by the end of September.

So far the situation is stable in Egypt but it is a huge challenge as public schools and universities are going to open their doors officially in Mid October.

Sensitizing Giza zoo by Mohamed Raai 

Egypt is also going to have parliamentary in the second half of October which means those two weeks will witness parliamentary elections campaigns.

Judging the recent numbers which released daily by the Egyptian health ministry last week, Egypt has had a stable infection daily rate and a declining recovery rate.

The government is telling the people that they should follow the precautionary measures especially social distancing and wearing masks.

But again realistically speaking, neither the social distancing is followed nor the masks are worn.

Example: That celebration held on Friday to commemorate the 1973 and to show support to Egyptian president Abdel Fattah El-Sisi by a bunch of political parties where hundreds of people gathered at Nasr city without masks and no social distancing.

Friday celebration and there is no proper comment 
to describe this

Anyhow; here is our live daily update for the upcoming two weeks. Please stay safe.

When Mayar Sherif became the first Egyptian woman to play at Roland Garros

2020 is the year to remember without a doubt and one of those moments many Egyptians remember happily and proudly was this week.

It is the moment when 24-years-old-Egyptian Mayar Sherif was the first Egyptian woman to play at Roland Garros and to win a grand slam match after beating Italian Giulia Gatto-Monticone in the final round of Roland Garros qualifying games.

A moment to remember and to blog about.

Mayar Sherif played her first game in Roland Garros last Tuesday against World No.4 Karolina Pliskova and it is one hell of a game that many Egyptians watched admirably.

Egyptian tennis player Mayar Sherif

Sherif may have lost the game but she made history in a way and made achievements I consider history-making.

I will repeat again that she is the first Egyptian woman to play in Roland Garros.

From 20 years ago , this video made history in the Middle East

On that day from 20 years ago, a photographer caught on camera a crime against humanity and it changed the world as we know it.

A freelance photographer and videographer caught in Gaza how the Israeli occupation forces opened their fire on a civilian and his son killing the 12-years-old boy despite the pleas of his father.

The last moments of Mohamed El-Dorra where his father
tried to protect him "AFP"

Freelance reporter caught Talal Abu Rahma those 26 minutes and were first aired on France 2 , the rest was history.

Despite Israeli occupation forces admitted at first that their soldiers opened the fire by and apologized for it , some Israeli media outlets had the audacity to claim that Mohamed El-Dorra were still alive which is untrue.

Mohamed El-Dorra passed away and was buried. It is a fact. 

Coronavirus on the Nile : Remembering Egypt’s fallen heroes from Healthcare sector

This post is dedicated to Egypt’s fallen heroes from the healthcare sector who died due to Coronavirus in the past seven and a half months

The list below is the result of the hard work and documentation of young aspiring Egyptian journalist  Moatez Weza

Healthcare works protecting us 
by Doaa Al-Adl 

I have been planning for this post for three months now but it would not have seen the light if it were not for  Moatez

Moatez; commonly known among his friends as Weza is originally a Sports journalist in Egypt’s Filgoal which actually produced many of Egypt’s finest journalists whether in sports or in general. I am quite biased because some of my colleagues were graduates of this important news website

Weza is probably from the few journalists in Egypt who followed the news of coronavirus since it re-surfaced in its new version in Wuhan, China. His thread on Twitter on the virus, I believe is an archive for the whole crisis in Arabic till last month when he stopped covering it.

It is an exhausting mission for a one-man who was doing the job perfectly. 

I only took his original list and added to it the names of the Healthcare victims, mostly from doctors because their information was easier to find till Mid September.

This list will be updated. 

Coronavirus on the Nile : COVID-19 in September "Live Updated"

It is past mid-September and Egypt has not reached “no coronavirus patient” phase yet as promised by Egyptian officials yet.

Simply, this won’t happen any time soon and as in other countries, the virus has not vanished but governments and people try their best to curb its spread especially in the fall when schools and universities are back on campus mostly.

Up till now the official numbers of new coronavirus cases in Egypt are stable and they are not alarming.

Unofficially, the ghost of coronavirus is still there and there are cases mostly treated at home successfully but those who are unlucky go for treatment in hospitals in a very late stage with a small chance of making it out.

On the other hand, publicly it seems that there is no coronavirus at all.

A health worker taking a swab at coronavirus drive-through checkpoint
in Cairo "AP

Last week, I took a small vacation in the North Coast with my family where if it were not for those daily updates, I would not have known that there are still coronavirus cases in the world. The people forgot all about it. They forgot all about social distancing and the importance of wearing masks.

Regionally, it seems that the coronavirus is making a comeback in several countries whether in Iraq or Jordan or the Gulf where the poor migrants are still the primary victims of the virus and its spread.

Lebanon is witnessing an increase in the case considering we got hundreds of thousands with no home and a medical sector that is suffering economically.

Several countries in the region have opened the door for the public for clinical trials of coronavirus vaccines in cooperation with other countries above them China like in Egypt, UAE and Bahrain.

Anyhow enough of the talk here is our live blog widget for all coronavirus updates for the upcoming fortnight

Bahrain normalizes officially relations with Israel and some Bahrainis reject it “They do exist”

On Friday, Current US president-bigger-than-life Donald Trump announced that the Kingdom of Bahrain and Israel agree to Peace.

Another HISTORIC breakthrough today! Our two GREAT friends Israel and the Kingdom of Bahrain agree to a Peace Deal – the second Arab country to make peace with Israel in 30 days!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 11, 2020

“The second Arab country to make peace with Israel in 30 days” Trump tweeted proudly on his very active Twitter account referring to the decision of UAE to normalize relations with Israel a couple of weeks earlier.

This is a miscomputation here because once again like in case of UAE,  Bahrain and Israel were not in a war and they had unofficial relations with Israel for years.

It is a normalization agreement to have official diplomatic relations between Israel and Bahrain.

As a crooked businessman, Trump and his cronies are trying to re-brand that so-called achievement in order to make it bigger than its true size in a cheap way.

Coronavirus on the Nile : A look into 7 months of COVID-19 in Egypt in graph

Another monthly post as part of the COVID-19.

This time it is a quick look into COVID-19 numbers in Egypt after seven months.

I started doing those posts last month when we hit the six months benchmark and actually I found them useful.

They are all based on official numbers released by the Egyptian Health Ministry.

An Egyptian young man wearing mask in front of the Great Pyramid 
of Giza due to COVID-19 "Reuters" 

These are the total numbers of Daily Coronavirus cases, fully recovered patients and fatalities for 7 months.

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

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

Here is our August post based on the official numbers released daily by the Egyptian Health Ministry. 

It is quite interesting.

First, if July witnessed a decline in the daily coronavirus cases, August witnessed an increase that is not alarming in the daily coronavirus cases.

Coronavirus cases in Egypt: Daily infection cases in August 2020
Infogram

This increase worries everybody whether the officials or the few concerned citizens.

August witnessed the huge escape of the Egyptian upper and upper Middle class to the North coast.

August also witnessed in its beginning fewer people in the streets without masks but when the official numbers began to increase some people returned to wear masks. They are still a minority sadly enough.

Egyptian wearing masks on a hot summer day in Cairo "Reuters"

It is like in any other country in the world after ending the coronavirus lockdown.

#ABZ to criminal court and more sexual predators exposed in Egypt’s hot #Metoo Summer

This is a follow-up post for the return of #Metoo in Egypt published in July

I won’t speak about Fairmont case because it needs a separate post and God knows I am working on it.

Now to the latest news when it comes to the #Metoo movement.

Last Tuesday Egypt’s Prosecutor General referred Ahmed Bassam Zaki aka ABZ, the alleged serial rapist to criminal court for a number of charges including on charges of sexual assault of minors, blackmail and sexual harassment.

According to the Public prosecution’s statement, ABZ is accused of sexually assaulting three girls under the age of 18 years old and blackmailing them, along with another girl, to divulge matters that will harm their honour, while demanding they continue having sex with him.

Honour here means their reputation as females in society.

Believe Women from a #Metoo protest in 2017 "AFP"

ABZ is accused of sexually harassing two of the victims and of taking photos of one of the victims while kissing her, without her consent in a private location.

He is also accused of using telecommunication devices and social media networks in committing crimes, and of possessing cannabis with the intention of consuming it.

The cannabis was found during his arrest.

All this started with an Instagram account called “Assault Police” reporting anonymously about ABZ and his history.

Coronavirus on the Nile : COVID-19 updates and news in Egypt and Arab world

Another week, another live update of Coronavirus that turned the world upside down.

Egypt is having an official stable rate of Coronavirus cases that increase and decrease on a daily basis.

Yet, the Egyptian officials are insisting that the people should not ignore the precautionary procedures to fight COVID-19.

Sensitizing the Giza pyramids Plateau "AFP"

I hate to say it but the Egyptian people do not give a damn about the coronavirus anymore.

A minority of people wear masks in general.

I went to two malls in the past week and I have to say, you have to wear the mask to get inside but inside you are free to roam without it. And Yes, I wore the mask all the time 

Meanwhile, you read and hear about new cases of coronavirus around you.

It is worth to mention that the students will return to schools next month.

Anyhow, here is our weekly live update

Coronavirus on the Nile : A new month with a new week of COVID-19 live updates and news in Egypt

Another week, another live update of that Pandemic re-shaping the whole world.

Egypt is witnessing a re-increase in the official daily tally of coronavirus cases registered by the Egyptian Ministry of health.

The man with a  mask and the camel at Giza's pyramids plateau "AFP"

Unofficially, many people began to report the return of COVID-19 among their circles but they do not go to hospitals or report to the authorities.

This increase in infections is happening at the same time, Egypt has officially removed the last signs of lockdown by allowing the Friday prayers in mosques nationwide last Friday.

Egyptian officials are still warning the public that they should follow social distancing and wear masks.

I am currently at the north coast for a short break and I can affirm that I am from the very few who still wear a mask.

The month of September is critical for the Egyptian government because I believe the number of cases will affect the decision to start the school and academic year as well as the start of a touristic season in the fall in October.

Here is our weekly live update widget.

Coronavirus on the Nile : Live weekly COVID-19 updates and news in Egypt and Arab world

It is a new week under the coronavirus pandemic which the WHO says that it may be over under two years.

This will be too much and honestly, I do not know if I can keep this weekly lives updates for all that time !!

COVID-19 killed almost 800,000 people and infected nearly 23 million and yet it failed to remind the world leaders that there is something important than fighting each other.

This crisis shows that there is a need for universal healthcare rights around the globe.

A woman tested for high temperature at
Cairo University in April "Reuters"

It also showed that that disease can kill people more people than wars in no time.

World leaders should have released that investments in healthcare are better thousand times than in weapons and arms.

They won’t realize that thought anytime soon and just look to the United States only and its current president. 

Anyhow, here is our weekly live update widget.

Kodak Agfa Presents : Prince Mohamed Ali Palace's Mosque and Clock Tower

First of all, Happy new Hijri year 1442 to all Muslims around the globe.

I hope that year 1442 would better inshallah for the whole world.

On this occasion, I would like to share with you couple of photos I took while visiting the Prince Mohamed Ali Palace or rather an estate or El-Manial Palace as commonly known last August with a group of friends in Cairo. 

Built from 1899 to 1929, El-Manial Palace was designed by Prince Mohamed Ali Tawfik “1875-1955”, King Farouk’s Uncle and it is considered one of the best-preserved remaining palaces form the Mohamed Ali Royal Family era.

The Prince Mohamed Ali Palace or rather estate is so big and a good many interesting attractions. Interestingly, this huge piece of land was originally owned by Prince Mohamed Ali Tawfik's great Uncle Prince Fadel.

Prince Fadel had a mosque named after him in El-Sayida Zeinab.

Prince Mohamed Ali Tawfik's Mosque in his Cairo estate

This time the photos are the for the Prince  Palace’s Mosque and its clock tower.

The younger brother of Khedive Abbas Helmi II built a mosque in his estate and it is a very beautiful small mosque. Prince Mohamed Ali Tawfik and his staff in his estate used to pray in that mosque