It is not a “Mexican filter”, it is a Khamaseen sandstorm.

Egypt was struck by a massive African sandstorm, commonly known in Egyptian history and tradition as the Khamaseen.

Today, Generation Z jokingly refers to it as a “Mexican filter.”

Khamaseen sandstorms were recorded in ancient Egypt under the name “Resut,” or “south wind,” and were associated with Set — the lord of the desert, chaos, and storms. Yes, the same Set from the myth of Isis and Osiris, where Osiris was the lord of the Nile and the fertile valley.

The Pyramids of Giza during the storm on Thursday 
Ibrahim Kandel 

They are mentioned in the Book of the Dead, where the south wind is described as “the breath that burns the lungs,” prompting the use of protective amulets or prayers to Thoth, the god of wisdom and knowledge, to temper Set’s ferocity.

But why were they called “south winds” when they often seem today to come from the west, sweeping in from the Sahara?

Egypt Storm 2026: Thunderstorms, hail , heavy rain as well as Nuclear Rumors

And so, it turned out to be one last winter storm—not the beginning of a nuclear winter, as many online in Egypt feared on Tuesday.

In case you missed it, Egypt is currently experiencing a brief period of unstable weather, including thunderstorms and heavy rainfall.

The Egyptian Meteorological Authority (EMA) had issued early warnings, stating that the wave would begin on Tuesday evening, bringing rain, slightly cooler temperatures, and stronger winds across several regions before gradually improving by the weekend.

According to the EMA, the instability would start along the northwestern coast—including Salloum, Matrouh, and Alamein—before spreading to the Nile Valley and Sinai.

Rainfall was expected to intensify on Wednesday and Thursday, becoming more widespread and occasionally accompanied by thunderstorms, particularly along the northern coast, the northern Delta, and parts of Sinai. Lighter showers were forecast to reach Greater Cairo and the Canal cities.

For once, the Egyptian government took a proactive step, suspending classes in schools and universities on Wednesday and Thursday to spare millions of Egyptians the usual traffic chaos.

Ironically, Tuesday itself felt like a calm, early-spring day across the country.

That calm, however, fueled suspicion. Some began to believe something more sinister was coming—and within hours, that suspicion evolved into a full-blown conspiracy theory, amplified by a video from the Kuwait National Guard.

And Egypt faces its first man-made Nile flood thanks to Ethiopia’s GERD

Egyptians slept on Thursday, wondering what would happen after reading the Egyptian prime minister Mostafa Madbouly that the Nile floodwaters are expected to inundate riverbank areas and informal housing in Monufia and Behaira during October, as the River Nile water discharge is forecast to exceed average seasonal levels.

Then they woke up on Friday only to find that there were warnings issued to 15 governorates.

The warning was to expect Nile floodwaters are expected to inundate riverbank areas in Luxor, Qena, Sohag, Assuit, Al-Minya, Bani Suef, Giza, Cairo, Qalyubia, Monufia, Sharkia, Gharbia, Kafr El-Sheikh, Dahaqliya and Damietta.

Dalhamo village after the man-made flood 
by Doaa Adel 

Then videos taken by local journalists showing the River Nile flooding the riverbank areas and islands in Monufia began to go viral, especially from Dalhamo village, part of Ashmoun district, where Citizens lost their houses and cattle.

Days at the Egyptian Museum of Cairo: Hapi of the Nile Flood

Today, Egypt is officially celebrating Wafaa al-Nil or the Nile Loyalty Festival.

If you think this is a newly invented holiday, think again. Wafaa al-Nil is one of the oldest festivals still celebrated in Egypt today, alongside Sham El-Nassim. In fact, it is among the country’s most ancient traditions—dating back over 7,000 years.

Hapi and the River Nile generated by Sora 

The ancient Egyptians linked the festival to the annual inundation of the Nile, which typically began in mid-July and peaked between mid-August and early September. 

The date most often associated with it is August 15, when the floodwaters became clearly visible in Memphis (and later Cairo). The exact timing, however, depended on rainfall in Ethiopia.

Historical evidence traces the festival back as far as the Old Kingdom (c. 2686–2181 BCE), with inscriptions and temple reliefs depicting rituals dedicated to Hapi, the god of the Nile’s flood.

On this occasion, I’m sharing a couple of photos of Hapi from the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Kodak Agfa Presents : Egypt’s Spring Flowers Show 2024 “91st edition”

Another belated post. How can you post a post about flowers show when there are ongoing genocides whether in Gaza or Sudan, especially Gaza.

Again, I was waiting for a truce, so I can’t post this, but it seems there is no hope.

A truck full of flowers and plants of every type you can imagine 

Also, I went to the Autumn Flowers Show 2024. “Yeah, it turned out that Egypt got one,” and I must share the Spring flowers before I go for the Autumn flowers.

The Spring Flowers Show 2024 was delayed nearly four times as I have read.

It was not inaugurated by the Minister of Agriculture as the custom for unknown reasons.

Into one of the partitions in the show

It was not held at its original time on 21 March because it was during Ramadan at that time.

I can’t find a reason why because actually it was used to be held in Ramadan and even with activities after the Iftar.

The show kicked off on 19 May till the last day of Eid Al-Adha which was on 19 June.

Watch this: Long Live us and Long Live Palestine in video

In the wake of the 2023 Gaza War, a surge of Arab and Palestinian artists took to the internet to express their solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza through their art. This outpouring of creative expression is not a new phenomenon for the Arab world.

Long Live Us and Long Live Palestine "Omar Rammal"

On the contrary, Palestine and the Palestinian resistance have long been a source of inspiration for artworks across various mediums, including painting, literature, poetry, cinema, and music.

This time arts found a bigger and quicker platform online. I wanted to share samples of those artworks. After all, it is important to share with the world what we say because it seems that the world does not see us as humans. 

Please watch this short film by Palestinian director Omar Rammal. It went viral on social media across the Arab world in the past few days.

It is called “Long Live Us, Long Live Palestine.”
And yes, there are whole younger generations of Palestinians that won’t forget nor forgive.

Pray for Libya: Storm Daniel Strikes Derna, Killing Thousands

Libya Needs Our Prayers, Thoughts, and Aid

Storm Daniel hit the eastern parts of Libya on Sunday, bringing heavy rains and flooding. The results were horrifying.

The heaviest rainfall occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning, with some areas receiving up to 250 mm (10 inches) of rain in just a few hours. There were two dams protecting the city. The two dams were the Wadi Derna Dam and the Al-Gharbi Dam. 

Both dams collapsed as a result of the heavy rains and flooding caused by Storm Daniel Medicane. The collapse of the dams released a massive amount of water into the city, which caused widespread damage and loss of life.

The Wadi Derna Dam is located on the Wadi Derna River, which is a major waterway that runs through the city. The dam was built in the 1970s to control flooding and provide water for irrigation. The Al-Gharbi Dam is located on the Al-Gharbi River, which is a smaller river that flows through the city. The dam was built in the 1980s to provide water for drinking and industrial use.

Both of them could not stand against the heavy rain that turned into floods. The floodwaters swept away homes, businesses, and vehicles.

The storm also caused mudslides, which further damaged infrastructure and made it difficult for rescue workers to reach affected areas. There are rescue workers who died while saving the people.

The power grid was knocked out in many areas, leaving people without electricity. The water supply was also disrupted, making it difficult for people to get clean water.

At first, it was reported that 150 people had been killed. By Monday afternoon, that number had jumped to 2,000 in the city of Derna alone. The Libyan government says that over 5,000 people are still missing.

Derna survived ISIS and civil war but did not survive Storm Daniel 

The death toll in Derna is higher than the number of victims of the recent earthquake in Morocco. That earthquake, which was the worst in over a century, killed over 2,800 people nationwide according to the latest official numbers on Monday

In Derna, whole neighbourhoods have been wiped out by the floods. One Libyan official called it the worst natural disaster to hit the country since 1963.

Kodak Agfa Presents : Once in a super blue moon "Updated"

Kodak Agfa is back to photograph the space and whatever appears in our skies, especially on our long summer nights.

Updated on Wednesday: 

Here are a couple of photos from Wednesday night as the Super Blue Moon reached its peak.

A full Super Blue Moon

Super blue moons occur on average every 19 years. The last super blue moon occurred on August 31, 2023, and the next one will occur on May 20, 2026, inshallah.

A full Super Blue Moon

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Earth is having one big Super Blue Moon lightening its night and it is not to be missed

A super blue moon is a special event in the night sky that happens when the moon looks bigger and brighter than usual. As you may have known already if you are a regular friend of Egyptian Chronicles, Supermoons are called "super" because the moon is closer to Earth, making it appear larger.

Kodak Agfa presents The Shot : A peacock in full action

It is not every day you can see a peacock; thus, I could not waste the opportunity to see that magnificent up and close.

As you have known from my post and quick camera tour at the Spring Flowers Fair 2023, there was a peacock and its female partner on display.

A peacock or Indian peafowl displaying his tail in action 

It was the first time for me to see a peacock in person alive in its magnificent glory. I have not seen a peacock alive at the Giza Zoo during my visits to the famous landmark currently in danger.

I have seen one taxidermized at Giza Zoo’s Zoological Museum.

A taxidermized Indian Peafowl at Giza Zoo's Zoological Museum 

The label read its official name in Arabic and English: Indian Peafowl.

Yes, its official name is Indian peafowl because that species originated originally from the Indian subcontinent specifically in modern-day India and Sri Lanka.

I am not embarrassed to admit that I did not know this fact.

Kodak Agfa presents: Egypt’s Spring Flowers Fair 2023 at the Agricultural Museum

Usually, the Ministry of Agriculture holds the annual Spring Flowers Fair from March to April. However, this year, the fair was neither held on time nor in its usual location.

To the surprise, or rather shock, of its regular visitors, the Ministry of Agriculture announced that the Orman Botanical Garden would be closed for renovations right after the Ramadan supplies exhibit in March.

The closure of the Orman Botanical Garden for a major renovation operation has raised concerns among many, including myself.

This renovation also includes the oldest Zoo in Africa and the Middle East, the Giza Zoo. According to reports in the Egyptian media, the renovation process, which is led by the Military Production Ministry and a consortium of foreign companies, is expected to take a year and a half.

This situation is so alarming that it has left me feeling depressed to even speak about it. According to Al-Shorouk Newspaper, both the Orman Botanical Garden and the Giza Zoo will remain open until July 9th before they are closed for renovations to become "One Grand Zoo."

The government cannot close the Giza Zoo during Eid because it is the main attraction for Egyptians during the Eid Adha holiday, and thousands of people from all over the country visit it during this time.

I, along with others who fear losing the zoo as we know it, visited it in the winter. The zoo holds a special place in the hearts of all Egyptians with its classical historical look.

I was hoping to visit Orman Garden during the Spring Flowers Fair, but for the first time in decades, the fair was not held there.

Initially, I believed the fair had been cancelled due to ongoing renovation works and the economic crisis, which had affected imports in Egypt. However, I was mistaken.

It turned out that the fair was indeed held but in a different location.

The 90th Spring Flowers Fair took place at the Agricultural Museum in Giza from May 27th to June 27th, running from 9 AM to 9 PM. The video tour of the fair is at bottom of this post, so yes you must read it to the end. 👼

The Spring Flowers Fair 2023 was held at Egypt's Agricultural Museum in Giza 

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the 90th edition of Egypt's longest-running fair saw the participation of over two hundred exhibitors.

The fair displayed more than 1,000 types of plants, including flowers and fruit trees.

Jasmine tree sold at a partition inside Egypt's Spring Flowers Fair 2023

One would expect the Ministry of Agriculture or the government to have promoted the fair more, especially considering it was the 90th edition.

A belated Khamsin storm to remember in Egypt

Thursday afternoon Egypt was on a date with one of those Sandstorms that remind Egyptians that there is something called Khamsin storms Egypt is famous for in spring.

I was in the street, and I saw firsthand the results of removing trees. In a couple of hours, we had in Great Cairo extremely hot weather, rain, and sandstorm.

What I saw firsthand Thursday afternoon, minutes earlier it was raining 

We saw great Cairo under the ‘Mexican filter’ afternoon as some like to call it online.

We paid the price of removing hundreds if not thousands of trees across the country for real today. It has been ages since we saw a similar storm.

I believe the officials especially in the Ministry of Environment and Agriculture know that but fear to say it in public.

We need a green belt around Greater Cairo today before tomorrow. We need to regrow trees again.

This is a typical and original Khamsin Egypt is famous for, but it is a very belated Khamsin. Khamsin storms usually do not happen on 1^st June or June at all. Summer should start after 20 days officially.

Restoring back daylight saving time in Egypt: 1000 years of “apply” and “not apply”

On Wednesday, Egypt’s government announced that it was going to apply or rather to re-apply the daylight saving time again in Egypt after cancelling it in July 2016.

The daylight-saving time will be applied to start from the last Friday in April to the end of the last Thursday in October of the Gregorian year.

The aim of re-applying the system already applied in almost 40% of the countries in the world during summer is to rationalize energy and fuel which to exported to Europe. Already the plan was declared last August.

Lights of Alexandria Stanley Bridge in May 2016

It will be one hot summer indeed.

Now all I think about now is how daylight-saving time was one of the most cancelled and uncancelled decisions in the history of the Egyptian Republic.

Historically, Egypt knew the daylight-saving time in 1957 “The Nasser era” when it was introduced as a power-saving measure before it was cancelled in 1975 “Sadat era”.

Save Cairo Houseboats : And the Kitkat’s houseboats replaced by nightclubs boats

Do you remember what happened to the famous Cairo Houseboats last summer!?

When Egypt’s Ministry of irrigation sent an eviction notice to 32 houseboat owners mostly in Imbaba’s KitKat area e allegedly for encroachment despite being there for decades and paying their bills like model citizens!?

During then the only thing those owners were able to do for real was to make noise through a social media campaign called “Save_Cairo_houseboat” led by Egyptian renowned author Dr Ahdaf Soueif focusing on the old residents of the houseboats above them Mrs Ikhlas Helmy.

Following the media campaign and acting upon presidential directives as usual Mrs Helmy was given a rented apartment with a Nile view in some building in Zamalek island owned by Misr Insurance properties. 

Ironically, the old lady spoke about how she left a similar house decades ago to live in a blue houseboat that would be a trade mark for the KitKat houseboats.

Kodak Agfa Presents : Egypt’s Fossil and Climate Change Museum in Fayoum’s Wadi El-Hitan Protectorate in 2017 (#EP4: A Desert to remember)

We are back in the fourth post of our series about Egypt’s Wadi El-Hitan Climate Change Museum in Fayoum.

In February 2017, I paid a visit to Wadi El-Hitan or the Whale valley in a quick visit to the beautiful Fayoum governorate.

In the first post of this series, we shared the history of Egypt’s fossilized Jurassic Park as well as part of its indoor museum. In the second post, we continued our visit to the very rich indoor museum in the valley. In the third post, we saw part of the very interesting outdoor museum in the desert.

In this part, I am focusing on the outdoor museum’s interior or rather exterior aka the desert where the outdoor museum is located aka the amazing and breathtaking Wadi El-Hitan as well as the way back to Wadi El-Rayan.

Inside Wadi El-Hitan Protectorate 

Aside from the priceless exhibits from millions of years ago, this place is like a haven for those who love desert nature and photography for real.

Formations that were once part of a big continental ocean millions of years ago 

The formations that were once part of the prehistoric ocean bed make you feel small.

Kodak Agfa Presents : Egypt’s Fossil and Climate Change Museum in Fayoum’s Wadi El-Hitan Protectorate in 2017 (#EP3: When the desert turns into a museum)

We are back in the third post of our series about Egypt’s Wadi El-Hitan Climate Change Museum in Fayoum.

In 2017, I paid a visit to Wadi El-Hitan or the Whale valley in a quick visit to the beautiful Fayoum governorate. In the first post of this series, we shared the history of Egypt’s fossilized Jurassic Park as well as part of its indoor museum.

In the second post, we continued our visit to the very rich indoor museum in the valley.

Now we continue our trip in this post to the UNESCO World Heritage Site but this time we visit the outdoor museum.

Inside Wadi El-Hitan Protectorate in Fayoum's desert 

When you finish visiting the indoor museum, you go outside carrying your backpack or whatever but you must have a bottle of water to keep you hydrated and must wear your best hiking shoes because you will have one hell of a hike in the middle of the desert.

You will see why. 

Inside Wadi El-Hitan Protectorate in Fayoum's desert 

Head for the trail in front of you and just imagine that this was a huge ocean bed from millions of years ago.

The road to the outdoor museum and its exhibits from fossils 

The trail takes you up to a hill and seriously it is one of the best hikes I have ever taken so far.

Kodak Agfa Presents : Photos of the year “2022 edition”

Another year-ender post I hope that inshallah it will be another tradition in Egyptian Chronicles: The photos of the year.

This is a subjective post because I chose those photos as my favourite for the year 2022, they represent major events in the year which I found significant and they are not too many.

They are without order. I apologize for that. 

For me, this is the photo of the year 2022.

A four years old girl working in a brick factory in Afghanistan sleeping 
after work on one August afternoon "AP"

That photo summarizes the Afghani ongoing forgotten tragedy.

It also represents everything that is wrong in this world my afraid on every level whether social injustice or economic injustice or political injustice.

The whole photo story is heartbreaking.

The photo story is available on AP and those sad photos were taken by photographer Ebrahim Noroozi.

I pray those children will have a better year and future this year.

I do not know the source of this photo or who actually took and I hope that he or she is okay because they are in China. It was taken in Shanghai during the anti- Zero-Covid-19 policy protests.

Egyptian Chronicles’ Movers and Shakers of 2022

Welcome to the 2022 edition of Egyptian Chronicles' Movers and Shakers.

It is the time for our annual post
Here is my list of those I believe to be the shakers and movers of 2022 in Egypt, the Arab world and the world.

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. The good, bad and ugly are here. The naughty and goody-goody are here too.

From Upper left to right: Mohamed Omda, Mohamed Maait and Mohamed Al-Amin 
From lower left to right: Ramy Fahim, Sherine, Sanaa Seif, Ahmed El-Tayab 

This list is without any order. You know me, I write what I remember.

Again, I started writing down this post at 2:04 AM, yet once again my epic procrastination and being burned out for the year rules.

From Egypt

• Finance Minister Mohamed Maait, Ex-Central Bank of Egypt Governor Tarek Amer and Current CBE governor Hassan Abdullah: Do I need to explain !? I mean we enter the new year with more fears than hopes about what we may face economically. 2022 is one of the most brutal economic years Egypt has ever witnessed and God knows how Egypt’s economy will survive its repercussions as external debts increase.

•  Grand Imam of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayeb: El-Tayeb made a name for himself to stand out among all the previous Imams of Egypt and the world’s oldest and most Sunni Islamic institution. Aside from the successful coexistence dialogue he leads with Christian faith leaders around the globe like his best BBF in Rome Pope Francis, El-Tayeb is truly standing the moderate Sunni Muslims against attacks from left and right. This year he stood against endless attacks by radical seculars who believe that he is ultra-conservative and by religious fanatics who believe that he is ultra-progressive alike. El-Tayeb so far got very progressive views for real, but no one wants to listen truly to him. He also brought back the voice of Al-Azhar internationally to comment on and defend Muslim rights’ around the globe whether in India or in Afghanistan defending the right of Afghani girls to learn.

Post COP27: Minimum levels of wins for everybody

The 27^th United Nations Conference on Climate Change “COP27” concluded on Sunday after two dramatic weeks with a statement that included a minimum level of wins for everybody and a huge concern for future COPs as fossil fuels companies are gaining more power and power.

The COP27 logo inside the conference in Sharm El-Sheikh "Bloomberg"

The biggest achievement we have is the victory of the island nations and developing countries in establishing a loss and damage fund.

Yes, it will take years to have this fund operating for real but we all saw the battle those nations had to fight in Sharm El-Sheikh.

Another interesting achievement was recognizing the food problem aka “safeguarding food security and ending hunger”. 

keeping the limit of global warming to 1.5 C as it was another achievement.

COP27 at Sharm : 1.5C fight , loss and damage at Santiago Network and some interesting numbers to share

The 27th session of the United Nations Conference on Climate Change “COP27” is going to conclude after hours following many other hours full of drama, political, and economic talks about the future of Planet Earth's environment in Egypt’s Sharm El-Sheikh.

At the loss and damage meeting in the COP27 on Wednesday in Sharm 

In the past 48 hours, news reports came that we as people from the developing countries in the global South should not have our hope high because it seems the conclusions and recommendations as well as pledges of the globe North will be less impressive of the COP27 than the conclusions, recommendations and pledges announced in COP26.

According to official and unofficial sources openly and off the records there are divisions about issues including whether rich nations should set up a fund to cover irreparable damage being wrought by climate change, language addressing fossil fuels use and whether 1.5C should remain the explicitly targeted limit for planetary warming.

Remembering Professor Hamed Gohar: A long belated respect for an Egyptian and Arab scientist

Google celebrated in the Arab world celebrated on Tuesday the 115^th of Egypt and the Arab’s founding father of oceanography Dr Hamed Gohar with a cute and geeky doodle.

Dr Hamed Gohar featured on 15 November's Google Doodle in the Arab World 

Thanks to Google, many Arab newspapers from the Gulf to the Ocean ran small news reports about who that Egyptian scientist was and how he was the first in his field in the region as well as he tried to spread his knowledge to the public audience through his famous nearly two-decades-long “Sea World” on Channel Two on Egypt’s State-owned TV.