Londoneya

Which Photograph Shall I Choose for this Competition?

2012-02-15T21:02:00.000+02:00

I've never really entered a photography competition. But now I would like to, and I need my lovely readers' help. The competition is being run by Cilantro Central, the coffee shop company I wrote...

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My Photographs in Print

2012-02-14T15:56:00.001+02:00

Cilantro is a coffee shop chain in Egypt and abroad--there's even one in London's Piccadilly. Every month Cilantro publishes a magazine for customers to peruse whilst sipping their mochas...

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The Life of a Doorman in the Modern Face of Egypt

2012-02-07T15:25:00.001+02:00

Egypt prides itself on being a pro-elite country, thanks to the status quo that has, for the better part of thirty years, studiously promoted the Egyptian dream--a carbon copy of the American dream,...

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Busying Myself with Nature in Tumultuous Times

2012-02-04T22:26:00.001+02:00

When I feel despair invading my veins, making its way to my heart, I look to nature to soothe my nerves and calm my mind. And nature always delivers, uplifting my spirits. The wind carries a soft but...

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Just When I Was at the Pit of Despair, I Was Shown Kindness

2012-02-03T23:39:00.000+02:00

This Friday afternoon found me sitting on a soft, green prayer mat in a mosque in Cairo, listening to the Imam's sermon on Egypt. I try to avoid crying in public, something about feeling vulnerable...

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Attending the Cairo Book Fair for the First Time

2012-01-30T23:11:00.000+02:00

For as long as I can remember, I have always wanted to go to the Cairo Book Fair. But there was a little problem. I was always thousands of miles away, in England, when it was held. I have known...

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Looking Back at the Week of January 25, 2011

2012-01-28T19:29:00.000+02:00

I was at my grandmother’s house last year on the week of January 25, huddled with my family under various blankets as we marvelled at how cold it actually got in Cairo. We had moved to the land of...

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A Bland Indira Indian Restaurant Experience at the Holiday Inn

2012-01-21T22:56:00.000+02:00

Still on the quest to find a good Indian restaurant in Cairo, I was quite excited to try Indira, under the assumption that since it was under hotel management, the food--and service--would be of high...

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My First Coptic Christmas Party in Egypt

2011-12-29T00:07:00.001+02:00

The sun floats above the horizon as I walk through the throng of bodies waiting outside the gates of a hotel situated on the outskirts of Cairo Airport. I almost feel lost in the midst of so many...

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An Extra-Large-Long Egyptian Film

2011-12-16T23:30:00.000+02:00

A year ago I vowed that I would never watch another Egyptian film at the cinema again. Modern-day Egyptian films are often vulgar, with tasteless double entendres. But I had to grudgingly accept the...

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Reflections During A Thousand Sunsets

2011-12-08T23:30:00.000+02:00

Sunsets that gently slumber under the Egyptian horizon offer a beautiful vista that I often take for granted. It is that time of day when people are either getting ready to go out under the...

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My Photography Portfolio

2011-12-05T16:03:00.001+02:00

I like to think that photography discovered me, or that I stumbled upon it accidentally. In between growing up and watching my father document every second of our lives with his SLR, camcorder and...

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Eating Like an Egyptian

2011-12-03T15:22:00.001+02:00

There's one thing you have to do in Egypt to really get a feel of the country and its people, and that's to eat Koshary. A traditional Egyptian dish, Koshary is carb-heaven, consisting of two...

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Egyptians Are Funny, Even in Politics

2011-11-26T21:54:00.001+02:00

Fabric banners and shiny, coloured posters have taken over the streets of Cairo in preparation for the first round of the November 28 parliamentary elections. Some streets even look like Oxford...

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Chaos Returns to the Motherland

2011-11-22T19:50:00.001+02:00

Panic, frenzy, chaos. My country, Egypt, is making headlines again. We thought we had buried the days preceding Mubarak's ouster for good, but it has resurfaced like a ghost as we watch the scenes of...

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Shooting the Pyramids

2011-11-20T00:09:00.001+02:00

The Great Pyramids of Giza are firmly mounted on an incline so that once you reach the top you can look down on the city of Cairo. Though the plateau is a bit steep for those not used to such...

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Spicing Up My Taste Buds at Raj's Indian Restaurant

2011-11-17T15:26:00.001+02:00

Several years ago Indian restaurants were rare in Cairo, meaning I would be forced to miss eating heavenly concoctions of spices and massala during my six-week vacation. Now these...

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English Tea Garden Party

2011-11-12T04:04:00.001+02:00

It's November and the sun is shining. I can't help smiling. If I were in England right about now I would be suffering from Seasonal Affective Disorder (S.A.D) from the lack of sunlight. But those...

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Egyptian Eid Food - And Lots of It

2011-11-10T18:37:00.001+02:00

It's official, I have overdosed on meat. For the past four days of Eid I have been invited to dinners where eating meat is not an option, unless you want to go home hungry. And on the last day of Eid...

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Photographing My Not So Secret Egyptian Garden

2011-11-08T00:02:00.000+02:00

Cairo is beautiful in November. September's humidity is a thing of the past and the nights are colder, meaning Egyptians have started to wear their winter clothes. The temperature in the morning is...

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Remembering the Dead

2011-11-07T12:12:00.000+02:00

What I found in Egypt is that Eid is not just about food, family and charity. It's also about remembering those who have passed away. That's why on the first day of Eid graveyards are packed with...

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Picturesque Scenes on Eid in Egypt

2011-11-06T22:27:00.001+02:00

Cairo is transformed in the early hours of the morning of Eid before dawn breaks. Traffic is no longer part of the landscape as we speed down the road in the car, hoping to make it in time for the...

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'Twas the Night Before Eid

2011-11-05T22:07:00.000+02:00

There is a frenzy in the sweet November air as Egyptians prepare for the major Eid holiday. The streets are usually packed with families food shopping for the party they will hold on the day,...

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Halloween in Egypt

2011-11-01T14:30:00.000+02:00

Halloween goes unnoticed in Egyptian society as a whole; there's something about celebrating the world of the dead by dressing up as ghosts and witches that would make a traditional Egyptian think...

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The Vanilla Ice-cream Shaped Flower

2011-10-29T22:45:00.000+02:00

I am always secretly thrilled when I see new flowers bloom in my garden. In England I would wait for nature's thermometer to bloom in the form of daffodils and tulips to announce the arrival of...

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