Along with the suburban lifestyle adopted by Egyptians who have moved to the compounds on the capital’s outskirts, is the variation in international holidays. Last Wednesday (and in some cases Thursday), children dressed as vampires, witches and pirates took to the landscaped streets of compounds and went house-to-house demanding treats. Spiderman – though surprisingly much …

When I feel like treating myself to a good Italian meal where I know I’ll get my money’s worth, I always go to Bella at the Four Seasons Nile Plaza. Not only is the food of perfect quality, but the whole experience serves as a much needed time-out from stressful Cairo. The most important thing …

Online meeting place Facebook is cleaning up its act. New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo announced last week an agreement with social networking website Facebook to enforce safeguards against obscene content and sexual predators using the site. The agreement calls for Facebook to respond and begin addressing complaints of nudity or pornography or unwelcome contact …

The US Food and Drug Administration has decided to put more prominent warnings of potential hearing loss on impotence drugs Viagra, Cialis and Levitra. An FDA statement said the goal was to display more prominently the potential risk of sudden hearing loss, and to guide consumers on what to do if they experience sudden problems …

Anything short of an uninterrupted seven hours of sleep, and I’m a force to be reckoned with in the morning. The children have to tiptoe around me so as not to unleash my wrath, my husband hands me a cup of coffee before he utters a word that might trigger an unwarranted response, and I’m …

CAIRO: Literally glittering with lights, the Sofitel El Gezirah was officially inaugurated on Oct. 24. Accor CEO Gilles Pelisson along with the CEO of Sofitel Worldwide Yann Caillere, Chairman of EGHTC Sherif Maghraby and the hotel’s General Manager Dino Van Eeckhaut welcomed over 1,500 distinguished guests to the lavish event. Also honoring the opening of …

It s not just the feeling of wow, because you can get wow from anything. You can get wow from a 100-foot-atrium in a corporate hotel, Herbert Ypma, author of the Hip Hotels guidebook series, said in an interview from his London offices. Instead, Ypma looks for highly individual places that are capturing and reflecting …

It is 7 am in Giza and you can smell the dawn. For a short while the Cairene pollution is bathed the color of peaches. Beyond the garish papyrus emporia and the awakening touts, 40-odd centuries of towering pyramidal history look down on an outpost of Kentucky Fried Chicken and a cohort of horses. The …

Safe, known as the fitness convention of the Middle East, was launched at a press conference in Cairo on Thursday evening, promising to be bigger and better than ever. Under the patronage of Minister of Tourism Zoheir Garana, the convention, now in its second edition, has been given the name “Global Wellness. Body and Soul. …

If that craving for chocolate sometimes feels like it is coming from deep in your gut, that s because maybe it is. A small study links the type of bacteria living in people s digestive system to a desire for chocolate. Everyone has a vast community of microbes in their guts. But people who crave …

“The pretty English rose has grown thorns, Burberry Prorsum designer Christopher Baily told British Vogue magazine in its September issue. In a nutshell, his words captured the fall 2007 fashion trends. The romantic summer look is long gone. Remember how comfortable you were, with those over-sized loose tops and dresses? Well that’s gone too because …

Singapore Airline s Airbus A380, the world s largest and most modern jetliner, arrived Wednesday in its new home, ahead of a historic flight next week that its makers say will redefine luxury in the air. Freshly painted with the airline s peacock logo on its tail, the double-decker A380 touched down on schedule at …

While it was difficult at first to imagine that a 704-square-kilometer island could hold so many ethnicities and cultures, just by standing close to Raffles Statue and looking at the river, it’s easy to understand the contrasts Singapore combine. Here, it was clear how Singapore has infused these cultures and intertwined the different phases of …

The few times I’ve been to Pause Café I was dismayed by their slow inattentive service. The place is remarkably understaffed. The food isn’t great either. Nonetheless I kept on going back. It’s not easy to find an open air café away from traffic noise and the imposing cloud of car exhausts. Not in Heliopolis …

The SAFE Convention, now known as the Fitness Convention of the Middle East, is going to take place in Cairo for the second time at the end of October 2007 under the patronage of Minister of Tourism Mohamed Zoheir Garranah,. In September 2005, SAFE Academy, organized and hosted the first International Fitness Convention in the …

Telephones, fax machines, cell phones and emails have all facilitated communication and made postal letters, telegrams and official invitations a thing of the past. Only wedding invitations have made it through the digital age unscathed, sustaining their status as the formal way to tell someone you’re getting married, and that they’re invited to the wedding. …

It’s been said that married couples live longer, but a recent study reveals that not all marriages stand the test of time. A lousy marriage might literally make you sick. Marital strife and other bad personal relationships can raise your risk for heart disease, researchers reported earlier this week. What it likely boils down to …

Once you start practicing scuba diving it will be hard for you to give it up. You will certainly choose to get better and better and you will start better and more challenging places to dive. The existing variety of destinations is practically endless and you ll have a hard time making a decision. You …

Friday August 17th 3:30 pm After waking up rather late and devouring a much needed local breakfast of eggs and fuul, we headed off to the big Marassi beach bash. Marassi is the name given to Emaar’s new development on the bay of Sidi Abdel Rahman. The breathtaking bay was taken over by Emaar to …

The weather is getting better again to the point of being chilly at night, or perhaps it’s the fasting all day then suddenly eating that makes it feel that way. Ramadan this year has seen a third addition to the two-way mainstream of people; those addicted to TV series. This year there is a show …

On a chilled out Ramadan week night, going to a commercial tent may not be the ideal outing for everybody. Yet you probably don’t feel like staying home night after night; I know I don’t. An old spot rediscovered is the promenade at the Cairo Marriott Hotel, where you can enjoy good weather in a …

There’s good news for all the sportsmen that crowd Cairo’s football fields during Ramadan. A friendly game of football works off more fat and builds up more muscle than jogging, new research shows. Danish scientists, who conducted their research on 37 men, also found the football players felt less tired after exercising than the joggers …

As summer around the Mediterranean shifts into high gear every August, the world s beautiful people and everyone else hoping to ride their coat-tails can usually – predictably – be found at the tried and tested destinations of Ibiza, Saint Tropez, Mykonos, Bodrum et al, while the more discerning folks head to Croatia, Formentera, Panarea, …

“I love your new do! Tell me, who does your hair? is an enthusiastic question all Paul’s clients are used to. Paul has become a household name in Cairo, since he first landed from France nine years ago. He first opened the acclaimed international hair salon chain Jacques Dessange, and became very popular among his …

The first 10 days of Ramadan are over, that means all the family iftars are done and people head to the streets and see a new side of the city that only comes to life during Ramadan. So I took to the streets of Cairo myself and after battling to find a busy spot that …

It is probable that when the Four Seasons chose a Moroccan theme this year for their annual Ramadan spread, they had Morocco’s wonderful, fast-breaking ‘Harira ba Karouia’ soup in mind. Brimming with lamb, lentils, chickpeas, tomatoes, vegetables, herbs and spices, all stirred in with lemon and egg strands, this mouth-watering concoction goes some way towards …

As our community becomes global, Skype is becoming a popular way to circumvent costly international calls. At a time like Ramadan, where you can call family and friends spread across more than five countries, to wish them well, chatting on your Skype phone seems like a good idea. Or maybe not. Skype users are under …

During Ramadan, ironically, food is plentiful. Family and friends gather around the dining room table at iftar, partially to indulge in a meal after a day’s fasting, but also to enjoy the company. While calendars are chockfull of iftar and sohour engagements, it’s also a time for hosting guests. The ordinary pressures of preparing a …

For 1,000 years, this city on a hilltop has been a center of Islamic faith in the Horn of Africa, with a forbidding, 13-foot wall surrounding ancient mosques and serpentine alleyways. If you’re looking for an exotic destination for your Eid holiday, then this might fir the bill. Harar leaders are hoping it can become …

If the world needs another sign that Britney Spears look is yesterday s news, check out New York Fashion Week. Gone are the skin-centric, tummy-revealing and exposing trends that Spears and friends like Paris Hilton made ubiquitous. Instead, designers are embracing modesty, using sheer fabrics and lingerie looks to subtly hint at sexiness. It s …