One night you go to an Italian restaurant for a nice zesty dinner; on another, you crave a spicy chicken curry dish with rice from an Indian restaurant while on some other nights you opt for desserts and a fresh brew of coffee. Same old outings in the same old venues? Perhaps, but for an …

Smoking kills and is harmful to your health. That is the warning message on most cigarette boxes that we all see but ignore. But understanding the warning’s implications could save your life, especially if you count yourself as a non-smoker. Breathing other people s smoke is called passive, involuntary or second hand smoking. When a …

For a city of Cairo’s size and population, there is a paucity of venues for straight up booty shaking. Maybe because the concept of “going out dancing isn’t prevalent amongst Cairenes, so there are very few clubs per se. Any place where one can dance often doubles as a restaurant of some sort. Yet these …

“When you sit on the balcony, it’s like paradise It’s another busy, smoggy day in Agouza and the noisy torrent of cars, taxis and buses is reaching its fever pitch. Rush hour is kicking into high gear and the road warriors aren’t holding back. Horns blare, engines roar and the smell of petrol is so …

Advertising is to blame. Women are under a lot of pressure to provide a healthy home environment for their families and it seems that the measure of a mother’s love is how white her husband’s and children’s shirts and still manage to throw together a delicious gourmet meal at the end of the day. After …

CAIRO: Omar has a beautiful and rare pedigree Cocker Spaniel called Spice. Spice has come of age to breed, so Omar uploaded a picture of his canine on a pet website (petsmarche.com) and soon after got many . er . marriage proposals for his best friend. The website was actually set up about five years …

Some think that putting information together on a piece of paper is what a resume is all about. They are wrong. In a world with thousands of job seekers, if not millions, resumes compete for employers attention. Fiascos are ignored without a second thought and the rest are judged with the scale of very good …

It is the peak of winter. The temperature has dramatically dropped to five and four degrees at night, with threats of winds and heavy rain looming large. Result: colds, flus and other winter-related maladies. The common cold is, as the name suggests, the most common human disease. Adults catch between two and four colds a …

Anybody who plays a musical instrument knows how difficult it is to find quality instruments and accessories in Cairo. Although there are many music shops in the city, the range and quality on offer is not comparable to what you would find abroad. It’s not a surprise since there is no burgeoning market for musical …

The global phenomenon of semi-precious stone costume jewellery has made women happy by making them feel exclusive; and made men happy by lifting the burden of precious stone jewellery off their wallets. In Egypt the market is huge. There is such high demand that both established and new designers are coming up with fabulous, innovative …

Along the 200-kilometer stretch of South Africa’s Garden route, one of the world’s most scenic drives and few eco-destinations left in the world, is a little secret: Oubaai. A long, long time ago ancestors of the Dutch man climbed the high mountains to reach Africa and came out at an old bay; and that is …

Sex can survive a marriage, but rekindle your passion Despite being a taboo subject, whispered conversations among friends and open discussion with professional therapists confirm that many couples are suffering in “sexless marriages. Between grueling hours at work – for both the husband and wife, being subjected to high levels of stress, and demanding kids …

Maybe getting our friends into the same apartment, so that we can each unload a virtual Uzi 9 mm machine pistol into the others’ backs, would be fun. And as if by magic the LAN party was born. Many of you may recall Doom, Duke Nukem, or Descent, as a positive way to eat up …

When I was a kid, I hated raisins – their texture, the painful sweetness, how they looked so wrinkled and dry. It was bad enough having that granola cereal every morning, but my Mom had to throw in a handful of dried grapes to complete the nightmare. Of course, they surreptitiously ended up in the …

Men in pink, the return of the dress, the skinny pants and more 2006 fashion trends If it can be defined in one sentence, 2006 would be the return to femininity with sugar and spice and everything nice. After decades of boyish elegance, trendsetters decided to jazz up the classic concept of a woman, unleashing …

Tulaa is a Danish executive with a high-powered job who has visited Egypt many times. Among other attractions she enjoyed besides the Pyramids and the Nile was belly dancing. But more than a decade ago after Tulaa avidly watched a show staged by famous Egyptian belly dancer Nagua Fuad at the Cairo Marriott, she had …

Had Massimo s food not been great, bias would certainly have influenced my taste buds. Fortunately my journalistic integrity was not tested since every bite of every side dish, main course and drink was spectacular. And the reason for my bias? As we walked into the restaurant, the hostess greeted me so warmly, for a …

As the president of Digium, and creator of Asterisk, while on a crusade through Egypt, Mark Spencer talks to the Daily Star about his next steps, taking the tram, and his Egyptian lineage. What Spencer, an Egyptian-American, is most keen to talk about right off the bat is the free software application he created several …

Combining the social club feel with a psychiatrist’s clinic, hair and beauty centers in Egypt have taken on different personalities reflecting the stereotype of residents of the suburb in which the salon is located. A Maadi-dweller’s weekly agenda is usually marked with a date in a hidden basement full of people. An outsider would look …

For everyone who lives in Egypt, a huge part of traveling was always to shop. From underwear to dresses, starving Egyptians would raid the shops abroad for higher quality goods and a variation of products. Luckily, in the past two years an abundance of international labels spread throughout the country or Cairo anyway. With the …

The image of the 30-year-old woman used to be one with a couple of kids enrolled at a good school, a loving husband, a decent place to live, and maybe, or maybe not, an enjoyable job. The reality for the women who grew up with those images has been somewhat inverted, as they push ahead …

The trend of driving Sports Utility Vehicles (SUVs) and large super performance cars, a phenomenon that has plagued Europe for the past year, seems to finally have reached the streets of Cairo. On a small street in Zamalek, the driver of a Hummer, under heavy complaints from his date, is desperately trying to park the …

Respect your body, your equipment, and the Red Sea Egypt has been blessed with the Red Sea; you can swim in its warm waters, surf its windy swells, or dive its stunning depths. And in attempting to do the latter in bodies of water the world over, we humans have uncovered a life much less …

As the world gets more health conscious, people are substituting confectionery and chips with cereal bars – a healthier and less fattening alternative snack. Imported brands like Kellogg’s and Nature Valley have always been available, but lately a local product by Temmy’s has appeared on the shelves for about a fifth of the price. Temmy’s …

Alternative healing gaining ground in Cairo If pharmaceutical companies had their way, they would be bombarding us with cure-all multi-purpose pills, and in the process breed a generation of faux-hypochondriacs willing to pop a pill at the slightest suspicion of any incoming malady. In the meantime, some would gaze enviously at the East, how they …

The holiday season is always the best excuse to either throw or attend a party: Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year s Eve, and all the days in between. But so much labor goes into preparing for and hosting the party and perhaps showing the hostess (and host if she can persuade her …

CAIRO: Tired of loud traffic around downtown ahwas? Or over-the-top trendiness at Sequoia? Well, you can skip those places now. It’s easier than you think to enjoy shisha in your own home. A decent hookah, tobacco and coals can all be purchased for less than LE100. The first step to at-home shisha is, of course, …

If you think you are safe eating in your clean kitchen, think again. The kitchen is the dirtiest place in any home, nurturing millions of unseen germs on each object, surface and crevice. Every kitchen surface, from doorknobs, knife handles, surfaces to floors is contaminated with teeming bacteria that may cause food borne illness. With …

A popular Egyptian adage says “El Masry met-han gowa we bara – the Egyptian is demeaned inside and out [of their country]. This may explain why the desire du jour for many Egyptians is to possess a second, foreign passport. Whether giving you a way around Egyptian laws or giving you preferential treatment, a foreign …

Looking for a DVD rental? In a corner street in the Mohandiseen neighborhood, hidden amongst trees and buildings, is your solution. “Better Music is a small store loaded with everything from the latest movies to vinyl records. You can find movies of all genres, such as romantic comedy, action, period pieces, thrillers and drama. Best …