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Urban planning
Will they open the Andalus?
One of the quirkier -- and more disturbing -- aspects of Cairo is the fact that some of its most beautiful gardens and parks seem to be of the "look but don't touch" variety. The grass is cut, the shrubs are trimmed, the flowers are blooming, and the gates are locked shut. It's amazing that in a city with so many people and so little green space, that the few havens of nature that do exist are actually closed to the general public. One prime example of this tragedy is the exquisite Andalus gardens on the banks of the Nile near the Qasr El-Nil bridge downtown. Famous as a background scene in dozens of movies and video clips, the gardens have been closed to the public since 1991. Now, reports Al-Wafd, they may be set to open for this Monday's Eid El-Adha holiday. In its investigative feature on the subject, however, the paper's reporter, Walaa Namatallah, was still unable to get a really straight answer from officials. It seems the seeds of hope that the garden would be re-opened began when Cairo governor Abdel-Rehim Shehata was taking a tour of the parks lining the banks of the Nile, and ordered that they be spruced up and opened to the public for the eid. But we'll have to wait till Monday to find out if that actually happens.
Politics/headline news
Taking Powell for a ride
Most of the papers got a kick out of US Secretary of State Colin Powell asking Jordan's King Abdalla if he could take the king's fancy Mercedes for a spin. Pictures of an extremely excited Powell running around the side of the car from the passenger side to the driver's side were featured prominently on the front pages of most of the papers near the end of Powell's visit to the region last week. Apparently, Powell wanted to put the pedal to the metal, but security officials didn't allow him to go as fast as he wanted.
Happy Eid
Eid El-Adha (The Feast of the Sacrifice) will begin on Monday March 5. The Muslim holiday commemorates Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail at God's command. The holiday is celebrated with early-morning prayers, small gifts for children, sacrificing of sheep and distribution of meat to the needy, as well as extensive social gatherings. Public sector employees will be off all this week, and the private sector will have three days holiday.
Sports
Zamalek takes charge
Zamalek practically guaranteed its seat atop the clubs league with its victory over arch-rival Ahly on Friday night. The 3-1 contest, the 87th match between the two teams, wasn't even close, beginning with a 5th minute header goal by Hossam Hassan, on a cross from Hazem Imam. Zamalek now leads the league with 52 points, with Ahly trailing way behind in second at 45. After the game, the streets were packed with Zamalek fans flaunting the victory.
Will Hossam play?
Zamalek's star striker Hossam Hassan, who scored two goals in the team 3-1 victory over arch-rival Ahly on Friday night, told reporters that he will not be playing any more international matches with the Egyptian national team. Hassan's comments came in the wake of a great deal of negative coverage in the press following the Egyptian national team's lackluster performance against Namibia in a World Cup qualifying match last week. The team's next match is against Algeria, next week. Hassan holds the world record for most international matches played, with 156, and has scored 80 international goals. He is set to be honored by FIFA during the Egyptian team's match with Senegal on May 6. But will he change his mind before the Algeria contest, or at least the Senegal game? That remains to be seen.
Strange global news
I really want that number
A Saudi man paid $85,000 -- what might be the highest price ever paid -- for a unique mobile phone number. According to a tiny item on the back page of a recent Al-Wafd -- which did not reveal the number -- there have also been ads appearing in Saudi papers recently offering people no less than a thousand dollars to sell their phone numbers, as long as they are unique and easy to remember.
Archaeology
Tragedy in Luxor
A young man who was looking for Pharaonic treasures under his house ended up dying, buried under the rubble created by the 3 meter deep, 5 meter wide trench he had dug to look for the treasure. Apparently, one of his neighbors -- the paper says he was a sorcerer of sorts -- had suggested to the young man that there was a Pharaonic treasure underneath his house. The young man took advantage of the fact that his father was out of town, and brought over a bunch of his friends to begin digging for the treasure. That's when tragedy struck, and the hole caved in on the young man, and he died.
Luxor police are investigating the incident, and they've also brought in antiquities officials in an attempt to get to the bottom of the mystery.
Miscellaneous
Israelis convert to Islam
Al-Wafd reports on its front page that nearly 1000 people converted to Islam at Al-Azhar over the past year. Al-Azhar Sheikh Mohamed Sayed Tantawi announced the figures during Indonesian President Abdel-Rahman Wahid's visit to the 1000-year-old mosque and university during the D-8 summit of developing Islamic nations last week. Amongst those who converted, the paper says 100 were American, 37were from the Philippines, and 3 were Israelis.
Ad watch
Will karate sell food?
A chain of Chinese restaurants is trying to make Far Eastern food more accessible to average Egyptians, and its using standard cliches to do it. The Gulf Royal Chinese Restaurants' ad in a recent Al-Ahram features a picture of Bruce Lee along with an offer for a meal called the Kung Fu express. This combo meal costs LE15, and if you buy two, you get the third one free. Will it work? Again, we'll just have to wait and see...
Browse previous news items by day
Wednesday 21/2--Friday 23/2--Tuesday 27/2
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