Greek Community of Alexandria

Category: EGYPT

News about Egypt

  • Egyptian artist hopes for record with 700-meter Koran

    Egyptian artist hopes for record with 700-meter Koran

    An Egyptian artist who educated himself after dropping out of school has spent three years creating what he hopes is the world’s biggest Koran.

    Saad Mohammed, who has hand-painted Islamic motifs on the walls and ceilings of his home in the town of Belqina, north of Cairo, has reproduced the Muslim holy book on a paper scroll 700 meters long.

    He displays the intricately decorated manuscript in a large wooden box with rollers at each end.

    “This Koran is 700 meters long, and of course that’s a large amount of paper,” he told Reuters Television. “I self-funded this project for the past three years – and I’m an average person. I don’t have assets or anything.”

    Mohammed wants to submit his Koran for inclusion in Guinness World Records. Guinness says that while there is a record for the world’s biggest printed Koran, there is so far no record holder for the largest handwritten version.

    Mohammed says he is hoping for help with the costs of applying to Guinness from the government or any other interested party.

    (www.reuters.com)

  • Egyptian archaeologists unearth tomb of 18th Dynasty magistrate in west Luxor

    Egyptian archaeologists unearth tomb of 18th Dynasty magistrate in west Luxor

    An Egyptian archaeological mission in Luxor has announced the discovery of a major tomb in the city’s west bank area dating back to the 18th Dynasty and containing priceless artefacts.

    Mostafa Waziry, Director General of Luxor Antiquities, told reporters on Tuesday that the tomb, which was unearthed in the Deraa Abu El-Nagaa necropolis, most likely belonged to the city’s counsullor Usrhat.

    The New Kingdom funerary collection includes dozens of statues, coffins and mummies.

    Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany told Ahram Online that, despite the tomb’s small size, it represents an important discovery due to the funery collection being largely intact.

    Waziry, who heads the Luxor achaeological mission, told Ahram Online that the tomb was first mentioned in the early 20th century but it had never been excavated before because its entrance was only located in March.

    He said that, despite having been reused in the Late Period, the tomb still contains most of its original funery collection.

    The contents include well-preserved wooden coffins decorated with coloured scenes, as well as wooden funerary masks and almost 1,000 ushabti figurines carved in faience, terra-cotta and wood. Also found was a collection of clay pots of different shapes and sizes.

    The tomb is a typical example of a nobleman’s resting place, Waziry said, with a t-shaped structure consisting of an open court leading into a rectangular hall, a corridor and an inner chamber.

    Excavations continue to reveal the tomb’s secrets, with an inner chamber containing a cachette of sarcophagi from the 21st Dynasty with mummies wrapped in linen. Experts are examining the mummies to discover the identities of the dead and the reasons for their deaths.

    A nine-metre-deep shaft was also uncovered, connected to two rooms.

    (english.ahram.org.eg)

  • Gunmen Kill Police in Attack Near Egypt’s Iconic St. Catherine’s Monastery

    Gunmen Kill Police in Attack Near Egypt’s Iconic St. Catherine’s Monastery

    Gunmen attacked security forces near St. Catherine’s Monastery in Egypt’s south Sinai on Tuesday, killing at least one police officer and injuring four others, the Health Ministry said, just a week after two deadly church bombings killed 45.

    Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attack on a police checkpoint about 800 meters (yards) from the entrance to the monastery, one of the world’s most important Christian sites.

    The attack comes just 10 days before Pope Francis is scheduled to visit Egypt and just over a week after two deadly suicide bombings on Christian churches, also claimed by Islamic State, plunged the country into mourning and marked one of the bloodiest days for the country’s Christian minority in decades.

    St . Catherine’s, founded in the 6th century and located at the foot of Mount Sinai, is one of the oldest Christian monasteries in the world and a UNESCO world heritage site. It is part of the Eastern Orthodox church.

    Egypt’s Christian minority, which makes up about 10% of the country’s 92 million people, has increasingly been targeted by Islamist militants, with three deadly church attacks in the span of four months.

    In February, scores of Christian families and students fled North Sinai province after a spate of targeted killings.

    A successful assault on St. Catherine’s would be the latest challenge to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has pledged to protect the religious minority as part of his campaign against extremism.

    Egypt has for years been battling an Islamist insurgency in the rugged and thinly populated northern Sinai, which gained pace after the military overthrew President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013 following mass protests against his rule.

    Attack s in Egypt’s southern Sinai, a popular destination for tourists dotted with Red Sea resorts, are by contrast rare.

    Security sources told Reuters that security had been put on high alert at tourist facilities across southern Sinai after the attack .

    The attack in southern Sinai comes as Russia is expected to make a long-awaited decision on whether to restore flights to the Sharm el-Sheikh resort after a Russian airliner was downed in 2015, dealing a serious blow to the area’s tourism industry, which relies heavily on Russian visitors.

    Egypt’s tourism industry, a crucial source of hard currency, has suffered in the years of turmoil that followed the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak in 2011, as well as from the suspected bombing of the Russian plane, which killed all 224 on board.

    Israel took the unusual step earlier this month of barring its citizens from crossing into the Sinai peninsula, saying the threat of attack s in the area inspired by Islamic State and other jihadi groups was high.

    (time.com)

  • 21 Killed in Church Bomb Attack in Egypt’s Tanta

    21 Killed in Church Bomb Attack in Egypt’s Tanta

    A bomb exploded Sunday at St. George’s church in Egypt’s Al Gharbeyya governorate, killing and injuring dozens.

    The explosion in Tanta left 21 dead and 42 injured, according to state-owned Al-Ahram newspaper. According to preliminary reports in state media, a bomb had been placed inside the church underneath a seat.

    In response to the attack, an emergency room has been set up by Egypt’s security departments. Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi also issued an order for military hospitals to treat all those injured.

    Meanwhile, Egypt’s Al-Azhar, the highest Sunni Islamic authority in Egypt, issued a strongly worded statement condemning the attack.

    This is the second attack to strike Tanta in less than 10 days. On 31 March, at least 16 people were injured when a bomb exploded outside a police training centre.

    The explosion comes as Coptic Christians started celebrations for Palm Sunday.

    This is the second church bombing to strike Egypt in six months. In December, dozens were killed after a bomb struck a chap connected to St Mark’s Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Cairo. ISIS claimed responsibility for the December 2016 attack.

    The story is still developing.

    (egyptianstreets.com)