6 posts tagged “egyptian”
Now this is the third part from our trip with the time magazine covers we started here and there . At trip with history,politics and Art .
We stopped at the year 1970 , an important year in the history of the Arab world not only Egypt when President Nasser suddenly died in a critical time , Israeli invasion for the Arab lands and a Palestinian-Jordanian mini war going on and one question "Who is going to fill Nasser's vacancy ??' Yes according to the fact President Nasser chose Anwar El-Sadat to be his first vice president beside another 2 vice presidents ,El-Sadat became the the third President to Egypt.President El-Sadat who had one hell of a history pre-1952 coup managed through the years after the coup to keep a low profile for himself and I guess it was a smart thing from him to do so because he realized that there would be a deadly conflict on the leadership in the revolution council .Keeping a low profile made him like a riddle inside and outside ,he was regarded as weak puppet in the hands of the centers of Power till he surprised the Egyptians and the whole world with his corrective revolution on the 15th of May 1971 to get rid from all those anti-Sadat and Pro-Soviet in a single move
The world especially the west did not understand the move or understand what policy Anwar El-Sadat would work with, he was the riddle of the middle East ,the Underrated Heir who proved to be above all the expectations
President El-Sadat made his first appearance on the cover of the time on the 17th of May 1971 , just two days after from the corrective movement he made . He was the third president and the fourth leader to appear on the cover of the time . That cover was very special , an illustration of Cartoon showing him like Sphinx in front of th pyramids , Sadat's head on the body of a lion and on the left side there was a ribbon written on it "The Middle east Riddle" , a very perfect cover to drew the attention of the reader who did not know who the Sadat was , a riddle that need to be understood in the middle east
After 3 years President Sadat appeared for the second time on June 24 ,1974 with Preisdent Nixon in a photo from the huge public reception the first American President received in Cairo and I think it would be the last , Nixon was the first American president to visit Egypt,Cairo since the famous visit of Roosevelt to the Suez Canal and his meeting with king Farouk.Already that visit was a bright point in the life of Nixon , the Americans are officially back in the heart of the Arab world after years of Soviet domination ,regardless of the claims of the Nasserists and Egyptian Communists ,President Nixon was received by huge welcome of the Egyptian people for the fact that they got sick from the Soviets "With my all respect to the leftists ,history is history". The Cover was a photo taken by Michele Laurant
The following year Sadat appeared on the cover of the magazine for the third time on April 7th 1975 , this time he was not alone , he was with other leaders from kings,prime ministers and Presidents of the World ,the cover story , which was more a whole section was about America and the world , mostly about King Faisal who was killed that year ,his death was not an easy thing , President Sadat was mentioned in three articles in that issue , the first about the death of the Saudi King , the second was a short report about the relations between the Soviets and the Arabs specifically President Sadat who was still counting on their arms and the third which was the most important of them about the Kissigner negotiations between Egypt and Israel and what went wrong in it. Those who appeared on the cover beside Sadat King Faisal 'May Allah bless his soul', Kissinger,Rabin and Thieu of South Vietnam then.
President Sadat appeared again in the same year on the cover of the time on June 9th year 1975 , a very important year on all level , the beginning of the open doors policy , the relations with the Americans and also the relations with the soviets, the opening of Suez canal on the 5 th of June and surely the talks between Cairo and ... "The magazine wickedly used the word Jerusalem despite it was n't and is not the capital of Israel yet" in brief it was one hell of watershed Week in Cairo . Another illustration for President Sadat , this time his face is well drawn in close up with the words "The Quest of Peace" Sadat was already for Peace but on what terms and how !!?? Sadat was the first Egyptian leader to appear twice in the same year till then ,that was the fourth time for him to be on the cover
Well year 1975 did not finish and President Sadat broke the record and appeared for the third time in the same year and the fifth in total on the cover of the magazine on August 25th in a very beautiful comic illustration by Jack Davis portraying Kissinger and a pigeon of Peace on his shoulder trying to make President Sadat and Rabin Shake hands , Sadat and Rabin both were wearing their military suites referring to their military background and rivalry and if you noticed Rabin got bandages over his hand and Sadat got a plaster on his forehead, both were skeptical while shaking the perfect illustration for a famous cartoonist to describe the cover story of Kissinger's visits between the two Countries to bring Peace in the middle east for the first time and the obstacles he was facing from both sides
After 2 years President Sadat made in August 8th 1977 it to the cover again for the sixth time ,yet this time he was not alone for the second time ,he was with other leaders from the world in a beautiful comic illustration , already he was not the center of the cover story that was represented graphically , the center of the cover story was President Jimmy Carter and his foreign policy in the Oval room dealing with the powers in the world and issues whether the Soviets or Europe or the middle east or Asia , it made him like Daniel in the den of the lions and that was the idea of the comic ,the foreign policies of the ex-Georgia Governor who was much less experienced in foreign affairs were under question, Carter came to a powerful world ,with powerful players in foreign policies who were like lions ,fierce lions whether West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt who described Carter as a faith healer or Egypt's President who looked in a Sphinx position for the second time , looking in a smart wicked way admired already the policy of Carter whom was called by an Egyptian official "An Arab more than the Arabs" and it seemed that it is true ,already Carter took a legacy from Kissinger that was the Peace talks between Arabs and Israelis especially with the arrival of Menachem Begin to power in Israel appearing less willing to comprise for Peace , he was another lion to be dealt with , of course those beside the two lions of the east U.S.S.R 'S Brezhnev and China's Hua Kuo-Feng
Two months Later President had to be on the time Cover again after his historical visit to Israel ,the historical visit was the cover story of the time November 28th 1977 , the sacred mission of President Sadat to return back the land and to bring Peace breaking the ice by himself,that was the seventh time and President Sadat broke the record
And if you think that would be his last appearance on the time cover in that year , you are wrong because he appeared for the 9th time on the Time that year for the third time in the same year on September 25th, he appeared in another comic illustration face to face with Begin ,the way to Peace was not easy for sure and the two parties who started the negotiations on the 17 of September in Camp David had suffered during that time till they appeared on the screen of TV Shaking hands and signing the camp David accords which were backbones of a Peace treaty between Egypt and Israel , President Carter's vision of Peace came true,still the cover made them more like rivals not Peace partners , you can feel it
President Sadat after that did not appear on the cover of the magazine alive again , but as a dead man after three years in 1981 in one of the most beautiful illustrated cover of the time ever , Simple yet full of meaning , the cover of the issue published on October 19,1981 after his assassination on the 6th of October from the same year, his assassination was the topic of the wonderful illustration , his face in front and in the background what happened in the Sad parade , the last public army Parade Egypt has seen till ,the exact sequence of events as it was seen on TV ,the air fights , the military vehicle and the attack of the terrorists on the podium. inside the edition there were about 9 articles about him whether sadness about his loss as a man of Peace ,how he changed the history, his passion for Peace,the American grief on their Egyptian Friend , the concerns after his death and the faithful pupil who took his place with a short interview with Mubarak 48 hours after the incident of course that was beside the international reaction .That time was the 10th time
President Sadat after that did not appear on the cover of the magazine alive again , but as a dead man after three years in 1981 in one of the most beautiful illustrated cover of the time ever , Simple yet full of meaning , the cover of the issue published on October 19,1981 after his assassination on the 6th of October from the same year, his assassination was the topic of the wonderful illustration , his face in front and in the background what happened in the Sad parade , the last public army Parade Egypt has seen till ,the exact sequence of events as it was seen on TV ,the air fights , the military vehicle and the attack of the terrorists on the podium. inside the edition there were about 9 articles about him whether sadness about his loss as a man of Peace ,how he changed the history, his passion for Peace,the American grief on their Egyptian Friend , the concerns after his death and the faithful pupil who took his place with a short interview with Mubarak 48 hours after the incident of course that was beside the international reaction .That time was the 10th time
As I said that was the last time for him on the cover of the time Magazine Cover where he had appeared more than any previous or next Egyptian President , in total he appeared for 10 times from year 1971 to 1981 .He appeared Solo for five times and the other five he appeared with other leaders.Three of those covers were photographs where as the rest were illustrations.
President Sadat surely appeared all those times due to his role in the international Peace , what made him earn it and on the contrary of President Nasser he was a friend to the west yet not a weak ally but a powerful man who was ready for Peace on the basis of Land and Justice , President Sadat again was not a weak puppet like those Arab weak leaders from Presidents and Kings Now
Ok this reminds me with the "Last Samurai"
All this time I thought that we only depended on the French expertise in the Egyptian army in the 19 century ,but I turned to be wrong
We depended on American expertise too
In the time of Khedive Ismail "This man seemed had great ambitions for Egypt but could not do it right as his grand father late Mohamed Ali Pasha
Now the American generals and officers Ismail brought to Egypt helped us in discovering Africa and river Nile , already real Egyptian historians know that Egyptian Army discovered lake Victoria before the British and it was even called lake Ismail !!
Americans in the Egyptian Army
Here this is the website ,read it ,you will find very interesting historical facts
This week by the way there was a lecture some where about this
I believe this can be considered the first brick in the Egyptian - American relationship
The Muslim Students Association of the US and Canada is having a campaign to raise 25,000 for the family of the Egyptian victim in the Virginia Tech. Walid Shalaan
If you are able to help it will be great ,just click the link below
Link to MSA of the US & Canada
To tell you the truth I didn't pay much attention to the massacre that happened in the Virginia Tech ,yes it is horrible and I felt so sad to the families of the victims and angry that they lost their beloved ones because some crazy manic But I felt even more sadder and angrier when I knew that there was an Egyptian among the victims who were killed by crazy Cho.
It turned out among the victims according to Virginia Tech. institute the Egyptian researcher Walid Mohamed Shabaan from Zagagzig in Delta , a doctoral student in civil engineering , he was working in the national center for Water researches and had a personal scholarship for PHD there since August 2006.
An excellent and bright scientist and researcher as I knew today , a good son and father of a baby that he didn't see and won't see except in the other life , his baby boy Khaled is only 1 year and 5months
There is no much about him in the American media ,I don't know why they neglected him , I check the New York Times and I found nothing , in the American TV the same thing
Already I think his story is tragic even more tragic than many of the victims because this young man finished his study ,took his degree and was supposed to leave and return back home to Egypt on that day of the massacre , he should have returned home by today
Instead he will return home dead
The only thing I think that will bring peace to his family and beloved ones ,also to the victims families that this man and those victims are in heaven because they are science and knowledge seekers and in Islam the science and knowledge Seeker is like the fighter for rightness ,there is a prophetical quote for prophet Mohamed "PBUH" in what it means that the Angels protect the Knowledge seeker when he is away from home , if he dies he will go to heaven
May Allah bless his soul and the souls of the other victims and give patience to their families and those who will miss them
Please read the fataha on the soul of Dr. Walid Shalaan
Sources
MSNBC : Profiles of victims
Filbalad : An Egyptian researcher among the victims
Al-Ahram : Walid wanted to return to Egypt
Just from few seconds I knew that the famous Egyptian Painter Salah Taher "96 years old" had passed away tonight, tomorrow insh Allah will be the funeral. Taher had been sick for some time now and he was in hosiptal in the last couple of weeks ,the last time I read his name in the newspaper was that his health was going down
May Allah bless his soul
Salah El-Din Taher Mohammad was born in Cairo in the 12th of May 
1911 in Abassia quarter,He graduated from the school of fine Arts in Egypt in year 1934 , and worked there as a professor there in year 1944 , he had worked in many important positions officially ,yet his real fame came not from his work as manager here and there ,but his work as painter
Taher is one of the most important painters Egypt knew in the modern time , he was an excellent painter may Allah bless his soul.He was very talented , he was very famous for his protaits which were very beautiful. His painting ,the original paintings are very expensvie . He had over 1000 painting in his long life
These are some of his sketchs that were shown in Zamalek Art Gallery last year
Here you are with his painting
"Light and Shapes"
Taher was known as the painters of Presidents and Kings as he painted the protaits of the guests of Egypt from Kings and presidents and other famous people like President Anwar Sadaat and Om Kalthoum.
Unfortunately I can't find anything online for his famous protaits but insh Allah I post them as soon my hand find them
May Allah bless his soul tonight , please pray for him ,if you are Muslim then you know what to do read the Fataha S
o you imagine one day James Bond can be a real person ??
Do you imagine that someone can live a life in the same style ?? Espionage,Women,gambling,cars and living on the edge for your country
No one really, in fact in the last Bond movie "Casino Royale"
we find a character other than that we know the character we used to
know for the last 30 years , the Blonde human Bond and thus Bond
producers and Makers understand that in real life there may be no Bonds
But to their surprise and our surprise we will find that there was a person who can be a living example for 007 ,he was Egyptian
And his name was Ihab Na'af and he died on the 30 of last December 2006 quietly in Cairo in a strange way, not even an obituary was written for him in Al-Ahram newspaper
He was born in Cairo in the year 1935 in Cairo for a wealthy family ,also famous in the showbiz , as his cousins were the Zoulfakr brothers "Mahmoud,Ezz El-Din and Salah" ,also he was related to the famous Shakib sisters "Zozo and Mimi"
Yet despite his dashing look he didn't work in the showbiz ,he joined the Egyptian Air forces in year 1952 and graduated as Air fighter pilot in 1955. Ihab was a qualified pilot that he was the special pilot of President Nasser till the 1960s ,I believe till 1962
After that he suddenly became famous to the Egyptian Society when he married the famous movie star then "the virgin of the Cinema" as they used to call her Majda El-Sabhy ,whom he met in the some evening in the Russian Embassy in 1963 and fall in love according to El-Sabhy version of the story
After his marriage he formed a duet with the mega superstar and producer then and presented about 7 or 10 movies ,I don't remember ,the famous ones are "The Naked Truth","The last kiss" and "That Man I love", of course there were others he acted in without Majda like Hend Rostom "The nun" and with Faten Hammah in that wonderful romantic movie "Something in My life" {The only movie I love for him really }
Beside their acting and producing together , Ihab and Majda gave birth to a girl "Ghada" who also turned to an actress like her mother
In 1970s ,in 1973 I guess they were divorced and since the man was almost vanish for the public memory except may be appearing in 1990sin some television movie ,other than that he was just some pretty face appeared for some time in the Egyptian Cinema , not that talented, many believed he was just like the ice-cream ,pretty but so so so so cold
Yet really few knew who was that man for real and what he was doing for living
Ihab Na'af since 1960s was working for the Egyptian Intelligence , and it seemed to me that he was more like an under covered agent , his book about his memoirs made a shock for everyone even his own daughter Ghada , political surprises ,shocking confession about personalities from actors ,singers,kings and even about presidents of Egypt . Ihab who was very old then was surprised with the attack from every body , even the so-called liberal writers like Khaled Monster described him as the male version of "Etamad Khorshid" !!!
What I read about the book in the newspaper didn't make me hate the man because I know for sure that every single word in that book is true from the political facts not his personal life but the political facts ,as that book was reviewed in the Egyptian intelligence word by word ,so he wouldn't put a single word about what he did in the secret service if didn't really took place
Your Egyptian scheherezade will stop here because I don't want you to get bored ,so come back soon Coz the story has just began ,I swear that man was did more than James Bond did in 30 years
