Step away from the shoes: Tips for packing light
What s worse than lugging a heavy bag to your summer vacation spot, only to pop it open and find it filled with too many of all the wrong things?If…
A walk through Beirut in 48 hours
Ok, so everybody's heading to the north coast this summer. But you? You're tired of the same faces at all the same parties in Marina or the overcrowded beaches in…
Frenemy, locavore among new words in Webster's
SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts: Do you use a sock puppet to secretly keep track of your frenemies?Plan to spend your staycation watching vlogs and webisodes? Or perhaps you plan to signal a…
The Mogamma: Architectural gem or bureaucratic oddity?
The Mogamma. Much has been made of the administrative building which looms over Tahrir Square in all her majesty. And though loathed by many, its persistence in the Egyptian imaginary…
Babies and books: Attaba markets surviving troubled times
The tables went flying. The goods disappeared. The teeming market was liquidated in seconds. The police were coming by, and that was cause for panic in this Attaba market.Indeed, market…
Quest Means Business: The business of MJ
Last week I was in Los Angeles as part of the CNN team covering of the death of Michael Jackson. It has been a startling insight into the world of…
Philips Egypt flips the 'Green Switch'
CAIRO: Green energy is a hot topic around the world, and the trend is quickly spreading to Egypt and the wider MENA region. Though awareness of the benefits of green…
THE REEL ESTATE: Killing me softly with his movie
Halfway through watching "El-Safah (The Serial Killer), by the time my mind, body and soul went completely numb, Hany Salama's character opened a large window, and suddenly, a flood of…
Mercantilism Reconsidered
CAMBRIDGE: A businessman walks into a government minister's office and says he needs help. What should the minister do? Invite him in for a cup of coffee and ask how…
Anatomy of a Revolution Delayed
The ongoing conflict between Iran's rulers and the Iranian public is the result of a head-on collision between two contradictory forces. In recent years, public attitudes in Iran have become…