Cairo’s famed Tahrir Square has been in an aesthetic limbo for decades, neglected and defenceless against the city’s ravaging forces of chaos and decay. As the years went by, the square at the heart of the Egyptian capital was reduced to a little more than a sprawling intersection with some of the city’s worst traffic, pollution and noise.
No more.
Tahrir square has been getting the attention it deserves and is already looking nothing like its old self. For months now, the square has been receiving a facelift as revolutionary in its scope as it is unusual in detail.
The rehabilitation project is a just reward for a place that's steeped in Egypt’s modern history and has witnessed many of the momentous events that shaped the country in the last century.
The latest was in 2011 when the square became the birthplace of a popular uprising that forced autocratic ruler Hosni Mubarak to step down after 29 years in office.
For the next few years, the square continued to witness violent protests as the country became mired in political unrest before a November 2013 law effectively banned all protests, with offenders facing up to five years in prison.
The square has been at the heart of public life in Cairo since the late 19th century, when it was constructed as part of an ambitious drive by Egypt’s ruler at the time, Khedive Ismail.
The free-spending monarch set about modernising the city centre, with Art Deco apartment buildings designed by European architects becoming the most defining and enduring feature of the area. It was first named Ismailia square, then Horya, or freedom square before it was finally renamed Tahrir (liberation) square in the 1950s.
Now, it is undergoing a transformation that draws on different eras of the country’s history. With nearly two dozen buildings, including several of the city’s best-known landmarks overlooking the square, the makeover has transformed the area into an eye-pleasing example of urban beautification, complete with palm trees, artistic lighting and large patches of emerald-green lawn.
The centrepiece of the square will now be a 19-meter-high pharaonic obelisk discovered in the Nile delta north of Cairo, and four sphinx-like statues with the body of a lion and the head of a ram.
The 3,000-year-old statues come from the Karnak temple in the southern city of Luxor. Their transfer to Cairo was decried by archaeologists and conservationists, who say the statues would be irreparably damaged by Cairo’s pollution.
At the time of their transfer, Mustafa Al Sagheer, the antiquities chief for the Karnak temple, said the four statues were from a recently discovered cache that had been there since about 700-800 BC. “The decision to remove them was made after exhaustive studies by experts,” he said. “All precautionary measures have been taken to preserve them.”
Yasmine El Dorghamy, a heritage expert, believes the obelisk is a “suitable” monument for the square given its height and the resilient granite it’s made of. But she is concerned about the durability of the four sphinxes.
“They are made of sandstone and that is not very sturdy. They may not last long before they show signs of tear and wear,” she said. “Besides that, I don’t mind at all what they are doing.”
In many ways, the overhaul of the square has shown the government’s commitment to a project that costs millions at a time when its focus has shifted to protecting the economy from the ravages of the coronavirus pandemic.
Already, President Abdel Fatah El Sisi has postponed the inauguration of all mega projects he has patronised since taking office in 2014 until next year. The only exception is the Tahrir Square makeover, a feel-good undertaking that’s expected to be inaugurated on June 30.
That date marks the seventh anniversary of the mass street protests that led to the removal by the military of Mohammed Morsi, an Islamist president whose one-year rule proved divisive.
Separately, authorities seeking to bring aesthetic uniformity to the site have removed the giant advertising billboards that sat for decades atop the Art Deco buildings around the square.
Even branches of fast food chains KFC and Hardee’s were forced to replace their trademark red signs with off-white ones to match the rest of the square.
Dozens of palm trees have also been planted, interspersed with grass areas and benches.
In some ways, the facelift indicates the government’s intention not to abandon Cairo when its ministries, parliament and the president move next year to a new capital built in the desert east of the capital. But the overhaul of the square is also an attempt to attract more visitors to an area that has traditionally been a prime site for tourists.
Many come to see the 150-year-old palace that has for decades been the flagship building of the Tahrir campus of the famed American University in Cairo. After 90 years in Tahrir and the surrounding area, the AUC moved in 2009 to a sprawling campus in a suburb east of the city.
The move was in large part a reflection of an ongoing trend for businesses, schools and well-to-do families to leave the overcrowded city for the suburbs in search of a better quality of life.
Last year the palace was turned into the centrepiece of a cultural centre geared towards a revival of art and culture in the city’s central area.
“The AUC was once the beating heart of everything that went down in the downtown area. When the university moved to New Cairo (the suburb east of Cairo), it left a vacuum behind. Now we want to ensure that the AUC thrives again as a centre of arts and culture,” Tarek Atia, managing director of the Tahrir Cultural Centre and Campus said.
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Los Angeles, from Dh4,975 return, including taxes. The flight time is 16 hours. Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico and Southwest all fly direct from Los Angeles to San Jose del Cabo from Dh1,243 return, including taxes. The flight time is two-and-a-half hours.
The trip
Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic’s eight-day Whales Wilderness itinerary costs from US$6,190 (Dh22,736) per person, twin share, including meals, accommodation and excursions, with departures in March and April 2018.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
Penguin
Results:
5pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic (PA) Prestige Dh 110,000 1.400m | Winner: AF Mouthirah, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic (PA) Prestige Dh 110,000 1,400m | Winner: AF Saab, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 80,000 1,600m | Winner: Majd Al Gharbia, Saif Al Balushi, Ridha ben Attia
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship (PA) Listed Dh 180,000 1,600m | Winner: RB Money To Burn, Pat Cosgrave, Eric Lemartinel
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap Dh 70,000 2,200m | Winner: AF Kafu, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 100,000 2,400m | Winner: Brass Ring, Fabrice Veron, Ismail Mohammed
Gran Gala del Calcio 2019 winners
Best Player: Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus)
Best Coach: Gian Piero Gasperini (Atalanta)
Best Referee: Gianluca Rocchi
Best Goal: Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria vs Napoli)
Best Team: Atalanta
Best XI: Samir Handanovic (Inter); Aleksandar Kolarov (Roma), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Joao Cancelo (Juventus*); Miralem Pjanic (Juventus), Josip Ilicic (Atalanta), Nicolo Barella (Cagliari*); Fabio Quagliarella (Sampdoria), Cristiano Ronaldo (Juventus), Duvan Zapata (Atalanta)
Serie B Best Young Player: Sandro Tonali (Brescia)
Best Women’s Goal: Thaisa (Milan vs Juventus)
Best Women’s Player: Manuela Giugliano (Milan)
Best Women’s XI: Laura Giuliani (Milan); Alia Guagni (Fiorentina), Sara Gama (Juventus), Cecilia Salvai (Juventus), Elisa Bartoli (Roma); Aurora Galli (Juventus), Manuela Giugliano (Roma), Valentina Cernoia (Juventus); Valentina Giacinti (Milan), Ilaria Mauro (Fiorentina), Barbara Bonansea (Juventus)
Who is Ramon Tribulietx?
Born in Spain, Tribulietx took sole charge of Auckland in 2010 and has gone on to lead the club to 14 trophies, including seven successive Oceania Champions League crowns. Has been tipped for the vacant New Zealand national team job following Anthony Hudson's resignation last month. Had previously been considered for the role.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
More coverage from the Future Forum
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
THE SIXTH SENSE
Starring: Bruce Willis, Toni Collette, Hayley Joel Osment
Director: M. Night Shyamalan
Rating: 5/5
Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
Tewellah by Nawal Zoghbi is out now.
About Seez
Company name/date started: Seez, set up in September 2015 and the app was released in August 2017
Founder/CEO name(s): Tarek Kabrit, co-founder and chief executive, and Andrew Kabrit, co-founder and chief operating officer
Based in: Dubai, with operations also in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon
Sector: Search engine for car buying, selling and leasing
Size: (employees/revenue): 11; undisclosed
Stage of funding: $1.8 million in seed funding; followed by another $1.5m bridge round - in the process of closing Series A
Investors: Wamda Capital, B&Y and Phoenician Funds
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
