New Marriage Law comes into force

Any man wishing to marry an Egyptian woman where the age difference is 25 years or over, the groom of the marriage must present her with a National Bank of Egypt investment certificate at the value of 50,000 le to register the marriage contract.

Egypt is now tightening up unlawful underage marriages, practice of Gulf Arabs buying  Summer brides and young Egyptian men marrying foreign wives to con them out of their money.

Gorgeous personalised Agendas available in Egypt

Gorgeous genuine Egyptian buffalo hide agendas are available now in Egypt.

I have just bought one and am delighted :)

You can personalize it yourself and have it couriered to your door for 155le inc courier.

They make really lovely gifts.

Contact Lulia to order and personalize yours :)

Link to seller

'Ethical Pet Shops' Initiative by two wonderful foreign ladies living in Cairo

Owners of Amin Pet Shop, Ma'adi, Cairo

Two wonderful ladies called Christine and Tracy have started a campaign to highlight animal abuse in pet shop in Egypt.
They discovered that most pet shops in Egypt keep their animals in appalling conditions with puppies and kittens mainly being dirty, malnourished and kept out in the heat in direct sunshine all day suffering from dehydration, so much so that during the intensive heat spell they themselves went every few hours to a pet shop near their home to spray the poor animals with water and give them food as the owner sat inside under his air conditioner oblivious to their distress.

Only when the ladies kicked up such a fuss and put his shop on their Facebook pages did he relent which was almost surely due to the fact that he was seeing negative exposure of his premises on the internet.

These ladies have started up a Facebook page called

Ethical, NON- Animal Selling Pet Shops In Egypt

https://www.facebook.com/groups/1689577204606473/?fref=nf

 This is their opening post 

 We can no longer sit back and watch innocent creatures suffer and die in these disgusting places that call themselves 'pet shops'

Unfortunately there are just too many neglecting and abusing animals daily for us to monitor and name and shame, so instead let's try to promote pet shops that DO NOT sell animals.
Let's give custom to the ones who only sell food and accessories etc. they deserve business for having the decency to understand that animals are living creatures, not possessions or objects to be sold and bought
Once animal selling pet shops start to loose business, isa they will wake up and change their attitudes
Hit them where it hurts - their pockets!!
This will also help towards the huge problem of breeding and puppy mills
If people stop buying animals, breeders will stop breeding them
PLEASE PLEASE let's try to help the pets of Egypt

They are highlighting GOOD ETHICAL PET SHOPS in their initiative so would my readers please take a moment to go to their Facebook page and support them, share them and like their page. 

Here is one great Ethical Pet Shop they are highlighting.

 
Amin Pet Food & Accessories, 76 Road 9, Maadi, telephone 23582857-23596182, mobile 01117776937

Raise in Electricity Tarrif effective from midnight tonight 1st August

من 0 إلى 50 بسعر 7.5 قرش للكيلو
من 51 إلى 100 بسعر 14.5 قرش للكيلو
من 0 إلى 200 بسعر 16 قرش للكيلو
من 201 إلى 350 بسعر 30.5 قرش للكيلو بدلا من 24 قرش
351 إلى 650 بسعر 40.5 قرش للكيلو بدلا من 34 قرش
من 650 إلى 1000 بسعر 84 قرش للكيلو بدلا من 78 قرش

Sexual Harassment Police Numbers To Call to report harassment

Please take note of these three numbers and call them if you witness or are a victim of ANY form of Sexual harassment in Egypt. The police have said they will deal severely with any type of sexual harassment including verbal anywhere in Egypt not only Sinai.

0112697722
0112677333
0112697744

Terrorism in Sinai

TRAVEL UPDATE:

Tourists who have been following events in Egypt lately and reading about the Egyptian Army in recent months being involved in counter terrorism operations may be worried about traveling to Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.

This blog confirms that all terrorist activities are confined to small pockets in the North of Sinai. Specifically the North Eastern coastline area around Rafah and Sheikh Zuweid on the border with Gaza. There have been no terrorist activities reported South of this area. The highway from Suez at Ahmed Hamdy Tunnel South past Ras Sidr and El Tor towards Sharm El Sheikh and onto Dahab and Nuweiba are open and coach services are running normally to the resorts.

There is no need for travellers to cancel or adjust their travel plans to any resort South of Rafah at this time.

Sinai welcomes travelers and ensures their safety at all times.

'Out to Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project' exhibition arrives in Egypt

The Drosos Foundation and the Darb 1718 Contemporary Art and Culture Centre will celebrate on Wednesday the transferring of the "Out to Sea? The Plastic Garbage Project" exhibition to Egypt.

 

The event, which will take place at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, will begin with tours inside the exhibition, in addition to workshops on recycling, films on the subject and a street performance by Outa Hamra.

 

The event will be hosted by Actor and Goodwill Ambassador Khaled Abul Naga. There will also be performances by bands, such as Masar Egbary and High Dam.

 

The festival aims to raise awareness about the dangers of plastic on health and the environment, as well as encouraging the responsible use of plastic in daily life.

 

The exhibition represents an educational environmental project that started in Zurich in 2012 and is sponsored by the Drosos Foundation. Over the past two years, the exhibition has been held in many places in Europe, including Sweden, Denmark, the UK, Spain and Finland. It’s currently being held in Middle Eastern countries, including Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Morocco. It tackles the dangerous consequences of plastic waste on seas and oceans.

 

Source 

 

 

German sportswear firm Adidas is teaming up with a group trying to clean up the world's oceans with a strategy to develop materials made from marine plastic waste that can be utilised in its solutions.
As the outcome of its partnership with the Parley for the Oceans initiative, Adidas also stated on Monday it would phase out the use of plastic bags at its 2,900 retailers.
Major style brands are jostling to highlight their ethical credentials as protest groups like Greenpeace pressure them to reduce their environmental effect and boost factory circumstances.
Swedish retailer H&M for instance has pledged to triple the quantity of solutions produced of recycled fibres by the finish of 2015.
Plastic employed in the consumer goods business causes marine pollution with a "natural capital price", a measure of environmental damage, of at least $13 billion a year, according to the United Nations Atmosphere Programme (UNEP).
Parley, a group of artists, designers, musicians and scientists, says significantly of the plastic waste ends up in mid-ocean whirlpools, entangling whales, birds and turtles and damaging the internal organs of the fish that ingest it.
Adidas stated it would operate with Parley to create fibres produced from recycled ocean waste for use in its clothing, and potentially shoe uppers, from next year. Dutch retailer G-Star Raw worked with Parley last year to launch a denim line created out of plastic waste.
Adidas made the announcement as it released its annual sustainability report, which detailed other methods the company is taking to strengthen its environmental record, such as utilizing far more sustainably-farmed cotton and recycled polyester.

Researcher: Red Sea 40 million years old

The age of the Red Sea is between 25 and 40 million years old, said general manager of the research and archaeological studies in Sinai and Lower Egypt Abdel Rahim Rihan. 

 

The Red Sea is part of a split or crack in a groove in the surface of the African and Arabian Peninsula called the Afro-Arab Crack, Rihan added. It is a major artery for global navigation and trade crossing between the East and West through the Suez Canal as over 20,000 vessels cross the Red Sea annually, he added.

 

Several Arab and African countries have coastlines on the Red Sea that encompass an incredible amount of sea wealth, such as unique coral reefs and diverse fish, Rihan mentioned. The sea also includes the most beautiful diving areas in the world.

 

Source 

Migrating storks cover sky over Red Sea on way to Europe

As spring comes and temperatures start to rise in Africa, flocks of white storks are seen blanketing the sky along the Red Sea coast, coming from southern and central Africa and heading to central and southern Europe.

 

Researchers at natural reserves in the Red Sea area described this as the annual migration from Africa to Europe before summer comes.

 

Swarms of storks were seen in the sky over Hurghada, Gouna and Safaga and tourists, amazed by the migrating birds, took photos of them.

 

Environmental researcher Mohamed Abdel Ghany said the migration of birds from Africa to Europe usually takes place in February and March after their eggs hatch, then they return to Europe with their young. “These birds stop in several areas along the Red Sea to rest, including Marsa Alam, Hurghada, Gouna and the reserves at the northern islands.”

 

Ahmed Ghallab, another researcher, said the Environment Ministry, in collaboration with companies producing wind power north of Hurghada, discussed safe ways to install wind turbines away from the birds' migratory path.

 

The work plan, according to Ghallab, includes environmental monitoring of the whole area during spring, as well as sending researchers to other countries to train in the use of radars at wind farms.

 

Source 

Migratory Bird Watching Centre opens in Sharm El Sheikh

The Environment Ministry has opened a birdwatching center to watch migratory birds in the Axada Lakes area in Sharm el-Sheikh, funded by the Global Environment Facility and the United Nations Development Program.

 

Osama al-Gibali of the migratory birds conservation project said tourist guides have been trained for ecotourism and informed of different types of migratory birds in order to promote environmental awareness and sustainably reduce threats those birds face during migration. Pamphlets have also been distributed in the area with information on the migrating birds, and the lakes were treated with environment friendly material before the arrival of the birds in autumn to coincide with the announcement of Sharm el-Sheikh as a green city.

 

This manifests Egypt's commitment to the international treaties it has signed, such as the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on Migratory Species of Wild Animals.

http://www.egyptindependent.com//news/birdwatching-center-opens-sharm-el-sheikh

New Visa Regulations for visit visas to Egypt

The Consulate General of the
Arab Republic of Egypt in the UK

New rule of visa

- March 17, 2015

New Visa Rule

Starting from the 15^th of May 2015 all Nationalities who are required to have a visa should get it in advance from the Consulate General of Egypt in London, as the visa upon arrival to Egypt will be given only to the tourist groups that will travel through Egyptian travel agencies.


UPDATE 3/4/2015

Decision has been delayed until new E Visa system is put in place. No date has yet been given for new electronic online visa system implementation therefore tourists will still be able to obtain visas on arrival at Egyptian airports as before.