Golden age

Things are moving so fast to me , if i try to stop and think , wait and just remember , lots of changes happened this year ...
Since the day i graduated , things went very differently , unpredictably , awesome and just strange .
I have been through several emotional journeys , each had its period , some where mixed together , others were purely felt , with no other interference . 

I write that down because there are too many things to consider , i wish if i can just tell time to pause a bit for me to take a big breathe and just wonder .

God has been very generous with me , i felt it mostly this year, and i keep reminding myself to appreciate , but this ambitious desire of a more and more of his generosity might make me slip to the bottom , missing some steps that i've already taken . And this fear of losing or not catching up , concealing new experiences to myself , not sharing most of the stories , because of fear .  Huge portion of it goes to Envy's favor , and other portions are of some people might hold me back of moving forward , people like my parents sometimes , mostly mom , and people that might knock doors , like a future husband , and a child or two perhaps , also people from my family ... but then i say i should slow down , i have this ignited power in me to know more , read new information , enrich my cognition , and widening the realm of my thinking and realizing , but i have to slow down , cause desire might kill me , or just make me proud enough to blind me from my duties , as a daughter , as an Egyptian , as a Muslim . 

I applied for Masters studies in Cairo Uni. , and in Engineering Faculty , which made me quite satisfied that i am actually feeling related to Engineering -even if education overall sucks in any faculty - but that gave me a good portion of joy and relief . I enjoyed knowing new professors , listening to what science they are going to talk about and reveal to us .
I had this first joy of someone from family getting engaged with no hard feelings in the air , went smoothly and just simply . We had this experience before , but it hadn't receive its right from any of us . 

I heard from the second week of my enrollment to the Msc. about a call for participation in Germany , i had this glimpse in my eye , a trip , to Europe ! I was a bit excited , but i really didn't put much of an effort when trying to take a position , and at that time i just sent an E-mail for the requirements , and just talked it to dad as if it is a possibility or not , just a dreamer's chit-chat . During that , i just wanted to do anything , find any opportunity , or doing whatever , to unleash this energy , i went to AUC twice , for some stupid English class given by students younger than me , i just had the joy of hitting the ring road with some classmates , and seeing the beauty of the University , and a bit of  a discovering look on how students live , act and deal in the campus .
Then i got struck with the news from Tamer , the teaching assistant , of some required papers for my application , and very weird files that i wasn't familiar with , were sent to my e-mail , i was puzzled and was like , ok, i will do what you want , but is this for the interview or just a part of the application process to be interviewed ? 

By time i knew i was actually one of those are accepted -and as soon as possible i should act to get a passport and papers from El Mogamaa and etc...
Days passed , and i found myself in Turkey's airport , then to Berlin's ..Cold , Gloves , Scarf , Boots , Sweater , Perfection , almost ! But still , i was , between me and myself , drooling ! 

Between me and myself ,  i was thinking that my tracing to Omar's steps are coming true , me applying to the holding company the day i was going to the airport for my night trip to Germany , the country that took him as well for his life-time trip to Europe , that made me feel a special feeling . I took some of his stuff while traveling , and i was happy , regardless many things  , but i was still happy .

Trip was over , and since then and till now , things in me were a bit different , dormant things , sometimes they are don't make me pushy , but other times , they just make me emotionally and mentally excited . 

first semester was over , and the anxiousness of looking for a job arouse , i needed funding , funding , funding , like a bell , it just rung every day , looked in newspapers , facebook pages , company's websites , freelancing trials - that took me sometime in the period directly after i graduated - until i heard of this request for 2013 fresh graduates application to SDC , i applied , they called , made this Autocad test which was the start of my story of my life in SDC .
My first  days were tough , full of shyness , emotional pressure , and the first trial of seeing someone requesting for his resignation , and not just anyone , the one who was teaching me ! I was terrified how am i gonna deal without him , then the next , then the next , i was thinking of the day when i won't find them , and as i was THAT spontaneous and naive ,  i thought i won't see them ever again in anywhere , or like i won't hear from them like i used to , and i will be just remembering those days where they used to be on their desks , and so , but then money turned in , first income for 12 days were pretty cool to me , i think i didn't put anything in the bank , maybe a 1000 , for wanting to buy a smartphone , but again , i felt change . 

I was pretty bored in many times , during breaks , pretty lonely , most if the times , took a corner , pretty serious , then people's invitations happened , many invitations , and celebrations , birthdays , cakes and candles , easy tasks , easy time , laughters and jokes .

Then i just felt that anything if it say , anybody just can notice it , reply to it , comment , transcend or forward it . Ethical challenges started , and i dunno if i ever started acted properly towards them , i dunno if ethical failures started to fade on me , like going late , working not at my very best ... or if i just got bored , and didn't take a couple of good days vacation . 

Then this attention i get from some , and me in reply , and this eye contact i get , i get a fuzzy picture , and i can't just synchronize between the body language and the topic , each are sometimes makes me even more curious , what's inside ? and what's behind ? 

Also me recognizing that i am acknowledged by older people , can it go that way ? can  the younger inspire ? with the older being busy with family issues , money issues , and soul entertainment ? 

 Do i receive attention because of the experiences i had or because of the way i think ? though i think both are related , my way of thinking is related in what kind of experiences i had .. me growing up , living with boys , adventure , music , praying , my connection to God , they make me . 

It is more like a self review of my past experiences in this year , 2013 - 2014 , i hadn't say alot , and i missed a lot of events too that are worthy to be told , but time won't allow me now , time is a serious tragedy in my daily life , but i am sure i can continue in another series of thoughts to be shared here ,for now i might be ending this with some photos , displaying what i have become , i wish i can do better in the coming days , till my end .

اريد سكينة

لا اجد خليلي ، ..

صوت الآذان حزين 

و هذا صوت قراءة قرآن يتلوه شيخُ من مسجد

ربما  هو عزاء لأحد الأموات 

متي نهايتي؟ و كيف هي ؟ 

تلك الوحدة التي أحسها ، و تكون موحشة احيانا عند بقائي في العمل متأخرا ، لا أحد في القسم غيري .. 

ربما لأني اخشي ما سوف يقوله الناس عني ؟ 

أو ربما لأني احن ان اتسامر و اتحدث عن خواطري لأحد ؟ 

أريد الثبات و الرزانة في النفس ، اتوتر كثيرا .

اكره القلق و عدم التيقن . 

أريد الهدوء و السكينة 

أبحث عن من يشاركني عالمي 

هناك من نجحت في الوصول اليهم لمشاركتي اياها لكن الوقت لا يسمح لمقابلتهم .

تلك البذاءة الكلامية التي اعتدتُ علي سماعها كل يوم في ابشارع ، أصبحت الشتائم علي طرف اللسان من كثر سماعها . 

أريد أن اتطهر 

أريد السكينة 

و طيب النفس اذا حكم القضا 

اريد طيبا

بقيتُ في البيت بعد عشم الترويح عن نفسي قليلا في النادي 

بقيتُ و لم يأتي أمين الشرطة 

بقيتُ و لي من البقاء نصيب 

سمعت خبر موت مدون 

لم أصدق نفسي 

كم الموت قد يكون قريبا 

فقط أريد أن اكون مستعدة له .. 

أريد قراءة جميع كتاباته 

باسم صبري 

الله يرحمك 

و يرحم أخي 

أريد ترك شيئا لوجه الله قبل الممات 

شيئا

الريف الأبيض

 كان يقال ان الله خلق الريف و الانسان صنع المدينة "  - شخصية مصر - جمال حمدان"

لقد فسدت المدينة الكبري التي أعيش فيها و طغت علي المدن الأخري ، فما عادت تجذب غير من هو فقير الروح و المادة طلبا للمزيد ، أصبح الوضع أكثر مخيفا بمعرفتي أحتمالية أن يوصل الحال الي هجرة واعظ ديني من قريته الي تلك المدينة حتي يحصل علي أجر أعلي مما كان يتقاضيه و هو في مسجد القرية ، و قد وفقه الله أن يحصل علي تلك الوظيفة في المدينة في مسجد يقع في منطقة سكنية هادئة ، ألا ان هذا الواعظ  بعد أن تحقق مسعاه في زيادة الرزق لم يلتزم بحضوره في جميع الأوقات و الأيام ليؤم المصليين و الحاضرين بالمسجد ، و يحلّ محله من يحلّه سواء كان علي قدر من الكفائة ليأخذ مكانه أم لا ، ثم يشتكي الناس وتشتكي الحكومة عن شيوخ و حلقات و تجمعات تقصد التحدث في الأمور المحرمة كسياسة الدولة في بعض الأحيان

ظلم الأهل و ظُلموا ، بتكرار هذا النمط من التخلف عن أداء الدور المخصص له الموظف ، بأختلاف  المجالات ،  و لكن هذا النوع من التخلف هو مخيف ، حتي و أن لم يكن يؤثر مباشرةً ، و لكن كيف يكون هذا بواعظ اذا لم يتق الله في دوره كأمام مسجد و أحد رموز الخطاب الديني ؟  فيما سيعظ الناس أن لم يكن هو نفسه محتاج الي وعظ موجه اليه ؟

فسدت المدينة بمثل هؤلاء الأفراد ، و هذا ما يدفع الكثيرين الي التمنّي الي الهروب منها الي خارجها و البلاد . ربما نمزح و نقول " متي يأتي اليوم الذي أسافر فيه الي الخارج ؟ " و لكنه مزاح ينبع من أدراك مدي الفساد الذي وصل به الحال
قد نضحك علي حالنا ، نرفه عن أرواحنا قليلا ، لكم مازال الوضع قائما ، و هو سوف يمسنا عاجلا ام آجلا ، هذا العفن في هذه المدينة .

وَمَا لَكُمْ لَا تُقَاتِلُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ وَالْمُسْتَضْعَفِينَ مِنَ الرِّجَالِ وَالنِّسَاءِ وَالْوِلْدَانِ الَّذِينَ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا أَخْرِجْنَا مِنْ هَٰذِهِ الْقَرْيَةِ الظَّالِمِ أَهْلُهَا وَاجْعَلْ لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ وَلِيًّا وَاجْعَلْ لَنَا مِنْ لَدُنْكَ نَصِيرًا (آية 75 - سورة النساء ) أستوقفني الكلام في هذا الفيديو الذي وجدته بالصدفة، كلام الرجل عن الريف ...لم أذهب الي الريف قط ، هناك القليل من هذا الريف مازال موجودا في مصر ، أتمني أن أراه قبل أن يختفي هذا الريف الأبيض.

تعليقا علي حاجات كتيرة :

الكلام اللي جاي ده بيدور عن رأيي بخصوص الأحتواء الفكري .
لُب الصراع في مصر هو مبني علي الافكار المتضاربة بين مجموعة و التانية و التالتة ... زي ما هو مبني علي الفجوات بين الافكار دي ، سواء في اتجاهات المعتقدات ، أو الفرق في السن ، أو الفرق في تفضيل التطور ، أو التمسك بالتقليد .  كتير من جيل الخمسينات بيرتكبوا جرائم في حقنا كشباب ، حتي لو غصب عنهم ، هم مش علي دراية أن أحنا رد فعل ، مهما فكّروا أزاي يوجّهوا ، يعلّموا ، أحنا ردة فعل المناهج العقيمة في المدارس ، و أسلوب التحاور اللي هم ماسكين دفته بيلفوا بينا يمين و شمال .
 "المدرسة و لا المسجد ؟ "  مصدرين أساسيين بينتجوا جيوش من العقليات اللي كتير مش بتنسجم مع بعضها ، في أهالي بيخلوا أولادهم  و بناتهم يرتبطوا بواحدة أكتر من التانية  ، و منها يتّعلم منهج حياته و فكره . و في مصر ، يمكن أنا أصدق فعلا نظرة أن المدرسة هي رمز لسياسة القوي الحاكمة ، و المسجد رمز للأجتهادات الشخصية لرجال مسكوا زمام المسجد و بقوا "شيوخه" سواء بمؤهل أو غير مؤهل . ده كفاية لأن يكون في مصدرين لتشكيل عقلية شباب الامس - جيل الستينات - و شباب اليوم بس علي شكل أكثر تطرفا .
يمكن يكون مشاكل جيل الخمسينات أقل من مشاكلنا ، لأن مشاكلهم بأختصار : أنت مع الحكم الديني و لا الحكم العسكري ؟
بس أحنا مشكلتنا أن أحنا حاسين بالأنفصال من كل حاجة ، حتي لو حد فينا مال لحزب أو تيار معين ، بيفضل الفجوة بين الكبير و الصغير .
أنا شخصيا مكنش ليا تفضيل مدرسة عن مسج او العكس عشان أخد منها الدليل لأني أزاي اعيش حياتي و بأنهي أسلوب ،  بس مؤخرا ، أنا محستش بالأنتماء للمدرسة ، بما فيها من فساد أداري و تعليمي و أجتماعي حتي ، ملقتش نفسي فيها،  حتي و أن حبيت بعض المواد ، كفاية أن نظام اليوم الدراسي و التكليفات كانت بتسد نفس الواحد و تخليه يحس أن فيه حاجة غلط . التعسف في المواعيد و الزي الرسمي ، و لجوء بعض المدرسين * للتذنيب* أن خالفنا الزي الرسمي ! صورة مصغرة من الفاشية و العنصرية بين الطلبة ، ما أستوعبتهاش غير لما أتخرجت من المدرسة ، علي الرغم من مركزها * الراقي * بأنها مدرسة لغات و كانت في الأصل مدرسة أنجليزية ...
المسجد .. مكنش ليا أحتكاك الي حد كبير بالحياة فيها و تقضية الوقت في الحلقات القرآنية و الدروس الدينية كل أسبوع ، بس يمكن من بعض التجارب القليلة و الحكايات اللي كنت بسمعها و بقراها عن الحياة مع النوع من الصحبة دي ، مكنتش حلاقي نفسي فيها برضو ، علي الرغم من أهل الجلسات و الحلقات دي منتمين ليها معنويا و فكريا ، ألا ان شابني شئ من الضيق في طريقة تناولهم حفظ سور القرآن  برتابة معينة ، و طريقة تفكير البعض اللي بتديني أحساس بعدم اللهفة أو التشوق أني أعرف المزيد من الصحبة دي ، ممكن تكاد تكون محصورة بين *ده حلال * و * ده حرام *  ، لا أعمم ، بس أنا بكلم عن حكايتي في أني ألاقي المصدر اللي أحس أنه مؤهل أنه يوجهني .
تجاربي في المكانين دول هم مفصولين عن بعض ، لا متداخلين خلال مر السنين .

و من فترة لقيتني أحس بذاتي في حاجات سعيت لها شخصيا أو بدلالة شخص ، بين تناولي لقراءة القرآن و سماعه في فترات أحددها لنفسي ، و بين كتاب موضوع يشدني ، و بين صاحب العلم ذو الرزانة ، اللي لما أقعد أقدامه ، مجرد سماعي لصوته بيريحني ، فما بالي بتأثير العلم الخارج من كلامه . مفيش حاجة بيني و بينه غير أني عاوزا أسمعه بيقرا من الكتاب اللي بين ايديه ، و بهدوئه أفهم اللي كان المفروض حد يفهمه لينا من زمان ، هو زي ما يكون تعويض عُمر فات و ضاع  في  تنفيذ واجب مدرسي زي* أنسخ هذه الجملة 10 مرات متتالية مع التشكيل * ، أو حفظ * ده حلال * و * ده حرام *

Tolba center

I let myself dream a bit about this house my aunt is renovating , this multi-purpose center of community service could really be simple to come true, and by self structured and planned ideas , this could turn out greatly , just needs lots of patience , and ...money , ehm!

so i created this plan on a postal card , demonstrating the zones of each room and what's best usage can come out of them .

Current previous state while fixing the kitchen area

Depending on you, Allah .

Mugamma El Tahrir

Cairo University

Faculty of Engineering

Architecture Department

ARCH 708: Methods of Research in Architectural History

Final Research

Mugamma El Tahrir

Presented by : Ragia Ragi

{Mugamma El Tahrir, the monument of outdated bureaucracy for public service}

The core of the fundamental principles of urban design is to improve the life of the citizen by facilitating his needs, which can be implemented by providing the suitable whereabouts of organizations and utilities, to be reached by the largest number possible of citizens. That’s how the story of the Mugamma, a centralized bureaucratic complex began to be in the heart of Cairo’s downtown and to be one of its monumental important landmarks, but also a significant landmark on the republic’s level, as it is a building whose frontage facing directly the Tahrir square, that was used to be occupied with protests and sit-ins since the revolution of 25^th January, and a witness of the public gatherings and confrontations between the revolutionaries and Mubarak’s security troops in several political events - also a witness to previous protests in earlier years , when the country held its first presidential election in 2005 – being that important , the Mugamma grabbed the attention of government officials, business men , architects and journalists to put a vision for this huge , excellent located building, to be invested in re-use plans, which rose public objection against such ambitions . Although the attempts to re-use or evacuate the Mugamma failed, but no one seemed to be able to stop the changes that’s been happening in the interior side of the building, if not architecturally, then technically and socially, which brings us to the hardships the Egyptian citizen has to go through when having to go there to get some papers signed and stamped, it is a great paradox between nowadays situation and the original concept of the complex.

Starting from the fact of the scattered institutions, offices and agencies in rented apartments, Mahmoud Yassin, chairman of the board of the Tahrir complex and Cairo governorate deputy for the western district, says: “the building originally had two objectives: to cut down on the government's rental expenses; and to offer citizens multiple services” [i]So the government gave an order to collect all offices and agencies in one building , and made a competition for the design of this complex, in which E.Mohamed Kamal Ismael’s design had won[ii] So the construction began in 1948 and ended in 1951 .I think the concept of the Mugamma , was among other upcoming projects – at the time- that paved the way to the governmental centralization of available services and decision making in Cairo, anyhow , it seemed to turn out well – in earlier years - achieving the aim of multi-purpose administrative building which won’t drive the citizens to go in a multi destination journeys to easily fulfill their quest .

The Mugamma’s design taking the shape of an arc, took a role of creating the roundabout in the irregular shape of Tahrir square, which historically had variable shapes of the whole space depending on the buildings that existed through the urban evolution surrounding the square. The Mogamma, occupying the place where El Ismailia palace stood instead[iii], was the result of a series of master plans for the Qasr El Nile area (now Tahrir Square), which used to be occupied by the British Barracks In 1947 when King Farouk ordered the demolition of the barracks upon the departure of British troops from the area, a series of urban planning proposals ensued[iv] One of the most acceptable proposals was that of Muhammed Zo El Fakar Beck. In 1947, El Mosawer magazine had Zo El Fakar’s publication about his plan to redesign Qasr El Nila area , and focused on turning El Ismailia square into the cultural and political center of the city. That vision could be interpreted in collecting the administrative buildings of different ministries and governmental organizations, number of museums, and a collection of memorials of the royal family surrounded with vast green areas.  The proposal included, furthermore, replacing the British Barracks with a new parliament –like the United States capitol. The plan was so great that it could’ve pushed Egypt into a remarkable civilization progress, but the Noqrashi’s government was too busy dealing with certain crises, such as the beginnings of 1948 war, that nothing from the plan was ever implemented in Qasr El Nile except for some open areas and the administrative complex ( ElMugamma ) which was the first of its kind in the East³

Contrary to popular belief, there is no Soviet association or inspiration and the building was not produced by the Nasser regime. Three years after the building's completion, Nasser became president in 1954 and the building was thus associated with his era and the new regime⁴ Perhaps this belief was also because of the way El Mugamma is designed, resembling the designs that was common in cities that were under the Soviet union influence – like East Berlin - that held a campaign against formalism and western modernism, but in fact, E. Mohamed Kamal Ismael, an Egyptian modernist architect, was the one behind the structure and form of  El Mugamma, The building's style reflects typical 1940s modernism, and government buildings in the same style can be found in New York (Buffalo, New York City Hall) and Paris ⁴  Some reporters have written about El Mugamma as a hulk building that miss the aesthetic touch, but maybe they don’t see the whole vision of this complex’s structure; The external appearance was not of main importance but rather, the structure focuses on central organization and maximization of space. The appearance of the building is plain yet intimidating in its colossal size⁴

An opening statement for an article in a foreign newspaper ‘Reading Eagle’ says: If buildings could talk, the Mugamma, downtown Cairo’s hulking government office complex would say ,” come back tomorrow” with a sneer^[v] Seems like the writer of the article knew quite enough about the common situation, nowadays, that the Egyptian citizen most likely finds himself in when having to go to the Mugamma. Many stories and articles had portrayed the building as a ‘bastion of bureaucracy’ that can drive the citizen to mutter curses after being done with his papers, after waiting in its corridors among the crowds and dusty disks , or in a long queue - maybe for hours - and go like a pendulum from window to window, not forgetting to mention – from a personal experience – the purposely stalling of some employees, won’t give an earlier date of delivering the finished paperwork, unless they get a personal fee for their ‘effort’. It has been like this since now it is home to 14 government departments, and houses 1,365 rooms with some 18,000 employees, and receives an average of 25,000 visitors a day¹  Mahmoud Yassin, chairman of the board of the Tahrir complex, says “The complex was intended for 4,000 employees only." ¹

Since there isn’t enough material to specifically explain the changes happened to the internal physical degradation of the halls that were once clean, corridors, courts, and offices, or the reason behind the transformation of the Egyptian generous employees to stalling, frustrating ones, perhaps the Egyptian cinema can explain a bit about the social decaying mixed with the complexity of bureaucracy which takes place in the Mugamma. Al-Irhab Wal Kebab movie (Terrorism and Kebab), is the best known and best teller of the social crises facing governmental bureaucracy; Ahmed, a conformist father-of-two who works two jobs, wants to move his children to a school closer to home. He goes to el-Mugamma (…) Ahmed is shuffled willy-nilly from office to office, documents in hand. Frustrated, he attacks a bureaucrat who is devoting more time to his prayers than to his job. Police arrive, a gun ends up in Ahmed's hands, and things rapidly heat up[vi] when asked about his demands, Ahmed couldn’t help but think spontaneously of his needs , The terrorists-Ahmed and newly joined members- issue a list of demands - better shish kebab, better health facilities, better schools and, finally, the resignation of the government (…) almost everyone in Egypt - army, government, bureaucracy, judiciary, rich, poor - is involved in an elaborate game whose function is to stop change at all costs. Or, as Ahmed puts it, "nothing is allowed to happen". At the end, a reporter asks what the terrorist looks like. "Like any one of us," is the reply 6

Although El Mugamma turns out to be one of the unpleasant symbols of the ‘immobile Egypt’ of today, its employees and citizens still hold on to it, refusing the idea of ‘forsaking’ it to the multiple attempts of the government, businessmen and architects -that were accused of being opportunists- through earlier years and so far . Now, thanks to a new breed of technocrats, dreaming of internet-era efficiency, the building’s days are numbered 5  That could be the first threat against the Mugamma and its employees, now with the complaints of some people about the inefficiency of the workers, and the delays of finishing the paperwork, technology might just solve all this, even might save time and effort for citizens living in other cities, rather than being forced to travel to Cairo for a central national service. The Mogamma is believed to have created and contributed to the enormous amount of congestion in Tahrir Square and will thus be included in the move to the desert area in the Fifth Settlement, following in the footsteps of the American University in Cairo 4 That claim corresponded to the attempts of the evacuation of the complex for better economical investment and better urban environment, and backed up with the ‘ Cairo Vision 2020’ which included the study of the potential of reusing the Mugamma as a touristic facility, and that in the context of the state’s plan to distribute the governmental institutions outside the heart of Cairo. However, the fate of the Mogamma building remains uncertain for many reasons. First, the inconvenience this move will pose for hundreds of people is immense. Second, the move would require added benefits for government employees to reimburse them for the longer travel and to keep them working there. Third, architects who oppose the move claim that the downtown area used to be beautiful and is now in need of making it valuable again by creating parks and gardens, and possibly renovating the building 4 concerning the last point about architects opposing the move claim, and the related scheme of re-using the building as a five-stars hotel after redesigning the elevation- rumors had it also that one of the former officials of the National Democratic Party, before dissolution, wanted to buy it- I find a good opinion, which I would like to add, discussing the Mugamma as a work of a late fellow architect (E. Mohamed Kamal Ismael, the designer of Dar El Qadaa Al Ali court , and the expansion of both El Masjed El Haram, and El Masjed El Nabawi ):

Who said it is possible for an architect, after 60 years or more, to have the right to obliterate the work of another architect who could have been more professional than the first? who said that architecture means change of tastes? If this logic is taken, don’t blame those narrow minded when they say that one of Khedival Cairo’s buildings are ugly shaped (…) and that it doesn’t represent the Egyptian ‘identity’, so changing the design of the frontage is a must. Where is the professional ethics when an architect offers a proposal of transforming a public administrative building that serves thousands of citizens to a private hotel that serves the elite and high class members? 2

So respecting a work which is done by a late architect is very important, considering it a part of the city’s history. It even became globally recognized after the world’s witnessed the latest Egyptian revolution in Tahrir square through media, bonding the gathering of the people to the Mugamma as one of the symbolic catalysts, that drove them to revolt against the Egyptian concept of complicated bureaucracy and demand of restructuring the policies and ideologies of the state. Mocking the contradiction between the El Mugamma’s original concept to ease the citizen’s life and what it resembles now of unreasonable procedures, could be easy, but what should be taken seriously is to reconsider El Mugamma as a place for the public needs, whatever function it should do, as long as it doesn’t work as an obstacle to the citizen, or contradict his needs, then it is not going to be efficient within any future vision.

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[i]http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/844/fe1.htm

Weekly Ahram newspaper ,Amira El-Noshokaty’s ‘ A resilient complex ‘ report on the impending scattering of Cairo's oldest multi-purpose state building

[ii]http://cairobserver.com/post/53749636076/this-is-not-architecture#.UrybjdIW3zl

Cairobserver article ‘This is not architecture –عمارة القشورة و الهندسة الانتهازية‘translated into English by the researcher.

3http://egyptianroyalityandglory.blogspot.com/2011/12/blog-post.html

Article ‘ قصة ميدان التحرير وثائقى بالصور لتطورة عبر العصور وكيف تطور تخطيطه واسماؤه ‘ translated into English by the researcher .

[iv]http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mugamma

Wikipedia article

[v]http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=D2QxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=aqMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1312,4653288&dq=terrorism-and-kebab&hl=en

Washignton post : 9 october 2005, newspaper citing : Reading Eagle newspaper

[vi] http://www.newstatesman.com/religion/2007/04/film-arab-egyptian-building

Article :What Egyptian cinema can teach us

just what's inside .

رحمة الله وسعت كل شئ . 

في ثنايا الكلام ، تجد مفتاح النجاه من موقف آت ، و أن لم أكن أتبصرُ بدقة ، لما وجدتُ هذا المفتاح في هذا الحديث الميت الذي هو عبارة عن مجرد الرد بمقدار محدود من الكلام عن بعض الاستفسارات ، ألا أن السائل لم يعرف أنه يحمل هذا المفتاح في تساؤلاته ...

و ظننتُ نفسي غنيا عن معرفة أي معلومة قد تفيدني في هذا الموقف المنتظر ، و هذا الفقير - في نظري - قد حمل لي تحذيرا بسؤاله عن ما يقلقه ، و وجدتُ نفسي أقلق و أشك ثقتي بنفسي ، و ضعف يقيني بأستغنائي عن المحادثة تلك و عن أي محادثة أخري مثل كهذه ...فلستُ أنا بغنيُ عن أستماع الأخر حتي لو ظننتهٌ أدني خبرة ، فقد كنت أنا هو الفقير الذي أحتاج الا هذا التحذير في السؤال ، لينجيني من موقف أتي ، و ما كنتُ أمر منه ، لولا هذا السائل من الله .

بأي ثمن أشتريتم منتصف الليل يا معشر الرجال ؟
أستحوزتم عليه و بسكونه و أبقيتموه محظورا علينا ؟
حتي أنكم وزعتم أنفسكم في كل جانب من الشوارع
و لا أهنأ بأطلالة من غير حجاب علي الشرفة لنصف ساعة ألا بظهور أحدكم
حتي عند مقربة الفجر ، لا تزالون تمشون في الطرقات الخالية
كم عددكم ؟
و لم لا تبقون في مساكنكم كما نحن ؟
رضخنا بقانون السكون فلما لا تفعلون ؟
و لو فقط تمنيتُ السير و لو لدقائق بجوار سكني
لن أُرحم حتي من أبرأ مخلوق فيكم و لو بنظرة
أريد أن أصادق القمر من مكاني في الشارع
و أريد السهر حتي الشروق مع صديقة
نسير مثلكم بلا خوف
و نجلس علي مقهي لشرب شاي الخريف عند الواحدة
و يحكي لنا الصبي عن أخر ما رأي
أو لنقف  علي الكوبري بسيارتنا المعطلة
نطلب المساعدة البسيطة من بعضكم لأعطائها دفعة الي الأمام
تركتم لنا حر النهار و الشمس المحرقة في الظهر
و المساحيق لا تنفع وقتها فهي تذوب من الصهد الطويل
أفلا تعيروننا بعضا من ليلكم الطويل ؟
و تنامون قليلا حتي يأتي معادنا في النزول ؟ 

drafting for a coming project Inshalla