During the month of Ramadan the whole country acquires a festive feel. Muslims in Egypt always celebrated the coming of the holy month of Ramadan with lights and decorations. So traveling to Egypt during Ramadan is a truly unique and animated experience which will further add to your experience and your cultural knowledge of the country. It is the most important festival in the Islamic calendar, with Muslims celebrating the month with joy & happiness. They prepare for it by hanging up colored decorations in the streets and banners announcing that Ramadan is coming soon. During Ramadan, people greet each other with the words "Ramadan Karim."
Ramadan is a month that follows the lunar calendar, the basis of the Islamic (or Hijri) calendar. With an eleven-day offset from the Gregorian (western) calendar, astronomical calculations are utilized to detect the birth of the new moon, yet it remains for its visualization after sunset before it is announced on the radio and television. Ramadan lasts for 29 or 30 days, as do most lunar months. ‘Ramadan’ is derived from the word ‘Ramada’ a hot stone, it is meant to burn sins. Fasting became obligatory for Muslims during the second year of the Islamic Calendar, the month in which the Quran was revealed.
Ramadan is the month during which Prophet Mohammed received the revelation of the Quran fourteen centuries ago. According to Islam, the month is dedicated to prayers, as it is believed that it is an occasion to wash one’s sins away and enjoy God’s unlimited mercy. Ramadan in Egypt is special with many activities that show the true nature of Egyptians. In essence they are religious, enjoy charity and social gatherings.
It is astonishing how people feel so happy though they know that they will spend one full month abstaining from food and drink. The period of fasting starts from dawn with the first call of prayer of the day "el fajr" until sunset, when they break their fasting usually with a date, since it is a "sunna" (a habit taken from Prophet Mohammed). Fasting entails abstaining from food, drink, smoking or sinning, no matter how minor. Equally, a fasting Muslim should keep away his/her eyes, tongue and hands from any kind of bad deeds like back biting or else their fasting will be considered incomplete. Children (until a certain age), travelers, the sick, pregnant women and women in their monthly cycle have permission not to fasting. Though the usual daily practice is in most ways normal, Muslims prefer to spend more time praying giving alms and reading the Quran, particularly at night.
However, it should be noted that officially, monuments and other tourist sites are open until 3:00 pm, while in reality, some of the less frequented sites may close an hour earlier. While there are many restaurants open to tourists, many may not serve alcoholic beverages during Ramadan. However, almost all larger hotels, as well as smaller hotels that cater to tourists will be completely operational, including their bars, and they will serve alcoholic drinks as usual.
Since Egyptians are big eaters, they usually look forward to Ramadan. "Iftar" is considered the main meal of the day and is often very rich. Any type of food might be served, but traditionally the dessert almost always includes "konafa" or "katayef" as well as a very delicious juice called "kamar el din" (apricot juice). Most people prefer to spend at least the first day in an extended family gathering in the home of the grand parents’. After the first few days, people start to go out after "iftar". And today it has become a tradition for hotels to erect large tents, furnished in the old Arabian decoration, where people enjoy their time listening to old traditional songs and music and smoking "sheesha" or water-pipes, evoking the atmosphere of the old classical days.
The tradition of hanging lights on mosques and colored flags and the "fanous" (lantern) in alleyways and balconies dates back to a few centuries ago and it was used primarily to light the streets for people who walk at night to the mosques to perform the prayers. The "fanous" is now used by children as a toy that is coupled with this wonderful occasion. Over the years it has evolved in sizes, shapes, colors and may even include musical backgrounds.
The story of "the Canon of Ramadan" dates back to the time of the Viceroy of Cairo, who received the gun as a present. He ordered his assistants to try it. The experiment took place about sunset during the first day of Ramadan. The people took it as a sign to announce the end of the day's fast. Since then the Viceroy ordered that the gun should be fired at sunset and this became a constant feature of Ramadan. The gun is still fired today although it has now been replaced by the radio and TV.
Regardless of religion, it is a common thing to find many Muslims and Christians gathered together at the time of "iftar". It is not considered good manners to outwardly make a display of not fasting. Though not illegal, those who do not fast would usually hide to eat drink or smoke. Egyptian Christians also participate in most of these practices with their fellow Muslims. Some would also fast as a sign of national unity, but even those who do not would never eat or drink in public, as a sign of respect to Islamic traditions.
Ramadan culminates in a three day celebration of "Eid al-Fitr". Ramadan ends with the happiness of Eid and the warm heartedness and goodwill the Egyptians feel towards one another. Once the three days of Eid festivities are over they start the count down once again, with love and eagerness, for the coming of the next Ramadan the following year.-----------------------------------------------------------------
In 1382 Emir Djaharks el-Khalili built a big caravanserai (or khan) in the heart of the Fatimid City. A caravanseri was like a hotel for traders, and usually the central point to an area's economic activity. This caravanserai is still there, you just ask for the narrow street of Sikka Khan el-Khalili and Badestan. The Khan el-Khalili Bazaar is situated at one corner of a triangle of markets that go south to Bab Zuwayla and west to Azbakiyyah. The Khan is bordered on the south by al-Azhar Street and on the west by the Muski Market. One of the old original gates guards the entrance to the original courtyard which lies midway down Sikkit al-Badistan Street. The al-Hussein Mosque is also in Khan el-Khalili and Al-Azhar University and its mosque are not far away.
On a narrow street leading off al-Badistan, El Fishawi Café (or Café of Mirrors), is open continuously day and night, and you can count on that, because it has been so for over 200 years. It is small, a little crammed, and with mirrors almost everywhere. It has been the meeting place for local artists, and has been frequented by the Nobel Award winning laureate Naguib Mahfouz, one of Egypt's most well known authors. His novel Midaq Alley is set in an alley in Khan el Khalili. 
The place where art and commerce come together, Khan el Khalili is the heart of the city. You can easily wander the streets of this bazaar to take it all in. You don't need a guide, or even a guide book, and should you get lost, just keep going in one direction and you will quickly come out of the maze, and close to a taxi. But if you’re planning on doing any shopping, be prepared to bargain shamelessly! Just remember that you should never feel that you insult or disappoint a seller by not buying. 
Clothes are cheap, spices are of good quality and affordable, souvenirs are of good quality as in the hotel lobby, but at a better price. Jewelry is a matter of taste, and there's an enormous variety of gold on offer. The perfume shops of the Khan are particularly tempting, saturated with spicy and floral scents. Colorfully decorated and brightly light, they’re run by clerks who can mix any fragrance you desire. Egyptian buyers generally shop in the area north of al-Badistan and to the west, where prices may be lower. Better deals for gold and silver are to be found west of the Khan along the "Street of the Gold Sellers", and further on one will find the Brass and Coppersmith Markets. 
The Khan is a MUST see, not to be missed even on a rainy day, as it is an open market, don't let anything discourage you from this experience, it is still worth the visit!
The last resting place for Egypt's treasures is the present day Egyptian Museum of Antiquity in El Tahrir Square. But the museum is now subject to threat from the surrounding buildings and heavy traffic causing vibration and pollution. Besides, the museum was built to cater for about 500 visitors per day, supplying adequate natural light and ventilation, but with the increase of visitors from 6 to 7000 per day, the decision to expand was yet again a compelling issue.
The project for a new state-of-the-art museum to chronicle for the world the ancient story of over 7000 years of Egyptian civilization began in 1992 but due to the short in funding was delayed. An international competition was held to choose the building design and was won by Heneghan Peng Architects of Ireland. 
Built over 50 hectares of land, and just 15 km south of Cairo, it is located in the shadow of the Great Pyramids of Giza. It is expected to hold 100,000 exhibits making it larger than the British Museum, which holds 80,000 artifacts on display.The project is to cost about $550 million US, and is expected to be finished by 2010. The Egyptian government is hoping to raise $40 million from a current tour of King Tutankhamun artifacts in the United States to go towards funding for the project, but there is also backing from Japanese investors.
The Great Egyptian Museum (GEM) will have capacity for 15,000 visitors a day and house an archeological research institute as well as extensive storage. It is also designed to include an auditorium, a media and a publication centre for books, CDs and video tapes. The creation of a data bank and an Egyptological Library will satisfy the need of many scholars keen on the study of the museum collection. 
The 1988 Nobel Prize winner for literature, Naguib Mahfouz, is one of the most outstanding novelists in modern Arabic literature. A large number of his novels have been translated into many foreign languages. He was born in 1911 in the old quarter of Cairo, El-Gamaliyya, which has set the stage for many of his novels. For over more than a century, and since his first novel in 1939 he has since written 32 novels an 13 collections of short stories, the most famous being, "El Bedaya Wal Nehaya" (The Beginning and the End) and "The Harafish". Through his ability to present both a critical view of the very local society to which he belonged, that of modern Cairo, and a more universal perception of the troubles of man in the modern age, Mahfouz has gained this great literary appeal both in the Arab and international world. 
Abdel Halim Hafez is among the most popular artists in the Arab world. Not only did he have a magical romantic voice, that entranced the crowds, but they loved him on the big screen too. He was born on the 12 of June 1929, in the small town of Halawat, in the Nile Delta. By the age of 5 both his parents had passed away, so he moved to live with relatives in Cairo, where he graduated from the Academy of Arabic Music in Cairo. Abdel Halim may have recorded many albums, but much of his work is only available from live recordings as he was mainly a live performer, and during the war years he contributed the proceeds of many of his concerts to the Egyptian Government. In March of 1977 he died in London, UK from Bilharzia which he had contracted as a child. It is estimated that the crowd that followed the funeral procession was about 100,000, one of the largest crowds at a funeral ever in Egypt.
Fathy Salama was born in Shobra (Harlem of Cairo) on March 27, 1969. This Grammy (Best Contemporary World Music Album) and BBC Award winner started playing the piano at the age of six and by age thirteen was gigging in Cairo's clubs. Traveling to Europe and to New York to learn jazz with great artists as Barry Harris, Sun Ra and Pat Patrick, his music creations link together modern music and the music of the Orient. Through his group Sharkiat, Fathy has made many hits in the 80's and has won two prizes for his film sound tracks for Fallen Angels Paradise and Signs of April. 
In 1953, Omar El-Sharif became an over night screen idol with his first role in the Egyptian film, Sira' Fil Wadi (The Blazing Sun). He first started working in his father's successful lumber company, then converting to Islam and marring renowned actress Faten Hamama in 1955. He starred in a total of 22 films from 1954-1961, before his first debut in an English language film "Lawrence of Arabia" in 1962. Omar El-Sharif's best remembered role is David Lean's "Doctor Zhivago", where his son Tarek Sharif appeared as Yuri at the age of 8. Omar El-Sharif is fluent in Arabic, English, Greek and French and can also speak some Italian and Turkish. He has been nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor, and a Golden Globe Award as Best Supporting Actor, Most Promising Newcomer award and in November 2005 was honored with a UNESCO medal in recognition of his significant contributions to world film and cultural diversity.
Umm Kalthum (1904-1975) is one of the most famous Arab singers of the 20th century. She was known for her powerful, pure voice and her moving renditions of both neoclassical and colloquial Egyptian lyrics. After the Egyptian defeat in the Six-Day War (1967), Umm Kulthum toured the Arab world on behalf of Egypt, donating the proceeds from her concerts to the Egyptian government. During her career, Umm Kulthum recorded more than 300 songs and made 6 motion-picture musicals. She became associated with President Gamal Adel Nasser, and in many interviews and avenues to the public she has promoted both the Egyptian and Arab culture.
Youssef Chahine born in 1926 in Alexandria to a Christian family established himself from the start as a director with an independent mind, ready to challenge authority. All his films have adopted some controversy or other, whether it be criticizing U.S foreign policy or Egyptian/ Arab social issues. He has been recognized on the international scene as early as 1951, where he was invited to the Cannes Film Festival and in 1978 won a Silver Bear at Berlin for his film "Alexandria…Why?". Chahine has also received the 50th Annual Lifetime Achievement Award at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. He has made more than 40 films, the last "This is Chaos" premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2007. Chahine died this August at the age of 82 after several weeks in coma. 
Since 1942, and in her pursuit of free studies in art Inji Eflaton, participated in the exhibition of the "Art and Freedom Group". At the time modern Egyptian art, was conformed by bonds of academism and formalism and this was the first society to attempt to free art from its bonds. Starting March 1952, she had her first of 28 solo exhibitions in Egypt and world wide, including Rome, Venice, Paris, Dresden, Warsaw, Moscow, Prague, New Delhi, San Paolo and Kuwait. Inji Eflaton who died in 1989, received from the French Ministry of Culture, in 1986 a medal of merit called "Cavalier of the Arts and Literature".
Taha Hussein (1898- 1973) was born to a lower middle-class rural family and lost his eye sight at a very early age. His father was keen on giving Taha the best in education, he was among the first to join and graduate with a Ph.D from the, then newly founded university. He received a scholarship to France and was the first Egyptian to obtain a BA from Montpellier University, and then a Ph.D. from the Sorbonne on Ibn Khaldoun (the fourteenth century Arab thinker). Taha Hussein became one of the leaders of the Arab culture renaissance, through his powerful will, craving for knowledge and his ability to challenge the established values.
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