Ahmad Zaki

Ahmad Zaki

(b. November 18, 1949; d. March 27, 2005)

Biography

Ahmed Abdulrahman Zaki was born November 18, 1949, in the Nile delta village of Zaqazeeq, in the governorate of al-Sharqiyyah, fifty miles north of Cairo. He graduated from the Zaqazeeq School for Crafts with a diploma in mechanical engineering in 1967 and moved to Cairo to enroll in the High Institute for Drama, graduating in 1974.

His first foray onto the stage came in 1969, while he was still a student. Cast in a minor part as a room service waiter in the play Hello Shalabi, Zaki’s performance was impressive and memorable for his impersonation of celebrated film actor and canonical vilain, Mahmoud el-Meligi.

The part quickly earned him the role of Ahmad el-Sha‘er, in one of Egypt's most popular stage comedies, Madraset el-Mushaghibeen (The School of Troublemakers) alongside renowned star, ‘Adel Imam. Widely seen and adored, the play earned him the nickname, Ahmad el-Sha‘er (translation?).

He became a star in his own right with the leading role in the stage comedy, el-‘Eyal Kebret (Children Have Grown, 1978) and with his portrayal of Taha Hussein, the doyen of modern Arabic literature, in the television series adapted from the author's autobiography, al-Ayyam (The Days).

Appearing in more than sixty films, several stage plays and television serials, Zaki never allowed himself to be typecast. Displaying remarkable range and versatility, he portrayed villains and heroes, farmers, workers, delinquents, soldiers, civil servants, businessmen, ministers, and two of contemporary Egypt's most important political figures, Gamal Abdel-Nasser and Anwar Sadat.

His talent defied prevailing prejudices that assigned leading romantic roles to light-skinned and colored-eyed stars, and earned him two other nicknames, “the Black Tiger” and “the Bronze Star.” He was often paired with Egypt's leading female superstar, the “princess of Egyptian cinema,” Souad Hosni, who died tragically a few years before him under mysterious circumstances in London. Their onscreen chemistry mesmerized audiences across the Middle East.

In January 2004, after he had committed himself to play ‘Abdel-Halim Hafez, the most famous love balladeer of Egypt and the Arab world, in the film Halim, Zaki was diagnosed with lung cancer. He felt a particular affinity to the crooner, who hailed from a nearby village and had also had a difficult childhood in the dire poverty. «Halim and I were orphans who grew up in the same town, suffering immense hardships,» Zaki is reported to have confessed to writer Adel Darwish.

He filmed much of the movie while fighting the fatal disease, «He would leave his hospital bed to shoot as many scenes as possible,» Halim's producer, Emad el-Din el-Adeeb recalls. Zaki lapsed into a coma after completing seventy percent of the film.

His only son, Haytham, is said to have replaced his father for the remainder of the shooting. A week before his death and shortly before slipping into his final coma, he is reported to have instructed Imad el-Din el-Adeeb to shoot his funeral «to edit it into the film.

Filmography:
1974	Abna’ el-Samt (Children of Silence, director: Mohamed Radi)
	Bidour (She’s Lovely as the Moon), director: Nader Galal)
1977	Sane‘eh el-Nujum (Star Maker, director: Mohammed Radi)
1978	el-‘Omr Lahtha (Life Is an Instant, director: Mohammed Radi)
	Wara’ el-Shams (Beyond the Sun, director: Mohammed Radi)
	Iskanderiyya Leyh? (Alexandria, Why?, director: Youssef Chahine)
1979	Shefiqa wa Metwalli (Shafiqa and Metwalli, director: Ali Badrakhan)
1980	Al-Batniyyah (director: Hossameddin Mustafa)
	Ana La Akthib Wa Lakenni Atagammal (I Don't Lie but I Embellish, director: N? Anglo)
1981	Uyun la Tanam (Eyes that Never Sleep, director: Rafaat el-Mihi)
	Maw‘ed ‘Ala al-‘Ashaa’ (A Dinner Date, director: Mohammad Khan)
	Ta’er ‘Ala el-Tareeq (Bird on the Road, director: Mohammad Khan)
1982	al-‘Awwama Sabe‘en (Houseboat 70, director: Khayri Beshara)
	al-Aqdar al-Damiya (Bloody Fates, director: Khayri Beshara)
1983	al-Ihtiyat Wageb (Playing it safe) director: Ahmad Fouad)
	Darb el-Hawa (The Alley of Desire, director: Hossameddin Mustafa)
	al-Mudmen (The Addict, director: Youssef Francis)
1984	al-Leyla al-Maw‘udah (The Promised Night, director: Yehya el-‘Alami)
	al-Raqisah Wa al-Tabbal (The Bellydancer and the Drummer, director: Ashraf Fahmi)
	al-Hobb Fawq Hadabet el-Haram (Love on the Pyramids' Plateau, director: Atef el-Tayyeb)
	al-Takhsheeba (The Detention Room, director: Atef el-Tayyeb)
	al-Nimr al-Aswad (The Black Tiger, director: Atef Salem)
	al-Brins (The Prince, director: Fadel Saleh)
1985	Sa‘ad el-Yateem (Sa‘ad the Orphan, director: Ashraf Fahmi)
1986	Shader al-Samak (Fish Market, director: Ali ‘Abdel-Khaleq)
	al-Baree’ (The Innocent, director: Atef el-Tayyeb)
	al-Bedayah (The Beginning, director: Salah Abu Seyf)
1987	Arba‘a fi Muhemma Rasmiyya (Four in an Official Mission, director: Ali ‘Abdel-Khaleq)
	Zawgat Ragol Muhemm (The Wife of an Important Man, director: Mohammad Khan)
	al-Beyh al-Bawwab (His Excellency the Porter, director: Hassan Ibrahim)
1989	Ahlam Hind wa Camilia (Dreams of Hind and Camilia, director: Mohammad Khan)
	al-Daraga al-Thalitha (Third Class, director: Sherif Arafa)
	Welad el-Eyh (Songs of Guns, director: Sherif Yehya)
1990	Imra’a Waheda la Takfi (One Woman is not Enough, director: Ines el-Deghidi)
	Kaboria (Crab, director: Khayri Beshara)
	al-Beyda wa al-Hagar (Charlatan, director: Ali ‘Abdel-Khaleq)
	al-Imbarator (The Emperor, director: Tareq el-‘Eriyan)
1991	al-Makhtoufa (The Kidnapped, director: Sherif Yehya)
	al-Huroob (The Escape, director: Atef el-Tayyeb)
	al-Ra‘ee wa al-Nisa’ (The Shepherd and the Women, director: Ali Badrakhan)
1992	Dedd el-Hukooma (Against the Government, director: Atef el-Tayyeb)
1993	Mister Karateh (director: Mohammad Khan)
	al-Basha (The Pasha, director: Tareq el-‘Eriyan)
	Sawwaq el-Hanem (The Lady's Driver, director: Hassan Ibrahim)
1995	al-Ragol al-Thaleth (The Third Man, director: Ali Badrakhan)
1996	Istakoza (Lobsters, director: Ines el-Deghidi)
	Hysteria (director: Adel Adeeb)
	Nasser 56 (director: Mohammed Fadel)
	Nazwa (Slip, director: Ali Badrakhan)
1997	Hassan el-Lol (director: Nader Galal)
	al-Batal (The Hero, director: Magdy Ahmed Ali)
1998	Edhak el-Soura Tetla‘ Helwa (Smile, the Photo Will be Nice, director: Sherif Arafa)
1999	Ard el-Khowf (Land of Fear, director: Dauod ‘Abdel-Sayyed)
2001	Ayyam al-Sadat (Days of Sadat, director: Mohammad Khan)
2003	Ma‘ali el-Wazeer (His Excellency the Minister, director: Samir Saif), Producer
2001	Ayyam al-Sadat (Days of Sadat, director: Mohammad Khan)

Source article:

Egypt State Information Service

Al-Falaki, Mahmud Ahmad Hamdi

Al-Falaki, Mahmud Ahmad Hamdi (1815-19 July 1885)

Engineer, mathematician, and scientist. Mahmud was born in the village of al-Hissa (Gharbiyya province); his father died early, and he was reared by a brother and sent to MUHAMMAD 'Ali's Polytechnic School in the Citadel, He later taught mathematics and astronomy at that school.

Chosen to be a part of 'ABBAS I's student mission to Europe in 1851, he spent nine years in Paris. Upon his return to Cairo, SA'ID charged him with drawing maps, among them the first complete topographic map of Egypt .

He held several important government posts, including public works minister, and became the president of the khedivial Geographic Society.

He represented Egypt at the International Congress of Geographer in Venice in 1881 and in Paris in 1885.

As minister of education (1884-1885) he instituted several important educational reforms, one of which was to require that the foreign schools receiving subsidies from the Egyptian government undergo regular inspections.

In his published writings, he tried to prove that the Giza Pyramids were built for astronomical purposes; he also established the exact birth and death dates for the probhet Muhammad.

He directed the Education Ministry and the Geographical Society until his death in Cairo.

Bibliographic Sources

" Abd-al-Rahman , Ibrahim Hilmi, "Mahmud al-Falaki"

'Aqqad, Abbas Mahmud, "Mahmud Basha al Falaki"

Brockelmann. GAL,S, 642-3,747,

Cheiko,al-Adab al-'arabiyaa,103

Source article:

Egypt State Information Service

Dr. Gamal Hemdan

Dr. Gamal Hemdan

Dr. Gamal Hemdan was not merely an eminent geographer, but indeed a unique example of the serious and fully dedicated academician and scholar.

For almost forty years, Dr. Hemdan willingly withdrew from public life, and dedicated himself, in almost hermit-like, but positive seclusion, to intensive meditation, research and prolific writing.

An encyclopedic intellectual of a rare caliber, Dr. Hemdan managed to invest his wealth of knowledge in the service of a broad spectrum of social sciences, let alone his major specialty: geography.

His works had a far-reaching impact on the entire field of social sciences that was almost tantamount to a revolution in geography. With a unique literary style of his own, Dr. Hemdan turned the science of geography into a universal, encyclopedic social science. Taking geography as an access road to other branches, he skillfully used this multi-disciplinary approach to study Egypt’s location, history, culture and future.

Birth:
Hemdan was born in the Qalyoubia Governarate on Feb. 2, 1928. His father, a teacher of Arabic language, had been discharged from Al Azhar educational institution on charges of participating in the demonstrations of the Egyptian Revolution of 1919.

Education:
At the age of eight, he joined the primary school. He then moved to the prestigious Tawfiqiyya secondary school, which had a nationwide fame for its high educational standard and sports facilities. There, he became aware of his love and innate talent for geography.

Having completed his secondary education in 1944, with distinction, ranking sixth on the list of graduates nationwide, he joined the Department of Geography at the Cairo University, Faculty of Arts. At the age of twenty, he obtained his B.A with Distinction.He was soon appointed a staff member at Faculty of Arts, where he was granted a scholarship at the University of Reading, UK to obtain his MA and PhD degrees .There, he was a student of the eminent Enghlish geographer, Professor Austen Miller.

Career:
Hemdan’s M.A thesis entitled “Population of the Nile Mid Delta; Past and Present" was highly commended by his professor. He believed that the thesis was eligible to a PhD. In 1951, Hemdan returned to Egypt to collect his scientific data.

In 1953, he obtained his PhD Honours, Grade I . Back in Cairo, he was appointed a teacher at the Department of Geography, Faculty of Arts, Cairo University. Upon his return, Hemdan found out that many changes were taking place in the Egyptian society, following the 1952 Revolution.

He was looking forward to positively contribute, through his intellectual and scientific efforts, to the development of the Egyptian society.

However, with his rare, high sensitivity, Hemdan found out he was unable to cope with some negative social aspects affecting his academic career.

He preferred to withdraw, in silence from the hustle and bustle of public life and willingly abandoned his academic career. Although Hemdan lived, physically, in voluntary almost hermit-like seclusion, yet he was most productive as a thinker and scholar. Apparently, this self-imposed positive solitude provided him with the right atmosphere for unceasing, uninterrupted and free meditation, research and innovation.

The works produced during his solitude vividly show his exceptional talent, not only as a geographer but also as a social scientist. To Hemdan, geography was a tool whereby to induce and take inspiration from the spirit of place to reach an accurate scientific definition of its characteristic.

He thought of geography both as a science, art and philosophy. He advocated what he called “Living Geography”; i.e. every day geography. If adequately defined, the pattern, nature, conditions and laws relating to life in that place will be thoroughly identified.

Hemdan’s natural talent for painting and calligraphy and his liking of music and singing were instrumental to his exceptional excellence in geography.

Viewpoints:
Hemdan’s outstanding intellectual and geographical achievements constituted the most important accomplishment of the Egyptian geographical school, that stresses Egypt’s uniqueness and singularity in terms of time and place, of geography and history. In his works, he adopted a multi-disciplinary approach, encompassing geography, history, sociology, politics and culture.

Hemdan’s writings clearly manifested a unique wealth of knowledge, an immense power of meditation and observation and a distinct, devoted love of Egypt. His was the connoisseur’s love of the components of a unique gem. Utilizing these exceptional resources, Hemdan could delineate and interpret the Egyptian personality as influenced by location and geographical considerations.

Major works:
Hemdan left behind a rich legacy of writing in both Arabic and English languages, including seventeen books in Arabic and eight in English, in addition to several articles in Arabic, published in newspapers, magazines and other publications .

It is worthy of note that he had a futuristic outlook in his writings. He predicted several events, which, he thought, were compatible or incompatible with the facts of geography. Chief of these was his prediction of the disintegration of the Soviet Union.

His encyclopedic work: "The Personality of Egypt", the most outstanding of his intellectual achievements, was the product of ten years of dedicated efforts, during which time he used 245 Arabic and 691 foreign reference books in several languages.

In this prestigious book, he elaborately expounded the constituent factors making-up the Egyptian personality since the early days of the Pharaohs. To him, Egypt was the central chapter of the book of geography, which turned into the opening chapter of the book of history, maintaining all through a coherent civilization across history. Egypt, to Hemdan was a unique non-repetitive geographical anomaly. Apart from the “Description of Egypt”, which appeared in print during the French Expedition to Egypt , Hemdan’s book "The personality of Egypt" remains an unprecedented scientific masterpiece on Egypt.

Awards:
State Incentive Prize in Arts and Letters, 1959 State Merit Prize in Social Science, 1986 Scientific Criticism Award , by the State of Kuwait, 1986 Order of Merit of the First Class for Science and Arts, 1988

In line with his full dedication to science and his almost ascetic attitude to formalities, he refused to break away from his self-imposed solitude. Apart from the first prize awarded to him in 1959, he would not to receive any other prize.

In April 17, 1993, Dr. Gamal Hemdan died, leaving behind a huge scientific legacy, that would rightly place him as an outstanding landmark in the modern Egyptian enlightening movement .

Arabic Books:
Studies on the Arab World; Cairo, 1958 Patterns of the Environment, Cairo, 1958 Study on Urban Geography; Cairo, 1958 The Arab City, Cairo, 1964 Arab Oil, Cairo, 1964 Colonization and Liberation in the Arab World, Cairo, 1964 Anthropology of Jews, Cairo, 1967 Personality of Egypt, Dar el-Helal Publications, Cairo, 1967 The Strategy of Colonization and Liberation, Cairo, 1978 Introduction to "Cairo" " by Desmond Stewart, translated by Yehya Haqqi, 1969 The Contemporary Islamic World, Cairo, 1971 Between Europe and Asia: A Study in the Geographic Counterparts, Cairo, 1972 The Arab Republic of Libya: A Study in Geopolitics, Cairo 1973 6th of October War in the International Strategy, Cairo, 1974. The Suez Canal, Cairo, 1975 New Africa, Cairo, 1975 Personality of Egypt: A Study in the Genius of the Place, four volumes, Cairo, 1975-84

English Books:
Population of the Nile Mid-Delta, Past and Present, Reading University, June 1953, 2 volumes Khartoum : Study of a City, Geog. Review, 1956 Studies in Egyptian Ubranism, Cairo, 1960 Evolution of Irrigation and Agriculture in Egypt A History of Land Use in Arid Regions, Ed . L. Dubley Stamp UNESCO, Paris, 1961 Egypt: The Land and the People, A Guide Book to Geology, 1962 Pattern of Medieval Urbanism in Arab World, Geog. Review, April 1962 A Political Map of the New Africa, Geog. Review October 1963 The Four Dimensions of Egypt

Source article:

Egypt State Information Service

Hassan Fathy

Hassan Fathy

Master of Builders

• 1900: Born in Alexandria to an Upper Egyptian father and Turkish mother

• 1926: Graduated from Cairo University, where he started studying agriculture but switched to architecture

• 1928: Talkha Primary School, first recorded project Fathi completed after graduation; neo-classical style with engaged columns, pediments and acrotyrion executed in precise detail

• 1938: Hayat Villa, for famous artist Hayat Mohamed • 1940-41: Rural Hospitals, built using the Nubian construction techniques Fathy discovered in Upper Egypt

• 1946: New Gourna, Luxor, Commissioned by the Egyptian Department of Antiquities to solve the problem of tomb-robbing in the Valley of the Kings, Queens and Nobles nearby

• 1950: Mosque, Punjab, India

• 1957: Harraniya weaving village, Imbaba

• 1957: Arab Refugee Housing, design for a prototype of temporary housing for Palestinian refugees

• 1967: New Bariz Village, Kharga, Fathy's best known community project

• 1971: Nasser Mausoleum

• 1973: Chicago Press publishes Architecture for the Poor (variation from French Architecture with the People), which catapulted Fathy's work to international fame

• 1980: Dar Al-Islam Village, Abiquiu, New Mexico

• 1980: Received Aga Khan Award for Architecture

• 1984: Received Medal of the Union of International Architects

• 1984: Received first-ever honorary Doctorate awarded by AUC

• 1989: Died

Source article:

Egypt State Information Service

Zahi Hawass

Zahi Hawass

Zahi Hawass is an Egyptian Egyptologist and archaeologist who obtained a Bachelor's degree from Alexandria University, and his Doctoral Degree (Ph.D) from the University of Pennsylvania. He is currently the Secretary General of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities; prior to that, he was the Director of the Giza Plateau and has also worked at archaeological sites in the Nile Delta, the Western Desert, and the Upper Nile Valley.

Hawass is currently spearheading a movement to return many prominent Ancient Egyptian artifacts, such as the Rosetta Stone, the bust of Nefertiti, the zodiac ceiling painting from the Dendera Temple, the bust of Ankhhaf (the architect of the Chephren Pyramid), and the statue of Hemiunu, nephew of the Pharaoh Khufu, builder of the largest pyramid, to Egypt from collections in various other countries.

In July 2003, the Egyptians demanded the return of the Rosetta Stone. Hawass, as secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Cairo, told the press, "If the British want to be remembered, if they want to restore their reputation, they should volunteer to return the Rosetta Stone because it is the icon of our Egyptian identity."

He is also a vocal opponent of the ancient astronauts theories about a previous worldwide civilization. He appeared on a History Channel show to dispel the theories, and provided evidence to show that the Egyptians built the pyramids of Egypt. Hawass is now a regular columnist for Egypt Today magazine.

Hawass was also alongside the Egyptologist Otto Schaden who opened Tomb KV63 in February 2006 — the first intact tomb to be found in the Valley of the Kings since 1922.

In June 2007, Hawass announced that he and a team of experts may have identified the mummy of Hatshepsut in KV60, a small tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

Dr Hawass was recently in the UK for the opening of the "Tutankhamen and the Golden Age of the Pharaohs" exhibition in London.

He is the author of many books including one on "King Tutankhamen: The Treasures from the Tomb" published to coincide with this major exhibition in the UK.

His most recent article on Tutankhamen was published in Ancient Egypt magazine.

He has written several articles for this bi-monthly UK-based magazine on ancient Egypt.

He is opposed to the claims of Afrocentrists. According to Dr. Hawass "Tutankhamen was not black, and the portrayal of ancient Egyptian civilization as black has no element of truth to it."

Source article:

Egypt State Information Service

Dr. Farouk al-Baz

Dr. Farouk al-Baz scientist for all ages

Dr. Farouk al-Baz, originally an Egyptian to the core, is a world scientist who has contributed over four decades a great deal of scientific research that has changed our concepts and visions about the cosmos and the planets, in the depths of the earth and the unlimited vistas of space.

Born in Egypt in 1938, Farouk al-Baz completed his education and obtained B.SC in chemistry and geology from Ein Shams university in 1960.in the same year he left for the United States where he got M.SC from faculty of Mining and Minerals, Mioussuri University in 1961.

Then he obtained his PH.D in economic geology in 1964 and gained honorary membership of several national and international societies as well as fellowships of the U.S geological societies the American Union for the progress of sciences, the Explorers Club in New York, University Club of Boston and Cosmos Club in Washington.

Dr. Farouk al Baz has published more than 200 scientific research and wrote 6 books, mainly about the moon, space pioneers and Apollo space shuttles.

He is appointed a visiting professor in several American and Arab universities, supervising post-graduate studies and giving lectures in several technical institutes worldwide.

Farouk al-Baz lives with his American wife and four daughters in the United States. Currently, Dr. Farouk is occupying the post of the principal of the Space Research Center in Boston University.

"Al-Itihad" newspaper met Dr. Farouk and interviewed him on a number of issues.

Q: There is always a question about your not obtaining the Nobel Prize despite your major achievements in the moon conquest.

A: My brothers wonder the same. Simply, the Nobel Prize does not embrace geology. Therefore, no geologist can get it.

Q: You and your siblings, except one, all got Ph.D. what is the secret behind that success, though you were brought up in an ordinary way?

A: Only three of us got Ph. D. and the rest got university degrees and senior posts. The reason was my father's unlimited keenness to education that he considered the key of life. When I was abroad I was enlightened by his views, and his concern was to advise us not to change and remain Arab in essence and ethical in customs and behaviour.

Q: Tell us about the circumstances of your moving to America and your work in NASA. A: It was customary for Egypt to send missions for higher studies to Russia at the time of President Nasser, and my brother Osama suggested to wait till I got a scholarship from Europe or America, out of his experience from his visits to Russia and America as a diplomat. Finally, I got a scholarship from the United States where I got my Master and then the Doctorate.

In fact, I prepared my self to set up a school for economic geology after several visits to the mines in the mountains and vallies in several states of America.

I also studied in Germany to get acquainted with mines in Europe. Then I returned to America and joined NASA in Washington, for they needed geologists to study geological reports from spaceships on the moon. Later, I was appointed supervisor in charge of training the space pioneers in geology and physiological instructions.

Q: How were you viewed as an Arab by American colleagues? What was their view about geologist in general?

A: Their view to geologists was unpleasant. I remember when I asked a colleague to tell one of the space pioneers to come to meet a geologist called Farouk al-Baz to give him training about geology, he considered the matter as a joke, asking who that Baz is (laughing). Generally, they had some apprehensions and misgivings about me as Egyptian especially when I was nominated the Secretary General of the committee in charge of specifying the landing areas on the moon surface.

At last they were convinced that the best is selected until he makes a mistake leading to his being fired.

The situation remained as such, and during the six space shuttles of Apollo, I was the chairman of that committee as well as Head of the committee in charge of training the pioneers on geology until the Apollo project was completed.

Source article:

Egypt State Information Service

Ahmed Zoweil

Ahmed Zoweil

(b. February 26 1946)

Ahmed Hassan Zewail (born in Damanhur, Egypt) is an Egyptian American chemist, and the winner of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work on femtochemistry.

Born in Damanhur (60 km south-east of Alexandria) and raised in Disuq, he received his first degree from the University of Alexandria before moving from Egypt to the United States to complete his PhD at the University of Pennsylvania. After some post doctorate work at the University of California, Berkeley, he was awarded a faculty appointment at Caltech in 1976, where he has remained ever since. He was made the first Linus Pauling Chair in Chemical Physics in 1990.

Zewail's key work has been as the pioneer of femtochemistry—i.e. the study of chemical reactions across femtoseconds. Using a rapid ultrafast laser technique (consisting of ultrashort laser flashes), the technique allows the description of reactions on very short time scales - short enough to analyze transition states in selected chemical reactions.

In 1999, Zewail became the third ethnic Egyptian to receive the Nobel Prize, following Anwar Sadat (1978 in Peace) and Naguib Mahfouz (1988 in Literature).

Other international awards include the Wolf Prize in Chemistry (1993) and the Robert A. Welch Award (1997). In 1999, he received Egypt's highest state honor, the Grand Collar of the Nile.

Cambridge University awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in Science in 2006.

Source article:

Egypt State Information Service