http://english.aljazeera.net/programmes/listeningpost/2008/07/20087111423350627.html

The conflict in Darfur is a news story that has been widely and emotively covered by western media but has attracted relatively little coverage within the Arab media.

The Listening Post’s Salah Khadr finds out why.

There are many similarities between the violence in Iraq and Darfur from the estimate of the number of civilians killed to paramilitaries operating closely linked to the government forces, to victims who are targeted for membership of an ethnic group.

However international media coverage generally reports one as a civil war or cycle of insurgency and the other as a genocide.

More than 200,000 people have died in the conflict in Darfur, with millions more turned into refugees and the situation becoming a picture of “hell on earth” according to the UN.

Sudan’s population is 40 per cent Arab and Arabs are at the heart of the conflict, but for many in the Arab world, the humanitarian catastrophe may as well not exist.

The reason being the Arab media have largely ignored it.

Lawrence Pintak, a journalist and Arab media expert, says the problem with Darfur when it comes to the Arab media is that it does not fit the template of Arabs being the victims and other people the aggressors.

“Arabs here are good guys and bad guys,” he says.

‘State of denial’

“I think we are in a state of denial,” Jehad Khazen, a former editor of the al-Hayat newspaper, says.

“People say ‘the Arabs or Muslims – cannot do this – it did not happen’ – but they did do this and it did happen - and they have to reconcile themselves to the fact.”

Listening Post

Find out more about the programme

Just because the Arab media does not cover a lot of what happens in the Darfur crisis does not mean that Arab public opinion is not interested says Nadim Hasbani, an Arab media analyst from the International Crisis Group.

“A Zogby poll around March or April in 2007 showed there is a real eagerness in Arab public opinion to read more and learn more about what is happening in Darfur. But this is not reflected in the Arab media.”

It could be argued that geography plays a role in the limited coverage given the conflict is in Africa, not the Middle East.

But whilst Darfur largely remains a non-event on the Arab media scene, European and North American media travel from greater distances to cover this story.

“There is always going to be some sort of reluctance to demonise their own, the Arabs as they will see themselves,” Opheera McDoom, Reuters correspondent in Darfur, says.

“But I think while there has been coverage in the Arab media, there has been a reluctance in the Arab media to go to Darfur and check things out for themselves.

“I see a lot more western media going to Darfur and spending weeks in Darfur than I do Arab media and that is where you see the difference. You will get a much more in-depth coverage and a lot more interesting coverage if you actually go to Darfur, and that is where the Arab media has fallen down.”

However, some Arab media analysts say that the implied rationale from the American media in particular is that the story in Darfur is Arabs killing Africans because they do not know anything other than violence.

US suspicion

“That’s what the audience is left to conclude,” says Mahmood Mahdani of Columbia University.

“So that’s of course not acceptable if you are part of the Arab media. You can immediately sense that you are being caricatured and demonised at the same time.”

 It is questionable, however, if such suspicions over the motivation and vigour of US media coverage account for the strategy of limited coverage from many Arab media outlets.

Arab media’s coverage of Darfur is often more analysis than reporting [EPA]

“What is most striking to me is that the media coverage has a single focus and that’s a focus on atrocities, on atrocity stories, there’s no attempt to place them in context,” Mahdani says.

“There’s no attempt to explain, to locate it historically, to show that there’s any change happening.

“I think it is about linking Darfur with the larger war on terror by portraying and framing the perpetrators of violence in Darfur as Arabs.”

The 22 Arab states all have a distinctive media output and often it is not so much a question of following an agenda but deciding which agenda to follow.

“It is not one agenda – every Arab government has a different agenda from the other – Egypt is more interested in Darfur as Sudan is next door and doesn’t want a spill over,” Khazen says.

“But a country a like the UAE or Oman – find they are not directly involved and they can’t influence events – so you find that the coverage is much more limited there.”

Government hindrance

Covering Darfur is also hindered by the government of Sudan who have imposed strict access criteria and will often not issue visas or take journalists to government-controlled areas.

“They [the government] know that if more information comes out there will be added pressure on the Sudanese government,” Hasbani says.

“It’s not easy to cover Darfur – its not easy for Western Journalists and its not easy for Arab journalists,” Lawrence Pintak says.

“I talked to an Al Jazeera correspondent who was based in Khartoum a while back – and he said to go and cover Darfur – you have to go to Khartoum – then to Nairobi – to West Africa up to Cameroon, across from Cameroon to Chad and then in through the back door to the refugee camps.

“If you don’t do that then you are on a guided tour and you may as well go to Disneyland.”

The result of these restrictions has been a move toward more analytical coverage and away from hard reporting.

“What’s happened in Arab media is that we have so much coverage of the political issues related to Darfur like – what is the UK, France, US, UN reaction to Darfur – but what we really need actually is not the political coverage, but the coverage from the ground,” Hasbani says.

“What are the facts, what are the stories, where are the images of the refugees of the people being killed? These are images we don’t have but are the images we need – its not about the political process.”
 

A Listening Post special on the media coverage of Darfur can be seen on Al Jazeera from Friday July 12 at the following times GMT:

Friday

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For a good description of the state of blogging and human rights in the Arab world, read the results of this conference in Cairo sponsored by the Arab Network for Human Rights Informnation, in Arabic and English

http://www.openarab.net/ar/node/531

this raises an interesting question -

Beirut-based blogger, Razan Ghazzawi, discusses what blogs mean to the media landscape, for journalism and for the concept of free speech and democracy in the Middle-East.

BY RAZAN GHAZZAWI

Blog for a Cause!: The Global Voices Guide of Blog Advocacy explains how activists can use blogs as part of campaigns against injustice around the world. Blogging can help activists in several ways. It is a quick and inexpensive way to create a presence on the Internet, to disseminate information about a cause, and to organize actions to lobby decision-makers.

And here is the Arabic version:

 http://advocacy.globalvoicesonline.org/wp-content/uploads/ar-blog4cause.pdf

Rights groups demand investigation into alleged assault against journalists

By Compiled by Daily New Egypt
First Published: June 27, 2008

The Arabic Network for Human Rights Information (ANHRI), the Arab Council for the Support of a Fair Trial and the Hisham Mubarak Law Center submitted a petition to the deputy minister of interior affairs on June 21, calling for an inquest into Murad’s alleged torture by police officers, according to a press release by ANHRI.

Three police officers in Beheira physically and verbally abused Murad, said the statement, and confiscated his notes and mobile phone memory card.

He was then arrested on charges of attacking police officers and inciting peasants against the security forces, said the ANHRI.

The incident reportedly follows Murad’s exposure of an influence-peddling case involving a local trader and his two sons who are police officers.

In his investigation, Murad has interviewed peasants in Ezbat Moharram in Beheira and shot pictures of police officers beating peasants in order to force them to sign lease contracts with a landlord, the rights group said.

The officers were allegedly doing this as a favor to their fellow policeman whose father happens to be the landlord.

 

This is a courageous editorial from the Yemen Times.

The image of Yemeni media globally is that journalists are struggling for freedom of expression willing to die for the cause, while the evil Yemeni government especially the Ministry of Information and the political security apparatus are chocking the life and spirit out of the free journalists. There are reportedly many violations against freedom of press, and so many local reports come every year to document such violations.

For example, the Center for Training and Protection of Journalists’ Freedoms based in Sana’a issued its annual report this month stating that there had been 220 registered incidents against journalists in 2007, while the first third of 2008 witnessed 52 violations. These range from harassment, verbal and physical abuse and court cases. Year 2007 was termed by the report as the worst year for freedom of press in Yemen.

However, that is only half of the story.

The other half which not many people talk or want to talk about is regarding the number of false news items published by Yemeni media, or the number of drastic mistakes in figures and inaccuracies published and broadcasted. Or the extortion incidents Yemeni journalists are committing against business owners, government officials and even diplomats so as to get money.

Worse of all, no one talks about how the Yemeni journalists’ community is suffering from apathy regarding causes they claim to defend. They even don’t show support to their own issues such as violations against the press. In the protest called on by the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate last week in support of Al-Wasat Newspaper, which was prevented from being printed, of the hundreds of Sana’a based journalists only 12 showed up. And I am sure some of them were at the syndicate by chance just to follow their journalists ID cards or some other business.

But this was not reported because we do not want the government to think that we are divided and that we don’t care if Al-Wasat ever publishes again or Al-Khaiwani receives a death sentence.

This is partly because many of the people working in media today are there because they could not do anything else. There is a common saying in Yemen that journalism is the profession of those who don’t have a job. So they are just considering journalism as a job like any other job and they simply want to keep it by staying out of trouble, so that they get a salary at the end of the month. This applies heavily to official media including TV and radio.

The other reason is that a large part of Yemeni journalists are frustrated and bored. They are underpaid, under trained and not respected. So they don’t appreciate their profession and the “will to defend the truth and change the world”, has long gone with the first paycheck. Now there is even a worse trend which is: Yemeni journalists write about events and issues only if that particular organization pays them to do so. They are simply sold. For example, for international organsiations including the high level ones such as the UN agencies, the World Bank, or even events carried out by embassies, there is a budget line called media transport allowance. This is apparently the money they give journalists in order to get them on board and give the event or the issue publicity. Apparently it is to help the journalists get “transportation” to the venue of the event. Keep in mind that they pay at least 2000 Yemeni riyals per day, while it could cost 40 riyals on average to get physically to that venue. Maybe transportation here includes spiritual preparation for journalists, or maybe they are hiring expensive cars, but nevertheless, it works. And this is why if someone has an event but does not include “transportation allowance” none will even show up, let alone write about it. Of course there are exceptions, but they are only what they are: exceptions.

So before you jump into conclusions about the situation of Yemeni media, maybe it would be fairer to all parts to take a look at the other side of the story and then see how and who in Yemeni media equation should be supported.

from Arab Media and Society:

Unfortunately, as the latest Freedom House report underlines, the relationship between media and state in the Middle East and North Africa is no fairy tale. Not a single Arab country has a press classified as “free.” For every step forward, there is at least one step back. For every official committed to loosening the reins, there is a lawyer wielding a lawsuit or a police thug with a blood-spattered baton. The rack may be history, but electric probes are today’s torture implement of choice. Just ask blogger and labor activist Kareem al-Beheiri.

http://www.arabmediasociety.com/?article=669

 

http://www.cpj.org/attacks07/mideast

 

from the Committee to Protect Journalism on the Arab news media 2007

In terms of the media, governments have built new strategies to contain the assertive journalists who have emerged over the last decade in countries such as Algeria, Jordan, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. Job dismissals, behind-the-scenes threats, third-party defamation suits, and trumped-up terrorism charges like those brought against al-Khaiwani have replaced the torture, enforced disappearances, and open-ended incarcerations that were the hallmarks of the previous era. Image conscious governments have also become masters of spin, championing cosmetic media reforms designed mainly for public consumption.

 

في وقت العصر من أحد أيام الاربعاء في حزيران/يونيو الماضي، قام عملاء تابعون لأجهزة الأمن اليمنية بمداهمة منزل المحرر الصحفي الجريء عبد الكريم الخيواني، ثم جروه لمحاكمة أمام محكمة أمن الدولة في العاصمة صنعاء. استجوبت النيابة العامة الخيواني، ثم وجهت له تهمة الانتماء لخلية إرهابية سرية—وهي تهمة يمكن أن يعاقب عليها القانون بالإعدام. وقد سبب هذا الاعتقال صدمة بين الصحفيين اليمنيين، وتساءل بعضهم صراحة ما إذا كان زميلهم المعروف بمقالاته المهيّجة التي يهاجم فيها الحكومة اليمنية وحربها ضد المتمردين في مدينة صعدة الواقعة في الشمال الغربي من البلاد، متورطا بأمر شنيع. وقد أصدرت لجنة حماية الصحفيين حينها تصريحات متحفظة أعربت فيها عن انشغالها، لأنها لم تكن متأكدة من أن هذه التهمة لا أساس لها من الصحة

See the report in Arabic, click link.

http://cpj.org/attacks07/mideast_arb/ar_mideast_analysis_07.html

 

It is like reading notes handed from one to another with pictures and videos. The notes becomes the news and the news becomes the mirror of life of things today in Egypt: take a look at what the bloggers are doing these days.

Here’s a video 

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VhY0X3K3Yic

ينبغي على مؤتمر قمة جامعة الدول العربية أن يرفض القيود الجديدة المفروضة على البث الفضائي

By Daoud Kuttab

(CIHRS/IFEX) - The following is an 18 February 2008 CIHRS press release:

Ailing Arab League Undermines Freedom of Expression

CIHRS strongly condemns the document entitled “Principles regulating Radio
and Satellite TV Transmission and Receiving in the Arab Region”, adopted by
the Council of Arab Information Ministers. CIHRS confirms that the
document, disguised by media professional ethics rhetoric, is primarily
aimed at providing a fake national and ethical cover to limit the freedom
margin exercised by the media outlets in some of the Arab countries. This
margin of freedom existed either because of the influence of the global
communications and information revolution or internal and external
pressures for democracy.

Ironically, it is the same Arab League that failed to realize one
achievement for the major Arab issues in Palestine, Iraq, Maghreb Sahara,
the occupied Emirates Islands, Lebanon, Southern Sudan and Darfur, that is
being used as a platform for this “unified Arab” attack on freedom of
expression.

It is indicative that the said document was developed following an
initiative by the Egyptian government as media freedom in Egypt is
seriously deteriorating. This is best manifested by the jail sentences
awaiting five editors-in-chief of partisan and independent newspapers all
at once. In addition, there are hundreds of cases pending at the courts
against journalists as well as defamation campaigns against the press and
satellite channels where government media professionals participate,
claiming that the media is committing violations of code of ethics and
jeopardizes Egypt’s reputation. This is meant to refer to the exposure of
police violations of citizens’ rights and torture incidents. It is
similarly indicative that Saudi Arabia joins such an initiative with its
hegemony over media outlets, not only within the Kingdom, but also
throughout the Arab region.

 from the Initiative for an Open Arab press

Walls of Glass!

Nothing can be hidden in Egypt . The state-owned newspapers are no longer the only source of news or information. To know about real situations in Egypt , one can read the independent newspapers and bloggs.

Torture, corruption, political suppression, poverty, and peaceful and violent protests, all art taking place in Egypt , but the state-controlled media never comment or publish such aspects.

Nowadays, the situation is different; such aspects and events are widely known. All what you need to know about them is to read an independent newspaper or a blogg or to watch the space channels.

No one is above criticism, and no more government secrets, all now are known. Executioners are no longer free to chastise people and go with impunity. Young journalists and bloggers are there to write, criticize and record shootings.

The slogan of “Every thing is OK in Egypt ” is changed to be “ Egypt is not well, let us expose this to find a treatment”.

 http://openarab.net/en/reports/opinion/opinion2.shtml

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-blogger8feb08,0,1169678.story?track=ntothtml

Some ask why blog.  What does it matter?

Here is a powerful answer from Fouad Farhan, a Saudi who was recently arrested and apparently for his writings on the Internet.

Why Do We Blog?1. Because we believe we have opinions that deserve to be heard, and minds that should be respected.2. Because societies do not progress until they learn to respect opinions of their members. And we would like to see our society progressing.3. Because blogging is our only option. We do not have a free media, and freedom to assemble is not allowed.4. Because we want to discuss our opinions.5. Because we think.6. Because we care.7. Because blogging has had a positive effect on other societies and we want to see the same result in our society.8. Because blogging is a reflection of the life of society members. And we are alive.9. Because blogging is gaining increasing attention from media and governments. We want them to listen to us.10. Because we are not scared.11. Because we reject the cattle mentality.12. Because we welcome diversity of opinions.13. Because the country is for all, and we are part of it.14. Because we want to reach out to everyone.15. Because we refuse to be an “echo”.16. Because we are not any less than bloggers in other societies.17. Because we seek the truth.18. Because our religion encourages us to speak out.19. Because we are sick and tired of the Saudi media hypocrisy.20. Because we are positive.21. Because blogging is a powerful tool that can benefit society.22. Because we are affected and we can affect.23. Because we love our country.24. Because we enjoy dialogue and don’t run away from it.25. Because we are sincere. 

 Can you tell the truth in little parts at a time? Can you cut the news into little pieces and hand them out one at a time? Maybe yes. Maybe there is no other other way in the Arab world? What do you think? I wonder if there is a way in between silence and confrontation? Here are the words of one editor at a recent Arab Press conference in Beirut.  ”You cannot be revolutionary, you have to be evolutionary,” said Mohamed Alayyan, Publisher of Al Ghad, the largest independent newspaper in Jordan and the second largest overall. “You can’t say, ’I’m going to turn the tables’, because it won’t get you anywhere and may get you into jail. It is important to adapt and you have to keep pushing the envelope slowly to get to your goal, to get to — if there is such a thing — absolute freedom of speech.” 

Those of us who care about truth, who care about the freedom to tell the truth, we are all journalists. It doesn’t matter if you are by yourself or you are with many. If you are commited to this, you can only do your best.

This belongs belong to you and all those who care and work for freedom of expression in the Arab world. Please make it your resource. And because I am no longer in the Arab world, I cannot see and feel and write about what you know everyday. And so, I welcome you to share  your thoughts here about journalism in the Arab world. I will post your words and hopefully we can continue to share.

shukran, steve

For a reminder about what freedom means to the press, read the record of this conference in Beirut in December 2006: http://www.wan-press.org/tueni_award/articles.php?id=663#2

What the press and journalists have suffered in Lebanon is the history of the country and its citizens — it cannot be treated separately, said Mr Hamadé. “Talking about freedom for the press is talking about the rights of citizens at all levels,” he said.   Tyranny, injustice, occupation, dictators, restrictions, lawsuits, murders, maiming, newspaper offices invaded, civil war — the Lebanese press has seen it all. Fifty years ago, in 1958, the killing of Nassib Matni, owner of At Talagraph, sparked one civil conflict. In the 1960s, agents of Lebanese intelligence targeted and killed journalists. During the civil wars, which lasted more than 17 years, many journalists had to leave Lebanon, while others were murdered.”Today, when we talk about (assassinated journalists) Gebran Tueni and Samir Kassir, we cannot forget this history,” said Mr Hamadé. “Gebran Tueni knew the war that our newspaper was going through. He was challenging the state, government, intelligence, for the freedom of his country.”Mr Hamadé had this to say about the Lebanese press:1. The battle of the press is not a battle of one professional sector isolated from the main battles of the country — the problems of the country are causing the problems in the media profession.2. The difficulties facing the Lebanese press take on many forms. For example, economic difficulties, as when advertising was prohibited in the 1970s.3. Death threats — both those that are carried out and those that are not, but still have an impact on reporting. “We still have many in the Lebanese press who don’t fear anything,” said Mr Hamadé. “They remember the values of the press — transparency, the search for truth, autonomy.”4. There are no free newspapers, only free journalists. Newspapers are free because of the values carried by their journalists.5. Despite all the attacks, the Lebanese press “is still strong against the powers that want it to go backwards.”Alia Talib, Media Specialist, IraqBeing a journalist in Iraq is dangerous. Being a woman journalist is even worse.If a woman fails to wear a veil, she might be killed. If she is kidnapped, and released, she risks being killed by her own family for bringing dishonour to them, said Ms Talib.Women journalists are paid less than men and they do not receive maternity leave or any other benefits.For journalists in general — men and women alike — journalism is a deadly profession in Iraq. “I can tell you that a journalist who works is the main media is a target,” said Ms Talib.Local journalists are sent into this environment with insufficient training to assess the dangers, said Ms Talib.”In general, there is no immunity, no protection for women or men. They do not receive protection. In Iraq, there is no compensation if you are injured.”Journalists, in short, are “disposable.”The solution? “Financially independent newspapers where journalists will work without favour. But they are weak because they don’t have enough money.”Abdlerahim K. Abdallah, Journalism Unit Director, Media Institute/Birzeit University, PalestineIsrael says it believes in a free press, but the situation changes when it comes to Palestinian media, said Mr Abdallah.He said the situation for Palestinian journalists improved after the Oslo agreements, but deteriorated after the intifada. Palestinian journalists are targeted in three ways:1. Simply for being a journalist. A dozen have been killed in recent years simply for being journalists, and Palestinian radio and TV headquarters have been bombed, he said.2. Israeli authorities frequently refuse to recognise that a Palestinian has the right to be a journalist.3. Palestinian journalists are targeted specifically because they write something that displeases the Israeli authorities.”The greatest problem, however, is no freedom of movement,” said Mr Abdallah. “I live near Nablus, we are surrounded by a wall. The gate opens from 6 am to 8 am and you have to work during those two hours. It is difficult to move from one area to another. The presence of Israeli forces is a major problem because they don’t recognise your press card.”But Israeli occupation isn’t the only problem. “There is another problem — the lack of security and the chaos that violate the right to publish and the right to exercise the profession of journalism,” said Mr Abdallah. “Arrests and detention are among the main dangers — dozens are arrested every day. “Jamal Amer, Editor-in-chief, Al Wasat, Yemen“Arab rulers, regardless of their differences, agree on one thing, and that is the way they regard the Arab press — all of them consider it their sworn enemy,” said Mr Amer.In Yemen, journalists have a lot of freedom to practice their profession, “but there are other means of oppression — there is no legal framework. We have a dozen legal loopholes that are traps for journalists” he said.For example, the press cannot criticise the president or other public figures, and “elastic” laws can lead to prison sentences of up to one year.There are other means of oppression as well — physical aggression, false accusations of being foreign agents or traitors, or of consuming alcohol or drugs, and even kidnappings. And the state is not the only oppressor tribal leaders can send people to attack journalists without fear or prosecution, he said.Mr Amer was abducted from his own home on 23 August 2005 following an article in which his newspaper revealed that relatives of the president received scholarships that were meant for other students.Mr Amer was threatened and forced to “confess” that he was a US agent and was told never to write critically about the government. The threats included the threat of sexually abusing his children, he said.”The hope is very dim for practicing journalism without danger as long as we have laws restricting freedom of the press,” he said. “We must change the laws and promote the press. We must work with international organisations that promote freedom.“We should have conferences that highlight violations of the press and issue recommendations, and we should call on the United Nations to play a role in implementing Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We must consider that attacking journalists is an international cause, regardless of the nationality of the journalist. We should let everyone know what is going on.”

  from al Ahram,

Media overhaul

By Salama A Salama

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The press is in crisis. There is no denying that. A balance between freedom and responsibility is badly needed. But this has to take place as part of a larger effort. Taken hostage by outdated laws and forces of the past, caught in an entangled web of hapless politics, our press is staring into the mirror of despair.Modern media is taking over. Television and the Internet are making inroads into a territory that once belonged exclusively to the print press. The press is fighting for dear life with its hands tied behind its back. It is hounded by powers that wish to keep it in its place, and even push it back to where they think it belongs. The press is being pushed back into the era of mass mobilisation, the time when its main function was to praise the powers that be.

Faced by such threats, journalists are making things worse. They fight among themselves. They fight over imagined material or moral gains. And they don’t seem to see the abyss lying ahead. The future has no place for a press devoid of credibility. The future has no place for journalists who curry favour with rulers. If things keep going this way, journalists will end up being mere clerks, or informers, working for a pittance in impoverished private newspapers. Or they’ll go looking for piecemeal work at Arab press offices and television stations.

If the clash between the nationalist and independent press continues, both will lose. Our newspapers need to turn into financially viable and politically independent institutions. They need to modernise their management, introduce transparent financing, embrace the latest technology and train their reporters. We cannot allow the press to disintegrate into the dark recesses of a professional vacuum. We cannot allow the name-calling and the grovelling — all of which was evident in the Press Syndicate’s elections — to go on. Otherwise, we will end up with worthless newspapers that no one wants to read, and this goes for both the national and independent press.

Mass mobilisation can no longer be the mission of the press. The restricted freedoms of the 1960s and 1970s cannot come back. These are new times. We cannot embrace the market economy and freedom one day and eat our words the next. The nature of our political system is going to change, and so will the press. We cannot waste time on half measures. We need to overhaul the entire media system, laws and all. Let me give you one example. According to current laws, you can set up a newspaper with LE250,000 — less than the price of an apartment. How can you expect a newspaper to pay salaries, insurance and taxes on such meagre assets? How do you expect such a paper to resist corruption?

There are people in the media who still do business the old way. They wait for orders from the information minister, the Policies Committee, or the Interior Ministry, and carry them out. This cannot last for long. Also, the current professional standards of our journalists leave much to be desired. What happened to accurate reporting, to balanced writing, to objective views, to refined language?

This country is thinking about the economy all the time. Perhaps it is time we think a little about the press. We’re no longer competitive. We have fallen behind other media in the region. This can change, but only when we start moving in the right direction.

We need an independent press. And we need a financially viable press.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/chi-alexandria_pmoct28,0,7694466,full.story

By Stephen Franklin Tribune Staff Writer

October 28, 2007

ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT-As the old hotel elevator rumbles upward, its antiquarian wood and brass cage carries me backward.

Back to the 1930s when the Cecil Hotel — staring out at an ancient harbor, a busy square and chic European-style patisseries — was the gathering place for aspiring (and already world-famous) writers, for social climbers and for curious foreigners caught up in Egypt’s mystique. Back to a breezy, Mediterranean city on the edge of Africa that once felt like Marseilles and London and Naples and Istanbul, and a mixture of everything from the Middle East thrown into an exotic urban stew.