Böcker utgivna av The American University in Cairo Press

A Field Guide to the Mammals of Egypt is the first comprehensive field guide to every mammal species recorded in contemporary Egypt, from gazelle to gerbil, from hyena to hyrax. Each mammal species is described in detail, with reference to identification features, status, habitat, and habits, and with comparisons to similar species. A map is also provided for each species, clearly showing its current, and in some cases historical, range. Every species is meticulously illustrated-the bats and sea mammals in detailed black-and-white illustrations, all other species in scientifically accurate color plates. Additional vignettes emphasize aspects of mammal behavior, cover the minutiae of such features as the nose-leafs and ear structure of the various bat species, and illustrate the tracks and trails of the more commonly encountered mammals. This is an indispensable reference work for anyone interested in the wildlife of Egypt, from professional biologists to desert travelers and interested amateurs. Furthermore, as it describes and illustrates every whale and dolphin species recorded in Egyptian waters, including the Red Sea, it will be of special significance to anyone diving in the region. The book is compact, easy to slip into a daypack, and well up to the rigors of desert travel.

Key selections of Egyptian authors by the world renowned, award-winning translator of Arabic fiction. Ideal introduction to the Arabic short story for anyone studying Arabic.

Directed to learners of Egyptian Colloquial Arabic who have previously studied Modern Standard Arabic, this is the first textbook to handle the different levels and the variety of contexts of Egyptian Colloquial: both the everyday and the educated forms. It is also the first to introduce the language through multimedia, addressing recent and compelling topics of interest to learners of both language and culture, and focusing on pronunciation as a skill.Each of the ten lessons is structured around a video series, Abdalla's Journey, which covers a range of topics in the everyday language, and video interviews with scholars discussing the same topics in the educated variety. Vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation in both language levels are the focus of drills and exercises, and the phonetic and syntactic differences between the two forms are highlighted.

Galal Amin once again turns his attention to the shaping of Egyptian society and the Egyptian state in the half-century and more that has elapsed since the Nasserite revolution, this time focusing on the era of President Mubarak. He looks at corruption, poverty, the plight of the middle class, and of course, the economy, and directs his penetrating gaze toward the Mubarak regime's uneasy relationship with the relatively free press it encouraged, the vexing issue of presidential succession, and Egypt's relations with the Arab world and the United States. Addressing such themes from the perspective of an active participant in Egyptian intellectual life throughout the era, Galal Amin portrays the Mubarak regime's stance in the domestic and international arenas as very much a product of history, which, while not exonerating the regime, certainly helps to explain it.

Riyadh is a city of masks, a city "e;like a pressure cooker that's about to explode,"e; a city that sleeps on a pile of words that no one dares utter. Saudi society has split into two camps, one adopting the slogan that God is strict in punishment, the other that God is merciful and forgiving. In the background the media trumpets that everything is perfect. Saudi writer Fahd al-Atiq explores this world through the character of Khaled, whose dysfunctional life, humdrum but rich in memories and introspection, bridges the gap between the old impoverished world of Najd and the consumerism of the years after the various oil booms, symbolized in this novel by the family's move from the lively back streets of the old city to an isolated dream villa in the new suburbs, where their dreams are never quite fulfilled and their lives remain permanently 'on hold.'

Yusuf Idris was undoubtedly one of Egypt's most talented and versatile writers in the second half of the twentieth century. The first two novellas in this volume, Madam Vienna and The Secret of His Power, come from the peak period in his career, the late 1950s and early 1960s, while New York 80 belongs to his late period, the 1980s.

In this special new and expanded edition of the bestselling book first published in 1999, photographer Britta Le Va guides us through the back streets and alleys of Naguib Mahfouz, to produce a collection of outstanding visual images of the historic city, while novelist Gamal al-Ghitani describes a walking tour with the great man around the streets of Gamaliya.

Despite the prominence of ancient temples in the landscape of Egypt, books about them are surprisingly rare; this new publication from a prominent Czech scholar answers the need for a study that goes beyond temple architecture to examine the spiritual, economic and political aspects of these specific institutions and the dominant roles they played.

Introducing the Uktub al-'arabiya series with the Advanced level volume, the authors of this new textbook aim to develop the writing skills of students learning Modern Standard Arabic, enabling them to move from forming correct words, phrases, sentences, and simple texts, to writing simple paragraphs and ultimately producing texts with the competency of a native speaker. These books, with the beginner and intermediate level volumes forthcoming, can accompany any other Arabic textbooks. The Advanced level volume introduces students to authentic Arabic written texts; strengthens and enhances their grammar; includes more sophisticated key words, collocations, expressions, and idioms; reinforces linguistic accuracy; and trains them to use handwriting script. Practical skills such as how to write letters are included.Developed and piloted in the classrooms of the Arabic Language Institute at the American University in Cairo, this series has benefited from the expertise and knowledge of leading teachers of Arabic.

Irregular or illegal housing constitutes the ordinary condition of popular urban housing in the Middle East. Considering the conditions of daily practices related to land and tenure mobilization and of housing, neighborhood shaping, transactions, and conflict resolution, this book offers a new reading of government action in the cities of Amman, Beirut, Damascus, Istanbul, and Cairo, focussing on the participation of ordinary citizens and their interactions with state apparatus specifically located within the urban space. The book adopts a praxeological approach to law that describes how inhabitants define and exercise their legality in practice and daily routines. The ambition of the volume is to restore the continuum in the consolidation, building after building, of the popular neighborhoods of the cities under study, while demonstrating the closely-knit social relationships and other forms of community bonding.

This unique interdisciplinary collective project is the culmination of research and translation work conducted by AUC students of different cultural and linguistic backgrounds who continue to witness Egypt's ongoing revolution. This historic event has produced an unprecedented proliferation of political and cultural documents and materials, whether written, oral, or visual. Given their range, different linguistic registers, and referential worlds, these documents present a great challenge to any translator.The contributors to this volume have selectively translated chants, banners, jokes, poems, interviews, as well as presidential speeches and military communiqués. Their practical translation work is informed by the cultural turn in translation studies and the nuanced role of the translator as negotiator between texts and cultures. The chapters focus on the relationship between translation and semiotics, issues of fidelity and equivalence, creative transformation and rewriting, and the issue of target readership. This mature collective project is in many ways a reenactment of the new infectious revolutionary spirit in Egypt today.

The Middle Eastern bazaar is much more than a context for commerce: the studies in this book illustrate that markets, regardless of their location, scale, and permanency, have also played important cultural roles within their societies, reflecting historical evolution, industrial development, social and political conditions, urban morphology, and architectural functions. This interdisciplinary volume explores the dynamics of the bazaar with a number of case studies from Cairo, Damascus, Aleppo, Nablus, Bursa, Istanbul, Sana'a, Kabul, Tehran, and Yazd.

The small sabil-kuttab (a charitable foundation particular to Cairo that combines a public water dispensary with a Quranic school) built in 1760 opposite the venerated Sayyida Zeinab Mosque is almost unique in Cairo: it is one of only two dedicated by a reigning Ottoman sultan, and-astonishingly-it is decorated inside with blue-and-white tiles from Amsterdam depicting happy scenes from the Dutch countryside. Why did the sultan, Mustafa III, cloistered in his Istanbul palace, decide to build a sabil in Cairo? Why did he choose this site for it? How did it come to be adorned with Dutch tiles? What were the connections between Cairo, Istanbul, and Amsterdam in the middle of the eighteenth century? The authors answer these questions and many more in this entertaining and beautifully illustrated history of an extraordinary building, describing also the recent conservation efforts to preserve it for posterity.

In the era of globalization, change is the order of the day, but the conventional view of the Arab Middle East is that of a rigid and even stagnant region. This book counters the static perception and focuses instead on regional dynamics. The international team of contributors evaluate the development of Arab civil society; examine the opportunities and challenges facing the Arab media; link the debates concerning Arab political thought to the evolving regional and international context; look at the transformation of armed Islamist movements into deradicalized factions; assess how and to what extent women's empowerment is breaking down patriarchy; and analyze the rise of non-state actors such as Hizbollah and Hamas that rival central political authority.

In a collection of articles originally published between 1995 and 2011, Egyptian journalist Hani Shukrallah examines his own culture and society during what he terms "a tempestuous period of history for the region and for its relations with the rest of the world." He makes unflinching observations and asks difficult questions in his attempts to reveal underlying truths about democracy, human development, regional power relations, and the demonization of Arabs and Muslims in the west.While most of the articles in this collection were written in what Shukrallah describes as the Arabs' "age of ugly choices," it ends on a high note: the Egyptian Revolution and the promise of a long-awaited Arab spring. In a 7000-word introduction, Shukrallah reexamines the period in question from the perspective of the Revolution, which he admits took him completely by surprise. An epilog includes a collection of articles written on the very eve of the Revolution and as it was taking place.

At the time of the Egyptian Revolution in 1952, the population of Egypt was around 22 million. At the end of 2002, it stood at 69 million, and was growing at a rate of 1.33 million a year. What happens to a society that grows so quickly, when the habitable and cultivable land of the country is strictly limited? After the success of Whatever Happened to the Egyptians?, Galal Amin now takes a further bemused look at the changes that have taken place in Egyptian society over the past half century, this time considering the disruptions brought about by the surge in population. Basing his arguments on both academic research and his own personal experiences and impressions, and employing the same light humor and keen sense of empathy as in his earlier work, the author discusses how runaway population growth has not only profound effects on many aspects of society-from love and fashion to telephones, the supermarket, and religion-but also predictable effects on the economy.

In a small town in the Nile Delta lives Houda the deaf and mute butcher's apprentice. Revealing the town's private stories through public sign language, Houda articulates the unspoken and the forbidden, to unsettle the apparent quietude of rural society. But his desire threatens to scandalize the town and rock its codes of public behavior.

For most of the modern world, ancient Nubia seems an unknown and enigmatic land. Only a handful of archaeologists have studied its history or unearthed the Nubian cities, temples, and cemeteries that once dotted the landscape of southern Egypt and northern Sudan. Nubia's remote setting in the midst of an inhospitable desert, with access by river blocked by impassable rapids, has lent it not only an air of mystery, but also isolated it from exploration.This book attempts to document some of what has recently been discovered about ancient Nubia, with its remarkable history, architecture, and culture, and thereby to give us a picture of this rich, but unfamiliar, African legacy.

In the Nile Valley and desert oases south of Cairo-Upper Egypt-surviving domestic buildings from the eighteenth, nineteenth, and early twentieth centuries demonstrate a unique and varied strand of traditional decoration. Intricate patterns in wood, iron, or plaster adorn doorways, balconies, windows, and rooflines in towns and villages throughout the region.One of the most distinctive cultural features of these traditional homes is the decorated wooden balcony-screen-with jigsaw-cut patterns often based on creative repetitions, inversions, and mirrorings of the Arabic letter waw-which was designed to veil the residents from public view while allowing them to take the air and watch the outside world go by.Here, Ahmed Abdel-Gawad presents a wide range of these exuberant and largely unknown designs, in both photographs and detailed architectural drawings, for the use and appreciation of designers, decorators, artists, and lovers of vernacular architecture.

One of the many striking things about Egypt's 25 January Revolution as manifested in Cairo's Tahrir Square was the imagination and creativity of the posters, placards, and signs that the protesters wore, waved, or hung from buildings, fences, and lampposts day by day throughout the demonstrations. These emotive messages displayed a range of visual inventiveness and linguistic dexterity (in Arabic, English, and several other languages) that expressed very powerful feelings yet often entertained at the same time. Egyptian amateur photographer Karima Khalil here gathers images taken by herself and others of these messages, showing their great variety, from the simple and repeated Irhal ("Leave"), written in a hundred different ways, to poems, rhyming slogans, puns, jokes, and tributes to the martyrs killed by security forces in the protests. These messages form a compelling visual record of a people's long suppressed hopes and desires.

Besides its archaeological treasures, Egypt is also home to an exotic and mysterious wealth of wildlife, hiding at times in its temples and tombs, its deserts and oases. The Nile nourishes an array of habitats, flora, and fauna often overlooked by the archaeologically curious tourist. This full-color foldout guide introduces an exciting array of animals and plants, from river wetland residents to desert survivors. Water-resistant and compact, it is the perfect travel companion, filled with beautiful illustrations, comprehensive text, diagrams, and maps.Includes:- Map of Egypt and opportune locations to see wildlife- Palms & other common native and non-native plants- Mammal species: carnivores, insectivores, rodents- Common reptiles & amphibians- Insects & invertebrates- Freshwater fish of the NileAbout the series: The AUC Press Nature Foldout series combine, in beautifully practical form, a wealth of information written by leading experts with striking full-color illustrations on the flora and fauna of Egypt and the Middle East. Designed for nature lovers and outdoor adventurers, as well as for indoor use, the foldouts come in an easily foldable format, at once compact, waterproof, and portable, making them durable and convenient travel guides. Size is 23 x 8.5 in. / 58.5 x 21.5 cm unfolded.

The importance of Tawfiq al-Hakim (1898 to 1989) to the emergence of a modern Arabic literature is second only to that of Naguib Mahfouz. If the latter put the novel among the genres of writing that are now an accepted part of literary production in the Arab world today, Tawfiq al-Hakim is recognized as the undisputed creator of a literature of the theater. In this volume, Tawfiq al-Hakim's fame as a playwright is given prominence. Of the more than seventy plays he wrote, The Sultan's Dilemma, dealing with a historical subject in an appealingly light-hearted manner, is perhaps the best known; it appears in the extended edition of Norton's World Masterpieces and was broadcast on the old Home Service of the BBC. The other full-length play included here, The Tree Climber, is one that reveals al-Hakim's openness to outside influences in this case, the absurdist mode of writing. Of the two one-act plays in this collection, The Donkey Market shows his deftness at turning a traditional folk tale into a hilarious stage comedy. Tawfiq al-Hakim produced several of the earliest examples of the novel in Arabic; included in this volume is an extract from his best known work in that genre, the delightful Diary of a Country Prosecutor, in which he draws on his own experience as a public prosecutor in the Egyptian countryside. Three of the many short stories he published are also included, as well as an extract from The Prison of Life, an autobiography in which Tawfiq al-Hakim writes with commendable frankness about himself. Contents: Introduction by Denys Johnson-Davies, The Sultan's Dilemma (full-length play), The Tree Climber (full-length play), The Donkey Market (one-act play), The Song of Death (one-act play), Diary of a Country Prosecutor (extract from the novel), Miracles for Sale (short story), The Prison of Life (extract from the autobiography), Azrael the Barber (short story), Satan Triumphs (short story).