The Older Generation of the Middle East

The older generation of the Middle East is a pretty broad topic that has the potential of being elaborated upon for a very long time and I like the older generation of the Middle East. The age of the people around my grandparents maybe or something like that is the generation I am really interested in. For example they all have stories of their past. In fact, I find it really odd that they are able to still recall. Nonetheless, it is always interesting to just sit down with the older people and just listen to them talk.

Their style of talking is also really unique. It is like they are always narrating something like a story or something. The dramatic touch they always add to their speech is interesting and I find it difficult to do it myself. Also when older people get together and start talking it is more interesting than watching something on the television or something.

The older generation is also unsure of the features of the newer generation. For instance they don't like their music, their outfits, and their hair. There are plenty of other things that the older generation just looks down upon however I can't seem to remember it at the moment.

The main thing that the older generation has to offer is their idealistic approach to things. They are not materialistic (at least the vast majority of them aren't) and they also are really don't seem to think at all about their nation. Some of them have been living in the terrible governments for a very long time and they all seemed to enjoy the Arab Spring (the simultaneous revolutions that occurred throughout the Middle Eastern nations) very much.

I like the fact that the older people still showed support for the Arab Spring because they seem like they still have to have a hand in fixing up their nation.

The older generation's features of music and clothing and so on is something that they still use until today. Even though they have been introduced to the newer and more modern outfits and music yet they still like their older music and they don't like what the newer generation is into itself.

Older generations have get plenty of respect from the younger generations. You will often see a younger child helping out an older person. It is really nice to see the respect being exhibited to the older people.

Restaurants of the Middle East

The restaurants of the Middle East differ from nation to nation and from places in a particular nation to different places. I don't really know much about restaurants in like Dubai or Kuwait City and so on however if I was to make a guess I'd probably say that they are all fancy and they attempt to appeal to the public like as if they were tourists. However that is just a guess. Restaurants in the Middle East tend to get very fancy in hotels and so on and more richer areas. In fact, there are some restaurants in the Middle East (particularly in Egypt because I know about them) that tend to get very expensive and it's like who would want to pay this much for it.

If you go to a tourist town any where in the Middle East the restaurants there are very fancy and modern and that's because the owners are probably trying to attract the tourists that are arriving from abroad. Those restaurants also have the potential of being very expensive and mainly tourists and the upper class people visit them. Tourist towns and their restaurants are among the main source of revenue for the city itself. There are plenty of other forms of money and so on however restaurants play a prominent role.

Then there are the restaurants that are in like the middle of the city and that have the potential of being either very fancy or not fancy at all. There was once a restaurant in in the older areas  that had places to sit outside. It was really cheap. Nonetheless the food was amazing. The fact that the place itself wasn't "modern" and "fancy" and so on made it seem much better.

The fancy restaurants in the Middle East are not visited much by me only because it is unnecessary to pay the much money for food that you could buy somewhere else in the street and also the people that go there are not your average person in the city. It would definitely be nice to visit one of these restaurants only to have been there. However I wouldn't plan on going there often.

The food on these restaurants is very similar to what you can make at your house. In fact, it has the potential of being so similar that it is like you are eating your mother or your grandmother's food. If the food in the restaurant itself tastes like that then you know that the restaurant offers very good food.

Modern Middle East

The modern form of the Middle East is something that many people around the world tend to understand. For instance, many people tend to think that they (Arabs) still live in the old age. This fallacy tends to also be the same thing that's attributed to the modern Middle Eastern world of no expansion and progression. I'll be honest, the governments of the past have definitely had a hand in impeding the growth of certain areas in the Middle East. Nonetheless, there are some nations around the Middle East that have experienced economic growth in the past and they have established more modern infrastructures.

Dubai, for example, is a city in the Middle East however you would never associate it with like a city in Yemen or something. For some reason or another I haven't really been paying attention to the cities in Oman and Yemen and Bahrain and so on and that's only because I really don't know much about them, however that's another story. Nonetheless, Yemen is very old. To think that Dubai and Yemen are in the same region is unbelievable. However they are in the same region and they are inhabited by Muslims.

Middle Eastern societies have enough to deal with on their own. They haven't really been worrying about materialistic (or some cities there) goals and so on. I think that there is a difference between expansion and progression to be able to accommodate a growing population and so on and expansion based on temporary wealth appearance (oil) and see what it can lead to.

Modern Middle Eastern societies have been subject to plenty of wars and occupations in the past. For instance Palestine is a beautiful nation and Jerusalem has been among the centers of world affairs for a very long period. I think that if the Palestinians weren't subject to occupations and war and so on then they would be an advanced and modern society.

There's no doubt that some Middle Eastern nations have adapted to their own particular form of dealings and so on and so they may seem like they are unable to adapt to modern forms of world affairs and attributes. Modern qualities are unique to the already advanced places in the world (Europe and so on) and so the Middle East, whether it's advancing or not, is unable to among the advanced nations around the world because the Middle East is mainly different.

Women in the Middle East

Are women in the Middle East oppressed? Are they really limited in their rights? Do they even have rights? Well, it's questions like these that I love to answer only because I love to spread the positive image of the women in the Middle East. First off, let's discuss the things that they are limited in. I really can't think of anything except maybe in Saudi Arabia where they are not allowed to drive. Ok, I agree that is not good. Nonetheless people tend to look to very trivial aspects and make assumptions that this certain feature is proportional to the equal different topic of something else.

I want to make it clear that women in the Middle East are appreciated very much. It wouldn't be right for me to say that they run the nations. Nonetheless they are more dignified than what they may be presented as. Just because they have to wear a scarf and whatnot around their head doesn't entail that they are oppressed. It just happens that they are Muslim and all they are doing is following their religion. In fact, if you look around the world and find Muslim women all around the world you will find that they too wear the scarf anywhere they go as well. So how come that when they wear in the Middle East they are considered oppressed and if they are in Europe or something they are only portraying the "expanded rights" offered to people there.

Women in the Middle East have had special roles. For the longest time they have been able to vote and they have been considered equal in the work force. And if it happens that a woman chooses not to work then the closest male to her in the family (whether it is a sibling or her father or whatever) is supposed to take care of her. This is to ensure her stability and freedom without forcing her to work.

Women when they get married are not responsible to take charge of the financial aspect of their life and their husband's life after marriage. It is the husbands duty. If they choose to work then it is out of her own decision. Nonetheless people might say that putting the duty on the man only justifies that the male is destined to be the one making most of the decisions and so on. This is incorrect only because the male is supposed to ensure the women's freedom and they (the men) are supposed to go out of their way to make a comfortable life for the women. Women in the Middle East are not oppressed.

Projects in the Middle East: Abdali

The Middle East nowadays (dismiss the fact that there have been numerous uprisings and so on in the past year or so) is quickly expanding its infrastructure and economy and each individual nation is developing numerous projects. There are so many projects going on around the Middle East these days you wonder where they get the money. Then you remember that there are plenty of natural resources such as oil and uranium located in the Middle Eastern region.

One project that caught my attention was Abdali. It is a new business district located in the middle of Amman. Basically what this project consists of is a series of skyscrapers and business parks and so on to take on the expanding economic image of the nation as a whole. Amman is quickly becoming one of the regional spots for starting up businesses and so on and its economy has been expanding incredibly. In order for them to accommodate the expanding business sector of the nation it is imperative for them to start developing a new image to the city. In fact when you look at rendering of the project itself you can tell that it is in the older downtown area (I don't know why they would do so). So they need to knock down older buildings and so on in the area just to put up new skyscrapers.

What is in these skyscrapers? Hotels, apartment complexes, business hubs and so on. And on the ground floor you will find malls and all that stuff. Yes the necessary things that tend to attract the tourists. I'll attempt to refrain from exhibiting any discomfort only because I want to talk about the project itself. So, other than the skyscrapers and so on that necessarily are a few years late, what else is in these skyscrapers? Look, I support expansion but I don't support meaningless expansion. Amman, I think, is a different story though only because I like the city a lot. But Amman insists on developing an infrastructure that models that of European or whatever models. And when I say it like that it does sound like I'm uncomfortable with expansion. Nonetheless I don't know another approach to developing a more modern infrastructure for the Middle East.

Shops along the Streets

The shops along the streets in the Middle Eastern nations all have many similar features. On one street or sidewalk you will have plenty of stores and shops that have absolutely no shared theme whatsoever. You will have a store that sells spices and right next to it you will have a store or a shop that sells clothes or something. In fact, these places sometimes it gets to be like how did these two stores get together in the same area; but it happens.

Many times you will see apartment buildings that sore into the sky with shops on the ground floor. Many of these stores have like the necessary materials that an individual home may require. The understatement of "they are a small shack" and so on does not tend to get to anyone only because the concept of these stores is fantastic. Instead of driving yourself to a supermarket somewhere and getting stuck in traffic for an unnecessary period of time, all you have to do is walk downstairs out of your apartment building and walk not even two or three steps and you will be at a store that has plenty of materials.

Of course these qualities of the stores that I am defining is only found in the middle class areas and the older areas of the cities. For example you won't necessarily find these shops in the newer developments in Abdoun in Amman but you will certainly find them in the older areas downtown.

Then you begin to wonder if these stores are listed and if the people pay taxes and if they are really among the system in the nation's economy. Plenty of people tend to take a small room or storage place and rent it and just start selling things there. I'm not so sure, however, that these places actually are among the listed shops.

Actually, I'm not even sure that these stores exist in places like Dubai or Doha because these shops portray extreme "Arab" qualities of like the older, pre-modern era of the city and Dubai and so on are like the exact opposite of these cities. Since I have never been to those new "world class" cities I really can't say if they (referring to the shops) are there or not.

I personally think that a true Middle Eastern city has these shops around

Places inside Egypt I still haven't seen

I have never once seen the pyramids up close in real life. It is something that tends to not make sense because I have traveled to Egypt plenty of instances before and I have drove by them, flew over them, and never once stopped in for a near-up sight seeing image of the structure itself.

I honestly don't mind that I haven't seen the pyramids (before), however actually seeing it in real life would be quite an experience. This post should have been included with the previous one in which I was discussing the places that I would like to actually visit in real life.

The sphinx and the pyramids are interesting actually, however there are people that live in Egypt that haven't even seen it in real life. That's something that I tend to find funny. I personally think that going to the pyramids is a hassle because the place itself is far away and also I don't want to be considered a tourist.

Another place inside Egypt that I wouldn't mind going to in real life would be somewhere in the Sinai Peninsula to see the Bedouin people and how they live. Also, the scenery there surrounded by water all around also offers quite a remarkable experience.

Places I'd like to go

I know I keep on talking about Egypt and the cities there such as Cairo, Alexandria, Mersa Metrouh, and so on and I haven't really been giving much detail about other nations and cities within those around the Middle East out of experience except maybe just offering known facts and then giving my opinion about the city or whatever. However, in this post I plan on discussing the cities throughout the Middle East that I would like to visit, however I'm not sure I'll get to see them.

The city that I would definitely travel to first would be Mecca. That's because Mecca to a Muslim is extremely important and it is mandatory for every Muslim to make Hajj during the time of Hajj. However you can still go to the city and make U'mrah. I'd go see Mecca than travel to Riyadh and see that city as well as my second city on the list. 

Another city I'd like to see that is outside of Egypt is Amman. Amman seems like it is another Cairo, just like three times as small. However all of the attributes that are available in Cairo seem like they are available in Amman. Amman seems clean and rich and organized, so I wouldn't mind visiting an actual Middle Eastern city that has these qualities.

The next city I would like to visit would be Istanbul. This is mainly because Istanbul sounds like the cleanest and richest city in the Middle East with quite a different culture than the rest of the Middle Eastern nations. Although the city itself may seem european or whatnot, I have an odd feeling that Istanbul is very different from that and I wouldn't mind seeing it in real life.

The next city I would like to visit would be Dubai. Despite the fact that I extremely dislike the city as like a tangible thing, I wouldn't mind visiting it and seeing the towers and the fancy and luxurious hotels that they have to offer. Also, since I like exotics and whatnot, Dubai seems like it would offer a lot of that. And I know this because of plenty of videos online and so on.

Doha and Kuwait City both would be nice to see, however I get this feeling that these two cities share very similar qualities of Dubai. And out of the two cities (Doha and Kuwait City) I would probably favor seeing Doha over the other. This is mainly because Doha just seems more touristic and more modern and I personally wouldn't mind visiting such as place. Nonetheless, Kuwait City is nice, however I wouldn't travel.

None of these cities (except for Mecca then Riyadh) are in any particular order. This is just some of the cities of a list. There are maybe other cities that I have forgotten temporarily that I wouldn't mind traveling to in the future.

Night Time along the Mediterranean Sea

The Mediterranean Sea is amazing. I know I have talked a lot about it and I plan to maintain the discussion about this beautiful place. Look at the title of the blog itself.

Besides swimming in the beautiful blue water in Mersa Metrouh and swimming in the amazing beaches in Alexandria, the Mediterranean Sea offers other things besides just swimming. For example, there is an extremely famous bridge in Alexandria known as "Staley Bridge". This bridge is amazing when you look at it from far away. It's modern looking, yet it still provides an image of older style architecture. Many people arrive to this bridge at night and just sit there. Refreshments such are brought and people just relax there. And if you are on the bridge and look into the distance at night, you will indeed probably find some people taking on the water at night. They don't mind the time, whether it is two in the morning or not, they'll stay there until when the sun arrives if they want to.

Apart from the bridge and the night swimming, you can also stay along the shore and just relax in one of the numerous cafes and places to just relax in. And as I said, you don't have to worry about the time because guaranteed there will be plenty of shops open. There are cafes that offer amazing things ranging from mango juice to tea to many other things that I just can't seem to remember at the moment.

Traffic at night along the Mediterranean in Alexandria especially is also a sight. It is like the people are acting like it is not two in the morning and it is something like ten at night or something. Imagine getting stuck in traffic at two in the morning. I loved Alexandria at night, especially when you are along the Mediterranean. And like I mentioned before in another post, we ended up swimming in one of the beaches there at two in the morning. It was an amazing experience. And the post swimming meal at around five or six in the morning was also amazing. Everyone of us in the group was starving and nothing sounded better than just giving all you got at some shop that offered amazing food.

Alexandria (so I hear) offers plenty of seafood restaurants. I'm not the biggest fan of seafood as I have mentioned before. Nonetheless, I wouldn't mind spending some time at the restaurant to just hangout there at night overlooking the sea. Another thing that I love about the beaches there is that the waves (more in Alexandria than in Mersa Metrouh) is that the waves there offer another form of excitement.

Along the beach also are many different people that walk around ready to sell just about anything. From things to eat to things to wear to things to not even think about buying and so on. I know that may not have made much sense, however explaining it might take a little too long and so I'll just stop here.

Staley bridge, the cafes, the swimming, it all offers amazing things. I love the atmosphere along the Mediterranean Sea.

Fellahin in Northern Egypt

The fellahin are the farmers that inhabit the delta or the northern part of Egypt. Farmers and grass and land and wealth and old style living and just away from the urban centers of Cairo. It is quite different from the centers along the Nile. The northern Egyptian cities are all known, however the villages that surround these cities are not known. Nonetheless all of the families that live in these villages know each other and that is only because there are like five or six families in a village. However there are a lot of people in one family.

There is electricity and water and necessary utilities in these northern cities, however the general background of this fellahin area and something like Cairo is that the cultures there are somewhat different. I won't go into too much details because I don't know much about the northern part of Egypt (the delta) or the cultures and practices there, however from what is shown on television and from what I hear, it is quite different from Cairo.

The fellahin also have a different form of music. I think it is nice. It differs from the modern street Middle Eastern style music of like Nancy Ajram or all of those other musicians. I don't know if they like them or not (referring to the fellahin and these modern artists) however I can tell you that their taste differs from a normal urban Middle Eastern.

I have visited the fellahin or northern Egypt a long time ago. I'll tell you that I didn't like it because I was little in age and the lack of amenities was uncomfortable for me. It was hot, and I remember I just didn't like it. Nonetheless, and as far as I know, the fellahin are very respectable because they just obtained their own culture. Some people mix them up with southern Egyptians and what not, however that's not important. The fellahin are in the north.

Tea in Egypt

Tea in Egypt (and I'm guessing around the Middle East, however I could be wrong) is essential. One cup in the morning, one or two cups at work, one cup after dinner, and maybe one cup late at night (however this depends on if the person is staying up late or not). This is a rough estimate. There could be more cups per day or there could be less cups per day, nonetheless, tea in Egypt is something that's available quite a bit.

Tea after breakfast is essential. It is technically considered during breakfast however since most people drink it after the meal then it is after breakfast. It is sort of an energy booster for the morning.

After dinner and either before or after the nap (depending on how tired an individual is) there must be a cup of tea. Usually more than one person drinks from a pot at a time so they leave the sugar up to the individual to place as much as they want. The large tray that comes in through the door carrying at least five or six cups of tea with sugar in it's own separate container is quite a sight. The smell is amazing (if it's made right) and the color is beautiful. The light reddish, or whatever that color is, is definitely essential post meals for plenty of people.

Then the late night cup of tea. However like I said before it depends on whether a person is staying up late or not. If they don't mind, then they sure will definitely drink a cup right then. This is also sometime however not all the time after the late night meal.

The reason for drinking tea after meals is because people over in the Middle East think that it "puts a lid on the meal". If a person ate a heavy meal or something, then that cup of tea will ease the heavy feeling, or so I understand from the Middle Eastern explanation.

Tea is also essential for gatherings. For instance if you have friends at your house or if you are going to someone's house or whatever the scenario may be, guaranteed there will be tea offered. After meals at a friends' house, they'll most likely offer you tea. At any shack or sit down area, people will most likely be drinking tea.

This also brings up the question of other forms of beverages such as coffee or juice. Juice and coffee is around, nonetheless it is not as popular as tea. I honestly couldn't tell you much about coffee or anything like that because I just personally haven't seen much of it in Egypt, except maybe at some people's homes or a restaurant or something like that.

Tea is extremely popular in Egypt...

Middle Eastern Dinner

Middle Eastern dinners vary from home to home and from family to family and from type of home to type of home. I'll elaborate. Dinner time in the Middle East (I'm talking about experience) is amazing. I'll leave out the era before the meal and the post meal naps (yes naps) and I'll just get to the point about the meal itself. It is very common to hear of a house in the Middle East with a dining table that hasn't been used. The main reason for that is the family (for some reason or another) prefers to eat on the ground. Yes, the ground. They gather around in a circle and pack tightly together and the meal is efficient. The dining table can be used for some special guest or of someone decides to eat by him/her self and they they're too lazy to put the floor mats and the old rags on the ground. They'll settle for a table meal. However, if there are a lot of people eating at the same time, then the dining table is neglected and eating on the ground (off of the floor mats and old rags) happens.

Eating on the ground goes for all meals also, not just dinner. For example, breakfast is on the ground, dinner is on the ground, and the late night meal is also on the ground. I never understood the reason for eating on the ground, however after experiencing it on numerous occasions, I have come to realize that it isn't as uncomfortable as it may seem.

As for the post dinner nap, I'll explain that too. The reason for the nap after dinner is because the men that come home from a long day at work all want their food and the women cooking the meals all want their food. Both of the parties have had long days and after a heavy Middle Eastern meal, sleeping is inevitable (however). Don't get me wrong, this doesn't happen in every home, however I am only explaining what happens in some of the instances I have seen.

Tea post dinner is also very important, however I'll get to tea and coffee and all the other beverages in another post. During dinner however, there may be some beverages available. It ranges from soda to water to mango juice to other types of juice and so on. It's important to have the beverages available, however there are the people (older people usually) that occasionally wait to drink their tea after the food.

Middle Eastern Food

Middle Eastern food is my favorite food in the world. It ranges from nation to nation in the Middle East, however some people also tend to know that this specific dish came from a certain country, or for example, this certain dish arrived from here or originated from here. And the people in the Middle East eat things that may seem foreign or strange to the foreign public, however it is stuff we see as normal. For example people in the Middle East eat pigeons, turkey, geese, cow calf, cow stomach, cow intestines, cow kidneys, goat, and probably any type of fish that can be found in the sea.

Seafood in the Middle East is pretty important. For instance, in Alexandria, Egypt there are plenty of seafood restaurants that serve amazing (informed by other people) food. I don't mind seafood, however I wouldn't be found at a seafood restaurant.

There are plenty of vegetable dishes as well, such as Bamya, Fasuliya, Qolqas, and stuff that foreigners would never eat, however I personally seem to like it. Most of these dishes (with exception to qolqas) are served in some form of tomato sauce or another type of soup. Also, most of these dishes are served with chicken or meat that's right in the middle of the bowl containing this also.

Koshary is another vegetarian dish that's popular in Egypt. It's basically rice, noodles, lentils, and heavy tomato sauce with some fried onions on the top. It's a very filling dish, however some people say they get hungry after they eat it. I also recommend brushing your teeth for quite sometime afterwards because the onions on the top will leave your mouth smelling not fresh.

Nonetheless, Middle Eastern food is very unique to that specific location of the world and people there tend to find the dishes very appetizing. The markets that sell the ingredients in order to prepare these dishes are usually filled with people around noontime when little children are buying their necessary materials in order for the preparation to initiate at around three and dinner to start around four.

Night Time in Mersa Metrouh

The night time in Mersa Metrouh is really nice. I liked the fact that its attributes weren't necessarily the original known qualities of a loose city. It was really family friendly. There were little children like five or six or seven years old (or I could be really off however that is what it looked like they were) awake and around at two in the morning. The streets were packed with cars and people. Shops were open and the polluted look of the city during the day time is the same look (I think) that was there at night. I understood that the people awake were on vacation, however I had this feeling that the city was like this year round.

Eating along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea was a nice experience as well. I also thought that the tanks that were in the streets was something that wasn't normally there, however I decided to dismiss it as well. They weren't there for trouble. I know this because I thought I remembered seeing some people taking pictures with them.

During the day time, the city was hot. Night time, on the other hand, the city was cool and a breeze would arrive every now and what not and make the scene a little cool. And if there was one thing I wanted to try but the chance wasn't really available was that I wanted to try night swimming. I know I already swam at light two in the morning in the Mediterranean when I was in Alexandria, however night swimming is always fun and it would have been a remarkable experience to try it again.

The apartment we rented for the week was also nice. It was spacious, clean, and very close to the beach. The only problem with it (and it was a big problem) was that it only had one bathroom. And after a long day at the beach when everybody is wet, sandy, and angry, the shower is always taken. Nonetheless, patience prevailed and we managed to get through the post swimming day routine.

I remember that I would sit in the balcony until five or six in the morning just looking out into the street. The sky would slowly turn from black to purple, and from purple to light purple, and from light purple to blue and then soon the sky would represent daytime. The birds chirping was always nice as well. I also remember seeing the water in the distance.

Mersa Metrouh

The reality behind Mersa Metrouh is that it is an amazing coastal and touristic city for the Egyptian population and for the foreign to the country as well. I really liked Mersa Metrouh because we spent like seven days there and we tried not to waste time. I was in fact surprised that I wasn't bored only because I was there with like family members, however that didn't really seem to bother me.

Mersa Metrouh is famous for the right reason: the water there is not like any water elsewhere in the world. It's crystal clear near the shore along the shoreline and it becomes more and more blue as you go deeper in the water. I loved swimming in this water because it was refreshing. The experience was amazing and the idea behind the trip was something that didn't really get to me until after I left. There was a revolution going on in the nation and I was relaxing on the beach some seven hundred plus miles away or something.

My favorite beach that I saw was definitely A'geeba beach. The image that I mentally took a picture of was fascinating. I was on top of a cliff looking down into the blue water. The white sand along the shoreline was amazing as well and the cliff that was on the other side was something else also. I know that as I'm describing this image now it seems very under-described or something however that's because I can't seem to take the time to elaborately explain the image for it is essential to be seen and not heard about.

The best beach that I swam in was one in which I forgot the name. Nonetheless the reason for my liking of this beach so much is because of the normal attributes found in any beach in Mersa Metrouh along with a specific quality not found in most beaches. This quality is waves. Large body slamming waves. Waves that will tear down a city. Waves that tossed me around for several hours. There were some involuntary tricks that I was doing in the water that I didn't even know were possible, however they were expressed under water due to the waves. Oh yeah, underwater, that is an entirely different story.

The under water scenery of the beaches was nice when you were looking down however it was much more beautiful when you are down and looking up. The water does hurt the eyes, however this can be dismissed due to the fact that the beautiful image when you are looking up at the surface of the water is amazing.

I really liked Mersa Metrouh beaches. I liked them for the specific reason that they are famous for.

The Old Regime Needs to Leave

The old regime that once held Egypt needs to leave. That also goes for every single other country out there with a corrupt administration. Egypt's in a position right now that makes itself prone to going in any direction. I make it obvious to the public that I'm in no position to even offer an opinion on the political future. However I'm certain though that if someone from the previous regime (like Omar Suleiman who was running for president but is now disqualified) is around in the new one, there will be another uprising. In fact, more than half a million people were in Tahrir Square the other day protesting Omar Suleiman's involvement in the race. This number will be multiplied by like ten if he was to be elected president.

It's not like the new president is going to have a fun time in his new job. The country as it is right now is a mess. Politically unstable, economically unstable, and it's just going to take some time to fix it up. So if the new president is up for this huge responsibility and his intentions are clean, then he for sure has my vote. Along with the democratic policies and whatnot that everybody needs to hear in order to be secure, the main thing is that the president's personal qualities are respectable to a very high standard as well. This will ensure that no corruption will be present at all.

The Middle East right now as a region is going through some major historical changes. It's imperative that these changes don't ruin each individual nation's notion of removing corruption and maintaining stability throughout the region. There comes a point when a revolt is no longer necessary and negotiation is the only way they can move forward. Nonetheless, the revolt is important.

Presidential Elections in Egypt

The presidential elections in Egypt have truly been absorbing the spotlight for quite some time now and it plans to maintain its position among the most discussed topics between the Egyptian people for a while to come. It's considered the first democratic election in the history of the nation. If you have heard about the 2005 elections, forget about that since those weren't even democratic at all. However this once seems like it's going to be a true showdown.

Just yesterday ten candidates were disqualified and this decision was made by the temporary supreme court judges whose only jobs is to maintain the constitutionality of the elections. However only four or five names were given out of the ten that were disqualified and the final list of those still in the race will be announced on April 26.

There is quite a window of candidates in this election. You have the labor activist (Khaled Ali), you had the very conservative Islamist (Hazem Salah Abu Ismail), you had the ex-vice president (Omar Sulieman), you had the Muslim Brotherhood member businessman (Khairat El Shater), you have the moderate Islamist and physician (Abdel Moneim Abu El-Futouh), and plenty of other secular and independent party candidates. This really divides the nation up as it leaves the youth (whom constitute close to maybe half of the entire population) undecided with their future and whom they want to elect. There are of course the candidates that are popular with the youth, then you have the candidates that are popular with the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (who are currently running the country), and then you have the other different sectors.

I myself am leading towards the moderate and very knowledgeable Islamist Abdel Moneim Abu El-Futouh. This man just sounds smart when you hear him talk. He's open minded and above all that he's very intelligent. The robbery and stealing that used to happen under Mubarak's regime wouldn't happen under his regime. He's a moderate Islamist who's willing to negotiate. Many people who opposed the extreme Hazem Abu Ismail don't oppose this man only because they're sure of his values.

A lot of people were angry with the decision of ex-candidate Mohamed el Baradie and how he terminated his race due to the fact that he didn't like how things were being run. He was a very popular candidate among the Egyptian people and he is the one who essentially started the revolution, or at least had a very large and prominent role in doing so.

Then there was the controversy over the Muslim Brotherhood and how they did what they said they wouldn't do and that is support a candidate who was Khairat El Shater who is now potentially out of the race. They wouldn't have resorted to doing such a thing if it wasn't for the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces' dealings with this entire presidential race in the first place. However this doesn't matter now seeing that their candidate is out of the race and I wish that wasn't so because he would have been my first pick. Seeing now that he's out, I have decided to go to Abdel Moneim Abu El Futouh.

History of the Middle East

The Middle East has a long, complex, and possibly even the most complicated history in the world. The region has experienced many forms of occupations and has been the subject of numerous empires and a civilization that's been inhabited since its initiation. Numerous dynasties such as the Umayyad, the Ayyubid, and the Ottoman empire all have once had a say in the economic, political, and all other forms of affairs. It's fortunate for me to say that these empires were extremely successful. Their borders were very large and the economic stability was unbelievable. It makes modern day states seem like they are worthless. In the earlier era, the societies would build their economy on the ladder of trade, fishing, construction, technology, science, and education in a sense that made them more established then the modern day nations of the Middle East.

The Arabs invented many things. So many things that I don't even want to mention one due to the fact that I'll probably end up mentioning all of them. Their minds back then worked together and they accomplished numerous goals and their achievements were widely accepted throughout the world at the time. The Middle East was the world superpower and they (the people at the time) were the ones who ran the affairs.

Arabs, Turks, Mamluks, and many other nationalities all lived together in one empire. There was no theoretical separation, only that of political and tangible affairs. Seems logical? It most certainly is logical. I don't mix and match different forms of opinions of my friends to end up choosing all of them. It's a way to gain power and that is around the power itself.

Modern states could certainly learn a thing or one hundred from the earlier states. Their economic system, their political system (although that remains undecided because of the corruption), and a system based on dealing with international affairs and what not. Let those beneficial to you be the ones close to you and let them establish a well-connected friendship in your lands. I'm not saying that the earlier era was flawless. In fact, it was heavily flawed do to some political corruption, however the outer image of that time period is much better than the one now in the Middle East.

Transition Post

I am not very sure what I should write about in this post so I'll just make the best of it. I'll probably direct the attention of this blog towards Turkey and Lebanon and try to discuss the modern touch that those nations have. I'll try not to focus on the Gulf region because I personally believe that I talked about them enough and anymore posts about them is highly unnecessary. Nonetheless, I'll make references to them, however they won't be the primary title of the next posts.

You might ask me why did I choose Turkey and Lebanon in particular. I'll respond with, "I don't know." I just chose these two nations to discuss. I mean, I like Turkey. I'll probably just talk about its individual movie industry and elaborately discuss its economy and culture a little more. Lebanon is also nice, however I just plan to talk more about it regarding my opinion.

I probably even think that I could talk about the history of the Middle East in general. About how like each region grew on its own and stuff like that. Oh well, I'll think of something.

The Newer Film era

The more modern film industry of the Middle East has adopted a specific routine of movies. What I mean is, ever since the corrupt regimes all took power in the 80s, the industry's main priority was to expose their nation's terrible ruler. This can be seen in Egypt's film industry especially. The 2000s were mainly filled with movies that talked about how their society was going downhill and how the corrupt regime was something that needed to be removed. The government quickly saw this and made the connection that this might be the source of any state of mind in which an individual wants to overthrow his/her government. So what the government did was it banned these movies and the prominent actors began not focusing on this anymore.

The fact that the movies whose topics were openly pointing fingers and exposing the government were banned didn't stop the industry from making movies that still talked about tainted the image of the regime. They only were able to do this transparently. Plenty of modern films in the Middle East also talk about the youth and problems that the youth are facing and stuff like that. The funny films are quickly losing their touch seeing that many people (especially these days) aren't very focused on watching a funny movie, although they are still produced.

The nice thing about the modern films is that the budget allows the actors travel around the world and apply better quality to the movie itself and better effects. Many actors have traveled to places such as Thailand, China, Syria, and other places. This can be both work and a fun experience for the actors.

I will make a prediction that the future of the film industry will be mostly comprised up of movies that are talking about the revolutions or that have something to do with them. In fact, there are plenty of movies that are out now that portray the revolutions and such that took place. Plenty of new shows and films are openly insulting the previous regimes seeing that there's not a government out now that will "ban" these movies. However this whole idea of insulting the government openly has never happened before.

My opinion on the modern movies of the Middle East varies from movie to movie, however the majority of the movies I have seen aren't very nice. I believe this is mainly because the plots are losing any originality, actors are becoming worse (hence the emerging new generation that plan to act), and the movies themselves lack any new message. There are however some movies that are very nice. Those are mainly action movies that have many prominent actors and a good plot and so on and so forth. In the end, I believe that the modern film industry needs a few alterations that will make it better than what it was, however they shouldn't focus too much on it.