The Sympathie Magazine Egypt is printed - YEAH!

In short: It was a lot of work, a lot of fun and I met a lot of great people.

You can order it here and then have fun on your next wonderful trip to Egypt:

https://www.sympathiemagazin.de/afrika-nahost-arabien/aegypten.html

Over a year ago, I took over the editorship for the country portrait in this wonderful magazine series, which has been around for 50 years, and I would like to thank the publisher, Studienkreis für Tourismus und Entwicklung e.V., for their trust in my work and support, especially Ricarda Irlesberger, Armin Vielhaber and Claudia Mitteneder.      

I would also like to thank the magazine's sponsor, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), for valuable background information, proofreading, approval for printing and praise that it has turned out to be a successful magazine. Many thanks to the responsible staff at the Ministry: Thierry Kühn, Dennis Röntgen, Nicole Dathe and Robert Boldt. 

I didn't have the opportunity to introduce the authors in the magazine. I would like to make up for that here, because I am a little proud that I have been able to attract well-known Egypt experts. First of all, I would like to mention Birgit Svensson. The long-standing, courageous and intrepid foreign correspondent, who has been reporting from the Middle East for decades, has contributed exciting, insightful articles as well as an interview with the nephew of former President Anwar el-Sadat.

I am delighted that the well-known TV journalist Klaus Prömpers has joined the team of authors for the topics of religion and the Arab Spring. Christopher Resch, press officer at Reporters Without Borders, reports on the state of Egypt's media landscape and press freedom. Economic analyst Jake Glasmacher, who specializes in the Mena region, gives an insight into what is going on in politics and business on the Nile. Julia Budka, Professor of Egyptology at LMU Munich with her own excavation projects, reports on how long and to what extent Germany has been involved in Egyptian archaeology. Michaela Zodler, who lived and worked in Cairo for a long time, is an author on the topics of education and the Nile lifeline, as are two young Egyptians, Aliaa Aly and Omneia Mostafa, who are studying in Germany and have written articles on culture, music, the Fayoum oasis and family life that are well worth reading. The Egyptologist and podcaster (Mummies & Magic), Nora Kuch, takes the reader on an entertaining journey back in time to Egypt in the 19th century.

I would like to thank Jürgen Stryjak, a journalist specialising in Egypt and other Arab countries, my former Egyptology professor Günter Burkard, my former fellow student Katharina Brandt, Prof. Dr Markus Hanisch, agricultural and resource economist at the Humboldt University in Berlin, Josef Lusser, Head of ORF Committees and International Relations, and the Egyptologist Dr Andrea Eberle at the LMU Munich for providing me with contacts and an ‘open ear’.

I would also like to thank all the Egyptians who gave me information and helped me, whom I was allowed to photograph, such as Goma Rabi for the title, Medhat Essa in Aswan or Bakheet Rizk for the research visit to Manschiyet Nasr, Cairo's so-called ‘rubbish city’.