Sailing the NILE...

What:
The Sailing the Nile Campaign for the Millennium Development Goals, is a UN initiative. The Millennium Goals are among the top priority of the United Nations and were galvanized in 2000 where 189 Heads of Government (including Egypt) signed a declaration to end poverty by 2015. Since 2006, 18 UN Agencies, the Egyptian Government, civil society and the private sector joined efforts in this innovative campaign to raise awareness and trigger local action around the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

When:
The campaign will be launched on October 18th, and will continue until December 20th, 2008.

Why:
The Sailing the Nile campaign has two main objectives: to raise awareness of the Millenium Development Goals and to integrate the concept of volunteerism into MDG-related projects that are currently being implemented by development partners.

How:
The 2008 MDGs Campaign combines three different means of transport: feluccas, buses and train. The activities of the campaign will follow an itinerary across the country that will serve as the backbone of the project. All activities will be implemented along the stops of the itinerary that the feluccas, buses and train will follow between 18 October and the 20 December, 2008.



Email: sailthenile.alex@gmail.com
Office: www.sailingthenile.org/
Location: Alexandria, Egypt
Facebook: www.new.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=37383440849&ref=mf

El Eid Gather Us...

Just few days and the holy month of Ramadan will end, Muslims all over the world will celebrate the festival which will last for 3 days called Eid Elfitr and its so important that you can find Egyptians busy in the last days of the month baking cookies and making Delicious food and sweets and buying new cloths for their children...

In the Eid, people start their day with going to pray in the early morning, after that they go back home have breakfast and get ready either waiting or going to meet family and usually in big families people gather to have lunch together and spend the day speaking and chatting….

Usually Muslims Donate money for poor people to make sure that those people will have the ability to celebrate the Eid…

Egypt during those days looks great as people go out in the gardens and streets spending their time with their children and families…

In the End I wish you all Happy Eid and Hope Peace for all over the world.

The last 10 days pray in Ramadan "Alexandria"

Eid ElFitr Pray infront of Dom of Rock, Jerusalem, Palestine

Around the City

Lighting up Ramadan...

Muslims around the world are celebrating Ramadan, a month-long period of religious reflection and devotion.

Ramadan marks the month the Prophet Mohammed is believed to have had the holy book, the Koran, revealed to him by God.

The holy month is observed by a large proportion of the world's estimated 1 billion Muslims, and has been observed for centuries in roughly the same way.

It occurs during the ninth month in the lunar calendar, which is different from the internationally-recognised solar calendar.

Muslims cannot eat and drink at all in the daytime during this period, breaking their fast when the sun sets, by drinking kamr el din, and eating again before the sun rises.

They are expected to spend much of their day in prayer and reflection, during which they learn how life can be a mixture of body and soul - of spiritual faith and the reality of life.

It is regarded by many as a month-long exercise in practising how to be a pious, religious person throughout the rest of the year.

The number of worshippers making pilgrimages to two of Islam's holiest sites, Mecca and Medina in Saudi Arabia, increases during Ramadan - especially during the last 10 days.

But the holy month is also a social occasion, which has developed over time into a festival.

After sunset, families break their fasts by sharing festive meals of special Ramadan treats, such as Konafa, an Egyptian dessert made of shredded wheat and syrup, or Katayef, sweets stuffed with nuts, which are a popular dessert among Palestinians.

But most important are dates, which, according to Islamic teachings, were eaten by Prophet Mohammed at the end of each day of the fasting month. These are seen as a spiritual reminder of the reason behind the fasting and feasting.

Many Muslim countries change their hours of business during Ramadan, and this year in Egypt, the government has gone one step further and declared an additional day off every week to make the lives of workers easier.

The streets of the Egyptian capital Cairo are currently alight with special festive lanterns. These have been used to light up Ramadan nights there since the Fatimids - a North African Shiite Moslem dynasty, which ruled Egypt from 969 to 1171.

Sources: BBC, Wiki, DAD...