Watani International
Towards a civilised world
Watani has always been proud of the fact that it enjoyed a special relation with Professor Dr Murad Wahba. He was a regular contributor to the paper, many of the articles he wrote or interviews he granted the paper had lasting impact. Today, we offer...
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Pope celebrates family
The notion that Pope Tawadros II had dedicated this year’s Coptic Media Day to “the family” begged the question why? Coptic Media Day was the natural development of Coptic Press Day which the Pope had instated three years ago to celebrate Coptic...
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Reflecting the Glory of God
Beloved Children of God: The Nativity Feast invites us to reflect deeply on the glory of God revealed through the birth of Jesus Christ. In the humble setting of the manger, we witness an astonishing demonstration of divine love and splendour, as God...
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Ramses and Pharaoh’s gold
As part of the follow-up on the final preparations for the exhibition “Ramses and the Gold of the Pharaohs” in London, Muhammad Ismail Khaled, Secretary-General of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities, paid a visit to NEON at Battersea Power Station...
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Christmas sparks up Cairo
Gone are the days when Christmas season in Cairo was mostly insignificant. Even though the majority of Christians in Egypt are Coptic Orthodox and celebrate Christmas—named the Feast of the Nativity—on 7 January, every passing year sees an increasingly...
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13 years talking to the Pope
For 13 years, Watani’s Deputy Editor-in-Chief Victor Salama, has been conducting interviews with Pope Tawadros II. The outcome has been 15 interviews that were published in Watani, translated into English and printed in Watani International, and...
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Eternity: Past embraces present
When ancient Egypt opens its arms to gently embrace modern-day innovative art, it is nothing short of a message of peace to the world. The Giza Pyramids have for the fifth successive year formed a breathtaking backdrop to modern art works installed on...
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Coptic Church celebrates Council of Nicaea and its champion St Athanasius the Apostolic 17 centuries on…and going strong
St Mark’s Cathedral in Abassiya, Cairo, its dome and tower, were all bathed in red light, as was the papal headquarters facing it. The lighting endowed the cathedral grounds with a breathtakingly festive mood fit for celebration of an event that took...
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From Nicaea to today
Tuesday 18 November 2025, 9 Hator 1742 on the Coptic calendar of the Martyrs, marked two occasions cherished by Copts. One was the convention of the Council of Nicaea in 325AD, 17 centuries ago; the other was the 13th anniversary of the enthronement of...
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Emulating Council of Nicaea
In a statement, the Coptic Orthodox Church announced it will be holding a grand celebration in 18 - 22 November 2025 to commemorate 17 centuries on the First Ecumenical Council in Nicaea. Under the theme “Nicaea… A Living Faith”, the event will...
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Proud to be Egyptian
The theme “Proud to be Egyptian” has been emblazoned all over Egypt, singing in Egyptians’ hearts and minds, in their streets, schools, malls, social media, public places and about every venue one can think of. After all, it is not every day that a...
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Proud Egypt opens its GEM
Watani went to press as Egypt prepared for the highly anticipated event of the official grand opening of its gem of a museum, the Grand Egyptian Museum, aptly acronymed GEM. GEM had announced on Facebook that the museum’s official opening ceremony on...
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100 years on
The Cairo church in Zaitoun that witnessed manifestations of the Holy Virgin for over two years starting 1968 marks… To mark 100 years since the foundation and consecration of the church of the Holy Virgin in Zaitoun, Cairo, Pope Tawadros II presided...
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Pope’s pastoral visit to Assiut: Dominated by Love
It was a historic visit! That was the heartfelt sentiment echoed by all who attended or heard of the visit paid by Pope Tawadros II to the capital of Upper Egypt, Assiut, some 350km south of Cairo. Pope Tawadros’s week-long pastoral visit to the...
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Lowlands inundated
A number of small villages in two Egyptian Nile Delta regions—Menoufiya in the southern mid-Delta; and Beheira, west of the Delta—have been flooded owing to a higher than normal Nile flood. Lowlands The areas flooded are situated on low lands on the...
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Esna revitalised
On 15 September 2025, Egypt officially received the 16th edition of the Aga Khan Award for Architecture 2025 for its Revitalisation of Historic Esna project. Egypt had last won this prestigious architectural award in 2004 for the Bibliotheca...
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Copt for Coptology
Pahor Labib (1905 - 1994) was a world renowned Egyptologist and Coptologist, before the word Coptology even existed. In fact it was he who coined the word to denote Coptic studies. His father Cladius Bey Labib (1868 - 1918)—Bey was an official title...
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Spirit of freedom
The first week of September saw Cairo host its 32nd Cairo International Festival for Experimental Theatre (CIFET) which ran from 1 to 8 September 2025. “What makes this session unique,” Egypt’s Minister of Culture Ahmed Fouad Hanno who opened the...
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Coptic, literally Egyptian
The date 11 September 2025 marks the first day of the Egyptian New Year, 1 Tut 6267, and the first day of the Coptic New Year, 1 Tut 1742. Both calendars are one and the same, given that they have a common root: the ancient Egyptian calendar. That...
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Christian city in Western Desert
An Egyptian archaeological mission from the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) has unveiled a significant discovery in the heart of the Western Desert. The remains of the residential city of al-Kharga Oasis, that dates back to the early Coptic...
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2025: Year of blessings
I headed to St Mark’s Cathedral in Cairo last July to meet Pope Tawadros II, with my thoughts depressingly occupied with disturbing local and international news. What with the fighting raging in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, and the violence in Syria, the...
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Holy Family journey explained
In a move that reflects the growing significance of religious tourism in Egypt, a training course—it was in fact more like an intensive awareness course—was held by the Chamber of Travel and Tourism Companies and Agencies (CTTCA) in cooperation with...
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2025 : “Year of openings” at SCZone
The Suez Canal Economic Zone (SCZone) is, as its name suggests, an economic industrial zone that spreads over 455sq.km in four industrial zones around the Suez Canal from its southernmost to northernmost points; the zones being: Sokhna, East Ismailiya,...
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Ancient Egypt unveils in Hong Kong
The Hong Kong Palace Museum (HKPM) and Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) have signed an agreement to launch the special exhibition “Ancient Egypt Unveiled: Treasures from Egyptian Museums” in mid-November 2025. The signing ceremony was held...
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Nothing but contentious
The Egyptian street is abuzz with controversy over a highly contentious law passed by the House of Representatives on 2 July 2025. The law overhauls the more than 60-year-old current rental law which is notorious for favouring tenants to the severe...
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Spotlighting humaneness Cinema of heart and mind
Amid a flurry of cinematic events and festivals in Egypt, including preparations for international film festivals such as the Gouna Film Festival scheduled for next October and the Cairo Film Festival next November, one Egyptian entity stands out for...
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The day I left my couch
Having had a late 1970s early 1980s childhood, Victory Day—6 October 1973— has never held for me any personal feeling of victory and delight, however it has been this and more for my parents and their friends who have lived the 1967 Six Day War and...
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How Mar-Mina’s Marble City was discovered… A gripping story
On 20 May 2025, Pope Tawadros II paid a visit to the archaeological site of Abu-Mina, some 60km southwest Alexandria. The sprawling 1000-feddan site [one feddan is equivalent to 4,200sq.m] is home to the tomb of the Coptic saint, the Martyr St Menas...
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Approvals and... new secretary
On 5 June 2025, the Holy Synod of the Coptic Orthodox Church held its general assembly at the conclusion of its regular convention for the year 2025. The convention was held at the Logos Centre in the monastery of Anba Bishoy in Wadi al-Natroun in...
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Nine principles for nine new bishops
On 1 June 2025, the Feast of the Entry of the Holy Family into Egypt, Pope Tawadros completed the consecration of eight new bishops, and installed one on Coptic dioceses and monasteries in need of pastoral care, some because their previous bishops...
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Holy Family comes to Egypt
Today 1 June, 24 Pashans on the Coptic calendar, marks a feast exclusive to Egyptians: The Feast of Entry of the Holy Family into Egypt—Feast of Holy Family, in short. The feast marks the beginning of the more-than-threeyear journey in Egypt by the...
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1700 years on Council of Nicaea
To celebrate 1700 years on the historic Council of Nicaea (325AD) which set the principles of the Christian doctrine, three patriarchs of Oriental Orthodox Churches gathered in Egypt, hosted by the Coptic Orthodox Church. On Sunday 18 May 2025, Holy...
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“Blessed with carrying the cross”
On 8 May 2025, President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi congratulated Pope Leo XIV on his election as Pope of the Catholic Church. On his official social media account, President Sisi posted: “Your Holiness Pope Leo XIV, I am pleased to extend my heartfelt...
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Love never fails
Pope Tawadros is back in Cairo after a two-week pastoral tour to the Coptic Orthodox Diocese of Central Europe. The tour started on 25 April 2025 with Warsaw, and continued through Bucharest, Belgrade, and Prague. Noteworthy is that the visits by...
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Man for all seasons
My earliest recollections are of a spacious home full of light—and people—in Shubra, the middle class Cairo district famous for its high Coptic population. The house was that of my father’s extended family. For some reason I grew up thinking this was...
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Great humanitarian legacy
Following news of the passing of Pope Francis (1936 - 2025) on Monday 21 April, Egypt’s President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi issued a statement mourning the Catholic Pope. President Sisi expressed his sorrow and sadness at the passing of Pope Francis who,...
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Never a farewell
My dear and very special Father, I wrote to you over the years more than one letter expressing profound love and gratitude to you… some were published, others were not. I wrote them on different occasions: the anniversary of your consecration as a...
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Showcasing Coptic people’s art
The date 14 March 2025 marked 115 years since the Coptic Museum in Old Cairo opened. The memorable occasion warranted a special event that was held on 27 February at the Museum. Participating in the event were Yumna al-Bahar, Deputy Minister of...
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Bishop after God’s own heart
Anba Pachomius (1935 - 2025), Metropolitan of Beheira, Matrouh, and Pentapolis (the Five Western Cities), and Abbot of the monastery of St Macarius the Alexandrite in Gabal al-Qalali (Mount of the Cells) in Egypt’s Western Desert, reposed in the Lord...
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Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM)
The date 3 July 2025 has been set for opening the Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM), the world›s largest museum for Egyptian antiquities. President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi has given the go-ahead, following a review of initial proposals for the grand opening...
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One Easter for all
Pope Tawadros II, Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St Mark, received a delegation from the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO) on 15 March 2025 at the Papal Headquarters in the grounds of St Mark’s Cathedral in Abassiya,...
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Handmade by women
To help market handmade goods by Egyptian women, Diarna Fair was held from 13 to 28 February 2025 at Cairo Festival Mall in the Cairo eastern satellite town of al-Tagammu al-Khamis (Fifth Settlement). The Fair opening was attended by Maya Morsy,...
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Building together Equatorial Guinea
Business between Egypt and Equatorial Guinea in the construction sector is booming. Egypt’s Minister of Housing, Utilities and Urban Communities Sherif El-Sherbiny was last February on a visit to the capital Malabo upon invitation from the Republic of...
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More irrational foreign policies Integrated water security
Today I resume reviewing Feddy Gray’s interview with American political scientist and international relations scholar John Mearsheimer. At 77, Professor Mearsheimer, is the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor at the University of...
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Churches unite in love
Under the motto “Do you believe in this?” (John 11: 26), the annual Prayer Week for Christian Unity took off on 13 February 2025 at the Evangelical church in Rod al-Farag, Cairo, and extended to 21 February. Various congregations The Prayer Week is...
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Laid to rest in Aswan
Prince Karim Aga Khan (1936 - 2025) the spiritual leader of the Ismaili sect since 1957 and until his death, has been buried in Egypt’s southernmost city of Aswan, some 800km south of Cairo. He was the 49th Imam of the Ismaili sect, having inherited...
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The 21: Reverently remembered
“The 21”. The term has come to denote 21 martyrs, 20 Egyptians and one Ghanaian, martyred in 2015 in Libya. Their story has stunned many in the 21st-century modern world; it is a story that seems to belong not to modern times ruled by pragmatism and...
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The opera house they gifted Egypt
On 26 January 2025, an executive agreement was signed between Egypt and Japan whereby the Japanese government grants Egypt 180 million yens, the equivalent of USD1.17 million, to improve the facilities of the National Cultural Centre (NCC) in Gezira,...
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Sunrise on Karnak’s Holy of Holies
hurches of all Christian sects in Egypt have signed the final approved version of the draft family law for Christians in Egypt, known as the Personal Status Law, following its legal review by the Ministry of Justice. Youssef Talaat, legal advisor to...
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Eradicating hepatitis C
“Renowned for its pioneering efforts to eradicate hepatitis C, Egypt stands as an example of what can be achieved with strong political commitment, innovative strategies, and comprehensive public health programmes.” The testimony was given by the...
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Egyptian-Italian Ro-Ro
Thursday 28 November saw the launch of the first Ro-Ro shipping line between Egypt and Italy. Egypt’s Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly and Minister of Industry and Transport Kamel El-Wazir launched the inaugural voyage of the line. The launching event...
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Twelve years of loving service in the Lord’s vineyard
Twelve years is the interval of time separating 18 November 2012 and 18 November 2024, twelve years that saw Pope Tawadros II as the 118th Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of the See of St Mark. So, the day 18 November of this year called for...
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Forever is now
The name is intriguing. “Forever is Now”. Forever, the infinite, is the finite now? Yet the name was chosen by Art D’Égypte to denote an annual exhibition of large-scale artworks that they hold at the foot of the Pyramids of Giza that date back some...
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New Coptic Church headquarters
On Saturday 9 November 2024, Pope Tawadros II presided over the first Liturgy held at what will be the new administrative and service headquarters of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Egypt: The Cathedral of Mar-Marcos (St Mark) and Pope Kyrillos VI, still...
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Spotlighting the young
It took eight days of film screenings, panel discussions, workshops, red carpet events, glamour and even grief for the passing of two of Egypt’s iconic film stars, for the seventh edition of El Gouna Film Festival (GFF) to close on 1 November...
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The Chosen, in Arabic
“Love, forgiveness, and sacrifice are the messages intrinsic to the life of Christ. As such, they have been uniquely conveyed through the by-now famous drama The Chosen which depicts the life of Jesus on earth. Watching The Chosen is a rich,...
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“Shepherds according to my heart”
Under the slogan “Shepherds according to my heart” (Jeremiah 3:15), the conference of priests and pastors of the Egyptian Council of Churches (ECC) was hosted by Pope Tawadros II at LOGOS Centre in the 4th-century Western Desert monastery of Anba...
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Heartbreak, and national strategy
Egyptians were heartbroken to learn that a recent shooting by Mexican forces at a truck carrying 33 migrants trying to cross from Guatemala into Mexico left six dead and 10 injured; three among the dead were Egyptians, in addition to six injured...
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Portfolio of 34 projects
There can be no two opinions on the fact that Earth is undergoing climate change in the form of global warming. If Earth’s dwellers seek to retain its vitality and vibrancy, they need to engage in worldwide efforts to mitigate the rise in global...
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Rabbi speaks up
Tomorrow 7 October marks the first anniversary of the surprise attack launched by Gaza’s Hamas against Israeli settlements close to the Gaza Strip. The attack resulted in destruction, death, and Israeli hostages taken by Hamas. Early on after the...
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Pope opens newest Coptic school
Pope Tawadros has opened the newest school founded and run by the Coptic Orthodox Church. On 10 September 2024, the Pope opened Rhakoti Private Language School in Alexandria, in Umm Zighyou district in western Alexandria. Rhakoti, also known as...
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