UPDATE:
DISPATCH
Coming soon: Secret Door, the sequel?
National Geographic's live archaeology event ended with a dud -- and a bit of controversy. Cairo Live was there.

Archaeology
Will it really be live?
(cairolive.com, September 15, 2002) Speculation is rife in the papers as to whether or not Monday night's exploration of the secret shaft and door in Khufu's pyramid will be aired live on Egyptian TV. (Read cairolive.com's pre-event coverage)
It's already known that the event will be broadcast to millions of viewers around the world via the National Geographic Channel and Fox. But whether or nor it will be seen in Egypt at the same time is still up in the air.
Usually these things aren't -- after all, they're mainly for foreign consumption. But perhaps, because of how grand this particular "live archaeology" event is, it will be.
This time a robot will be sent up a shaft in the pyramid to try and open up a door, behind which may reside answers to some of the mysteries of the pyramids... Or at least that's what the archaeologists and TV people hope.
The event has been pumped up by the press in the last few weeks, culminating with several articles in Al-Ahram on Thursday about how negotiations are currently under way on the ways and means of airing the event in Egypt, between Information Minister Safwat El-Sherif, Culture Minister Farouk Hosni and representatives from National Geographic.
The problem is the timing of course, considering that the whole show is being produced to fit the schedules of prime time TV on the east coast of the US. The robot is being sent in between 3-5 am on Tuesday morning... meaning, even if it is shown on Egyptian TV at that time, would anyone really care to stay up and watch?

UPDATE:
DISPATCH: Coming soon: Secret Door, the sequel?
National Geographic's live archaeology event ended with a dud -- and a bit of controversy.
DISPATCH: Looking for secrets
Will the mysteries of the Pyramids finally be revealed -- live on TV?
FLASHBACK: Mummy's the word!

Ad watch
Migrating reputations
(cairolive.com, September 15, 2002) Interesting changes are taking place in the restaurant business. Restaurants are expanding, opening up branches, and going out in search of new markets.
A recent example is the high-profile splash Port Said's "Abdo Kofta" restaurant is currently in the midst of, with plenty of ads in the streets as well as a quarter page color ad in a recent Al-Ahram, celebrating the provincial store's foray into the big city.
The ad claims that "after our continuing success in Port Said we now invite you to try out our offerings in Cairo." With this new branch in Nasr City, Abdu looks to be cutting in on established Cairene kofta chains like Abu Shaqra.

New developments
What happened to Road 9?
(cairolive.com, September 15, 2002) Al-Ahram is upset about leafy suburb Maadi's famous Road 9 being turned into a haphazard construction site by authorities.
The paper reports that a never-ending 4-year construction process which began with an attempt to improve the sewage system under the road has been left undone. In fact, the paper says the construction site has been idle for 18 months, leaving major sections of the road in disarray.
Al-Ahram says -- in a photo caption that featured quite prominently in last Thursday's edition of the paper -- that Road 9 is "marfou min al khidma", or "out of service".

Commentary
Exploring the other
(cairolive.com, September 15, 2002) The concept of giving the Arabic reading public a look at what the foreign press is saying about the Middle East has been steadily gaining steam in many different ways. (You can see our modest efforts in this regard at shrinkingglobe.com)
Al-Wafd had an interesting take on it recently when they decided to reprint a Thomas Friedman article from the New York Times on their "reports" page. Introducing the article with the caveat that "although we disagree with most of Friedman's opinions, we reprint his article here in the hope that thinkers and intellectuals will respond," the paper is sure to print those responses when they arrive.
Friedman is a highly controversial figure in the Arab world (Catch shrinkingglobe's interview with Friedman in Dubai here)
Other papers have been printing items from the foreign press in increasing numbers, or at least those that refelct positively on Arab issues or agendas. Al-Akhbar even has a daily half page dedicated to translations of stories from the LA Times and the Washington Post that has been running regularly in the paper for quite some time now. (See cairolive's original item on this phenomenon here).

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