Good question, my boy. This year, many of the smaller players have indeed bowed out of the competition, mainly because last year, there was just too much competition, and a lot of the smaller tents actually lost money.

Most big tents feature the standard fare of sheesha, singers and an overpriced sohour (pre-dawn meal). Actually, al-Zaieem has noticed that a lot of the tents are playing up the fact that prices are a little more reasonable this year, since, overall, the economy is pretty down, and people aren't going out as much.

Another constant in many of the tents is singer Shaaban Abdel-Rehim... Ramadan is always a big month for this guy -- in fact, his rise to fame was as a result of appearing on many a TV program last Ramadan, and doing the tent cricuit every night til the wee hours.

I have also noticed the standard articles complaining about how these tents generally don't go well with the relgious spirit of the month, as well as a whole page in Akhbar Al-Youm's Shabab wa banat kids section which was dedicated to the hazards of smoking sheesha and the annoying minimum charge of most tents.

In any case, it's certainly up to you.

Here is a list of some of the tents that have been advertising heavily in the papers this year:

The "environmentally friendly" tent
Where: Cairo Opera House
What: No sheesha, two veteran performers, Samir Sabry and Mohamed El-Ezaby, and a choral troupe
How Much: Suhour, LE25, Iftar, LE35
Phone: 3388300

Sea Horse
Where: Nile corniche near Maadi
What: Cinematic theme
How Much: Suhour LE17, Iftar LE35
Phone: 5262255

Khan El-Aziziya
Where: The Khan el-Khalili replica at the beginning of the Alexandria desert road
What: Heavy entertainment program -- Magd El-Qasim, Faisal Khorshid, Bahaa Sultan, Hama Helal are among the performers.
How Much: Thursday Sohour LE75, LE100 (grill), all other days -- LE 35, 55 (grill)
Phone: 3364607

Kafr Sheraton
Where: Sheraton Heliopolis
What: Sponsored by Showtime, with DJ and karioke
How Much: LE35 on weekdays, LE45 weekends
Phone: 2677740

Dream Park
Where: 6 October City
What: Amusement park with rides for kids and adults
How Much: LE15 from 9pm to 3am
Phone: 011 400887

ART Aflam
Where: Sheraton Royal Gardens in Giza
What: Host Safaa Abul Soud will actually be filming her program from here every night
How Much: Wednesday LE60, Thursday LE45
Phone: 7812211

Safari nights
Where: Dandy Grand mall on the Alexandria desert road
What: Live singers like Bahaa Sultan and Shaaban Abdel-Rehim
How Much: Wed-Fri, LE65, other days, LE38
Phone: 5391402

Okay, happy tenting!