The year is finally coming to a close. The weather is getting cooler, the days shorter, and the holiday season is officially here. Despite Egypt being a predominantly Muslim country, you’ll find people all over the country and from all kinds of backgrounds celebrating Christmas this weekend, in addition to the Coptic celebrations of January 7th. But this should really come as no surprise. Egypt has played a central role in the Biblical narrative since the very beginning and the Holy Family’s journey through the country is a crucial part of the country’s religious and spiritual heritage.

The gift giving season is upon us once again and we’re here to make your Christmas shopping a little bit easier. CSA is full of some really wonderful shops and vendors selling amazing local products. We’ve put together a list of some of our favorite places to shop for gifts; there’s a little something for everyone here, from the foodie in your life to the fitness buff. Keep reading for a special gift guide, the CSA edition!

One of the things that makes Cairo so special is the daily interactions many of us have with the stray animals that fill her streets, especially in neighborhoods like Maadi where they are well cared for and comfortable around humans. Not everyone who lives here appreciates their presence, though, and city streets can be an incredibly harsh place to live. Thankfully, there is a growing community of animal lovers and activists who have made it their life’s work to protect those in need, but they could use our help.

Traditional Egyptian food has somehow gotten lost and diluted over the years and many have forgotten just how amazing our local cuisine can be. But the local food scene is experiencing a wonderful revival as more and more people start to appreciate the depth and variety that you can find here. While traditional food is very often best eaten at home, there are a number of Cairo restaurants that offer pretty much the same experience, with just as much soul and love as you would find in any home kitchen.

When we talk about Egyptian heritage it’s almost always the country’s ancient or Islamic history that dominates the conversation. Rarely do we talk about our intangible heritage, and rarely do we talk about the rich and incredibly complex cultures of the tribes that call Egypt’s mountains home. Not only do the mountains serve as vital ecosystems, but they carry much more history and value than most people are aware of. The people behind the Sinai and Red Sea Mountain Trails are doing amazing work preserving and protecting these isolated and unique parts of the country.

This city is absolutely full of amazing shops carrying beautiful antique and vintage collections, but it’s not always easy to find them among the crowds and chaos, most are tucked away in the many hidden corners of the city. But fret not! We’ve put together a few of our favorites, from thrift and second hand stores to some of the city’s most interesting antique shops. You can find pretty much anything here, you just need to know where to look.

Siwa Oasis is one of those places that hold a very special kind of power, a very special kind of magic. The Amazighis knew this when they settled here many hundreds of years ago, so did Alexander the Great, and so does anyone who visits the secluded oasis today. Siwa’s gifts extend from its stunning natural heritage, to a history and culture as rich and complex as its people. Visitors flock here for many different reasons, but one of the most fascinating is the healing tradition of hot sand baths.

Egypt is gearing up for the COP27 conference in Sharm el Sheikh this year and the conversation around building a more eco-conscious future is taking center stage once more. But the issue of sustainability is a nuanced one with many facets and even more approaches. In this country of a hundred million residents, sustainability is no easy feat; thankfully, there is a powerful movement taking place, driven by people who share a common dream of a kinder, fairer future for our planet and its people.

Cities like Cairo are not always for the faint of heart, but if you know where to look you’ll find hidden gems tucked away in almost every little nook and cranny. This city has so much to offer, far more than many of us realize, and more often than not, the best parts are not the most obvious ones. Cairo’s older bars, while perhaps a little shabbier than the new ones, are a haven of nostalgia and authentic eccentricity. It’s in these bars and pubs that you’ll find the most interesting and diverse crowds, and many of them have histories as fascinating as the people who frequent them.

The word ‘sustainable’ has become such a central part of our vocabulary in this new day and age. Movements are taking place on a global scale with a mission to bring the world back to some form of balance. Sustainable tourism has been hailed as the ‘tourism of the future’ and rightly so. But seldom do we talk about the ethics of travel and exploration, seldom do we address the effects tourism has on the communities and environments we visit. If we want to protect our planet, our heritage and our people, we need to bring ethics into the discussion.

For well over a hundred years, Egypt’s art scene, especially her performing arts, have placed the country at the center of the region’s cultural landscape. Egyptian theatrical performances have captured the hearts and minds of locals and expats alike, and the country has built up an inspiring legacy over the years. Now, a new generation of independent writers, producers and performers has taken the reins, bringing with it a whole new form of theatre.

This year marks the bicentennial anniversary of Champollion’s translation of the Rosetta Stone, an event that finally allowed us to decipher the early texts and inscriptions left behind by the Egyptians. It has opened countless doors in the field of Egyptology, without which we almost certainly would not have been able to build the understanding we have today of our ancient counterparts.

To the ancient Egyptians, life and death lay at the heart of their relationship with the world, and their pre-occupation with the afterlife is well-known. Each day, as the sun would rise and set, they were reminded of the never-ending cycle of death and rebirth. The two themes were so intricately woven into all elements of their existence and beliefs that they permeate everything that’s been left behind, from tombs and temples to an incredible number of scrolls and inscriptions, including of course, the infamous Book of the Dead.

Resting in the heart of South Sinai is the Monastery of Saint Catherine, its great ancient stone walls as impressive as the rugged mountains surrounding it. It stands as the oldest continuously inhabited monastery in the world, witnessing the passage of time from its sacred seat at the foot of Mount Sinai. Today, the monastery is one of Egypt’s most important religious heritage sites and an integral part of not only the country’s history, but an integral part of our global story too.

“What makes the desert beautiful, is that somewhere it hides a well.” So said the little prince in Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s heartwarming story about a pilot, a prince, and a flower. The Little Prince is one of the most loved children’s books of all time and the story itself is known to many. But what many don’t know is that the book was inspired by the life of its author, and even fewer know that the Libyan Desert played a monumental role in the creation of the story.

When we talk about the history of archaeology in Egypt, it’s names like Carter, Petrie, Champollion and Belzoni that tend to take up most of the space in conversation, names of European men. Since the early days of ‘modern’ archaeology, the field has been dominated by foreigners. But there is an essential element of archaeological excavation that has received little to no credit over the years, the local workforce.

Tucked away at the foot of the Sofitel Winter Palace in Luxor is a small shop full of little treasures and souvenirs, reminders of Egypt’s wonders. From alabaster sculptures and other Pharaonic replicas to hundreds of books and photographs, the place is more than just a shop, it’s a museum, and it’s an important part of our heritage. It was here, in 1907, that Attiya Gaddis, and later Girguis Seif, opened a photography studio, becoming two of the first Egyptians to enter a field that had up until then been almost exclusively dominated by Europeans.

If we look back at the countless wars, pandemics, recessions and disasters, both natural and manmade, that have befallen us over the course of our collective history, there is one thing that has helped us through it all, community. Humans are a social animal, and our tendency to congregate and form solid, supportive communities is one of our most protective traits. A strong community is a resilient one, and when times are tough, resilience is key.

You’d be hard-pressed to find anyone who hasn’t heard of the ancient Egyptians with their larger-than-life tombs and temples, their mighty kings and queens, and their pantheon of eccentric gods and goddesses. The legacy they have left behind is unparalleled and we’re still making new discoveries on an almost daily basis. But our history extends far beyond ancient Egypt and the pre-dynastic communities that once lived here have their own stories to tell.

The burning of the Library of Alexandria is one of those events that has been seared into the world’s collective memory, carrying with it a very important lesson about knowledge, power and loss. But things didn’t go down quite as we all think. The story of the great ancient library, and its downfall, is far more complex and nuanced than most people realize. And its resurrection many hundreds of years later might just offer us all a second chance at making up for our past neglect.