From January 25 to Iran: What Middle Eastern Regimes Still Haven’t Learned Since 2011

This is the annual post marking the January 25 Revolution of 2011 in Egypt, published on January 28—the true day of the Revolution.

Although it may seem like a distant memory, it has rarely felt closer. Many—if not all—of the causes and conditions that led to that moment, which reshaped the Middle East (if not the world), still exist today, in one form or another, across almost every country in the region—not just in Egypt.

Step Down sign from February 4 million man protest in Tahrir square 

I am writing this post while Iran stands on the brink of war, following mass protests that were hijacked by the U.S. and the Israeli regime and brutally cracked down on by the Iranian regime. The result has been a tragedy: thousands killed, thousands more detained, and millions waiting in fear, uncertain about what the future holds.

I cannot ignore what is happening in Iran, as we remember the January 2011 Revolution—the peak moment that truly launched the Arab Spring, with all due respect to the Tunisian Revolution. For context, Tunisians themselves protested earlier this month against their government and President Kais Saied, who has turned out to be little more than a Temu-version strongman.

After the 12-day war in the summer of 2025, I thought the Iranian regime might finally read the writing on the wall and grant greater freedoms to its people, especially after Iranians stood firm during the Israeli–U.S. war.

Once again, the Iranian people proved—like people everywhere—that they are the first and true line of defense, resilient despite years of repression and crushing economic sanctions. For a brief moment, videos from Iran suggested a slight opening: more women appeared unveiled in public. Yet economic hardship deepened, demanding urgent reform.

Watch This : Seasons & Streets “Christmas from Korba to Shubra 25”

It seems that 19 January is becoming the day I release my Christmas video every year!

This time, I’m releasing the video on Epiphany, as observed in the Eastern Orthodox Church calendar, rather than on its eve as I did last year.

Watch the new episode of Seasons & Streets, “Christmas from Korba to Shubra 25,” to explore the history of Baghdad Street in Heliopolis, as well as the long and fascinating story of Al-Tarea Al-Bolakia (the Bolakia Canal)—with additional background, photos, and even rare video footage from Cairo in the 19th century and early 20th century.

Once again, it’s worth noting that Epiphany is celebrated on 19 January by most Eastern Orthodox Churches (6 January in the Julian calendar, which corresponds to 19 January in the Gregorian calendar), including the Egyptian Coptic Orthodox Church.

Epiphany commemorates the baptism of Jesus Christ in the Jordan River by John the Baptist.

Back to the video—Inshallah, next time I will upload the video at the same time as the photos, whether on 25 December or 7 January.

Kodak Agfa presents in Photos: A Cairo Christmas 2026 “7 January Shubra edition”

It’s time for the second edition of our annual Egyptian Chronicles series: Christmas in Cairo, Vol. 2.

As always, this post features photos and videos of Cairo’s Christmas decorations as the city celebrates 7 January — Orthodox Christmas, observed by Orthodox Christian communities.

Merry Christmas to all those celebrating it.

The nativity scene at Saint Ibram shop 

Okay, a brief social and historical note: most Christian Egyptians belong to the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria, one of the oldest Christian churches in the world.

You might wonder why Christmas in Egypt is celebrated on 25 December and 7 January.

The difference comes down to the calendar. Most of the world uses the Gregorian calendar, which places Christmas on 25 December.

The Coptic Orthodox Church, however, follows the Julian calendar, which is currently 13 days behind — hence Coptic Christmas falling on 7 January.

Interestingly, in the early centuries of Christianity, the Eastern Church—in regions such as Egypt and Syria—celebrated Theophany on 6 January.

This was a single, “double feast” commemorating both the birth of Jesus and his baptism.

It was only later that Western Christianity separated the two events, assigning Jesus’ birth to 25 December, while the Eastern churches maintained their traditions in line with the Julian calendar.

Happy New Year 2026 From Egyptian Chronicles

Happy New Year 2026 from Egyptian Chronicles to all friends around the globe.

May it be a nice, cheerful year for all of us inshallah. 

The Richest Arabs in 2025: Saudis are back but Egyptians are still there

Once again, this post should have been published earlier. I had intended to make it an Egyptian Chronicles year-end tradition: The Richest Arabs in 2025, according to Forbes.

As an annual disclaimer, Arabs and Egyptians alike are well aware that there is another, unofficial list of the richest Arabs—those whose fortunes remain largely secret and unknown.

This year marked a major shift, as Forbes included Saudi billionaires on its list for the first time since 2018.

Fifteen Saudi billionaires made the ranking, 14 of them new entrants, largely due to their stakes in companies listed on the Saudi Exchange, which has seen a surge in IPOs in the post-COVID period.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud returned to the top of the list as the richest Arab in the world, with an estimated net worth of $16.5 billion.

He currently ranks No.162 globally on Forbes’ real-time billionaires list, after reaching No. 128 in May.

Saudi Arabia now has the highest number of Arab billionaires, with 15 individuals worth a combined $55.8 billion.

Lebanon follows with six billionaires worth $12.3 billion, while the UAE and Egypt each have five billionaires, with total fortunes of $24.3 billion and $20.6 billion, respectively.

According to Forbes’ World Billionaires 2025 list, the number of billionaires worldwide exceeded 3,000 for the first time, with 3,028 individuals making this year’s ranking—247 more than in 2024. Not only are there more billionaires, but they are also richer than ever, with a combined net worth of $16.1 trillion, nearly $2 trillion more than in 2024.

Kodak Agfa presents in Photos : A Cairo Christmas 2025 “25 December Korba Edition”

It is time for one of our annual posts on Egyptian Chronicles: The Christmas in Cairo Post, Vol. 1.

As usual, this will be a photo post capturing Christmas decorations across Cairo as the city marks 25 December — the Western Christmas, observed by Western Christian denominations.

Christmas decorations on building No.6 in Baghdad Street, Korba

This year’s celebrations come as Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank attempt to observe Christmas in a semi-normal way, despite Israel’s continued violations of the ceasefire in Gaza and ongoing settler attacks in the West Bank — raising the question of whether a ceasefire truly exists at all.

Israeli police have already arrested a Palestinian dressed as Santa in Haifa, yet Palestinians continue to seek moments of normalcy after two years of genocide and amid an uncertain future.

The Damned Dam : The truth and myth of the River Nile’s so-called colonial era treaties “Episode 1 : The road to 1902 treaty”

Ethiopia has fired back at Egypt’s latest statement, warning of its unilateral actions concerning the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.

The Ethiopian Foreign Ministry issued a statement on Wednesday using the same old accusations against Egypt of standing behind unrest in the Horn of Africa.

It slammed Egypt’s demands to respect the historical old treaties, describing them as “colonial era mentality” as it used big words like “Pan-Africanism” because Egypt is Africa’s white man, as Egyptians are not black enough.

The thing is that this Ethiopian statement, like the rest of old Ethiopian statements, plays on certain sentiments in Africa to win hearts and minds in a wicked way, twisting facts and history.

Unfortunately, the Egyptian government does not use the same playbook Ethiopia is using. It actually uses international laws in a lawless world.

This post aims to set the facts and history straight regarding colonial-era treaties.

Among the main Egyptian demands per the international laws organizing the rivers across borders is Ethiopia’s recognition and respect as an upstream country to the historical Nile River Water Shares of both Egypt and Sudan as downstream countries based on the historical Nile Water treaties, especially 1902,1929 and 1951, which Ethiopia labels as colonial treaties”

Interestingly, Ethiopia’s modern diplomacy often relies on a powerful narrative — that it is the only African country never to have been colonised.

It’s repeated in schools, documentaries, and political speeches, framing Ethiopia as the proud exception to Africa’s colonial story — the continent’s “real-world Wakanda.” Yet the deeper one digs, the more contradictions begin to appear.

What I cannot understand is how the current regime insists it was forced into accepting “colonial-era treaties” when, by its own celebrated narrative, Ethiopia was never colonized.

If Ethiopia was truly the unbroken, unconquered “Wakanda” during the great scramble for Africa, then the story becomes even more complicated — because the country was invaded twice, and in neither instance did the Ethiopian state sign anything related to the Nile, starting with the 1902 treaty.

Lake Tana, the source of the Blue Nile in Ethiopia
in 1870s.

But we can’t start with the 1902 treaty without going back in time to 1889.

In 1889, the Kingdom of Itay and the Ethiopian Empire signed the Treaty of Wuchale after the Italian occupation of Eritrea. It was signed in the small Ethiopian town of Wuchale, from which the treaty got its name.