LGBTQ+ Cruise Ship Refused Entry to Egypt Days after Turkey Turned It Away

THE GUARDIAN: Scarlet Lady’s 2,000 passengers told of change as one of those onboard says they will ‘sparkle and spend elsewhere’

An LGBTQ+ cruise ship blocked from Turkish waters this week has been refused entry into Egypt.

The Scarlet Lady’s 2,000 passengers, including the Broadway performer Patti LuPone, woke on Thursday morning to find a note placed under their cabin doors informing them that the ship was urgently looking for alternative ports.

“Early this morning, we were informed that Scarlet Lady has been denied entry into Egyptian waters, and, as a result, will no longer be able to call in Alexandria today,” Rich Campbell, the chief executive of Atlantis Events, the tour group that chartered the Virgin Voyages ship, told passengers.

“I know how much this visit meant to so many of you. We successfully sailed a similar itinerary last year without issue. So we were surprised by this unfortunate decision,” he wrote.

The note concluded: “Please know that both the Atlantis and Virgin Voyages teams worked tirelessly to make this call in Alexandria a possibility. This news came as a surprise to all of us, and we’re just as disappointed as you are.”

The visit to Egypt was already a change to the planned tour, hastily arranged after the ship was refused entry to Turkey. No official reason has yet been given for the decision of the Egyptian government. » | Amelia Hill | Thursday, July 9, 2026

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Turkey blocks cruise ship carrying 2,000 LGBTQ+ passengers and a ‘furious’ Patti LuPone, citing ‘moral values’: Broadway star, who is performing on the vessel, expresses shock after authorities ban Scarlet Lady from docking in Kuşadası »

Should we be surprised? Neither Egypt nor Turkey are known for being enlightened countries. Incidentally, this is a demonstration of why Turkey should never be allowed into the European Union. A country with such retrograde values doesn’t belong in the progressive European Union. — © Mark Alexander

The Dynasty Egypt Erased: Where Are King Farouk’s Heirs Now?

Mar 30, 2026 | In 1952, King Farouk of Egypt sailed into exile aboard the same royal yacht his grandfather had used 73 years earlier. His 3 daughters — aged 13, 12, and 8 — were given 1 hour to pack. Within months, the Muhammad Ali dynasty that had ruled Egypt for 148 years was legally erased. 5 palaces seized. 11,500 pieces of royal jewellery locked in bank vaults. An entire family scattered across Europe.

What happened to Farouk's children is a story almost no one tells. One became a typing teacher hiding her identity. Another earned a pilot's licence and a ship captain's qualification before losing everything to illness. A third died so poor that the Egyptian government paid to fly her body home. And then there was the infant king — 6 months old when he was crowned, 18 months old when his throne ceased to exist. Where are they now? This is a researched documentary created for educational purposes.


The unit of land measurement spoken of in this video is feddan. It is a land measurement still quite widely used in Egypt. I had never heard of it, so I googled it. The following is what I learnt: A feddan (Arabic: فدان) is used primarily in agriculture. It is equivalent to 4,200.83 square metres, or 1,038 acres. That equates to 0.42 hectares. [Source: Google]

Starmer Criticised for Celebrating Activist's Return from Egypt: 'This Is a Complete Disgrace'

Dec 28, 2025 | Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised for celebrating the return of a British activist from detention in Egypt in light of his past social media posts.

The prime minister said on Friday that he was "delighted" that Alaa Abd El-Fattah had been reunited with his loved ones in the UK.

Historic posts have since emerged of Mr Abd El-Fattah calling for Zionists to be killed. Shadow Justice Secretary Robert Jenrick has now told Sky News, the prime minister's actions are a "complete disgrace". He added: "This man should not be in the UK and the prime minister of all people should not be out there welcoming him. He's a dangerous individual and it shames our country that we've expended political capital to get him brought here."

Egyptian Dissident Should Be Deported from UK, Conservatives Say | BBC News

Dec 28, 2025 | The Conservative Party has called for an Egyptian activist to be deported from the UK and for his British citizenship to be revoked.

Shadow justice secretary Robert Jenrick said Alaa Abdel Fattah should "be made to live in Egypt or frankly anywhere else in the world" after social media messages emerged of him calling for Zionists to be killed.

UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has been criticised for being "delighted" at Fattah's arrival, but it is understood he was unaware of the messages before this week. The Foreign Office said it had been "a long-standing priority under successive governments" to work for Fattah's release and see him reunited with his family in the UK, but condemned his "abhorrent" posts.

Rambling Trump Accidentally Reopens Questions about an Election Payoff

Oct 14, 2025 | Rachel Maddow points out the exceptional and unusually effusive praise and thanks that Donald Trump heaped on Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, the president of Egypt, at an event tied to the Israel-Gaza ceasefire, in which Trump bizarrely mentioned his race against Hillary Clinton. The episode calls to mind a mysterious $10 million and a related investigation's questions left open-ended after Trump was inaugurated the first time.

Alexandria: Alexander the Great’s Dazzling Ancient City I SLICE HISTORY

Aug 28, 2025 | In the 4th century BC, when Alexander the Great discovered the place that would later become Alexandria, it was a simple fishing village on a coastal lagoon, surrounded by marshes.

Yet it was there that the conqueror, Alexander the Great set out to build the most dazzling and most cosmopolitan of ancient great cities. Built from nothing, the city with its perfectly geometric design, would rise as one gigantic block from the land, and become home to up to 1 million people. Its avant-garde style would revolutionise ancient urban design. Ideally situated between two "seas", between two worlds, between the East and the West, Alexandria would become the market place of the Mediterranean world. Its unique location would bring it great wealth and allow the building of incomparable structures: the Great Library, veritable centre of universal knowledge, the splendid Serapeum, and the monumental Lighthouse of Alexandria, ready to illuminate the world for centuries to come. Feast your eyes on a reconstruction of the mega-city and its amazing buildings. Once upon a time, Alexandria was built…

Documentary: Megapolis, the ancient world revealed: Alexandria (2021) Directed by: Fabrice Hourlier Production: Indigènes Production

How the Police and Gangs Hunt LGBT People in Egypt - BBC Africa

Jan 31, 2023 | A BBC News investigation has revealed how violent criminal gangs are finding, abusing and extorting people from the LGBT community they meet online in Egypt.

Using masking technology to hide the identities of the people he meets, Ahmed Shihab-Eldin navigates the complex online and real-life world of people who identify as queer and who have been repeatedly targeted by a gang with violent viral video humiliations and police arrests.

What Fallout Does Jordan Face from Trump’s Gaza Plan? | The Take

Feb 12, 2025 | King Abdullah II of Jordan met United States President Donald Trump at a critical moment. With Jordan hosting more than two million Palestinian refugees, Trump’s plan to “own” Gaza and relocate its population puts the kingdom in a tough spot. Abdullah calls displacement a red line – but how much can he push back? In this episode:

• Nour Odeh, Senior Correspondent


WIKIPEDIA: Nakba »

Trump Says He May Cut Aid to Jordan and Egypt if They Don’t Take Gazans

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The president turned up the pressure on the two nations to agree to his proposal for them to house the Palestinian population of Gaza and said the Palestinians would not have the right to return to the territory.

President Trump said on Monday that he could cut aid to Jordan and Egypt if they refused his demand to permanently take in most Palestinians from Gaza, substantially increasing the pressure on key allies in the region to back his audacious proposal to relocate the entire population of the territory in order to redevelop it.

The president also said from the White House that if Hamas did not release all the remaining Israeli hostages by “12 o’clock on Saturday,” the cease-fire agreement with Israel should be canceled.

“All hell is going to break out,” Mr. Trump said to reporters in the Oval Office, while acknowledging that the choice over ending the cease-fire ultimately fell to Israel.

Jordan and Egypt, both major recipients of U.S. military and economic aid, have rejected any suggestion that Palestinians be relocated to their countries. But Mr. Trump said on Monday that the assistance could be in jeopardy. » | Zolan Kanno-Youngs and Shawn McCreesh | Reporting from Washington | Monday, February 10, 2025

‘Worst Nightmare’: Egypt and Jordan Put in Impossible Bind by Trump Gaza Plan

THE GUARDIAN: Though heavily dependent on US aid, Amman and Cairo face political calamity at home should they comply

International outrage in recent days has focused on Donald Trump’s proposal that the US take “ownership” of Gaza, and that more than two million Palestinians be displaced to allow the territory to be transformed from “a demolition site” into a “riviera” in the Middle East.

In Jordan and Egypt, the demand that both countries accept huge numbers of Palestinians from Gaza – potentially on a permanent basis – has prompted equal concern. Leaders of both countries immediately rejected the proposal, and the Jordanian king, Abdullah II, and the Egyptian president, Abdel Fatah al-Sisi, are heading to Washington in an attempt to convince Trump to change course.

“They are terrified that an Israeli policy of population transfer will actually become real,” said Neil Quilliam, an associate fellow of the Middle East programme at the Chatham House thinktank in London.

Abdullah and Sisi know that they are vulnerable to Trump’s trademark transactional style of geopolitics as their countries’ economies and security depend heavily on huge levels of US aid and trade.

Jordan accepted large numbers of displaced Palestinians in 1948 during the wars surrounding the foundation of Israel, and in 1967 when Israel occupied the West Bank and Gaza. A large proportion of Jordan’s population – probably more than half – is of Palestinian origin, with many still classed as refugees. » | Jason Burke, International security correspondent | Thursday, February 6, 2025

Palestinians 'going to have to live somewhere else in the interim' under Trump's Gaza plan, says Rubio »

Tribute to Princess Fawzia of Egypt, Queen of Iran (1921 - 2013)

Nov 29, 2014 | Fawzia Fuad of Egypt (Persian: شاهدخت فوزیه‎, Turkish: Prenses Fevziye, Arabic: الأميرة فوزية‎) (5 November 1921 – 2 July 2013) was an Egyptian princess who became Empress of Iran as the first wife of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi.

She is also known as Fawzia Chirine (or Shirin), having remarried in 1949. Although her royal titles were no longer recognized by the Egyptian government after the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, international protocol dictates that former monarchs and members of former ruling royal families still retain titles obtained whilst a member of a reigning monarchy.

She was the oldest member of the deposed Muhammad Ali Dynasty of Albanian descent residing in Egypt. Her nephew, Fuad, who was proclaimed King Fuad II of Egypt and Sudan after the Revolution, resides in Switzerland.

Egypt Through the Lens - EP 2 - Conflict | Featured Documentary

Jul 24, 2024 | Egypt Through the Lens is a four-part series about how photographers recorded the modern history of Egypt over 150 years – its kings, presidents, politics, conflicts and cinema.

The second episode sees how war photographers captured key moments of Egypt's history, from the earliest British occupation in 1882 to the Arab-Israeli wars of the late 20th century. Acclaimed photojournalist Samir Ghazouli draws on his family's extensive archive to show the development of war photography in Egypt. He reveals iconic images from the 1948 Arab-Israeli war, the rise of a young Egyptian army officer Gamal Abdel Nasser from war hero to president, the Suez Crisis and both the 1967 and 1973 Arab-Israeli wars, where photographs vividly captured the contrasting emotions of victory and defeat.


Click here for Episode 1.

Egypt Through the Lens - EP 1 - Leaders | Featured Documentary

Jul 23, 2024 | Egypt Through the Lens is a four-part series about how photographers recorded the modern history of Egypt over 150 years – its kings, presidents, politics, conflicts and cinema.

The first episode sees Egypt's rulers captured on camera, from the earliest recorded still images of Egypt's royal family taken in 1836 to the country's first presidents in the mid-20th century. King Farouk's whole life was documented in photographs, from his birth in 1920 to his abdication in 1952. Farouk understood the importance of photographs as a PR tool and tried to control his public image - but with limited success. Gamal Abdel Nasser took his own informal photos, offering a behind-the-scenes look into his presidency in the 1960s. His successor Anwar Sadat was also keenly aware of the power of photography. One iconic picture shows him in a traditional jalabiya, sitting on a rural porch sharing pastries with farmers, aimed at showing the president as a man of the people.

Heat Waves Are Pounding Egypt, and Often There’s No A.C.

THE NEW YORK TIMES: Daily power cuts have been plaguing Egypt during an extraordinarily hot summer. Now the blackouts may be temporarily suspended, but the damage to confidence in the government has already been done.

Egyptian summers have always been hot. But it has not always been this hot, with temperatures barely dipping below 100 degrees in Cairo since May, testing tempers and massacring houseplants. And it has never been this hot at a time when the government has imposed power cuts on most of the country for more than a year, plunging millions into sweaty, un-air-conditioned misery for hours each day.

Since last summer, when energy shortages forced the government to impose the daily power cuts, the blackouts have become such a fact of life that local media has taken to publishing regular tips for what to do if stranded in an elevator as the power goes off. At least nine people have died under such circumstances, according to local media reports.

“Pound on the door and don’t panic,” suggested a recent headline in Al Masry Al Youm, one news outlet. But it had little advice for fish sellers who struggle to refrigerate their wares, farmers whose chickens are dying en masse, people with little cash to fix shorted-out appliances or students studying for the all-important college entrance exams by flashlight.

After importing several emergency cargoes of natural gas, the government said the blackouts would stop from this past Sunday until mid-September, when it said they might be reinstated. » | Vivian Yee and Emad Mekay, Reporting from Cairo | Monday, July 22, 2024

King Farouk of Egypt

Dec 31, 2023 | King Farouk of Egypt’s life was a brutal lesson that “the bigger they are, the harder they fall.” From birth, the ruler’s whole world was a procession of luxury, debauchery, and extravagance, but this mass of privilege slowly corrupted the spoiled boy into a cruel, twisted man. But oh, did Farouk ever pay for his sins

How Egyptian Police Hunt LGBT People on Dating Apps - BBC News

Jan 31, 2023 | Homosexuality is highly stigmatised in Egypt, and a BBC News investigation has revealed how violent criminal gangs are finding, abusing and extorting people from the LGBT community they meet online in Egypt.

Using masking technology to hide the identities of the people he meets, Ahmed Shihab-Eldin navigated the complex online and real-life world of people who identify as queer and who have been repeatedly targeted by a gang with violent viral video humiliations and police arrests.

"A Near-death Experience": UK-Egyptian Activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah Nearly Dies on Hunger Strike

Nov 18, 2022 | The family of imprisoned British Egyptian human rights activist Alaa Abd El-Fattah visited him on Thursday for the first time since he ended his full hunger and water strike, which they say occurred after he collapsed inside his prison shower last week. El-Fattah had intensified his strike on the first day of the U.N. climate conference in Sharm el-Sheikh to draw international attention to the country's human rights violations and protest his seemingly indefinite imprisonment. We go to Cairo to speak with his aunt, Ahdaf Soueif, who was among the visitors and says El-Fattah may resume his hunger strike if the British government does not more aggressively demand his release. "It really breaks my heart to think of him going back on hunger strike when he is so thin and so weak," but the campaign so far "has left no one in any doubt that Alaa should be free," she says.

World leaders at Cop27 Urged to Press Egypt over Prisoner Alaa Abd el-Fattah

THE GUARDIAN: Global spotlight on host country has heightened scrutiny of human rights record, with Biden due to meet Sisi

An Amnesty International protest about Egyptian human rights, in Rome this week. Photograph: Riccardo Antimiani/Ansa/Zuma/Rex/Shutterstock
As Egyptian officials strive to control the narrative and isolate the case of the detained British Egyptian activist Alaa Abd el-Fattah, pressure is mounting on world leaders at Cop27 to acknowledge Egypt’s poor human rights record and raise his case.

The Egyptian authorities have engaged in a sweeping public relations campaign to try to discredit Abd el-Fattah, including a digital campaign depicting him as a threat to national security.

A visibly shaken Sameh Shoukry, Egypt’s foreign minister and Cop27 president, told CNN that “this is a judicial matter, the person in question has had a fair trial … there should be respect for the judicial system.” Shoukry also cast doubt on Abd el-Fattah’s dual nationality, after he gained British citizenship while in prison last year. » | Ruth Michaelson | Friday, November 11, 2022

Related articles in French and English here.

The Guardian View on Egypt’s Abuses: Justice Needed for Alaa Abd el-Fattah – and the Others

THE GUARDIAN – EDITORIAL: The treatment of the British-Egyptian democracy activist is a travesty, and emblematic of the regime’s brutality

Sanaa Seif, the sister of Alaa Abd el-Fattah, at a protest in London last month. Photograph: Stefan Rousseau/PA
Only the Egyptian regime knows the fate of Alaa Abd el-Fattah. It wants to keep it that way. The jailed British-Egyptian writer and democracy activist, a figurehead of the 2011 revolution, began refusing water on Sunday – six months after launching a hunger strike that has seen him consume no more than 100 calories a day. On Monday, his mother waited in vain outside the prison for his weekly letter. As of Tuesday evening, his family was still demanding proof of life, fearing he may die before the end of the Cop27 climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, which has finally propelled his case to international attention. They are also concerned that he may be tortured through force-feeding. » | Editorial | Tuesday, November 8, 2022

Related article here.

Alaa Abdel Fattah: British-Egyptian Activist's Life at Acute Risk - UN

The UN said Alaa Abdel Fattah was one of a number of Egyptians "arbitrarily deprived of their liberty". | ANADOLU AGENCY
BBC: The United Nations human rights chief has called on Egypt to immediately release jailed British-Egyptian pro-democracy activist Alaa Abdel Fattah.

Volker Türk said his life was "at acute risk" after he escalated a hunger strike and stopped drinking water.

He began the strike in April to protest against the denial of consular visits.

His sister, Sanaa Seif, said: "All we know is that Alaa stopped drinking water 50 hours ago. We don't know where he is. We don't know if he is alive."

"My mother waited outside the prison gates for 10 hours yesterday for her weekly letter. They didn't give her one. She is back at those gates right now," she told a news conference at the COP27 climate conference in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.

"I asked the British authorities to get us some proof that Alaa is alive and conscious. I did not get any response." » | David Gritten, BBC News | Tuesday, November 8, 2022