Enjoying Egypt 221different books. On the other hand, numerous bookshops
exist throughout Egypt. Most, quite naturally, carry
predominantly Arabic publications. However, several
carry rather extensive selections in English, French and
German. Bookshops range from small, hole-in-the-wall
places that are musty, dusty and confusing, to well-arranged,
spacious stores with staff members that seemingly know
every book in the place. You will not find the huge, mega-
selection discount book stores typical of the United States
and Europe anywhere in Egypt. Some books are simply not
available in Egypt. Relatively speaking, books of any type
are actually quite expensive in Egypt.
Almost all major hotels have kiosks that carry a limited
selection of English, French and German reading materials,
including some fiction. Typically, their selections may
include a few bestseller selections, one or two classics
and, perhaps, some biographies. Mostly, these hotel kiosks
carry coffee-table books, tourist books and publications
related to Egyptian antiquities since tourists represent their
principal market.
Television and Radio
A lifesaver to television junkies has been the arrival of
satellite TV. It has truly revolutionised access to the outside
world and television viewing. The government does not
censor programmes that come in over satellite. For example,
you can now get CNN and the NBC Super Channel. However,
don’t expect news programmes like the ones you might get
in the United States. They are not the same and you get the
international version of the news programmes, which may
well have very little local US coverage.
Local TV is definitely dreadful for the foreigner, though it
has gotten significantly better with the new Nile TV station
broadcast in English and French to serve the expatriate
population. The eight local TV stations remain government
controlled. Two of them (Channels 1 and 3) are mostly
Arabic offerings. Channel 2 has daily English language
programming, but much of this is censored. Most English
programmes are either subtitled in Arabic or dubbed.