ENIGMA-MAG.COM

POSTED BY ALFRED BARTON

Is there any reason to venture all the way to Heliopolis (disregard this if you already live there) ? Living in downtown Cairo, honestly, I rarely find one (you hate me now, I know). It’s not that we don’t all like Heliopolis, it’s just that it takes a good hour to get there, or more if there’s traffic. And, being Cairo, there’s always traffic.

But to be fair, Heliopolis is a cool place. And the Fairmont Heliopolis & Towers is probably one of the coolest spots to be found out there. Why is this so? First off, if you go and book Thursday night, you’ll get Friday night for free. Not to mention their complimentary brunch, all the amenities including access to the gym, sauna and jacuzzi, breakfast and kids who share a room with their mums and dads stay for free!

Spend the weekend by the Fairmont Heliopolis & Towers' pool

It’s a steal, I know. If that doesn’t tickle your fancy though, then perhaps the Fairmont Heliopolis & Towers’ new offerings of over 30 “fashionably fit” drinks will. The Fairmont Heliopolis & Towers’ Fuze Bar is introducing to Cairo for the first time ever “skinny drinks,” or low-calorie cocktails that won’t make you run to the scale and suck in. They use mixtures of fresh juices and exotic herbs to make the cocktails taste great, instead of the spoonful after spoonful of sugar we normally get…

Drink Skinny at Fuze Bar

This is the way of the future, people. Now we can still get our drink on, but you know, in a healthy way.

Fairmont Heliopolis & Towers, Cairo
Uruba St., Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt
Tel +(202) 2267 7730

Facebook: www.facebook.com/fairmontheliopolis

POSTED BY DAGHER AL SAKR

Had a thorough look at my schedule; sixty two separate sessions. From acupuncture to shiatsu  to cardio training to tennis. Then diet advisors and ‘Aesthetic Consolation’. Some of these are rather pleasant. Some less so. Others are like torture. Here are the most notable…

Phisia: the miracle shrinking therapy (electrocution)

It is a method for deep drainage of the lymphatic glands, which apparently are located on the inside of the body.

My cold naked body is scanned using prods connected to a sinister looking machine. Patricia the therapist applies what she calls conductive gel on the body.

What exactly are you conducting?

Evil smile.

The same prods are applied again to my body. But now instead of scanning they are emitting an electric current. First session is a slight tingle. Second session is harsher. I suspect by the final session I will be ready to tell Patricia anything she wants to know.

Priso therapy (the vice)

My body is covered with thin layers of paper then wrapped inside a tough leather body-suit. Slowly the suit starts to apply heat and pressure in various intensities. Normally they check on you every five minutes to see if the pressure is acceptable. I, naturally, was forgotten about for the entire session. I’m still a little blue.

Hydro therapy (water-boarding)

This has got to be my favourite. Chiefly because it begins with a comfortable soak in a warm tub lit up like a school disco. Step two is being glazed in two different types of gel (green and brown) and getting strapped down inside a bed. Water then fills this bed and surrounds you. It’s half way between floating and drowning. And reacting to the water the gel does miracles to the body. Abdomen (brown) is boiling hot while legs (green) go numb from cold. Finally session ends with me being shoved against a wall by a very powerful water hose alternating between hot and f*cking freezing.

Acupuncture (kinda like being hit with a nail gun)

My experience with acupuncture is best described by the conversation I had with Marco the therapist:

Me: will this give me energy?

Macro: hyeees

Me: will it improve my metabolism?

Marco: hyeees

Me: will it make me smarter?

Marco: hyeees

Me: you have no clue what I’m saying do you?

Marco: QUE??

Me: Siiii

Marco: bueno!

And he slams a needle in the middle of my head.

Hydro colon therapy (ahem…)

For the purpose of giving a thorough and honest report to you, I temporarily have taken leave of my dignity and subjected myself to this therapy. The description “gentle and absolutely hygienic” left me with faint hope it wouldn’t be too ‘invasive’. Well, I should have read the small print. Let’s just say I know how Lisbeth Salander must have felt.

Anyway, I have been cheating a little by going out for some meals. However it is sanctioned by the diet consultant. I just need normal food even if it is grilled Haddock. Here, I’m still not allowed to have normal food and these plates they serve taste nothing like any food I have come across in the past. Admittedly, I have survived on a strict diet of French Fries and Ketchup for the past 40 years but I know what broccoli tastes like. And this certainly isn’t it.

And this, regrettably, is how I feel…

POSTED BY CAMPBELL MACDIARMID

Nokia hosted a plush launch last week at Sequoia for their new PureView smartphone. eniGma went and were impressed by the phone and all the other goodies (like the free drinks). We blogged about it here. However it turns out that leaving before the end was a mistake as this was when they gave away several of their highly-desirable devices ahead of the official launch date. Everyone else that stayed got something too – a gift bag with a book and a portable speaker for their music player. We didn’t because we left early, but Nokia sent our goodie bag to the office for us anyway.

The speaker is produced by Nokia and allows you to plug in and play your music anywhere. Small enough to fit in a handbag and if you connect two of them together you get true stereo sound. The three AAA batteries enables up to 50 hours of non-stop music.

The Earth, published by White Star Publishers is a photo book filled with hundreds of full-colour plates of our amazing planet. From mountains to islands, icebergs to volcanoes, the book showcases some of the most incredible photography of this little world we live on.

Thanks Nokia!

POSTED BY ALFRED BARTON

Shopoloco is about to hold its first Summer Bazaar at the Marriott in Zamalek on Saturday the 26^th of May, and we at eniGma say let’s go shopping! Not only will shopaholics enjoy shopping for cool items and hard-to-find rarities but they will also enjoy a day full of activities for both women and kids (dads, probably should stay away from this one).

Actually, it’s a well-known fact that bazaars are meant to continue pumping well into the wee hours, so it’s no surprise that Shopoloco’s Summer Bazaar will take place from 1pm to 11pm.

Jewelry, accessories, bags, fashionable clothes, home textiles and many more options abound.

Need another reason to get down for this funky-fabulous event? Well, over 100 prizes will be handed out to lucky shoppers every half hour, thanks to Summer Bazaar’s sponsors: Pace e luce, Lakmé and Handy Made.

MOM’S will provide lots of activities as well, like a spa set up for girls, gym and basketball for the boys, cooking classes, arts and crafts, funny mirrors, a kids corner… basically there are going to be a lot of things to do.

Parents (notably you, mums) will also enjoy complimentary hair and makeup sessions from Pace e Luce. A live presentation by Lakmé, showcasing hair care and complete body-analysis, with recommended protocols for body reshaping, will also take place at some point.

So it obviously isn’t just an excuse for a shopping spree. There will be games and stuff as well! But we will also be able to shop to our heart’s content… all while getting a new ‘do.

POSTED BY ESRAA HEGAZY

“If you like sushi so much, then why not learn how to make it?” my mother asked one afternoon, after eating sushi for yet a third time that week. I’ve honestly never gave it a thought. Roll my own sushi? Why go through the hassle when I can easily get perfectly delicious sushi anywhere? If you’re living in Cairo, you already know that sushi, cupcakes and shisha are literally at every corner! But I digress…

Tapping into my adventurous spirit, I thought I’d give it a shot. And so, I enrolled in “What’s Cooking?” A specialised and enticing gourmet cooking class offered at the Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza. The hotel has always been a preferred dining destination. And so, Nile Plaza’s team of expert chefs have joined forces to share their wealth of culinary knowledge with Cairo’s finest epicureans.

With an array of exciting classes to choose from, including French cuisine, Moroccan and Egyptian, I’ve decided to take on their sushi class with Chef Emmel Muya.

Not knowing exactly what to expect, I figured it would be simple. Anyone can cook, right? (Later I would realise that I shouldn’t take life-lessons from watching Ratatouille with my three-year-old niece).

Little did I know that the Nile Plaza gets serious when it comes to the art of gourmet cooking. Chopping-boards were laid out onto the open cooking station in the Nile Plaza’s Aqua restaurant and an uncut Sea bass was placed at my fingertips. “We must first start by cutting open the belly and removing it,” says Chef Emmel. Excuse me? I’m supposed to cut what exactly? I’m here to roll sushi, not get my hands stinky with fish belly! Not to mention the Sea bass was staring at me! With a little help from assisting chefs, I managed to survive the How-to-Cut-Fish-101 part of the class, and moved on to making the rice and… finally! Rolling sushi!

Learn to cook like Chef Emmel Muya at the Four Seasons Nile Plaza

After three grueling hours, I’ve made about five pieces of Salmon Nigiri and five of Salmon Maki… The end result wasn’t as pretty as when you order it, but it was delicious nonetheless. My mother should be proud. I actually made sushi myself. So, I can make 10 pieces in three hours, but I can order 20 in about three seconds? Needless to say, this is the first – and probably last – time I make sushi.

Attempting to look like a pro but failing miserably

If you’re anything like me, basic cooking background (or none at all), “What’s Cooking?” classes are perfect if what you wish for is to take your cooking rather seriously. With a team of chefs assisting each student carefully, you will both learn how to cook and receive rich food-related information as well. The cherry on top? You get to have lunch at the Four Seasons Nile Plaza after class!

Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at Nile Plaza

1089 Corniche El-Nil, Garden City, Cairo, Egypt

Tel: +(202) 27916923

POSTED BY OMNIA ZAIED

It is the one time of the year where a museum becomes a destination and not a stop along the way. Wait, that was a Blair Waldorf quote. The good old days when B was cool and way less dramatic. Speaking of Blair, I have one word to say about her look and most of the looks at the Met Ball, WHAT?

Usually I don’t have much to say about fashion related events. It is true I am the Deputy Editor of a fashion magazine, but I am veiled which takes any credibility out of any fashion related comments I might make, so I just don’t. However when colleague Esraa Hegazy started showing me the pictures from the Met Ball I just had to say something, whether anybody is listening or not.

For some reason I felt I related to most of the looks. See when you’re veiled and you see a dress with long sleeves, there’s a natural attraction. And there were a lot of all sorts of sleeves this year. The first question that comes into mind at first glance though is why. Why? Why does Cameron Diaz look 80? Why didn’t Scarlett Johansson get her hair done? Why does Rihanna think she is a crocodile (with the nails and all)? Why does Florence Welch look like a peacock, a colourless peacock that is? Mary-Kate Olsen and Kirsten Dunst; Why? Why? WHY? Do they think they look good? Do they think people will think they look good? This needs some more contemplation.

Scarlett Johansson in Dolce & Gabbana

Rihanna in Tom Ford

Kirsten Dunst in Rodarte

It seems like there were two things all guests knew that no one else did. One, feathers are in, two it is the 60s; and since we are at a museum, let’s look dramatic. Mission accomplished.

It is true that Beyoncé runs the world, but it doesn’t mean she can wear a sheer dress a few weeks after she had the baby. Not even she can get away with that. And why the purple tail. She seems too excited to finally be out after having the baby, so she decided to wear a sheer black dress with purple feather tail, black dentelle and stones.

Beyoncé in Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci

And someone, anyone, needs to have a talk with Florence Welch and tell her to just go back to the studio, make good music and never, never come out in public looking like that. I mean we don’t just wear a dress because Sarah Burton designed it (especially when you see what Burton herself was wearing). We don’t wear these shoes and we definitely don’t wear this nail polish on our toes because they just look dirty. She looks like a chicken and the hair really didn’t help. No Florence, we don’t do this.

Florence Welch in Alexander McQueen

Florence Welch & Cate Blanchett in Alexander McQueen with Sarah Burton... The Three Witches

Now I love Sarah Jessica Parker, I grew up watching her in Sex and the City and learnt all the designer names I know from her. But Carrie wouldn’t do this. Though I like the pattern (kinda because it reminds me of the wallpaper I wanna buy for my bedroom) and the cut, but why is she wearing cuffs over her long sleeves?

Sarah Jessica Parker in Valentino

Another thing, how old is Cameron Diaz, really? I love her dress but with the makeup and hair it makes her look so pale and just dead. And Leighton Meester, eeib. That’s all I can say.We don’t die the hair to match the colour of the dress. Would B do that? I guess not. And someone please tell Mary-Kate Olsen she looks like Doby, the elf from Harry Potter.

Cameron Diaz in Stella McCartney

Leighton Meester in Marchesa

Mary-Kate Olsen in The Row

Bee Shaffer… that is Anna Wintour’s daughter, (of course I had no idea about this till her dress stopped me). Now I had a beach dress with the same pattern back in the days. I hated it.  It just baffels me how the mother manages looks impeccable while the daughter looks like a sad old lady. She should have never let her out of the door dressed like that. The Devil rocked Prada while the daughter deserved to burn in hell. And congratulations Alexa Chung, you are the first to be able to make an original Marc Jacobs look like a dress from a wholesale store in Roxy. If only you had a Carina to match it with instead of the shirt! And OMG Dakota Fanning is no longer a little girl, it’s like she is going to her prom, prom dress went wrong though, fail.

Anna Wintour (The devil rocks Prada) & Bee Schaffer in Erdem

Alexa Chung in Marc Jacobs

Dakota Fanning in Louis Vuitton

I have no idea who Karolina Kurkova is, but I decided to love her. She rocks veiled and she is not even veiled. This totally my new look.

Karolina Kurkova in Rachel Zoe

And March Jacobs… I am speechless, really. Nice dress (or is that a see-through abbaya?) and nice boxers (here’s something I thought I’d never say. Ever). Did Alexa Chung steal his shirt? I understand he is too cool for me to fathom but I just can’t, all I could think of is how white his boxers are, they are too distracting from his already distracting outfit.

Marc Jacobs in Prada

But it wasn’t all so bad, here is a few of my favourite looks…

Camilla Belle in Ralph Lauren

Gwyneth Paltrow in Prada

Christina Ricci in a custom-made Thakoon

Ashley Greene in Donna Karan

Carey Mulligan in Prada - She looks like a disco ball but I love it!

Gisele Bundchen in Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci

Rooney Mara in Givenchy Haute Couture by Riccardo Tisci

Solange Knowles in Rachel Roy

And by far my favourite look of the night is… Nabila Ebid or Bianca Brandolini D’Adda who ever that is.

Bianca Brandolini D'Adda in Dolce & Gabbana

POSTED BY DAGHER AL SAKR

What does it take to make a man like me crave some green leaves or a small serving of ripe cherry tomatoes?

The quick answer is three to five days of liquid fasting. This has been a tough experience which has left me lacking in both energy and humour. But supposedly a necessary start to ‘flush out’ my system. A liquid diet based on some variation of Miso Soup for breakfast, lunch and dinner. That and water, in moderation. Now I have never particularly liked Miso soup. And this particular variety has been the most perplexing. Initially. Then downright nauseating. As I write this on my third day, I have been skipping my last 5 ‘meals’ and consuming only water in small sips. I have very little energy, and whatever I have I try to put to use on the tennis court. I should note that I’m feeling less and less hungry as well. Having said that the thought of proper food makes me salivate. And watching my partner eat has not made things easier. But it feels good to be disciplined. It’s not something I often do.

I am comfortable though. The place I’m in is very serene. Most public areas seem virtually deserted despite a 90 percent occupancy rate. The only place that is not empty is the spa/clinic area. It is a beehive of activity. Spa attendants whisk guests quietly through mazes and dark corridors leading into over 40 separate rooms offering all sorts of treatments, massages and therapies. I have tried a few of those therapies so far and most have been ok. I guess unlike a massage, a clinical therapy for the purpose of weight-loss is not meant to be enjoyable. I am working towards a goal. Therefore the process is allowed to be uncomfortable. The only sessions I’m looking forward to are eight or so tennis lessons with Javi, an overgrown 18-year old Spaniard.

Javi, along with Kevin at the restaurant who expressed surprise that I managed to maintain my ‘good mood and humour’ despite my diet (I was only being polite Kevin), Jesus the night receptionist on our arrival with what is possibly the friendliest attitude in any hotel, and Kevin (hadn’t realised Kevin was such a popular name in Spain) the gym instructor who very calmly told me what to expect in the next few days and what I will need to do to achieve my goals, well…. I guess what I’m trying to say is if there is one thing that stands out in this place, apart from spectacular views, is the attitude of everyone who works here. They manage to come across as genuinely concerned about my well-being and actually willing to go out of their way and take as much time as required to help. That is quite extraordinary.

Next I will tell you about Albir, Gregor the giant bathrobe-clad Russian, and the female Saudi trio who subscribe to and actively practice an Indian caste system.

For now, I shall lie in my terrace and enjoy this view….

POSTED BY CAMPBELL MACDIARMID

Remember the first phones that had digital cameras? To be honest they were terrible, producing murky thumbnails that weren’t really good for anything. Fast forward ten years though and there’s been a quantum leap in technology, with Nokia continuing to lift the bar for digital imaging in smartphone technology. Their latest device, the Nokia 808 PureView is turning heads with the incredible images it effortlessly captures.

The folks at Nokia held a product launch at Sequoia in Zamalek last night for the PureView – which will be available in Egypt starting next month. With the PureView, you’ll have a smartphone that takes pictures to match those point-and-shoots  currently on the market. So it’s a smartphone with camera capabilities. Or rather, it’s a camera with smartphone capabilities… at any rate, it takes fantastic photos. At the event an exhibit of large canvas prints taken with the PureView showcased just how impressive the device’s capabilities really are.

What makes the PureView remarkable is an enormous 41 megapixel sensor coupled with Carl Zeiss optics. These features have resolved the issue of how to provide a workable zoom in a mobile device without losing image quality. By making the sensor huge you can just crop away the unwanted part of a huge image. When you’re not zooming, all that sensor space isn’t redundant either; the extra pixels are condensed together to eliminate noise in images. This means that the PureView has far superior low-light performance than other smartphone cameras.

There are plenty of other features too that you wouldn’t expect from a smartphone.  From taking it out of your pocket to snapping a shot, the PureView is always ready to go, just hit the shutter release and within a second you’ve captured an image. The phone also takes full HD 1080p video with excellent quality sound recording.

Nokia was the first company to produce a phone with a built-in camera and with the PureView it shows signs of retaking some of the initiative lost to Apple and Android over the past few years. Incredibly, Nokia spent five years developing the PureView; a lifetime in a market where new models are constantly released and updated.

The phone is a little heavier and bulkier than comparable smartphones but still much smaller than most compact-zoom cameras. Technogeeks might nitpick at the resolution of the screen (lower than many of its competitors), or Nokia’s choice to use the Symbian operating system, but for anyone who loves taking pictures, the PureView will be an exciting product indeed.

To modify a well-worn cliché, the best camera is the one you have with you and has a smartphone attached.

POSTED BY CAMPBELL MACDIARMID

Fancy yourself a bit of a whiz in the kitchen? Well if you think you have what it takes to be the next Gordon Ramsay then the “Gifted Chef Recipe for Fame Competition” might be for you. You could find yourself competing in a live final for great prizes and the chance to have a recipe created by you featured on the menu at Casper & Gambini’s.

To enter all you need is an exciting recipe that will impress your friends and wow the judges. Your dish must be creative, presentable and be able to be prepared in less than 20 minutes. Information for how to enter is available here.  Once you’ve entered ask your friends to ‘like’ your dish on the competition’s Facebook page.

The judges will then select five of the most popular recipes to be prepared live in a private VIP event on the Casper & Gambini’s Terrace at the City Stars Mall on Saturday 19th of May. The judging panel will include TV chef and restaurateur, chef Andrew; ex Four Seasons and Fairmont F&B, Laila Naga; Casper & Gambini’s executive chef, David El Bitar; and International Restaurants Group’s (franchisee of Casper & Gambini’s in Egypt) managing director, Mark Khalife.

At the event the finalists will prepare their creations for the chefs before a live audience. The judges will then select their two favourites to be featured as specials for a month on the Casper & Gambini’s menu. All the finalists will be served up prizes by distinguished home and culinary accessory brands so even if you don’t win you’ll come away with something.

You’ve got until 10 May at 5.00pm to register, so get your chef’s hats on and your whisks out!

POSTED BY ALFRED BARTON

We’re living in a world of politics. And coming from a country that just partook in their own, yet another, uprising, we especially have every right to, as thinkers and human beings, debate.

Naqeshny.com is, for lack of a better word (and because there really is no better word), a revolutionary idea. Anyone and everyone can sign up to, well, debate. We’ll walk you through the steps:

First, you are asked six questions. An odd sentence appears asking you to, “Please answer the following questions, this will help us identify your colour.”  colour, eh? What exactly are they getting at? I dig deeper: The first question is concerned with socio-economics. Yes or No. The second question with law and sin. The third modernism vs. tradition. Four, taxes. Five, survival of the fittest. And six? Art.

Phew. Alrighty. Moving on. Now, with my profile in place, I am shown there are four possible colours, designed to match your stance and ideologies. We are not told what the colors correlate to, only that there are four. Blue, green, orange, and red. We, as users, debaters, thinkers, can use our new-found colour coordinations to find like-minded individuals. Or opposites (sometimes they attract). Then, there are public forums and debates with which we can take part.

Which is better, Coca Cola or Pepsi?

Serious stuff.

Is this the end of Barca’s reign?

Getting hotter…

Can a country governed by religion prosper in the 21st century?

WOAH! Alright. Debate accepted.

Obviously debates are not all political. But they can be. Naqeshny gives that option. They have created a platform for free-thinkers. A place to voice common thought. A place where they can argue and discuss. Come to agreements and just plain disagree. But no yelling.

Summed up into six words (because everything ought to be)? Disseminate knowledge through online public debate. (Take a second to count that). Now that’s to the point. Through this public forum we are able to see how the Egyptian people think, and I mean the Egyptian people, not the policy makers, not the political shakers. But the people. Because the people are what make up a country. They are the ones who need so desperately to get heard, and hear each other. So we at eniGma say, SIGN UP! Get on the band wagon and start debating, or the less common form of that definition: thinking.

You can also upload profile pictures, and there will be surprises (hint hint) to the website in the very near future.

Oh by the way, we are Red. What are you?