Hey there,

Comedy is one of the hardest things to get right, not just in writing, but across art and entertainment as a whole. If you've spent any time working in the creative industries, you've probably noticed that it's often easier to write something that's emotional or dramatic.

Those emotions can be built through familiar storytelling techniques. But making people genuinely laugh is a different challenge entirely. Egypt’s stand-up comedians have made a serious business out of being funny. But comedy is never just about telling a joke; it’s about finding the right words, timing, and perspective to make people laugh.

Finding that balance, where the humor feels natural, surprising, and authentic, is what makes comedy such a difficult craft to master. In this edition, we explore how comedy often grows out of pain, and how difficult experiences can be transformed into satire, wit, and laughter.

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Comedy often comes from the places where life feels the most difficult. The funniest moments are not always born from happiness, but from frustration, struggle, and the everyday situations people can all relate to. With their recent marketing campaign for Bluworks, Diaries of an HR (2026), a witty three-episode series looking at the work of Human Resources (HR) professionals in Egypt, award-winning creative directors Sherif Fouad (Shico) and Alaa El Sheikh challenge the old misconception that what makes people laugh cannot also make them think. It shows how humor can be a way of processing hardship, finding light in difficult situations, and creating a shared sense of understanding through laughter.

Read the article here.

Taxi (2007) by Khaled Al Khamissi is a collection of fictionalized conversations between the author and Cairo taxi drivers. Each driver recounts stories about work, family, politics, corruption, religion, inflation, bureaucracy, and the daily struggle to survive in Egypt. Its use of gallows humor—the kind of humor that arises in situations of prolonged hardship where laughter becomes a coping mechanism rather than mere entertainment. The taxi drivers often describe objectively bleak circumstances, such as rising prices, but do so with biting wit, irony, and exaggerated storytelling.

Read more here.

Zeina’s "Ya Hala" is more than just a slick, infectious pop track; it is a vivid celebration of modern Arab womanhood. Blending regional flair with contemporary pop, the Lebanese-Egyptian artist captures a magnetic confidence that feels entirely fresh. Her music speaks to a generation of Arab women who navigate the world with style, grounded in their heritage yet fiercely individual.

Listen here.

True dark humor often doesn’t announce itself as dark at first; it simply presents an honest version of reality, letting the truth speak for itself. In Black February, two brothers, a university professor and a scientific researcher, realize that in Egypt, intellectuals and scientists face more challenges, while those in law enforcement or judiciary positions enjoy total protection. Panicked by their vulnerability, they frantically attempt to marry their children into "protected" social classes. It turns systemic neglect and class inequality into a hilarious, chaotic quest for basic human security.

Watch it here.

Your new summer coffee obsession has arrived. Say hello to the Iced Shaken Latte, a refreshing twist on your everyday latte, crafted for those who love their coffee bold, smooth, and seriously satisfying. It starts with rich espresso, adding a touch of sweet vanilla, blending in creamy half-and-half, and shaking it all together over ice until it reaches that perfectly silky, velvety texture.

Find out more here.

For the very first time, Cairo Comedy Club is taking over Teatro 90 on August 6 for a night full of laughs, stories, and the kind of jokes that hit a little too close to home. Catch five of Egypt’s funniest comedians, including Abdelrahman Magdy, Reem Nabil, Omar Kentucky, Mohamed Halawa, and Hatem El Sokary, as they bring their sharp takes, hilarious experiences, and unique styles to the stage.

Find out more here.

Two thousand years ago, in the deserts of what is now northwestern Saudi Arabia, a civilisation called the Nabataeans built a city carved into the sandstone. They cut more than 110 monumental tombs into rock faces scattered across an area of more than thirteen kilometres. They commissioned master sculptors to decorate the tomb facades with elaborate columns, friezes, eagles, winged lions, and inscriptions that named the deceased, the owner, and sometimes the artist himself. They engineered an oasis in a place that should not have sustained one, drawing water from deep wells and channelling it through cisterns and channels carved into the same rock that held their dead. And then, sometime around the second century AD, they left, and the desert kept their work almost perfectly intact for the next two thousand years.

Read more here.