Screenshot of our new website http://www.emajmagazine.com

The whole team of EMAJ Magazine is happy to introduce you its new website and invites you to follow it!

www.emajmagazine.com

Dear readers,

The idea of starting a magazine was born thanks to the engagement of a little devoted team and the great work of some young eager reporters on both sides of our dear Mediterranean sea.

Lately we decided it was time to move a step further. All articles which have been published on the blog will remain on it, but you now can also find them on our new website – www.emajmagazine.com – together with new features, interviews and opinion articles!

We would like to thank you for having followed our blog in the past thirteen months. Thank you for your support and your comments! And we hope you will keep on following us in this new slice of life of EMAJ Magazine

The EMAJ Magazine Team

http://www.stop404.org

By Assaad Thebian

Do you want to follow the news on Egypt or share your pictures and experience? Here are some tips on where to look and how to bypass the blockade.

__________

__________

__________

__________

__________

@Women of Egypt Facebook group

By Marina Ferhatovic

It is not only men’s revolution, assures 25-year-old Dareen Khalifa, who has been demonstrating since day one.

(Originally published in the Swedish daily Göteborgs-Posten.)

“I have been eating, sleeping and living at the Tahrir squere. During the night I was guarding the house. There are a lot of women around me”, Dareen says.

Lately, in western media, many have asked where the female demonstrators are. It did not take long before Facebook users provided an answer. A photo album  called “Women of Egypt”, packed with images of women participating in the demonstrations, has spread like wildfire all over internet.

Furthermore, a group with the same name was set up displaying photos of women on the streets of Cairo. The group was liked by over 400 people in less than 24 hours. Women from all over the world have left messages expressing their support.

See Women of Egypt slideshow at Göteborgs-Posten

Dareen Khalifa spends her seventh day on the Tahrir squere. She is a human rights activist but says that many of the other female demonstrators are just citizens without any previous experience of activism.

“Everyone, really everyone, regardless of sex, social status or political point of view, is out and protesting. Tomorrow, even my mom will demonstrate. This is what makes these demonstrations different from the ones in which I participated over the years.”

After a few days of relative calm in Cairo, the protestors are preparing for tomorrow’s demonstration that is believed to be the biggest yet.

“We are afraid that it can get very violent. But we hope that international coverage can deter the regime from using too much force”, she says.

How would you describe the relationship between the demonstrators and the army?

“The media is portraying it as if the people love the army. It is not really like that. Demonstrators are trying to make sure that the army stays neutral. They are giving them flowers and bread. They are answering civilized and with a smile.

How long will you stay there, if nothing happens?

“We are staying until Mubarak leaves. I am tired and exhausted but also very happy.”

@nasry

By Nasry Esmat

About 1500 protesters,mostly Egyptian Americans, rallied in New York city on Saturday afternoon to show solidarity with protests in Egypt asking to bring down president Hosni Mubarak who has been in his position for 30 years.

To check all photos click on this link : http://bit.ly/fUQHpn

The protesters who came from diverse back grounds, Americans, Tunisians, Moroccans and Philippians asked for freedom for Egyptians and urged United States Government and President Barak Obama to respect Egyptian people’s choices.

The group chanted against military rule in Egypt in relation to the appointment of Omar Soliman as a vice president to Mubarak on Satuday’s morning and the announcement of Ahmed Shafik as the new prime minister, both men had military background in addition to the president who is the the military ruler alongside his current position.

“Mubarak illegal, Soliman illegal, Shafeek illegal”, chanted the protesters.

The Egyptians in the protest distributed papers with their requests, they said in the written requests “Please continue coming to our protests to show solidarity with Egyptian people in their fight to regain their freedom and against torture and corruption”.

Some protesters wrote on their signs “we don’t want new government, we want new president”.

Last Friday, Mubarak announced his decision to form a new government after Egyptians protested all around the country asking him to step down.

The protesters asked American citizens to write to their elected officials urging them to respect people’s choices in Egypt, they believe that Soliman appointment as a vice president is a decision made by Mubarak to satisfy the American administration.

United States considers Egypt it is main ally in the Arab world in fighting against terrorism, resisting Iranian influence and in keeping peace with Israel.

The most significant signs in the protest were the ones hailing the Tunisian revolution that inspired Egyptians to keep organize protests beginning from January 25th till today, many Tunisian citizens were among the protesters and they were welcomed by Egyptians.

check the rest of the photos here and in this Flickr album : http://bit.ly/fUQHpn

@Nasry

Tunisia and Egypt united for democracy @Nasry

@Nasry

@Nasry

@Nasry

to see the rest of the photos click that link : http://bit.ly/fUQHpn

watch a video from the protest :

BBC Arabic reporter

After blocking all sorts of communication by the Egyptian government on Friday including landline, cell phones, and Internet, some TV stations managed to get video reports from Cairo, here are some of the latest photos from these videos that were broadcast few minutes ago.

in the first photo, BBCarabic Correspondent after been beaten with blood covering his clothes and head injury

Photo number 2:

In city of Suez 250 KM eastern Cairo, The protesters managed in taking over some of police stations although they have been under attack for 3 consecutive days.

City of Suez Eastern Cairo

Photo number 3 :

One of the protesters holds one of his mates running away from the tear gas bombs that were used widely all over Egypt and specially in Cairo to avoid people from rallying.

Protesters

Photo number 4:

Egyptian women took part in the protests by large numbers, some of them were wear Niqab (veil covering faces” while the majority were from diverse backgrounds

Egyptian Woman in Tahrir Square

Photo number 5:

As usual in the last 6 years, Egyptian police use thugs and informants to beat protesters to avoid being caught on TV while using aggressive ways to end peaceful protests, that approach was used many times including parliamentary elections and to harass female protesters, and in this photo couple of the thugs caught a protester, they took him to a police car in order to be detained in unknown place.

Another Photo from Tahrir Square

Photo number 6 :

Hundreds of protesters were attacked by security forces to avoid them from marching in Cairo down town, this spot is less than one kilometer from the National Ruling party headquarters and the National TV and Radio Union headquarters.

Cairo down Town close to Kasr Nile Bridge

By Marina Ferhatovic

EGYPT. Phones and internet are down in Egypt. But Hossam, a young journalist from Cairo, has managed to connect through a proxy server and to answer some questions through the Facebook chat, shortly before the Friday prayer.

(Original article published in the Swedish Daily Göteborgs-Posten)

Hossam is a journalist and works as a programme chief at one of the several Egyptian commercial channels. He has 782 friends on Facebook. Only three of them were online on Friday morning. But none of them was from Egypt.

- It feels strange, this has never happened before. A friend helped me set up a proxy so I can be online but not everyone can do that.

- Can we call you?

- No, the phones have been down for two hours. I have lost contact with all of my TV teams. We can talk on Facebook. These are the biggest demonstrations since the start of Mubarak’s regime. That is why they apply such tough measures. They are worried.

Hossam compares the situation in Cairo during Friday morning with “the calm before the storm”.

- There are no people on the streets. After the Friday prayer, the volcano will erupt.

The Friday prayer is held in all the mosques in Cairo at noon. Hossam believes that the demonstrations will be held in all the districts of the city.

- I hope that millions of people will march the streets and put pressure on Mubarak to resign. People want new elections, constitutional and economic reforms. If we can’t remove the dictator, maybe we at least can deliver our message.

- Are you afraid?

- I should be. The police and the army are much stronger here compared to Tunisia. And they have already arrested over a thousand people.

Demonstrators will be joined by Mohamed El-Baradei, former chief of IAEA and possible presidential candidate. What role does he play?

- He is just looking after his own interests. We have no hopes invested in him. He arrived only yesterday. Where was he before?

@hibr.me

By Assaad Thebian

* The article was previously published on hibr.me

The “Jasmine Revolution” or “Cactus Revolution” (names of the ongoing Tunisian Revolution) crowns years of efforts by activists. These activists have used social media in order to get their voice out and show the people around the world what is happening in their “green” (Tunisia nickname) home. In May 2010, a huge campaign called “Free From 404” (Internet language for file not found) was carried out in Tunisia. Twitter hashtags, Facebook profile pictures, articles and videos were created to demonstrate the activists’ refusal of censorship.

Mohamed Bouazizi

Mohamed Bouazizi, 26, was selling fruit and vegetables on December 17th in the street to support his family when police stopped him for trading without a license. An altercation followed in which a policeman reportedly slapped him and spat at him. Bouazizi then doused himself in petrol and set himself alight.

His images spread all over the social media in the subsequent hours and triggered a wave of anti-government demonstrations all over Tunisia. His action “was seen as epitomizing the plight of Tunisia’s unemployed – especially the young – and protests, increasingly directed against the repressive regime of now exiled President Zine el Abidine Ben Ali”, says Kacem Jlidi, 22, a Tunisian activist. Using Facebook and Twitter, many general strikes and manifestations were organized in the days that followed.

Online Demonstrations

Along with the demonstrations, another major clash was going on, though this time the arena was “online”. “Ammar” (a name which Tunisians gave for the censor) was back in action, shutting down access to many pages, and hacking into Facebook accounts. CNN reports: “The U.S. State Department — in an unusual public criticism of a pro-West Arab government — said last week it was concerned about ‘recent reports that Tunisian ISP providers, at the direction of the government, hacked into the accounts of Tunisian users of American companies including Facebook, and providers of email such as Yahoo and Google, and stealing passwords’”. Kacem adds, “The http mode for Gmail, Yahoo and Hotmail was denied exposing online data to risk”.

The defense mechanism of online activists was to fight back and hack into the states’ websites. A group known simply as anonymous claims to have launched successful cyber attacks against various websites associated with the regime, in support of the uprising. The Tech Herald website says: “At this point, several Tunisian government domains have been taken down completely, or have been severely crippled by attacks. Included in the list of targets are pm.gov.tn, rcd.tn, benali.tn, carthage.tn, bvmt.com.tn, and ministeres.tn.”

One of the most credible and frequently updated resources was the Nawaat website (largely in French; www.nawaat.org). Nawaat was covering the news and uploading pictures from all over Tunisian cities. Much of their content was accredited in different world press. Nawaat owner, Sami Ben Gharbeia, is a prominent blogger outcasted from his country due to his political views and lives in exile. Other Tunisian activists who have had previous problems with the state were arrested.

Importance of Social Media

In a poll conducted by Hibr.me, one out of five of the Lebanese have heard about Tunisia events through Facebook. As for the impact of social media and online importance in Tunisia, people should notice President Ben Ali’s last speech. Kacem Jlidi says: “He used the same words as the French general Charles de Gaulle, who led the Free French Forces during World War II and then resigned [from] the presidency following the rejection of his proposed reform of the Senate and local governments in a nationwide referendum, and said: ‘(I understood you…I understood you)’”. Ben Ali said in his speech that he gave direct orders to 1. Stop the shooting, 2. Lower the prices of basic food materials and 3. Lift the ban on the internet!

When Ben Ali fled the country and the new unity government was formed, a major success for online activists was the appointment of Slim Amamou (a prominent blogger and a detainee in the recent events) as the State Secretary for youth and sports. Congratulatory messages and online buzz were online for hours to come. For the first time ever, people were listening to their ministers’ oath via Slims’ tweets. Other voices were calling Slim to resign since the new government was still oppressing street voices. Those voices still refusing the remaining figures of Constitution Democratic Rally that Ben Ali is a member of.

Online activism in past activities

Activists have also been uploading videos of demonstrations to YouTube using the hashtag #sidibouzid (the province where the demonstrations first began last month). Facebook pages such as: “Tunisian News Agency” were the main sources of minute by minute news with live coverage by photos and videos, with thousands joining. On January 6th, Slim Amamou (before he became a State Secretary) and Azyz Amamy (another prominent blogger) were detained. Facebook pages to free them were created and thousands joined. The last interview that Slim did was broadcast on Nawaat, and his last tweets were broadcast and linked to his location (the last tweet was identified by GPS to be a states’ police department). Slim with Yassine Ayari and Lina Ben Mhenni (online activists) signed in May 2010 a petition and handed it to the Ministry of Interior to lift the censorship on the Internet in Tunisia (YouTube for example was banned in November 2007). He was then arrested for 12 hours and forced to broadcast a video calling for the cancellation of a demonstration scheduled to be held 24 hours later.

Lina, a professor at 9th of April university and owner of “Tunisian Girl” blog (www.tunisiangirl.blogspot.com), says: “I participated in most of the demonstrations in the capital, even the protest of the lawyers. In the last ten days of the events, I decided to go to Sidi Bou Zeid to videotape the demonstrations there.” She posted photos of five people she describes as the “martyrs of Erregueb”. In April 2010, in order to silence her and cancel the protest in May against censorship, her parents’ house was robbed, her personal laptop and camera were stolen. Lina’s blog has also been censored since 2008 and the URL change did not help.

Kacem Jlidi says: “As a young person, I was suffocated for the limited liberties and I got tired of being cautious all the time”. For the first time, we are able to mention his name because censorship has been banned and online freedom is, for now, a reality in Tunisia.

"Stop or more? You can choose: Vote!" Campaign poster of the Front National @lagarenne-colombesretourdebuzz.com

By Elif Kayi

Since last weekend, the French far-right, anti-immigrant party, Front National, which had been founded by Jean-Marie Le Pen, has a new president: The daughter of the founder, Marine Le Pen.

Jean-Yves Camus, political analyst at the Institute of International Relations and Strategy in Paris and expert in right-wing extremism, talked with EMAJ Magazine about the right-wing party and its attitude to Islam and Muslims in France.

Marine Le Pen first came to public notice during the presidential election in May 2002. That year France suffered a political earthquake when the National Front candidate Jean-Marie Le Pen came second to incumbent Jacques Chirac in the first round of the presidential elections. Even though presented as a more modern and consensual figure compared to her father, Marine Le Pen is controversial and often targets Muslims in her declarations. In December last year she drew heavy criticism after she compared Muslim street prayers to the Nazi occupation in France, during a debate on TV.

-       Marine Le Pen was elected on Sunday as the new president of the Front National. Does this mean a new era for the extreme-right French party?

I really think so. The opinion polls show that she is more acceptable than her father to the voters and militants of the mainstream conservative right, especially those of president Sarkozy’s party (UMP). Given that the support for Sarkozy is shrinking, Marine Le Pen may appear as an alternative to those who think that the present government is a bit shy regarding such issues such as immigration, Islam or law and order. Obviously she is a competent leader and speaker. To put it bluntly, she has the guts to run the party with an iron fist but she is far more in tune with the younger generations than her father is.

New head of the French right-wing party Front National, Marine Le Pen with her father Jean-Marie Le Pen @lexpress.fr

-       Do you think the arrival of Marine Le Pen at the head of the Front National will turn it into a more consensual party within the French society, giving it more chances at the next presidential elections for example? What makes the party appealing?

In her maiden speech at the party convention, she surprised many, and even angered some, by quoting several times the “values of the Republic” which are so dear to the French. She spoke about the secular State and the alleged threat of Islam. She also supported another typically French idea, that the State has the duty to intervene in the economy in order to protect the poor. She attacked the “big capital” in a way that could have been that of the radical left and said that she was in favour of France leaving the EU and the euro, because they are negative tools of a globalized economy. That may sound odd to the social elites, but it is a language the ”common folk” understand.

Campaign poster of the Front National at regional elections in 2010 @iconovox.com

-       Marine Le Pen has targeted Muslims and mosques in recent speeches. Could she be compared to politicians as Geert Wilders or politicians of the Sweden Democrats (SD) for instance, or are there still differences?

She wants to get in touch with Geert Wilders and also the Swiss politician, Oskar Freysinger. Opposition to Islam is at the top of her political agenda. Her idea is that France has its roots in Christian tradition, although religious values those days are nothing more than cultural landmarks and do not shape the life of the individuals as they used to. The issue of national identity has become more important than immigration in the agenda of the Front National and the party does not want to expel all non-EU foreigners. It is now focusing on the threat posed to Western civilization by Islam. I say Islam, not Islamism, but the National Front does not see any difference between the two.

Picture on blog of Front National in Villeurbanne @fnvilleurbanne.fr

-       Is the anti-Islam attitude a new component of the European extreme-right?

Yes, especially in a former colonial power like France. The old-fashioned racism of the extreme-right used stereotypes that came from the colonial experience of the French. They targeted “Arabs”, who were seen as lazy, untrustworthy and having a lower standard of civilization than Europeans. But the colonial power spoke no evil of Islam and they even used religion as a tool to keep the indigenous population from rebelling. The imams in Algeria were often integrated into the colonial administration, and the independence movement was secular.

With the rise of political Islam and 9/11, this situation has changed. What is now perceived as a threat to the West is Islam as a religion. The noteworthy change is also that the “modern” extreme-right is attacking Islam on the grounds that it wants to curtail civil liberties. The extreme-right is now presenting itself as a defender of freedom of expression, freedom of religion, women and gay rights. This is a complete reversal when compared to the authoritarian ideology of the traditional extreme-right.

@navaat.org

By Marina Ferhatovic

TUNISIA. After weeks of protests and violent riots, hacker attacks and failed attempts to pacify the rage of the citizens, Tunisia has overturned a dictator – a turn of events that brings hope for change not only in Tunisia but also among fellow Arabs living under dictatorship. Today we offer you the point of view of Kacem Jlidi, a young activist from Tunisia who hopes that his country will become the first true democracy in the MENA-region.

The 22-year-old Kacem Jlidi spent the night guarding his house, a safety precaution as it happens to be close to governmental buildings in his home town. In despite of the turbulence, the young activist and student has a positive outlook on the future and for once, he is not hesitating to express his view.

@Marina Ferhatovic

Where do you go from here?

Physics and life has taught me that pressure always leads to explosion and that is exactly what happened to the big prison of Tunisia. We are only half way there, we succeeded in kicking out the prison guard but we still need to get rid of the rest of his regime and supporters. We have a challenge for the next 60 days: to set up a new law and to truly elect for the first time ever a new president and a new parliament. Everyone is waiting for Tunisia to be the first truly democratic country where all liberties are allowed.

How does the recent development relate to the life in Tunisia before the demonstrations?

Tunisia was a police state: 180 000 policemen in the country means one policeman for every three citizens. Zine Abdine Ben Ali, the Tunisian president remained, in power for 23 years, in which time he applied some of the strictest policies in the Arab world, depriving people of their basic rights.

Tunisia was described as a state of fear with blind and hypocrite media.  Lawyers, people belonging to opposition parties and activists have been tortured in prisons, threatened and had their houses and families under constant watch by the police for years. A huge number of educated Tunisians and mainly those aware of the system’s oppression left the country and kept on fighting overseas.

How was it to be young in Tunisia, in regards to freedom, possibility to find work and democracy?

In the shadow of the previous regime, no young person ever paid attention to politics, participated in elections or sat down to follow the news. It was like a given deal, it does not matter what you think, decisions are already made and you better not think at all or you will end up in jail. Being a young person I always felt afraid to speak up or share my thoughts with anyone. Spies are everywhere and you cannot guess who might sell you out for few dinars. As a young person I felt suffocated because of the limited liberty I had and I was tired of being cautious all the time.

What does the escape of Ben Ali mean for the country, according to you?

One meaning that can be interpreted is that all the demands from the people were legitimate and rest on a solid base. His escape felt like giving air back to a suffocated person, I actually can’t stop smiling as I’m saying these words, it is simply a dream came true.

@Kacem Jlidi

How was the news received in the country?

The emergency call and the curfews prevented people from going out and celebrating. Yet facebook and twitter and also the national public and private TV reflected well the reaction of the people – pure joy and relief. Soon after the news was aired and confirmed, a historic show was aired live featuring a group of journalists who were discussing the next step and answering calls live. As an honest and transparent show on Tunisian TV, it was first of its kind.

What do you hope will change?

Now I really hope for my new Tunisia to be a country of democracy and liberty, a country where minorities’ rights are respected, consensus is applied and transparency is adopted.

The role of the internet

• A series of general strikes and manifestations has been called on facebook and twitter each day in each and every city
• As soon as the government found out what was going on online, it called again for the famous “Ammar” (the censor) to hack into event organizers and facebook pages owners using phishing to take over passwords and access emails and inboxes. The “https” mode (security mode) for gmail, yahoo and hotmail was denied exposing online data to risk
• The internet activists fought back: a group known simply as Anonymous claims to have launched successful cyber attacks against various websites associated with the regime, in suppport of the uprising. In addition to being knocked offline, the Prime Minister’s domain (pm.gov.tn) was defaced with a message from Anonymous saying “Payback is a bitch, isn’t it?”

Question to EMAJMagazine readers: What do you think the recent development in Tunisia will mean for the country and other dictatorships in the region?

Vacation in Tunisia @nix-wie-weg.de

By Elif Kayi

The weather is cloudy and rainy. It is the beginning of the year and work is already stressful. A colleague is on sick leave and you have to take up her assignments. You really feel like having a break: a nice, quiet, peaceful break, far away from the office and the boss, whose face is turning as grey as the sky in Paris. You are diving into some cocooning mood… You type a few key words on Google. « Cheap+Holiday ».

Nouvelair @web-libre.org

“One week all-inclusive at the Hôtel Tunisia Lodge 4* in Tunis: 179 euros.” Who can beat that? It’s so tempting… Click! It’s done. In four weeks’ time you’ll board the plane of a charter company from Charles de Gaulle airport to Tunis. Novelair maybe? They have a pretty bad record and commentaries in the Internet… You fear for your safety? So what! Thousands of tourists fly every month with such companies and, apart from very rare exceptions, nothing ever happened to them.

Why should you feel guilty about anything? It is not your fault! Why should one watch over you with an evil eye? Once again, it is not your fault! Why should anyone feel any kind of aversion or resentment about your freshly booked vacation? Anyone would have done the same thing. And they probably already have.

For you, Tunisia is a place for a relaxed vacation. The whole country is a kind of holiday resort.  How could you think differently given the nice lullabies your government is singing to you about this country?  Whenever you hear about Tunisia here, it is either when coming across tourist ads offering unbeatable prices – like Morocco and Turkey, but for a few dozen euros less. On some other rare occasions you might also have heard about the good economic situation of the country: the « tiger of the Maghreb » as they like to call it. Nothing to compare with the agitated neighbour Algeria, or the lagging Morocco. Tunisia has things under control!

You are not authorized to view this page @fyicenter.com

You like sending and receiving emails. You like using Facebook and you are slowly getting used to Twitter. You fancy forums, chats, Messenger. You enjoy reading online newspapers and listening to web radios. But you do not know what a proxy is. Why not? Because you never had to care about that sort of stuff. Where you live, where you work, you just have to switch on your computer and Internet is working. It is as simple as that. From there you can have access to –nearly – all websites, apart, maybe, from those, that have been suspended because of racist insults or (more likely) pornographic content – but they are far from being suspended completely.

Caricature of French president Nicolas Sarkozy @desourcesure.com

You like to make fun of your president. Yes, I agree that some of you had to bear the consequences of such fun. For instance when wearing a little poster « Casse toi pov’ con » (“Fuck you, poor jerk“).  But this could maybe have been a chance for you to discover what it meant, not to make fun of one’s president. Not because he is a respectable person. No. Only because you just cannot. It is as simple as that. One other difference: If you agreed with, or simply pitied the guy wearing the poster, you then had the right to feel offended by the charges that the « agitator » had faced. Though I am not quite sure whether you took the chance. But it was there at least.

Your Minister of Foreign Affairs, Michelle Alliot-Marie, declared herself to be worried about the security in Tunisia. During a recent speech at the French National Assembly she suggested that « the know-how of [the French] security forces, which is recognised internationally, could solve security situations of this type ». Nice try? So it is all about security. Maybe you should avoid going there if there is a security problem. But so what? There are many countries with security problems and people still travel there.

French president Nicolas Sarkozy and Tunisian (ex)president Zine El Abidine Ben Ali @lesmanantsduroi.com

Anyway, you know that the French government cares about democracy. Just look how worried they seem to be regarding the political agitation in Ivory Coast. They do care about democracy and all kinds of freedom. So if there were so many problems there (in Tunisia), “they” would have said something. Some rare officials did, but the sound of their voice was not loud enough to reach your ears. Just remember how both presidents Jacques Chirac and then Nicolas Sarkozy were the first to warmly congratulate Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali each time he was (re)elected. He was the one president saying that what people need is bread.

And somehow you deeply believe he is right. Look at other countries around the world. In many countries the citizens lack everything, including bread. So at least they do not starve in Tunisia, do they? People like to complain, when they should be happy with what they already have, you think vaguely, in a pseudo-philosophical moment.

Anyway, what’s that Sidi Bouzid all about? Never heard of it. You thought there were only places called Hamammet, Nabeul, Djerba, Monastir, Matmata… What? There is also some disturbance in Sousse? A friend of a friend went on vacation there, you seem to remember. So is this serious then? And now the president has just escaped? You heard that France is not willing to welcome him? Air France has canceled its flights? What’s going on?

You come back on your computer. Maybe you should just spend a few dozens euros more and go to Morocco or Turkey instead…