# Etisalat



## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Etisalat are installing a new tower in the grounds of the Gezhira club.. what a wonderful view I now have
So fingers crossed we get a better reception in the area.

mmm I wonder how they got planning


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## aykalam (Apr 12, 2010)

MaidenScotland said:


> Etisalat are installing a new tower in the grounds of the Gezhira club.. what a wonderful view I now have
> So fingers crossed we get a better reception in the area.
> 
> mmm I wonder how they got planning


planning? what's that? you've been gone too long :tongue1:


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## Lanason (Sep 1, 2009)

aykalam said:


> planning? what's that? you've been gone too long :tongue1:


i was just going to say the same thing


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## charleen (Apr 26, 2009)

these days if someone wants something done ....they do it. who needs those silly permissions slips anyway? Housing....build, company,,,set it up...not enough coverage construct that tower!!


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## gerhardme1954 (Jul 6, 2011)

Just be glad they did not put it up in the middle of your lounge...
PS, when the power fails you can listen to the "music" provided by the emergency diesel generator, that may be interesting at 4 in the morning...


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## bat (Dec 1, 2010)

MaidenScotland said:


> Etisalat are installing a new tower in the grounds of the Gezhira club.. what a wonderful view I now have
> So fingers crossed we get a better reception in the area.
> 
> mmm I wonder how they got planning


I'm sorry, it's not for reception, it's a washing line for the security guard who lives right below it. I presume he's guarding the fence around it and has lost the key, but no problem there all thin enough to slip through the railings .
Reception indeed, that would be silly!!


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## hurghadapat (Mar 26, 2010)

MaidenScotland said:


> Etisalat are installing a new tower in the grounds of the Gezhira club.. what a wonderful view I now have
> So fingers crossed we get a better reception in the area.
> 
> mmm I wonder how they got planning


Now now you know how they got planning...not.....but just think of all those mysterious things that come out of those masts that addle your brains....not good at all to have it so close to apartment.


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## aykalam (Apr 12, 2010)

MaidenScotland said:


> Etisalat are installing a new tower in the grounds of the Gezhira club.. what a wonderful view I now have
> So fingers crossed we get a better reception in the area.
> 
> mmm I wonder how they got planning


is this perhaps the view you now enjoy?

http://www.almasryalyoum.com/en/node/499135


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## GM1 (Sep 30, 2008)

you can also join the facebook group *Down with the tower*: Facebook group: Down with the tower (this link was on the Al Masry Al Youm website)


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## bat (Dec 1, 2010)

GM1 said:


> you can also join the facebook group *Down with the tower*: Facebook group: Down with the tower (this link was on the Al Masry Al Youm website)


We can't have our cake and eat it either we want the use of mobiles or we don't and if so then having towers is part of it.


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## aykalam (Apr 12, 2010)

bat said:


> We can't have our cake and eat it either we want the use of mobiles or we don't and if so then having towers is part of it.


If you read my post (with the link) above you'll see is not really a mobile tower but a flag pole owned by CIB, although I do find that a little bit weird :confused2:


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

I cant get the link to load... but it certainly isnt a flag pole.


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## aykalam (Apr 12, 2010)

MaidenScotland said:


> I cant get the link to load... but it certainly isnt a flag pole.


Here's copy and paste of text:

An unusually large and sturdy steel tower is currently under construction in the middle of the Gezira Sporting Club in Zamalek - just north of 6th of October Bridge. This relatively ugly tower has been causing outrage among residents, club members and various organizations since construction started about a month ago. The builders have disregarded cultural heritage preservation laws as well as locals' complaints.

Most bewildered observers initially thought it was an electrical or mobile tower, until some researched the topic and found that what is being constructed is a pole for an over-sized Egyptian flag to float over Cairo and be seen from every viewpoint. The flag will potentially compete for the world’s largest flag competition and enter the Guiness Book of Records.

The concept was apparently conceived by Commercial International Bank (CIB) staff two years ago, and recently received approval by Egypt’s National Defense Council.

“Our staff came up with the idea to create a huge flag that could be seen by anyone from all over Cairo,” said Hesham Ezz al-Arab, chairman of CIB. “And just recently, we got the approval.”

Despite its nationalistic intentions, various groups criticize the project as a publicity stunt.

“It’s completely ridiculous and ugly,” states Yasmine al-Dorghamy, editor of the Rawi Egypt Heritage Review and co-founder of "Down With The Tower" campaign. “It’s destroying some of the best land left in Zamalek, as well as the beautiful skyline, and it’s being destroyed for publicity.”

Despite the bank’s claim that the flag is being built on what was a dumpsite inside the club, activist groups say it is located within the Gezira Club’s Youth Center.

“It’s just sticking out in the middle of Youth Centre like a disease,” said Omneya Hassan, a Zamalek resident who lives near the club and can see the tower clearly from her window. “It has nothing to do with patriotism and love for Egypt. We’ve lived on this island for over 50 years - have we no say in this?”

It is rumored that the project is costing LE20 million, but the bank said it does “not intend to talk about issues of money.”

Aside from questions of taste, officials also say the tower breaks cultural preservation laws.

“Its construction is breaking Law 119/2008 which places Zamalek under special regulations to be conserved as cultural heritage,” said Soheir Zaki Hawas, the deputy chief of the National Organization for Urban Harmony (NOUH), an affiliate of the Ministry of Culture. “It is Category A - highly protected like Maadi and downtown - land that should require strict approval before any construction occurs. But nobody can tell me who approved this, how, when or why? There are no straightforward answers.”

According to CIB, the tower was initially intended for Tahrir Square, but due to difficulties getting building permission, the Gezira Club was chosen.

“We know many residents are complaining,” said Ezz al-Arab. “But unfortunately in life, you can’t always please everybody.”

Despite such responses from the bank, the Cairo Architecture Heritage Group, a lobby group composed of urban planners and cultural preservationists, is demanding that the governorate of Cairo implement the regulations in place to protect its urban and natural heritage.

“No construction of this size can be made to ‘surprise’ the public,” stated the group in their latest press release. “The area is prohibited for construction, and we need to understand how the permits were obtained.”


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

I am meeting a friend who is a member of the club.. I will ask her what the club says about it


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

Managed to open the link... you would think the photo had been taken from my window.


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## kevinthegulf (Aug 16, 2009)

aykalam said:


> Here's copy and paste of text:
> 
> 
> The concept was apparently conceived by Commercial International Bank (CIB) staff two years ago, and recently received approval by Egypt’s National Defense Council.
> ...


Sat at the bar the other day with a light ale, we were discussing how to move things forward in the country, the conclusion we all came up with was build a big flag pole and fly a big flag
the next thing you know its happening, uncanny- all the problems will soon be solved and we will be living in a land of milk and honey,..... and potholed roads, and garbage strewn streets, and poverty, and........... money well spent (especially when its not your own)


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## Musical (Feb 8, 2011)

kevinthegulf said:


> Sat at the bar the other day with a light ale, we were discussing how to move things forward in the country, the conclusion we all came up with was build a big flag pole and fly a big flag
> the next thing you know its happening, uncanny- all the problems will soon be solved and we will be living in a land of milk and honey,..... and potholed roads, and garbage strewn streets, and poverty, and........... money well spent (especially when its not your own)


Funnily enough, that's exactly what the Mexican government did in Tijuana a few years ago... built an enormous flag pole which is topped by a huge Mexican flag which can be seen from the US border, and all over Tijuana (as can the potholes, litter, etc. etc...) Could this be an example of international communication? Perhaps the new flag will be visible from the Israeli border - now there would be an example of a patriotic gesture to rival the Tijuana flag!


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## MaidenScotland (Jun 6, 2009)

kevinthegulf said:


> Sat at the bar the other day with a light ale, we were discussing how to move things forward in the country, the conclusion we all came up with was build a big flag pole and fly a big flag
> the next thing you know its happening, uncanny- all the problems will soon be solved and we will be living in a land of milk and honey,..... and potholed roads, and garbage strewn streets, and poverty, and........... money well spent (especially when its not your own)


Well said

Sent from my iPad using ExpatForum


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