Confer and contrast Mona Anis joins Egyptian men of letters at the seaside. But what on earth were they doing in Mersa Matrouh, and why?

In search of controversy By Nigel Ryan Plain talk By Mursi Saad El-Din A helping hand David Blake finds that hands matter, but the spirit matters more

Egyptian culture online Amina Elbendary logs on to the Ministry of Culture's cyber and digital projects News of a pronouncement Youssef Rakha leafs through the cultural press What dreams may come The impact of modern technology on arts and culture in the Arab world -- the subject of a seminar last week at Cairo Opera House. Reham El-Adawi logged onto the debate