Mobile cinema brings Tunisians big screen experience

The bright red truck has transformed parking lots into pop-up theaters. (AFP)
The bright red truck has transformed parking lots into pop-up theaters. (AFP)
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Updated 23 December 2024
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Mobile cinema brings Tunisians big screen experience

The bright red truck has transformed parking lots into pop-up theaters. (AFP)
  • Mobile cinemas have long existed in other countries, but Heraghi said CinemaTdour was “unique” for turning a truck into a full-fledged theater

DJEMMAL, Tunisia: Like many of his fellow Tunisians, 23-year-old Amine Elhani has never been to the cinema, but now, thanks to a mobile theater touring the country, he can finally enjoy the big screen.
The bright red truck of CinemaTdour, or “moving cinema,” has transformed parking lots and factory grounds in underserved towns and neighborhoods across the North African country into pop-up theaters.
In the central town of Djemmal, dozens of workers unloaded the expandable truck, easily setting up a fully equipped outdoor movie theater with 100 seats.
“The screen is huge, and the sound effects are amazing,” said Elhani, who had so far only watched films on his phone or computer.
He had “never had the chance to go to a movie theater,” he told AFP.
“It’s a fantastic experience, especially because I’m watching with friends.”
Movie theaters are scarce in Tunisia, numbering at just 15 and largely concentrated in major urban hubs.
Recognizing this gap, CinemaTdour was launched in May by private cultural network Agora and nonprofit Focus Gabes, with funding from private donors.
“We wanted a way to reach as many viewers as possible, in a short time and on a limited budget, while offering them an authentic cinematic experience,” project director Ghofrane Heraghi told AFP.
Mobile cinemas have long existed in other countries, but Heraghi said CinemaTdour was “unique” for turning a truck into a full-fledged theater.
Without government funding, CinemaTdour relies heavily on partnerships with private companies to cover costs like film rights, maintenance and staffing.
The truck itself was purchased on credit for about one million Tunisian dinars ($315,000), Heraghi said, with annual operating expenses of around 500,000 dinars.
For 10 days in Djemmal, residents could watch films for free thanks to a partnership with German car parts manufacturer Draxlmaier, which has a factory in the town.
Jihene Ben Amor, Draxlmaier’s communications manager in Tunisia, said the company wanted to “contribute to the development” of remote and underserved regions where it operates.
For many workers, earning up to 1,000 dinars a month, the cost of tickets and the journey to a main city with a movie theater can be prohibitive.
“Having this cinema right outside their workplace also gives workers a sense of pride and belonging,” said Ben Amor.

After Djemmal, CinemaTdour set up in Hay Hlel, an impoverished neighborhood of the capital Tunis.
Many children gathered around the pop-up theater, eager for their turn.
Yomna Warhani, 11, was beaming with excitement, anticipating her first ever movie screening.
“I can’t wait to see what it’s like inside and what films they’ll show,” she said.
Nejiba El Hadji, a 47-year-old mother of four, said: “It’s not just the kids who are thrilled, believe me.”
To her, the mobile cinema was a rare source of joy in an otherwise bleak environment.
“We have nothing here, no cultural centers and no entertainment, just the streets,” said Hadji.
“People say our kids are lost, but no one does anything about it.”
CinemaTdour’s two-week stay in Hay Hlel was funded by the World Health Organization, with screenings themed on mental health, smoking and drug abuse, and violence against women.
The shows were tailored for younger audiences as well as for viewers with hearing or visual impairments.
Heraghi, the project head, said that “what drives us is the social impact of culture.”
“We want to break stereotypes, shift mindsets, and promote values like social cohesion and community spirit.”
In just a few months, CinemaTdour has reached more than 15,000 people, including 7,500 in the southern oasis town of Nefta where a month of free screenings was sponsored by a date exporter.
The project now hopes to secure funding for additional trucks to expand its activities across the country.
But Heraghli has even bigger aspirations, she said, “taking it to Algeria, Libya, and maybe even across Africa.”
 

 


Cairo building collapse kills 10: state media

Updated 3 sec ago
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Cairo building collapse kills 10: state media

Cairo building collapse kills 10: state media
  • Eyewitnesses told the state-owned outlet that “a gas cylinder explosion” caused the collapse
CAIRO: A building collapse in the Egyptian capital killed 10 people and injured eight more on Monday, with several others believed to be missing under the rubble, state media reported.
Ambulances were dispatched to the scene in the working class neighborhood of Kerdasa, where civil defense teams searched for people thought to be missing under the rubble, according to the Al-Akhbar Al-Youm newspaper.
Eyewitnesses told the state-owned outlet that “a gas cylinder explosion” caused the collapse, and a police investigation was under way.
Building regulations are unevenly enforced in the sprawling metropolis of Cairo, home to over 26 million people.
The city has seen a number of deadly building collapses in recent years, both due to the dilapidated state of some and, at times, failure to comply with building regulations.

500 days of the Israel-Hamas war, by the numbers

500 days of the Israel-Hamas war, by the numbers
Updated 54 min 55 sec ago
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500 days of the Israel-Hamas war, by the numbers

500 days of the Israel-Hamas war, by the numbers
  • The current phase of the truce is set to expire in early March and it is unclear if the sides will extend it
Monday is the 500th day of the war triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack into southern Israel.
A tenuous ceasefire in the Gaza Strip has held for nearly a month. But the current phase of the truce is set to expire in early March and it is unclear if the sides will extend it, begin negotiations for a more lasting ceasefire or resume fighting.
Here are some numbers that show the scale of death and devastation. Sources include the Israeli government, the Gaza Health Ministry and UN agencies.
People killed in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023: Around 1,200
Hostages taken into Gaza: 251
Hostages remaining in Gaza: 73, including 3 taken before Oct. 7, 2023
Hostages in Gaza believed to be dead: 36, including one from before Oct. 7, 2023
Palestinians killed in Gaza: Over 48,200 (This figure from the Gaza Health Ministry does not distinguish between combatants and civilians, but the ministry says more than half of the dead were women and children)
Palestinians wounded in Gaza: Over 111,600
Israeli soldiers killed since Oct. 7, 2023: 846
Rockets fired at Israel from Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023: Over 10,000
Percentage of Gaza’s population displaced: Around 90 percent
Palestinians who have crossed into northern Gaza since the ceasefire began: 586,000
Israelis displaced by attacks from Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon at their peak: Over 75,500
Housing units damaged or destroyed in Gaza: Over 245,000
Primary roads damaged or destroyed in Gaza: Over 92 percent
Health facilities damaged or destroyed in Gaza: Over 84 percent

Experts push to restore Syria’s war-torn heritage sites, including renowned Roman ruins at Palmyra

Experts push to restore Syria’s war-torn heritage sites, including renowned Roman ruins at Palmyra
Updated 17 February 2025
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Experts push to restore Syria’s war-torn heritage sites, including renowned Roman ruins at Palmyra

Experts push to restore Syria’s war-torn heritage sites, including renowned Roman ruins at Palmyra
  • One of Syria’s six UNESCO World Heritage sites, Palmyra was once a key hub to the ancient Silk Road
  • Control of Palmyra shifted between Daesh and the Syrian army before Assad’s forces recaptured it

PALMYRA, Syria: Experts are returning to Syria’s war-ravaged heritage sites, hoping to lay the groundwork for restoring them and reviving tourism, which they say could provide a much-needed boost to the country’s decimated economy after nearly 14 years of war.
Once-thriving landmarks like the ancient city of Palmyra and the medieval Crusader castle of Crac des Chevaliers remain scarred by years of conflict, but local tourists are returning to the sites, and conservationists hope their historical and cultural significance will eventually draw international visitors back.
Palmyra
One of Syria’s six UNESCO World Heritage sites, Palmyra was once a key hub to the ancient Silk Road network linking the Roman and Parthian empires to Asia. Located in the Syrian desert, it is renowned for its 2,000-year-old Roman-era ruins. It is now marked by shattered columns and damaged temples.
Before the Syrian uprising that began in 2011 and soon escalated into a brutal civil war, Palmyra was Syria’s main tourist destination, attracting around 150,000 visitors monthly, Ayman Nabu, a researcher and expert in ruins said. Dubbed the “Bride of the Desert,” he said “Palmyra revitalized the steppe and used to be a global tourist magnet.”
The ancient city was the capital of an Arab client state of the Roman Empire that briefly rebelled and carved out its own kingdom in the third century, led by Queen Zenobia.
In more recent times, the area had darker associations. It was home to Tadmur prison, where thousands of opponents of the Assad family’s rule in Syria were reportedly tortured. The Daesh group demolished the prison after capturing the town.
Daesh militants later destroyed Palmyra’s historic temples of Bel and Baalshamin and the Arch of Triumph, viewing them as monuments to idolatry, and beheaded an elderly antiquities scholar who had dedicated his life to overseeing the ruins.
Between 2015 and 2017, control of Palmyra shifted between Daesh and the Syrian army before Assad’s forces, backed by Russia and Iran-aligned militias, recaptured it. They established military bases in the neighboring town, which was left heavily damaged and largely abandoned. Fakhr Al-Din Al-Ma’ani Castle, a 16th-century fortress overlooking the city, was repurposed by Russian troops as a military barracks.
Nabu, the researcher, visited Palmyra five days after the fall of the former government.
“We saw extensive excavation within the tombs,” he said, noting significant destruction by both Daesh and Assad government forces. “The (Palmyra) museum was in a deplorable state, with missing documents and artifacts – we have no idea what happened to them.”
At the theater, the Tetrapylon, and other ruins along the main colonnaded street, Nabu said they documented many illegal drillings revealing sculptures, as well as theft and smuggling of funerary or tomb-related sculptures in 2015 when Daesh had control of the site. While seven of the stolen sculptures were retrieved and put in a museum in Idlib, 22 others were smuggled out, Nabu added. Many pieces likely ended up in underground markets or private collections.
Inside the city’s underground tombs, Islamic verses are scrawled on the walls, while plaster covers wall paintings, some depicting mythological themes that highlight Palmyra’s deep cultural ties to the Greco-Roman world.
“Syria has a treasure of ruins,” Nabu said, emphasizing the need for preservation efforts. He said Syria’s interim administration, led by the Islamist former insurgent group Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, has decided to wait until after the transition phase to develop a strategic plan to restore heritage sites.
Matthieu Lamarre of the UN’s scientific, educational and cultural organization UNESCO, said the agency had since 2015, “remotely supported the protection of Syrian cultural heritage” through satellite analyzes, reports and documentation and recommendations to local experts, but it did not conduct any work on site.
He added that UNESCO has explored possibilities for technical assistance if security conditions improve. In 2019, international experts convened by UNESCO said detailed studies would need to be done before starting major restorations.
Crac des Chevaliers
Beyond Palmyra, other historical sites bear the scars of war.
Perched on a hill near the town of Al-Husn, with sweeping views, Crac des Chevaliers, a medieval castle originally built by the Romans and later expanded by the Crusaders, was heavily bombarded during the Syrian civil war.
On a recent day, armed fighters in military uniform roamed the castle grounds alongside local tourists, taking selfies among the ruins.
Hazem Hanna, an architect and head of the antiquities department of Crac des Chevaliers, pointed to the collapsed columns and an entrance staircase obliterated by airstrikes. Damage from government airstrikes in 2014 destroyed much of the central courtyard and the arabesque-adorned columns, Hanna said.
“Relying on the cultural background of Syria’s historical sites and their archaeological and historical significance to enthusiasts worldwide, I hope and expect that when the opportunity arises for tourists to visit Syria, we will witness a significant tourism revival,” he said.
Some sections of Crac des Chevaliers were renovated after airstrikes and the deadly 7.8 magnitude earthquake in 2023 that struck a wide area of neighboring Turkiye and also Syria, Hanna said. However, much of the castle remains in ruins.
Both Nabu and Hanna believe restoration will take time. “We need trained technical teams to evaluate the current condition of the ruin sites,” Nabu said.
The Dead Cities
In Northwest Syria, more than 700 abandoned Byzantine settlements called Dead Cities, stretch across rocky hills and plains, their weathered limestone ruins featuring remnants of stone houses, basilicas, tombs and colonnaded streets. Despite partial collapse, arched doorways, intricate carvings and towering church facades endure, surrounded by olive trees that root deep into history.
Dating back to the first century, these villages once thrived on trade and agriculture. Today, some sites now shelter displaced Syrians, with stone houses repurposed as homes and barns, their walls blackened by fire and smoke. Crumbling structures suffer from poor maintenance and careless repurposing.
Looters have ravaged the ancient sites, Nabu said, leaving gaping holes in search of artifacts. Local visitors carve names and messages into centuries-old walls. Sheep enclosures dot the ruins, plastic debris blending with ancient stone.
Moustafa Al-Kaddour, a local resident, returned after eight years. Touring the ruins with family members he brought from Quneitra, he reflected on childhood memories.
“This is where we went to school,” he said, pointing in the distance. “In the middle of class, we used to leave and come here to see the ruins.”
“My feelings are indescribable,” Al-Kaddour, who also saw his father for the first time in years, told the AP. “My brain still cannot comprehend that after eight years, by God’s will, we made it back home.”
He said the Assad forces had established a military position in the village, subjecting the ruins to heavy shelling and gunfire. The area was then controlled by rebels, who made the area off-limits to most Syrians and international tourists, unlike Palmyra, which still saw some visitors during the war.
The Dead Cities were added to UNESCO’s World Heritage List in 2011 as an open-air museum, said Nabu. Idlib province alone hosts “over 1,000 heritage sites spanning different time periods – about a third of Syria’s total ruins,” he added.
Beyond the bombings and air raids, looting and unauthorized digging have caused significant damage, Nabu said, adding that new construction near the ruins lacks planning and threatens preservation.
“Tens of thousands” of looted artifacts remain undocumented, he said. For those documented, authorities are compiling case files for international circulation in coordination with the Directorate of Antiquities and Museums to locate them and hopefully retrieve them.


Ukraine’s Zelensky in UAE for official visit

Ukraine’s Zelensky in UAE for official visit
Updated 17 February 2025
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Ukraine’s Zelensky in UAE for official visit

Ukraine’s Zelensky in UAE for official visit
  • The UAE has been an important mediator between Russia and Ukraine, helping with prisoner exchanges

KYIV: Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky said Sunday he had arrived in the United Arab Emirates for a visit with a “large humanitarian program,” ahead of an expected meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin.
Zelensky posted a video of him getting off the plane in UAE and holding talks with officials.
“An official visit with the First Lady to the United Arab Emirates,” Zelensky said on Telegram.
“The priority is to bring even more of our people home from captivity. As well as investment and economic partnership. A large humanitarian program,” he added.

 


He said this week that he planned to visit the country – as well as Turkiye and Saudi Arabia – in the coming days.
But he said on Friday that he had no plans to meet with Russian or US officials there.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, center, and first lady Olena Zelenska were welcomed to UAE by Reem Al-Hashimy, the minister of State for International Cooperation. (X: @ZelenskyyUa)


Moscow and Washington are preparing for a summit between their two leaders, with Europe and Kyiv worried they will try to settle the three-year war in Ukraine without them.
The UAE has been an important mediator between Russia and Ukraine, helping with prisoner exchanges and the return of Ukrainian children from Russia, throughout the war.

 


In northern Syria, displaced owners return to houses with no roofs

In northern Syria, displaced owners return to houses with no roofs
Updated 17 February 2025
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In northern Syria, displaced owners return to houses with no roofs

In northern Syria, displaced owners return to houses with no roofs
  • An aerial video of the area shows rows of houses that are still standing but with their roofs missing

MARAAT AL-NUMAN, Syria: After a decade of war and displacement, many Syrians are returning to their homes, only to find them looted and roofless.
In towns like Maarat Al-Numan and Kfar Nabl in northern Syria, residents who fled years ago have returned since the fall of former President Bashad Assad but are now confronting the harsh reality of widespread theft and destruction.
Strategically located on the route between the cities of Aleppo and Damascus, Maarat Al-Numan became a touchpoint in the Syrian civil war.
Assad’s forces seized the area back from rebel control in 2020. After that, groups affiliated with Assad looted houses and demolished some of them to extract valuable materials and furniture, human rights groups said. Steel and wires were taken out of rooftops to be sold.
An aerial video of the area shows rows of houses that are still standing but with their roofs missing.
Anmar Zaatour, a resident who left in 2019, said he came back in 2025 to find his home destroyed.
“There was nowhere to put our children,” he said. “This destruction isn’t from the bombing, it was the military. And it’s not just mine, it’s my neighbors, and friends.”
Zakaria Al-Awwad burst into tears of mixed joy and sorrow upon his return to Maarat Al-Numan. His house was destroyed, “one of the first ones to get hit,” he said.
“There is no place like home,” he said. “Even if I have to put on a sheet of cloth, it is better than anything else. We have freedom now, and that is priceless.”
Others were more circumspect about the future.
“The problem is, it’s impossible to resume a life without a roof,” said returning resident Hassan Barbesh. “Maarat Al-Numan is an impoverished town. It’s a very difficult task to start from scratch.”