A haven for geeks of all stripes at Cairo's Maker Faire

The sight of drones hovering over the GrEEk Campus Saturday afternoon alerted passers-by in Downtown Cairo to the fact that something out of the ordinary was happening.

Inside, some 8,000 visitors from across Egypt and the Middle East converged to explore exhibitions, workshops, discussions and live performances celebrating the do-it-yourself spirit of what the organizer’s describe as “maker culture.”
Following a mini-Maker Faire last year, Saturday’s event was the first official Maker Faire in Egypt, making it part of series of events that has attracted more than 2.3 million attendees around the world since launching in California in 2006.
While the event gave plenty of opportunity for computer whiz-kids to show off their creations, the fair was also intended to demonstrate that it's not just engineering students who can be makers. “The idea is to get together, share ideas and learning with others and inspire them to become makers,” said Ahmed Gad, business development manager of Fab Lab Egypt, one of the event organizors.