CAIRO — Two non-official visits by Egyptians to war-torn Syria within less than two weeks have sparked speculation that a rapprochement between Cairo and Damascus might be in the works. An Egyptian talk show host and a production crew landed Jan. 7 in Aleppo, while on Jan. 19 members of the Egyptian Engineers Syndicate, led by syndicate head Tareq al-Nabarawy, arrived in Damascus at the invitation of Nabarawy's counterpart, Ghiyath al-Qutaini.
The media visit was announced when Youssef al-Hosiny, host of Bitawqit al-Qahira (Cairo Time) on the satellite station ONTV, tweeted, “I am on my way to the airport, flying to Syria, the eagle of the East, to learn and report what happened to the free Aleppo, and Damascus, the Pearl. I’ll be back, God willing, to Cairo, with a different and hard-hitting episode.”
