Syro-Lebanese in Egypt Omar Sharif (born Michel Chalhoub) and Egyptian film director Youssef Chahine. The relations between Egypt and the Levant go back to ancient times. However, the earliest instance of modern Levantine migration to Egypt happened after 1724, when a schism in the Greek Orthodox Church of Antioch resulted in a separate branch of Levantine Christians attached to Rome known as the Melkite Greek Catholics. Once the Syrian and Lebanese Greek Orthodox community was split, a migratory flow resulted in which Melkite Greek Catholics began leaving cities such as Damascus, Aleppo, Zahle, and Sidon to move to Egypt. Regarding an early Maronite
Michel Rio Michel Rio Michel Rio (born 1945) is a French writer and novelist. Born in Brittany, he was raised in Madagascar and currently lives in Paris. He studied semiology and published his first novel in 1972. Although he was well-received by critics and has won several literary awards, he is still better known overseas (especially in the United States) than he is in France. His works have been translated into many languages, and are mostly rather short. Recurring themes include man's relationship to nature, the ignoble elements of sex, themes from the Arthurian Cycle and suicide. Several of his books feature