In Israel we make a fuss because the Haredim pushed to end Daylight Saving Time before the holidays, so they can have an easier time on Kippur (or before Kippur, or whenever. We don’t need to know the fine details to know it’s a stupid thing, because, Haredim+politics = bad).
But maybe they didn’t go far enough: The Egyptians (like the rest of the Arab and Muslim world – including Israel’s own sizable Palestinian population) observe Ramadan, where for a whole month they have to fast from dawn to dusk – so early sunset is even more helpful. But the Egyptians don’t stop there – once the thing is over, they set the clock back to DST, so they can benefit from it some more:
Daylight saving time (DST) will end in Egypt on Wednesday August 11, 2010. Egypt’s Cabinet recently decided that the country’s DST schedule for 2010 will end before the start of Ramadan. However, DST will resume in Egypt after the month of Ramadan on Friday, September 10, 2010. Egypt will be back from DST on Friday, October 1.