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Al-Ahram Weekly 8 - 14 April 1999 Issue No. 424 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 8 - 14 April 1999 Issue No. 424
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Profile Features Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters 
Pack of Cards
By Madame SosostrisBefore I get carried away, I want to extend my best wishes to all those of you who are celebrating Easter this week. And while we are on the subject of Easter, I don't know if you have noticed the beautiful woven palm fronds which were displayed at the church doors, this year. I certainly did while on my way to meeting my good friend and favourite photographer Randa Shaath for lunch on the eve of Palm Sunday.
Having each polished off a particularly hefty portion of pasta, complete with all the sauces, cheeses and trimmings, we decided that a little stroll by the Nile would do us a world of good. Suddenly I saw Randa stop and stare, then swiftly unpack her gear and perch herself on a nearby bench. She did that ever so gently, however, in order not to disturb the two young ladies hard at work on the river bank. This is how she was able to capture this charming picture of blooming creativity, and enlighten me at the same time on the way the beautiful plaiting I had just admired on the porch of the church on Mar'ashli Street was made.
Plaiting palm fronds by the water
Youngsters will always come up with good ideas if given half a chance, I believe. What actually spoils their genuine good taste are all the grown-ups intent on showing them what they are supposed to do. A good example are the few lines of decorative Arabic calligraphy, chosen by Mustafa El-Razzaz, head of the Culture Palaces, to adorn the organisation's seasonal message of good tidings. The greeting card was designed by Karim El-Sayed (10), Juliana Sameh (9) and Muhra Medhat (9), who are taking part in an experimental project aimed at enhancing creativity, sponsored by the 6 October Culture Palace for Artistic Creativity under the supervision of artist Mohamed Abaza.
Of course, when young artists grow up and become famous they may become a tad "demanding", like my dear friend George Bahgory, whose recent double exhibition was a roaring success. The other day I was talking to him at the Arabesque when I saw him swiftly leap backwards, to avoid appearing in a picture where I was going to feature prominently. "What's the matter, George, is your wife jealous?" I asked him sweetly. "No," said George, "and not of you, anyway." But before I could give him a choice piece of my mind, informing him in no uncertain terms that many, in high places, hanker after just such an honour, he pulled out of his funny little bag a photo in which he stood next to (well, a little in the background, wouldn't you say?) King Abdullah and Queen Rania of Jordan, and whispered, "this, my dear, was taken three years ago at my exhibition in Amman, but since then, I only have my picture taken with royalty." Now, if I never again mention George (at least for a while), you will all know why.
One exhibition that you should not miss is that of Zakaria El-Khenani, who is showing some extraordinary trees and plants made of glass. I couldn't stop looking at the minute details in each and every piece. With their delicate colours, they seem to come right out of a fairy-tale, and only lacked a little elf sitting on one of the branches to take me right back to my childhood, when things were just so perfect. El-Khenani's collection, titled "Variations on Plant Rhythms", can be admired at Khan Maghrabi, where he shares the space with Ekram Omar's painted textiles.
A flourishing tree by Zakaria El-Khenani and Ezzeddin Naguib answers the Call of the Oasis Another exhibition which I found quite arresting is Ezzeddin Naguib's Call of the Oasis, at the Picasso Gallery. Needless to tell you, dears, if you have any imagination at all you will really hear the eerie call of the desert and find yourself wondering where you have put your bus schedule to Siwa.
Naguib Mahfouz, one of the faces captured at the Sony Gallery; the 40 Pioneers of Photography
Faces are the reflection of the soul, they say. This could well be, and I was duly impressed the other day as I descended the steps of the Sony Gallery at the American University in Cairo, late as usual, and was suddenly surrounded by a large number of faces. There were those of my friends, photographer and author Barry Iverson and his wife Nihal Tamraz (who just published a wonderful book on 19th-century architecture, which, I hear, will be used as a textbook at Harvard), as well as photographer Tom Hartwell and his talented wife Randa Shaath; but there were also many faces on the walls, staring out of elegant frames. These were photographic portraits of famous -- and less famous -- people, immortalised by the lens of 40 Pioneers of Photography, among whom I instantly recognised Adel Ismail Gazzarin, Ahmed Hassanein Bashandi, Ali Hamdi Hussein and Kamal Ganou -- and, of course, Al-Ahram's super talented photographer Antoune Albert author of the much admired Mahfouz portrait.
Other faces were waiting for me at the celebrations of Pakistan's National Day. These were complemented by the beautiful Pakistani costumes worn by the ladies and their daughters. The colours, dears, are so enchanting, my little sequined turquoise dress looked downright plain in comparison.
The Australian Government and Australian Tourism Authority have invited distinguished media people to tour Australia and visit the site of the Sydney Olympics 2000. The delegation will arrive on 17 April and includes Hassan Ragab (Al-Akhbar), Assem El-Qersh (Al-Ahram), Amir Fahim (Egyptian Radio Broadcasting) and Mohie El-Semari (Al-Massa').
You all know how Nadia Makram Ebeid, our minister of environment, is waging a war against pollution. She is doing a wonderful job, and one that is sorely needed, you have to admit. This week she has been busy as usual, inaugurating two industrial waste disposal stations, one in Tanta and the other in Kafr Al-Zayat. Gharbiya Governor Ahmed Abdel-Ghaffar was immensely proud to announce that the Nile waters in his neck of the woods will be crystal clear from now on. Later, Nadia was whisked to Giza, where she opened more waste disposal stations, then, with Giza Governor Maher El-Guindi, went to visit some brick factories in the area. These factories will have to change from traditional low-grade polluting fuel, she said, and begin firing their kilns with natural gas, or else. I do hope that she puts her foot down on this one, because, though I am convinced that bricks can come in handy at times, their production is really poisonous.
