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Al-Ahram Weekly 29 July - 4 August 1999 Issue No. 440 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 29 July - 4 August 1999 Issue No. 440
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Profile Travel Living Sports Time Out Chronicles People Cartoons Letters 
Pack of Cards
By Madame Sosostris* Hello dears, I missed you terribly this past week, but luckily I've had plenty of things to keep my mind off it. Well, for one thing, I went to Paris. Yes, that's right, a quick jaunt to the City of Love to do a little shopping, a little sight-seeing, and a little walking in the park. Mainly, however, I was there to see the beautiful artwork being exhibited by nine of my favorite Egyptian artists at the Institute du Monde Arabe. Among them were Tahiya Halim, Inji Aflatoun and Gazbiya Sirry, three pioneers who've never ceased to capture my attention and heart alike. The exhibit also featured celebrities of the art world such as Mounir Canaan, Hamdi Attiya, Abdel-Wahab Mursi, Ramzi Mustafa and Adel El-Siwi, besides the Egyptian art scene's most famous young gun, Shadi El-Neshokati. The Institut's gorgeous building, situated as it is along the Seine, was the perfect venue for such a prodigious display of talent. I was just bursting with pride, dearies, and I made sure to thank Tharwat El-Bahr, the director of the Museum of Modern Art here in Cairo, who coordinated the event, for doing such a wonderful job. I also popped in to say hello to the Institut's director, Nasser El-Ansari. If you're still trying to decide where in the world to go this summer, be quick about it, and hop on the first flight to France, for the show only lasts till 8 August.
scene from Sadako Story* I'm sure I'm not alone when I say I love feeling multi-cultural, because it gives me such a warm sensation of belonging to a world where everybody loves each other, and is interested in what other people are interested in, no matter how far apart geographically they may happen to be. It makes one forget for a while how CNN make you feel, with all the news of conflicts it brings. That's why I was very pleased to hear from my friend Margaret Kamal of the Japan Foundation, who told me all about the Foundation's ambitious plans for a Japanese film festival in the Sinai capital of Tur. The festival begins today, with a touching film called Sadako Story about "a girl who lived her childhood in the period of explosion of the bomb over Hiroshima". The festival will go on until Saturday 31 July, and the people of Tur are sure to pack the Cultural Palace there, just as the people of Kharga did when a similar festival visited that far-away oasis last March. Mr Nao Endo, the Foundation's director, and his staff, have been very busy recently helping Egyptian secondary school teachers from Assiut spend some time in Japan, as well as arranging for a troupe of shamisan (a guitar-like instrument) players to perform for the 25th anniversary of the foundation of the Japanese Language Department at Cairo University. Don't forget that these were also the same people who brought over Japanese TV star Oshin several years ago.
* When intellectuals are popular speakers, it really warms my heart. I prefer a smart speaker over a snooty bookish researcher any day, and that's why you'll certainly find me at the Anba Samuel Hall at the Coptic Orthodox Cathedral in Abbasiya on Saturday 31, to hear former Director of Shell Egypt Tarek Heggy talk about "The Importance of Accepting the Other". Heggy, who has always taken an active role in promoting multi-culturalism, is now the head of Tana Group, a petroleum company.
* Imagine my pleasure, dears, when I turned on my TV late Monday night and saw my dear colleagues Ibrahim Hegazi, editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram Al-Riyadi, Mohamed Taymour, general manager of Al-Ahram's print houses, Osama Saraya, editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram Al-Arabi, and senior journalist Hassan El-Mistakawi, on the fast-paced talk show Studio 1, which is directed by my very good friend, the talented Issaf Ismail. You may know Issaf from his landmark, quick-cut MTV-style ads for upcoming Channel 1 programmes. On Studio 1, he had brought in several media experts to discuss a heady topic: the future of journalism in Egypt. Amongst the guests were Ibrahim El-Mu'allim, the head of Dar Al-Shurouq publishing house, journalist Mona Serag, Mustafa Hassan El-Alfi, editor of Al-Midan, Yasmine Shehata, editor of Cleo magazine, and photographer of the stars Adel Mobarez. All the speakers had plenty of interesting things to say, and you can catch the rest of the debate on the next episode of the programme, which is hosted by the glamourous Shafqi El-Manayiri.
* My dear colleague Atef El-Ghamri, Al-Ahram's Washington DC bureau chief, was back in Cairo this week to celebrate his son Sherif's wedding. Sherif, a recent graduate of George Mason University in the suburbs of Washington DC, and his bride, Dalia Hakam, a graduate of Cairo University's Spanish Department, looked resplendent in black and white at the Alf Leila wa Leila Ballroom in the Nile Hilton. I had a great time with Atef and all his guests, who included Foreign Minister Amr Moussa, Editor-in-Chief of Al-Akhbar Galal Duweidar, veteran radio announcer Amal Fahmi, head of the newly-formed Foreign Affairs Council Mohamed Shaker and a bevy of prestigious politicians, journalists and businessmen. Alf mabrouk to Sherif and Dalia, who couldn't have looked happier as they danced to the tunes belted out by Mohamed Mounir and Ali El-Haggar.
Sherif and Dalia
