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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 July - 2 August 2000 Issue No. 492 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 27 July - 2 August 2000 Issue No. 492
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Pack of Cards
By Madame Sosostris
Even during the summer months, AUC remains keen to organise interesting events. This time, their Office of Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action welcomed poetry, music, drama and prose lovers to its first "Voices of Diversity" coffee house in the university's beautiful fountain area. Among other things, we were regaled with an 'oud recital by Raghda El-Ebrashi, followed by a story in Arabic, Bruce O'Neil's folk songs accompanied by his guitar, Doaa Darwish's reading of a short poem, Ashraf Fouad's piano improvisation and a prose sketch presented by Jim Mayes. Needless to say, in response to the audience's enthusiasm, the Affirmative Action Office is planning to organise another event in the fall semester.
Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters
Would you believe, dears, that Dina Reda Amiri and Ahmed Fatouh came specially to Egypt with more than 100 of their American friends to celebrate their wedding ceremony in Sharm Al-Sheikh at the Ritz Hotel? Dina, a PhD graduate in French Literature from Pennsylvania University, and Ahmed, a businessman with thriving activities in the US, claim they would not have wanted to be anywhere else on this more than happy occasion.
Interestingly, Leila, the mother of the bride, is a school teacher who organises trips to Egypt for young Egyptians who live in the States, thus reinforcing their ties with the "old country".
Darlings, you know how hard I usually try to be in 10 places at once. I am trying to make myself scarce, but there are just so many hours in a night, even including the wee hours. Still, on 18 July, when I received the invitation from the Embassy of Colombia to attend its independence day celebrations, to be held in the glorious Al-Samar ballroom of the Gezirah Sheraton hotel, I made up my mind at once and pulled my latest baubles out of the safe. The mere mention of Colombia evokes, in my mind, scenes from Romancing the Stone, starring as you well know Kathleen Turner and the gorgeous Michael Douglas.
On arrival, I had no stones on my mind, however: plates were piled high with creamy chicken à la king, spicy fried jumbo shrimp, mini burgers and chicken croquettes. The smell was something else -- but, being a vegetarian, I headed straight for the salads and made up with extra helpings of profitéroles and Umm Ali, both sinfully delicious. While tucking in, I spotted French Ambassador François Dopffer, Armenian Ambassador Sergei Manassarian, and Pakistani Ambassador Anwar Kemal. Then I chatted with Portuguese Ambassador Manuel Nuno Tavares de Sousa and Indian Ambassador Shiv Shankar Mukherjee, whose charming wife Nalini possesses an unparalleled collection of saris, each more dazzling than the next. This latest was black with gold trimmings. As the night progressed, I decided that I really enjoyed independence and its lavish celebration.
Weekly people seem to be going places these days: Mahmoud Bakr of our layout department was a member of the winning team of Al-Ahram Organisation in the automobile race organised by ITAMCO-Ghabbour to launch its new Sonata Hyundai. The other members of the team were Hisham El-Zeini and Mahmoud Abdel-Aal from the daily Al-Ahram.. Another Ahramist, Khaled Gouda, was on another winning team, which shared the first prize.
The event, presided over by Raouf Ghabbour, chairman of Ghabbour Bros, and advertising mogul Tarek Nour, took place around the summer resort of El-Gouna and was crowned by a lovely and lively party at which the guests enthusiastically donned special T-shirts offered by the organisers.
An exhibition of découpage art, painting on silk and arabesque furniture by Gihan Rifaat Kamel is on show at the Cairo Atelier's small hall. The exhibition, running until 30 July, comprises works in different techniques applied to découpage scenes, as well as silk drawings. Gihan, a Cairo University graduate in dental medicine, pursued her artistic vocation in Cairo, Florence, San Francisco and Japan. Her entire oeuvre is displayed in a permanent showroom at Khan Al-Aziziya.
Last Thursday, I spent a very pleasurable evening at the guest house of the Upper Egyptian Organisation for Education and Development. The organisation's choir contributed greatly to the friendly atmosphere, singing famous songs by Kamal El-Tawil, Yehya El-Mougi, El-Sheikh Imam, Marcel Khalifeh, Sayed Mekkawi, Ammar El-Shiri'i and Ahmed Mounib. The words to these old favourites were written long ago by famous poets like Fouad Haddad, Bahaa Jahine, Mahmoud Darwish, Ahmed Fouad Negm and Sayed Hegab, and of course you will not find a child in Egypt who did not learn them in the crib. The young voices, however, made them sound vibrant and new. Maged Soliman, the able director of the choir, and Abeer Adli, his assistant, have worked hard to improve the young singers' skills, and a good job they've done, too!
For Zaki Khouri, chairman of the organisation, it was a momentous event and he seemed overjoyed by the compliments bestowed by chairman of culture palaces Ali Abu Shadi. Renowned environmentalist Adel Abu-Zahra joined his voice to the well-wishers who predicted a great future for the young singers.
Like me, dears, our colleague Amany Abdel-Moneim feels that animals are not getting the attention they deserve. She has assured me, however, that things are about to change. The World Society for the Protection of Animals (WSPA), in cooperation with the US-Mid-East Music & Fine Arts Council, has sponsored a pilot project to print and distribute four educational posters on animal care. The posters feature farm animals, donkeys, dogs and cats.
Two thousand five hundred copies of each poster have been printed and distributed through educational organisations such as the Integrated Care Society, the Institute of Cultural Affairs, the Upper Egyptian Organisation for Education and Development, the Coptic Evangelical Organisation for Social Services, Save the Children and others. The purpose of this project is "to enhance awareness among young Egyptian students in primary schools of how to take care of animals, their needs and how they should be treated," according to Nazih Girgis, founder and chairman of the US-Mid-East Music & Fine Arts Council. He and Jill Richardson, regional director of the WSPA, translated these posters and printed them after obtaining due permission from the British Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and the Kenyan Society for the Protection and Care of Animals. A good move too, if you ask me -- and about time!
