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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 12 - 18 October 2000 Issue No. 503 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 12 - 18 October 2000 Issue No. 503
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Pack of Cards
By Madame Sosostris
* I don't need to tell you, dears, that this week I was not in the mood to make merry, but apart from various university demonstrations through which young people chose to express their anger about the situation in Palestine and their support for the Palestinian people,
I was quite touched by the way artists are expressing their condolences to the families of the martyrs. In a piano recital at the American University in Cairo (AUC), the Jordanian pianist Khaled Asad played several pieces, choosing to begin with "Jerusalem, the Sacred City," one of 17 pieces that he has composed. Asad is "arguably the only Arab composer who writes classical music," says my dear friend Dalia Mabrouk, from the Public Relations Office at AUC. Some of the other pieces Asad chose to play that evening had Arabic themes, including his first rhapsody, "The Dance of the Arabian Horse." The evening ended with a piece by the Russian composer Sergei Rachmaninoff, who has heavily influenced Asad's work. The composer felt that, as an Arab, he has a certain vision of how we can spread Arabic music across the world. "We have to introduce our music, not only our singers," he stressed.
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* The American University in Cairo's Sony Gallery for Photography opened the new academic year with "50 Years of Aramco World Photography," a photo exhibition that sketches the half-century history of a unique cross-cultural publishing venture, Aramco World.
It was inaugurated by US Ambassador to Cairo Daniel Kurtzer and the guests of honour: Executive Director Khalid Abushait, Public Relations Department Manager Essam Tawfiq in Saudi Aramco and John Feeney, a regular contributor to Aramco World for 25 years. At the exhibition, lasting until 26 October, 58 colour prints are displayed, showing some of the best photography published in the magazine over its five decades. Extensive educational captions put the images into several layers of context; from events in the Middle East to the history of Saudi Aramco, the history of the magazine itself and the experiences of the photographers and quotes from the writers who have made all the stories possible. These photos and much of the catalogue text come from a larger exhibition "50 Years of Aramco World" that first opened in Washington in 1999 at the Middle East Studies Association Convention. The magazine was launched by the Arabian-American Oil Company, Aramco, in 1949; its history begins with snapshots laid out in what was no more than an inter-office newsletter intended to connect the company's American offices with "the field." But Saudi oil took on greater importance and the company grew rapidly, publishing historical, geographical and cultural articles to help the American employees and their families appreciate the richness of an unfamiliar land.
* Do you remember darlings last year's black cloud and the horrible smell accompanying it ? Our dear State Minister for the Environment Nadia Makram Ebeid has decided to rid us from it once and for all. For this purpose she toured the Sharqiya and Daqahliya governorates with their respective governors Emad Abul-Ela and Mustafa El-Shennawi to talk to the farmers about new ways of disposing of the rice straw. And do you know what is going to happen? Instead of burning and polluting our atmosphere, the straw is going to be put to good use as fertiliser and fodder. Now isn't that a clever idea?
* You might not have thought that nuclear medicine was practiced in Egypt. Well, think again. Ever since 1950, nuclear medicine has been used for kidney problems, but in the early 1960s Dr Mohamed Abdel-Razzaq became a pioneer, introducing nuclear methods to all fields of medicine. These worthy efforts culminated with the First Egyptian International Nuclear Medicine Meeting, which ended recently in Hurghada. With next year's event already being organised, it is felt that Egypt will finally be acknowledged for the expertise it has gained in the field. It will also have more ample opportunity to make use of international experience in the positive application of nuclear energy.
* My very dear friend artist Leila Ezzat, who, when she is not painting, is rescuing some poor stray and giving it a shelter, is holding an exhibition of her very beautiful paintings at the Safar Khan Art Gallery in Zamalek. This is definitely one event I will not want to miss
* Another interesting exhibition of paintings and sketches by artist Elizabeth Bundics-Abdallah, titled Life and Fantasy, will be inaugurated by HE Laszlo Kadar, ambassador of the Republic of Hungary in Egypt, on 21 October at the World of Art Gallery in Maadi. I have been a great admirer of this very original artist for years, and am certainly looking forward to this exhibition.
* Presenting an artist's vision in different settings sharpens the viewer's eye and widens the artist's exposure. George Bahgory works have been chosen to conduct an interesting experiment allowing the public to see his paintings simultaneously at Espace Karim Francis; at the Greek Centre Club of Cairo; at Philosophy Art and Interior Design Gallery in Zamalek and finally at La Bodega, the hottest bistro in Cairo.
* Last but not least, I recently had the pleasure of extending my best wishes to two of my young friends, Tamer Nagah of Al-Ahram Advertising department and beautiful Shaima' Said, a graduate of Cairo University's Faculty of Commerce, on the occasion of their engagement, which they celebrated with family and friends at Media House in the Muqattam.
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