At the podium
Delving into a fascinating subject during some remarkable times, medieval history professor Ta'ef El-Azhari will give a lecture today at 5.00p.m. on the role of eunuchs -- castrated males -- in the Ayyubid Kingdom in the 12th century at the Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo (NVIC). The use of eunuchs as harem guards in royal courts was common in the Chinese and Byzantine civilizations, and eunuchs often rose to positions in which they were charged with important affairs of state. In the Islamic world, it was common for eunuchs to play a role in the political scene.
A lecturer at Helwan University and a research fellow at NVIC, El-Azhari will look into the influence held by eunuchs in the army and among high-ranking officials during the reign of the Ayyubids. The power and control exercised by eunuchs over events in Egypt and Syria during the Crusades will also be discussed.
1 Dr Mahmoud Azmi St, Zamalek. Tel 738 2522
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Meet the Parents (2000)
Judging from the comments of moviegoers, this remake of the 1992 film is "so incredibly funny" they "would sit through it again." The critics have not been so kind, wondering why the time-span separating carbon copy versions of the same idea has shrunk so significantly in Hollywood.
Ben Stiller, of There's Something About Mary fame, again plays the underdog here: a socially clumsy, good-hearted guy in a predominantly female profession (male nurse) trying to do the right thing and ask for his girlfriend's hand in marriage. Her father, played by Robert De Niro, is no easy sell, however. De Niro, who seems to have been seduced -- maybe even corrupted -- by the critical and commercial success of his comedy Analyze This, contributes star power to this watchable remake. Comic plot twists are easily anticipated, but there's still room for a few surprises -- if you're in the mood to be surprised, that is.
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Around the galleries
Reviewed by Nagwa El-Ashri
The Safarkhan Gallery, Zamalek, offers gallery-goers the opportunity to survey the achievements of artist Salah Abdel-Kerim, a versatile pillar of the modern art movement in Egypt. This retrospective showcases the full range of the artist's achievement in different media. Creatures, objects and dreams: all are impressively on show, testifying to Abdel-Kerim's abiding ability to manipulate the physical world around him.
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