		Al-Ahram Weekly Online 27 Sep. - 3 Oct. 2001 Issue No.553
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875		Current issue \| Previous issue \| Site map

Pack of Cards

By Madame Sosostris

The world was shaken on 11 September by the horrible tragedy of the World Trade Center and prayers for the dead and shows of sympathy for the living have been pouring in since. The American University in Cairo joined in, of course, sharing in the grief of the many thousands who have been so sadly affected. A gathering was organised by the faculty members, staff and students in memory of the victims of terror, commemorating the innocent victims of all races, ethnicities, and religions. While the call to prayer echoed from the minarets around campus, a group of AUC students sang Amazing Grace and lighted candles. During the ceremony Provost Tim Sullivan thanked the students for organising the event and stressed that the entire AUC community was hurt by the recent events in New York and Washington. Students read selections from acceptance speeches by three Nobel Peace laureates, Nelson Mandela, the Dalai Lama and Martin Luther King Jr. Public Relation Director Nagwa Shoeb read excerpts from a message by HRH Prince Hassan Bin Talal of Jordan. All called for tolerance, love and human understanding. At the end of the ceremony the audience observed a minute of silence in memory of the victims.

I don't know if, like me, you are interested in the lovely art of Ikebana (the way of arranging flowers traditional to the Japanese) I find it absolutely fascinating myself and this is why I was so keen on attending the "Japan Festival 2001: Tradition & Modernity" which included a show of Ikebana and was held at the Semiramis Inter-Continental Hotel in the Tiba Ballroom. Needless to say, I was not alone to be attracted by this magic art. As soon as I walked in I noticed my dear friend Minister of Environment Nadia Makram Ebeid, Hoda Maher, the very charming wife of our Minister for Foreign Affairs and the graceful wife of the Japanese Ambassador to Cairo Takaya Suto. Moribe a professor in the art was there to initiate the attentive public, using freshly cut branches, vines, leaves, grasses, berries, fruit, seeds and flowers as well as wilted and dried plants. You might be interested to know that Ikebana started to flourish in the 16th century, as one of the traditional arts of Japan, and has developed as a symbolic language as well as a decorative concept, and the use of natural, ephemeral flowers and branches makes the dimension of time an integral part of the creation. It expresses the world of Japanese people in the small vase, using three basic sprays to signify sky, earth and mankind. The diversity of Japan's natural landscape, ancient and agricultural way of life set the scene for the development of Ikebana. At least this is what I was told dears, but if you know more than I do on the topic I'll be delighted if you shared with me your insights.

Darlings if you sometimes find yourselves at a loose end on Fridays and really feel adverse to donning your little aprons and start preparing an elaborate meal, why not don your designer jeans instead and head for the Four Seasons Hotel and treat yourselves to a Jazz Brunch which according to Public Relations Manager Riham Reda will be the chic-est weekly rendez-vous from now on. On opening Friday dears I have to tell you that everything was so perfect that I demaned to meet those responsible for the organisation of such a high feat and Riham introduced me to General Manager John Sullivan and Director of Marketing Cesare Rouchdy whom I congratulated heartily. Incientally, I forgot to tell you that if you are worried about your little ones, stop fretting: there will be a special children buffet section where they can not only eat to their little hearts content but also have their faces painted and take home a balloon or two as well as other surprises. See you there.

The Anniversary of Independence Day of Armenia was celebrated this year with great pomp as usual in the beautiful grounds of the embassy and was attended by the whole Armenian community as well as Egyptian dignitaries and members of the diplomatic corps. As I was making my way through the grand reception rooms I stopped a minute to observe Armenian Ambassador Sergey Manassarian in attentive conversation with US Ambassador David Welch.

The Modern Education Schools (MES) have had their third graduation ceremony to date on 15 September. A beaming Magda Abdel-Moneim principal of the school looked proudly onto her 91 new graduates. The ceremony was held at the Micerinos hall at the Cairo International Conference Centre. Among the elated mothers one couldn't help but notice Farida El-Ahwal the kindergarten headmistress, whose daughter Hend Hisham Abdel-Qawi graduated with the highest honours. The graduating class motto is a very interesting one and I think that they would like to share it with all of us They have adopted William Penn's bit of wisdom " right is right even if everyone is against it and wrong is wrong even if everyone is for it."

Remember dears, the fascinating piece my friend and colleague Lubna Abdel-Aziz's wrote about the great Indian star Amitabh Bachchan when he was chosen actor of the century at the Alexandria Film Festival? Well let me add my own little bit of gossip to the momentous event: that during the ceremony our very own Culture Editor Mursi Saad El-Din was not only present, but he was lucky enough to sit right next to the idol Mursi who is rather modest kept the fact quiet, but I chanced to see a photo of the two of them together and thought I would share my discovery with you.

Our dear colleague Maurice Guindi has just become a grandfather. He and his charming wife Mary were on hand for the birth and baptism of Nadeem on 12 August in Ottawa. Maurice's son Meedo and his Canadian daughter-in-law Marie made it a point of giving the little newcomer a good solid Egyptian name.

This week I had the pleasure to attend a very glamourous engagement party at Infantry House where the beautiful Walaa currently a professor at the Girls college of Ain Shams University became engaged to Yasser Omar, an accountant at the Misr Bank. The bride-to-be is the sister of our dear colleague Tawfiq El-Sayed production manager at the Weekly advertising department. Present were family members and friends as well as numerous members of Al-Ahram family who all join me in wishing the happy couple a wonderful future.

Recommend this page

ARCHIVES
Letter from the Editor
Editorial Board
Subscription
Advertise!

WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly
Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time
weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg

Al-Ahram Organisation