Pack of Cards
By Madame Sosostris
Love is in the air, my darlings, here at Al-Ahram Weekly. Just last Thursday, our beloved Managing Editor Hani Shukrallah and adorable Features Page Editor Fatemah Farag tied the knot at a wonderfully elegant party at La Bodega. It's true that the bride missed the string quartet which kicked off the party -- but some things -- like getting the hair and make-up just right -- take precedence for a bride on her wedding day. And indeed, Fatemah looked divine in her dress, while Hani in tuxedo was a dashingly handsome groom.
The guest list was studded with prominent figures including Minister of Youth and Sports Alieddin Hilal, AUC president Thomas Bartlette and Mrs Bartlette, and prominent Al-Ahram writers El-Sayed Yassin, Mohamed Sid-Ahmed, Salama Ahmed Salama and Fahmy Howeidy. Luminaries from the world of academia and research, including professor of political science at Cairo University Hassan Nafaa, his wife Nadia Salem, and Hala Mostafa, chief editor of Al-Ahram's quarterly journal Democracy, were also there to share in the good times.
AUC School of Humanities Dean Nicolas Hopkins and his wife Ferial Ghazoul, the eminent professor of literature, as well as Enid Hill, senior professor of political science, and Hussein Amin, who heads AUC's Journalism and Mass Communication Department, also mixed and mingled with the large crowd.
Prominent personalities from the Arab League including Hisham Badr, Hisham Youssef, Samir Hosni, Talal El-Amin and Alaa Zuheiry were also there, as were cinematic figures like directors Mohamed Khan, Raafat El-Mehi and Fouad El-Tohami, as well as rising young actors Basem Samra and Basma.
President of AFICS Soheir Konsoah and her graceful daughter Rasha Habib greatly enjoyed themselves, as did Ayman El-Sayyad, managing editor of Wighat Nazar, Mounir Megahed from the Egyptian Nuclear Energy Agency and his wife, lawyer Safaa Zaki Murad. I also saw my dear friend, veteran journalist Maurice Guindi and his charming wife Mary.
Actually, guests had come in from all over the world to attend the long- awaited wedding, at the head of whom was Ahmed Farag, Fatemah's brother who flew in from the United States. Peter Snowdown put down his rucksack in Cairo briefly before returning to Belgium, while Amr Al-Shalakany bid farewell to his students at Harvard University a few days early to be on time for the wedding.
Al-Ahram Weekly's staff, led by Chief Editor Hosny Guindy and his lovely wife Moushira, had a ball. The women were glamorous and the men were dashing, and after the formalities of cake, rings and posing for the cameras, the party was in full swing. The music blasted as throngs of guests banged their feet and elaborated on their gyrations until the early hours of the night.
But if you think celebrations were over when the music stopped, then you know nothing of the stamina of Hani and Fatemah's friends. A smaller group huddled together in a cozy corner singing old songs -- very loudly -- until it was definitely time to end this beautiful night.
As one of our colleagues remarked, the Weekly will never be the same again. I hope Hani and Fatemah still recognise us when they return from their honeymoon -- which my sources tell me features a Nile cruise to Luxor and Aswan, as well as a few relaxing days on the shores of Qosseir.
My dear friend Nehad Abul-Fadl and her charming son Karim Mamdouh Zahran are among seven volunteers from Alexandria Rotary clubs heading to Khartoum tomorrow for a week. They are part of a group that also includes 11 doctors, one specialised nurse and 2 technicians scheduled to operate for free on underprivileged people who have no access to, or means to afford, any form of advanced medical treatments or specialised operations. Part of the convoy's mission is to hold educational seminars for local Sudanese doctors on the latest surgical techniques and trends in the relevant fields. The doctors on the team are specialised in ophthalmology (Ahmed El-Masri, Mohamed Shafiq, Ahmed Hossam Abdallah, Alaa El-Zawawi and Ahmed Shama); pediatrics (Salah Zaher); orthopedic surgery (Hazem Eltayebi); vascular surgery (Raafat Nagaa); general surgery (Hussein Shebl); ENT (Ahmed El-Dali); and anesthesia (Assem Abdel-Razeq). Their initiative is a wonderful way to express the spirit of the Christmas season.
The new Centre of Contemporary Art at the 15 May Complex was inaugurated last week by Fine Arts Sector head Ahmed Nawwar and Mohamed Shaker, the centre's director. Located in Helwan, the centre will serve southern Maadi and parts of El-Minya governorate. It houses a museum of late artist Inji Eflatoun's (1924-1989) work, as well as a sculpture gallery featuring 500 creations by artists from 46 countries. Most of these were provided by participants in the past six sessions of the Cairo International Ceramics Biennale. There is also an open-air sculpture museum and halls for holding seminars and screening movies.
The Mr and Mrs Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum's Horizon One art gallery is currently showing an exhibition by Spanish artist Jose Guerrero (1914-1991), which was opened by Culture Minister Farouk Hosni and Spanish Foreign Minister Ana Palacio. Also present were Pedro Lopez Agulrrebonga, the Spanish ambassador to Cairo, Felipe Garin, president of Spain's State Society for Culture Action Abroad, and Ahmed Nawwar, head of the Egyptian Ministry of Culture's Fine Arts Sector. Guerrero is famous for the daring colours he uses -- the black, ochre, and azure that compliment his innovative, sophisticated style. His early works are clearly influenced by the atmosphere and architecture of Granada, where he was born. The current show runs through 15 January 2003.
The Conrad hotel recently sponsored the SOS Kinderdorf International press conference held to announce this year's recipient of the $1 million Conrad N Hilton Humanitarian award.
The money will be used to expand several pilot projects in Africa, testing new ways to support AIDS orphans and assist children and families affected by AIDS. The press conference was crowned by the presence of a bevy of public figures involved in humanitarian work with an emphasis on child welfare. Amongst them were Hawa' magazine Editor-in-Chief Eqbal Baraka, veteran radio announcer Amal Fahmi, gorgeous actress Safia El-Emari, as well as the SOS Kinderdorf International regional director for the Middle East, Simat El- Dika.
