Pack of Cards
By Madame Sosostris
My pack starts on a nostalgic note this week, my dears, for I've just returned from an event that truly made my heart sing. The Pharaonic Village in Giza, you see, has just inaugurated a new museum dedicated to the life and times of late Egyptian President Gamal Abdel-Nasser . A bevy of luminous figures, including senior state officials like presidential political advisor, Osama El-Baz, and former Arab League Secretary-General Esmat Abdel- Meguid, attended the grand opening, as did Hawa magazine editor, Eqbal Baraka, actor Ezzat El- Alaili, and a spectrum of Arab ambassadors and cultural attaches.
Abdel-Nasser's daughters Hoda and Mona, of course, were also on hand for the event, as was Abdel-Salam Ragab, the Pharaonic Village's board chairman. The museum includes 170 rare photos documenting Abdel-Nasser's personal and political life. Hoda, meanwhile, has provided the museum with a selection of her father's personal belongings, which will be on display for a limited time.
The preservation of our glorious heritage has always been one of my favourite topics, my sweets, and this week, I witnessed the inauguration of a major project dedicated to the preservation and conservation of Arabic music. Cairo Opera House Director Samir Farag and Dutch Ambassador Leenstra Sjoerd got the project off to a good start by unveiling its first phase, which includes the establishment of a music registration office, a survey of the Opera House's Arabic music heritage, and the design of the system that will be used for the project as a whole. Grieg Burg, director of the Dutch-Flemish Institute in Cairo, will be supervising the work being done by the project's Dutch partners, who include the Dutch-Flemish Institute, the Heritage Preservation Institute and Nemech University for Language Sciences.
The EU will be providing the project with equipment and training, while UNESCO will play a part in its implementation. The second stage will include the establishment of an Arabic music archive organised in chronological order, as well as a sound purification studio.
To celebrate the 80th anniversary of the proclamation of the Republic of Turkey, esteemed Professor Filiz Calislar Yenisehirlioglu, the dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts, Design and Architecture at Ankara's Baskent University, delivered a lecture on iznik ceramics at the residence of the Turkish Ambassador in Egypt Korkmaz Haktanir.
Yenisehirlioglu spoke of the ceramic production techniques that have developed in Anatolia over the ages, highlighting her presentation with examples of varied methods ranging from everyday glazed and unglazed pottery ware to tiles. The turnout for the event was enormous, as befitting someone of Yenisehirlioglu's stature -- a large number of art specialists, history buffs, ambassadors and journalists were there.
The American University in Cairo (AUC), my loves, has just signed a major cooperation agreement with the National Research Centre (NRC) aimed at exchanging expertise and ideas in the field of scientific research. AUC President David Arnold and NRC Director Hani El-Nazer were the signatories committing their respective institutions to increas scientific integration and cooperation.
"We are committed to spearheading interdisciplinary research..." Arnold said, "and we welcome the chance to cooperate... [especially] in the near future, [at] our new campus where our Science and Technology Park will serve as an incubator for research and development." El-Nazer said he truly believes in collaboration with other research centres and universities, not only in Egypt but also around the world.
The wife of Slovakian President Rudolf Schuster recently paid an official visit to the National Council for Women (NCW), during which she expressed her hopes for increased cooperation between Egypt and Slovakia vis-a-vis women's status issues. Mrs Schuster seemed especially interested in the council's documentation and information centre, where she was able to learn more about the various NCW programmes being carried out in collaboration with national and international development organisations. NCW Secretary-General Farkhonda Hassan also gave Mrs Schuster a brief account of other council activities.
It was a windy opening for the Dakhla Oasis Project's (DOP) new dig house near Mut, where a sandstorm welcomed guests and dignitaries, including New Valley Governor Medhat Abdel- Rahman. Project Director Anthony Mills, who helped set up the DOP in 1978, conveyed the members' delight at finally having their own house, which is designed by architect Barry Rowney and built in the local style on land loaned by the governorate. Among the DOP members present were Fred Leemhuis, Colin Hope, Gillian Bowen, John O'Carroll, John Keays, Olaf Kaper, Rowney and, adding a note of irresistible colour to the proceedings, Mill's lovely wife Lesley. Other guests included Roger Bagnall of Columbia House in Dakhla and the Weekly's very own Nigel Ryan and Jenny Jobbins.
At the Egyptian Centre for International Cultural Cooperation, the controversial film The Ostrich and the Peacock, which was directed by Mohamed Abu-Seif, was recently screened. A seminar featuring Abu-Seif and actress Lebleba, one of the film's stars, followed. My dear friend Cherif El- Shoubashy, the first under-secretary of State for Foreign Cultural Relations, and Abla Ghoneim, the centre's director, also took the opportunity to honour all those who took part in the film, including the director's father -- the late realist director Salah Abu-Seif -- who wrote the script around 30 years ago.
For the third consecutive year, my sweets, the Cairo Opera House is organising an Arab composers festival. This year's round -- which will take place from 31 January until 14 February -- is entitled "Arabic Perspectives on Symphonic Music".
The festival comprises eight concerts featuring music by 23 composers -- including Gamal Abdel-Rahim, Aziz El-Shawan, Ragih Dawoud, Mohamed Saad Basha, Gamal Salama, Abu- Bakr Khayrat, Hassan Rashid and Ali Osman -- from five countries: Egypt; Sudan; Lebanon; Jordan; and Morocco. The festival also plans on honouring composers Refaat Garanna, Kamel El- Remali, Attiya Sharara and Ali Farag.
Last month, the Japanese Embassy and the Hope Village Society celebrated the inauguration of a "Shelter for Female Street Children", which was constructed with grant funds donated by the Japanese Embassy. In the presence of Tomochika Uyama, the embassy's Charge d'Affaires, the event took place at the shelter itself, which is located in the 10th of Ramadan city. The resident girls welcomed the participants, and a commemorative tree was planted. The newly built, two-storey shelter, which can accommodate up to 40 children, includes plenty of living space, as well as classrooms for vocational and literacy training. 25 girls aged four to 18 have already moved in, with the Hope Village Society expecting a full house in the very near future.
