To mark International Day of Yoga (IDY) this year, the Embassy of India in Cairo has organised a special event on the 21 June at the famous Baron Empain Palace in Heliopolis, Cairo. Celebrations extended to other governorates too. One was held on 22 June at the beachfront Sheraton Montazah Hotel in Alexandria where Ms Nour al-Sherbini, the Egyptian Number One Squash Player in the world was the guest of honour; and another at Nadi Moini, Gama al-Adima,in the Suez Canal city of Ismailiya on 24 June.
Before Iftar, the meal that breaks the Ramadan fast, a large number of people gathered to practice yoga with professional trainers at the Baron Palace in Heliopolis. The palace is a historic Indian-inspired mansion built by the Belgian Baron Empain who founded the eastern Cairo suburb of Heliopolis at the outset of the 20th century.
In his speech during the celebration, India’s Ambassador to Egypt Sanjay Bhattacharyya thanked the local authorities and Ministry of Antiquities for their support in organising the event. He said Indian Embassy chose this year to hold the event at the Baron Palace as it is the only building in Egypt with architecture which is similar to Indian temples. “We have been changing the venues of the celebrations for the past years. The first time was at the India House (in Zamalek), last year it was at
Although yoga is part of India’s intangible cultural heritage, it has emerged as a global brand and is now being practiced internationally. During the past few years, schools and centres that teach yoga in Egypt have increased to about 50, the Indian envoy said.
Yoga is one of the major classes offered by the Maulana Azad Centre for Indian Culture in Cairo and it is widely attended.
Watani International
25 June 2017