The Nile Cultural Channel’s Ramadan tent in Muqattam carried the mottoal-Qahira al-Mahroussa (Shielded Cairo)—a common expression used by Cairenes to indicate their city is under divine protection. The interior of the tent was set up as a typical Cairo alley complete with little shops and cafés.
The daily activities in the tent included various cultural, artistic and literary events. One of the best so far has been Creative Youth, in which groups of young people came from all over Egypt and presented poetry, fiction, drama, music, the arts, and handicrafts.
Magnificent city
A major facet of this year’s programme was the emphasis on Cairo’s history from ancient times, when it was one of Egypt’s earliest capitals and was called ‘Manf’ or Memphis. One lecture covered Egypt in the Graeco-Roman era and architectural styles of that time. Study topics went on to include the Abbasid, Ummayid, Fatimid and Mamluk periods and the great boom years of Mohamed Ali, who assumed rule in 1805, and the public and royal buildings he constructed. Illustrations were projected of the glory that was Cairo’s, the streets and palaces and the social and the cultural life, touching on Cairo’s greatness at the time of the 1952 Revolution and comparing with what it is today. The lecturers were specialised professors in architecture, art, and in ancient and contemporary history and included Zahi Hawass, Gamal al-Ghitany, Mohamed Salmawy, Mustafa Hussein and Ezzeddin Naguib. On the fringe of the main annual tent, an exhibition of plastic arts and photography was held showing works by both established and young artists.
There was little music, but the few bands that played were remarkable musicians. The tent also hosted the most prominent people in the fields of art, literature, politics, information and sports, gathering thus throngs of people who came to sample a specimen of fine art and thought.
The immigrant poet
Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, who died a few weeks ago and whose words have a deep effect on the hearts and minds of Arabic speakers at large, was the subject of a symposium among the “Cultural evenings” organised by the General Organisation for Cultural Palaces during Ramadan. Literary critic and professor of Arabic Language Mohamed Abdel-Moteleb described Darwish as the special man who changed Arabic poetry from an art for the elite to something for all. Darwish was called the ‘immigrant poet’ because he lived far from Palestine since his teens; later the term was used to indicate his sense of perpetual alienation from the material world, an alienation that bordered on that sensed by Sufis or hermits. Ahmed Swailam recited some of Darwish’s poetry, including Walaa (Loyalty) and Betaqat Hawiyya (Identity Card).
Electronic games
In a Ramadan symposium at Naguib Mahfouz’s café near the Citadel “Electronic game talents” were discussed. Sherif Abdel-Hamid, head of the Egyptian union of electronic games, talked about the history of electronic games starting with Atari in the 1970s and up to Play Station 1, 2 and 3. He said that some believe these games, which can now be found on mobile phones, computers and the Internet, have many disadvantages such as wasting time, weight gain, isolation, and rise in violence among children. He denied these accusations, and said that the United States was preparing an education programme to facilitate teaching subjects in schools through presenting the curricula as an electronic game.
On the fringe
Ramadan evenings offered audiences opportunities to sample folk dancing in various places in Egypt. The Tanoura troupe of Shubra al-Kheima gave performances using folk musical instruments, the Malawi folk ensemble from Upper Egypt performed the famous tahteeb or stick dance, and the Ismailiya band danced their simsimya. to its popular catchy tunes. Book fairs, plastic art exhibitions, workshops on rock and wood sculpture, a painting exhibition with the theme “Egypt through an Egyptian eye”, an exhibition of Arabic calligraphy and traditional handicrafts and exhibitions of fashion and accessories were held on the fringe of the Ramadan cultural nights.
