Dubai breaks another record Dubai has been awarded another world record, this time for the largest vertical maze. In the heart of the Financial District, the 55-storey, multifunctional Maze Tower (25 floors of office space and 24 floors of living space) was confirmed this week by Guinness World Records as the world's largest vertical maze. The total number of Guinness World Records that Dubai holds is now officially above 100. Using natural stones, the design on the façade of the building is not just a random pattern but a puzzle drawn by the intricate lines of the balconies on the front and the rear. “We always wanted The Maze to look like it was carved out of one massive piece of rock, with the constant play of light and shadow to render it alive,” Hassan Abdallah Al Rostamani, vice chairman of Al-Rostamani Group and The Maze Tower Conceptualiser, explained. The tower also has four other features: the Maze Eye (an eight-metre circular video wall at the top of the building that has the ability to beam images); LED lights built into the exterior of the maze pattern that can display colours and patterns; a purpose-built garden floor in the middle of the building; and a rooftop maze garden. At his residence in Garden City, Italian Ambassador Maurizio Massari bestowed the Grande Ufficiale of the Ordine Al Merito della Repubblica Italiana, one of the highest honours, on Pietro Bajocchi, a prominent member of the Italian community in Egypt who has been operating in several fields, from the jewellery business to charity, and has contributed to strengthening Italian-Egyptian relations. Massari pointed out that awards of honour are an instrument to reward the special accomplishments of individuals, Italian or foreign citizens, who have made a special contribution to the image of Italy. These official decorations are decreed by the President of the Republic on the recommendation of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs. Present were Bajocchi's wife and son, actor Hussein Fahmi and Magda Barsoum from Al-Ahram Hebdo newspaper. On the occasion of the 66th Republic Day of India on 26 January 2015, the Ambassador of India to Egypt Navdeep Suri hoisted the tricolor. A large number of members of the Indian community and Egyptian friends were present on the occasion. Suri read out the president's message and interacted with the community. He took the opportunity to announce the opening of the new Indian Cultural Centre and the Consular and Information Wings in Zamalek. Emphasising the strength of the bilateral relationship, Suri indicated that there had been new momentum in the past months in the political and economic spheres. In the cultural field, preparations were afoot for the third edition of India by the Nile Festival, which promised to be even better than the last two editions. The American University in Cairo (AUC) is launching a new archaeology programme for students in Egypt and abroad. Beginning this month, archaeology students from around the world will have the chance to conduct field work in Giza for six weeks as part of a joint programme between the Egyptology Unit of AUC's departments of Sociology, Anthropology, Psychology and Egyptology and the Ancient Egypt Research Associates (AERA). On Monday, Al-Ahram's Chairman of the Board Ahmed Al-Sayed Al-Naggar, together with Chairman of State Information Service (SIS) Ambassador Salah Abdel-Sadek, inaugurated the photography exhibition “Cairo, the Crossroad of Faith” by Al-Ahram Weekly's very own photographer Sherif Sonbol at Al-Ahram building's lobby on Al-Galaa Street. Present were Polish Ambassador Michal Murkociński, Slovakia Ambassador Peter Javorčík, and the Embassy of Indonesia Minister Counsellor Meri Binsar Simorangkir as well as Sonbol's friends and the press attaches at India, Poland, China, Czech and Romania embassies After the success of his first collection of colouring books, A Smile and A Light, Al-Khamis magazine cartoonist Said Badawi released a new collection of 22 books with Al-Zahraa Publishing House. Entitled Entertainment and Colours and targeting children up to the age of nine, the series features animals and encourages children to draw. Badawi studied child psychology in preparation for this work. The Japanese managaka (or manga artist) Manar Tinkawa gave two one-day workshops on “How to Draw Manga” at the Japan Foundation headquarters in Garden City and Beit Al-Sinnari. Organised by the Japan Foundation, the workshops also covered production and publication. A Facebook group on manga is available at https://www.facebook.com/groups/75576097448632/ With France as the guest of honour, the third LuxorEgyptian and European Film Festival (24-31 January), headed by Magda Wassif, opened near the Luxor Temple this week. The opening ceremony started with words of mourning for King Abdallah bin Abdel-Aziz. Though 15 years old, Osama Fawzi's award-winning Fallen Angels Paradise will screen as part of honouring actress Lebleba. Produced by Al-Batrik Art Production, written by Mustafa Zikri and based on Jorge Amado's The Man who Died Twice, Fallen Angels' Paradise is a black comedy starring Mahmoud Hemeida, Lebleba, Amr Waked, Sari Al-Naggar, Saleh Fahmi and Caroline Khalil. The cast of the film Caesarion: The Last Pharaoh , the first Egyptian film in 3D, gave a press conference in anticipation of its release this week. Directed by Ehab Lamie and written by Amr Fahmi, the film is sponsored by the Ministry of Tourism, in cooperation with the Ministry of Antiquities and Heritage represented by the Tourism Activation Authority. Produced by Hani William and Islam Sabri, it features Lebanese actress and singer Razan Maghrabi as well as Egyptian actors Randa Al-Beheiri, Rehab Al-Gammal, Madlein Tabar, Haidi Selim, Ola Rami and Rami Wahid. The Ideal Miss Arab World 2015 contest, part of the 8th Arab Tourism Festival headed by Hanan Nasr, closed with a huge ceremony at the Conference Hall in Nasr City. Miss Arab 2015 is the Moroccan Salma Kazmout. Miss Arab 2013, the Egyptian Mariam Morgan, handed the crown to the new Miss Arab, while the Tunisian Yasmine Dakoumi was announced the first runner-up and the Egyptian Mariam George the second runner-up. The evening also featured Lebanese singer Maya Nassri and Egyptian singer Essam Karika among a huge audience.
