photo: Abdel-Hamid Eid My darlings, I'm swamped with the busy schedule for the holy month of Ramadan. There are, my lovelies, so many events and I can't bring myself to miss any. My dear friend, the very cultured Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni, along with head of the Cultural Development Fund (CDF) Ayman Abdel-Moneim, inaugurated last Sunday the first night of the Cultural Evenings of Ramadan organised by the CDF at Al-Ghouri Caravansary, in the historic Al-Azhar district. The programme of the party was full of pleasant surprises, flautist Inas Abdel-Dayem filled the room with her lovely tunes. The Cairo Conservatoire Wind Orchestra played some excerpts of Omar Khayrat and Amar El-Shereai compositions. At the end of the night, esteemed poet Abdel-Rahman El-Abnoudi met his audience in Beit Al-Sehemi to resume the Hilaliya saga with Sayyed El-Daoui on rababa. The Mawred Cultural Centre (Cultural Resource)'s newest programme called Hayy (Alive) is held at Al-Geneina Theatre in Al-Azhar Park starting from 13-27 October. The programme includes such arts as: Colloquial poetry, Sufi chanting, folk music and story-telling. It also offers our little ones a circus and puppet shows. Among the poets who will take part in the programme Sayed Hegab, one of Egypt's most well known poets, as well as Bahaa Jahin, Amin Haddad and Gamal Bekheit. The programme presents an all-star group of Sufi chanters such as the legendary Sheikh Yassin El-Tohami, Sheikh Ahmed El-Touni and Sheikh Amin El-Dishnawi. The folk music programme includes the Nile Troupe for Folk Music, El-Tanboura group from Port-Said and Nubian singer Karam Murad. The French Cultural Centre (CFCC) decided to celebrate Ramadan at a big oriental tent in its back yard. It provides a very busy cultural programme starting from 17-23 October and carrying more than a breathtaking surprise. Cairo band for Sufi chants is going to open the programme, there will also be the Young Nubian troupe spreading delight all over the place. As for the bands, the variety is overwhelming starting from Nagham Masri, Awtar and Al-Door Al-Awal bands, marimba master percussionist Nesma Abdel-Aziz and last but not least legendary pianist Omar Khayrat. The greatest surprise, my dears, is that you can enjoy all these concerts for free. The Cairo Opera House will feature 76 different concerts presenting the folk and traditional art and handicrafts of several Arab, European and African countries. To all Mohamed Munir fans he will be featuring his usual Ramadan concert. Among other items, the programme will also include concerts for esteemed composer Omar Khayrat, violinist Marwa Sami, oriental music by Yehia Ghannam and Fathi Salama. The General Organisation of Cultural Palaces (GOCP) is also in full swing during Ramadan. Head of the Cultural Palaces Ahmed Nawwar made a great effort to make Layaly Al-Mahrousa (Cairo Nights) as enchanting as possible. The main celebration is taking place in the historic Al-Sayeda Zeinab district from 12-27 October. Other celebrations will take place in Bride of the Nile Park, Mansoura, from 11-26 October, Fardoos Garden (Paradise Garden), Assiut from 10- 24 October. And, that my lovelies is not all. There will also be art shows in 17 public gardens and lots, three central parks in Cairo and intensive programmes in 17 different cultural locations in Egypt's governorates. Nawwar approved on the list of prominent figures who will feature the evenings of Naguib Mahfouz Café, who will tackle the most crucial religious, cultural, political and sports issues including the Grand Mufti Ali Gomaa, veteran author Anis Mansour, vernacular poet Abdel-Rahman El-Abnoudi, actor Nour El-Sherif and singer Ali El-Haggar. Happy Ramadan my sweets. Congratulations! our dear colleague Assistant Advertising Manager at Al-Ahram Weekly Waleed Sayed wed the delectable Hanan Aboud during a beautiful wedding party in the Air Forces House. Among the attendees were General Manager of Al-Ahram Printing Department Mohamed Taymour Abdel-Hassib,General Manager of Al-Ahram Distribution Department Ibrahim Nasr, Kamal Fathi, Abdu Omar, Iman Hassan, Mohamed Said and Karim Wagdi Riyad from the Advertisement Department. Waleed 's father Sayed Abdel-Rahman, head of Al-Ahram Public Relations Department welcomed the Weekly 's staff including Managing Editor Galal Nassar, Khaled El-Ghamri, Nesmahar Sayed, Dena Rashed, Yasmine Fathi, Mohamed El-Sayed, Reem Nafie and Ahmed Kamal. The lovely couple spent their honeymoon in Sharm El-Sheikh. The dashing preacher Amr Khaled is happy these days with the success of his programme Ala Khota Al-Habib (In the Footsteps of the Prophet) which is his surprise to the audience during the holy month of Ramadan. The programme is aired daily on Iqraa (Read) satellite television channel from Saudi Arabia with the Holy Meccan Shrine as the background. Khaled tackles the biography of Prophet Mohamed from a totally new perspective in which he visits the actual locations in which the incidents relating to the prophet took place. Ramadan, my lovelies, is the month of caring and sharing. Public relations manager at the Cairo Sheraton Hotel, Giza, Magda Sami organised a Ramadan Iftar for 200 orphans from different private orphanages. Among those who attended the Iftar were the seductive Lebanese singer Nancy Agram ; and president of the InnerWheel Clubs Samia Abul-Fotouh. The party was held under the auspices of Orbit Channel, MobiNil Communication Company, and Akhbar Al-Nogoum art magazine. photo: Ayman Barayez A couple of days ago, my dear friend diplomat Karim Mukhtar tied the knot. He wed the beautiful pharmacist Sara. The delightful party took place at The Infantry Wedding House. Among the attendees were Field Marshal and Minister of Defence Mohamed Hussein Tantawi and his charming wife; Minister of Aviation Ahmed Shafiq ; head of the Luxor Council Samir Farag and his wife; and our very own Managing Editor Galal Nassar and his gorgeous wife Maye. The boisterous party featured singer Khaled Selim. The Azeri-born British singer Sami Yusuf, celebrated for his angelic voice, visited Cairo recently to shoot a number of brand new video-clips. Yusuf found that Fatimid Cairo with its ancient and historic places is the perfect location for the themes of his songs. For his new album, Yusuf wrote and composed 19 different songs which are a melange of Arabic and English. The main theme of the songs revolves around the love of Allah (God) and Prophet Mohamed, as well as songs addressing the mother. Yusuf gained his popularity among the Egyptian audiences for his song Al-Moalem (The Teacher). Under the auspices of Al-Nour Charity Foundation, Motherhood and Childhood Association and the Environmental Quality International (EQI) Charity Foundation, a seminar was held discussing ways of protecting the children's sight. Among the speakers were the medical director of Al-Nour Charity Foundation and optician Gamal Ezz El-Arab. God bless the people who care in this month of love and benevolence.
