On 25 September, my colleague Reham El-Adawi and I attended a dazzling fashion show of the latest creations of the world famous Italian haute couture designers GMP Arte Moda and Atelier Spose Lena. The event took place at the residence of the Italian Ambassador to Egypt Antonio Badini and his wife Dunia. A spectacular show of the latest collections of evening gowns, bridal wear and accessories by Italian jewellery designers were presented by ravishing Italian and Egyptian models. A galaxy of luminary figures including actress Lebleba ; actor Mustafa Fahmi ; our very own columnist Lubna Abdel-Aziz ; head of Lions Club, Garden City Awatef Serageddin ; President of the American Chamber of Egypt Taher Helmi and his wife as well as the designers themselves were present. The next day, the show was repeated at the Nile Hilton in Alf Leila Ballroom. Celebrating the 57th anniversary of the founding of Saudi Arabia, Emir Ahmed El-Sederi, the kingdom's charge d'affaires in Cairo, held a reception party at the Semiramis Hotel. Among the dignitaries present were the head of the Peoples' Assembly Fathi Sorour ; Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research Amr Salama ; and several Arab and European ambassadors accredited to Egypt. Rejoice my friends and opera frequenters, the Cultural Opera Salon is back. Every Wednesday, it will present a religious seminar during the holy month of Ramadan. Amongst the guest speakers will be the Mufti Ali Gomaa ; Minister of Religious Endowments Hamdi Zaqzouq ; Chairman of the Imams and Mosques Council in London Zaki Badawi. Armenia's 14th independence anniversary was celebrated in the lovely garden of the residence of the Armenian Ambassador Rouben Garabedian. Among guests was the Russian Ambassador to Egypt Mikhail Bogdanov. My colleague Amira El-Nakeeb visited the Town House gallery to inspect the international design exhibition curiously called "Somewhat Different" and organised by the Goethe Institute, Cairo, and the Institute Foreign Affairs (IFA), Stuttgart, Germany. I marvelled at the display of unconventional design objects by 47 German designers. The works of 20 other designers from other European countries and Egypt were also on display. A sitting bench designed by Andreas Bergmann caught my attention. A competition called "outside the box" sponsored by the Millennium Arts Centre (MAC) based in Washington, and directed by William Wooby was quite intriguing. The competition aims at motivating creative Egyptians to design boxes that are both original and practical. The 12 winning boxes were on display at the exhibition running through 12 October. Last week, I dashed to see the Ninth Ismailia International Film Festival for Documentary and Short Films, where I attended a screening of The Holy Family in Egypt. Directed by Marlin Darrah, the documentary is narrated by Paul Perry, author of Jesus in Egypt on which the film is based, and traces his search via sites, texts and oral narratives, for the route that the Holy Family took in their flight into Egypt (see www.jesusinegypt.com ). Co- produced by Munir Ghabbour, who was present at the screening, the film was an eye-opener: villages I had never heard about, like Ashnin El-Nasara and cherished relics of the Coptic Church, such as a stone thought to bear the imprint of Jesus's foot as a child.
