Who is the most beautiful of them all? Last Tuesday the votes came in favour of Miriam George who was crowned Pantene Miss Egypt 2005. It was a night fraught with excitement and suspense as 22 contestants competed for the title. Aired live on the Melody music channel, for the first time in the history of the pageant viewers from Egypt and Arab countries had a chance to vote for the contestant of their choice via SMS. These votes and the verdict of the 11 foreign and Egyptian judges gave George the title in spite of what some might have described as rather simplistic answers to some of the judges questions. The contestants paraded in lovely evening gowns by Lebanese designer Nicholas Gobran, who was among the judges. Lebanese singer Iwan entertained the crowd with his songs, and young Egyptian singers Mahmoud El-Esseili and Boshra sang their famous duet, Tabat wi Nabat. As was inevitable the night ended in tears for some girls but Ilham Wagdi, who many people thought would win because of her distinctive Egyptian looks and presence, was a good sport about being voted first runner up. George will represent Egypt at the Miss Universe Beauty Pageant to be held next month in Thailand. She also won an apartment, a mini-cooper car and several other prizes. While the fate of Miss Egypt 2005 was being sealed, a reception was being held in the coastal city of Alexandria on the occasion of the inauguration of the Anna Lindh Euro- Mediterranean Foundation for the Dialogue between Cultures. Hosted by Octavie Modert, secretary of state for higher education and culture and Ambassador Jean Faltz, president of the board of governors and attended by Chairman of the Board of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina Ismail Seraggeddin among other luminaries of Alexandrian society, the event was held at the Palestine Hotel. Last Monday, AUC Press in collaboration with the Townhouse Gallery held a Book and Author reception at the Sequoia Terrace in Zamalek. The event celebrated the release of several new literary publications by renowned writers from around the Arab world such as Birds of Amber by Ibrahim Abdel- Meguid, Nights of Musk by Haggag Oddul, The Woman of the Flask by Selim Matar and The Theocrat by Bensalem Himmich. The event included an exhibition of Cover Art featuring several original paintings that have been used as book covers for several of AUC press publications. Authors that attended the event included Oddul, Abdel-Meguid, Bahaa Taher and Hala El-Badri, along with AUC press director Mark Linz and promotion manager Nabila Aql. Earlier in the day, Governor of Cairo Abdel-Azim Wazir along with Mona Zulfikar, head of the Cairo Branch of the Tahsin Al- Siha Society inaugurated the society's annual charity bazaar held this year at the Ramses Hilton. Among the embassies that put together tables and participated in the event were Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Italy and India. Companies were also keen to do their bit of good work and among the banners I saw were those of Juhayna and Al-Ahram Beverages. We were very pleased to hear that all 5,000 tickets for the event were sold out. Another charity event held this week was that organised by the head of the Egypt Lovers Society Tahani El-Bourteqaly who organised an Egyptian- Kuwaiti charity fashion show featuring Kuwaiti designer Mona El-Salhi. The entire cachet of the 60 gowns was dedicated to charity projects and the care of orphans. The show was graced with the attendance of society women such as actress Laila Taher, Awatef Ghazi and wife of Libya ambassador to Cairo Soheila Al-Drouki. Congratulations are in order to General Hassan Hemeida, Minya governor who was decorated by the Italian government and bestowed with the "Grande Ufficiale" order of merit. The Italian Egyptian Friendship Association organised a celebration of the event at the Egyptian Businessmen Club where the Italian Ambassador in Egypt Antonio Badini granted Hemeida this highest of Italian awards on behalf of the Italian President Carlo Ciampi. The award recognises Hemeida 's efforts towards reinforcing commercial, cultural and social cooperation among both countries. Badini then headed to Luxor where he inaugurated the new office of the Vice Honorary Consulate of Italy in Luxor. The event was celebrated at the Sheraton Luxor gardens with an event attended by Qena governor Adel Labib, Aswan Governor Samir Youssef and his New Valley counterpart Abu Bakr El-Rashidi, along with Head of Luxor Supreme Council Samir Farag. The ceremony was followed by a reception hosted by the Vice Honorary Consul in Luxor Ladislav Skakal.
