Turkish delight For six days running, the spectacular Turkish dance show "Fires of Anatolia", featuring 100 dancers, was back at the Cairo Opera House Main Hall. Bassam El-Zoghby captured this exceptionally beautiful picture of the performance. "A Language as a Friend: Our Italian and that of Others" is the theme of the 10th Edition of the Italian Language Week Worldwide, a well-established initiative set up for the promotion of the Italian language abroad. The event is run under the auspices of President of the Italian Republic Giorgio Napolitano. Running from 15 to 25 October, this edition focuses on the Italian language and its cultural context as perceived by people from other parts of the world, including those who choose to write in Italian though they are not themselves Italian, migrant writers and writers born in Italy to immigrant parents. The 2010 edition highlights the involvement of younger generations and their perception of how language changes and develops. Young people are invited to explore the language used in songs and film. As part of the event, the Italian Embassy and the Italian Cultural Institute in Egypt are presenting a varied programme featuring theatre to music shows, film screenings and literary events. ( see Listings p.6 ) Venezuelan Ambassador to Egypt Victor Carazo hosted a lavish dinner banquet to bid farewell to the Spanish Ambassador to Egypt Antonio Lopez Martinez, who has just ended his term in Cairo. During the event, Carazo gave a lovely Egyptian souvenir to the spouse of the Spanish ambassador Nicole Devaux. The dinner was attended by a number of Latin American diplomats such as Uruguayan Ambassador Inés Ubici de Busso and her Brazilian counterpart Cesàrio Melantonio. photos: Nasr Attia Al-Azhar University celebrated the graduation of the class of 2009-2010 of Singapore graduates in a prestigious ceremony held at Al-Fustat Conference Hall of the campus Conference Centre. The Ambassador of Singapore to Egypt Tan Hung Seng delivered a speech during the ceremony, congratulating the graduates and wishing them the best of luck in their lives. The graduation ceremony was attended by a good number of high-profile figures such as Grand Sheikh of Al-Azhar Ahmed El-Tayeb, President of Al-Azhar University Abdallah El-Husseini, Dean of the Faculty of Al-Sharia and Islamic Studies Afaf El-Naggar, President of Majlis Ugama Islam in Singapore Hj Mohd Alami Musa and the Ambassador of Thailand to Egypt Noppadon Theppitak. photos: Abdel-Hamid Eid Al-Gezira Rotary Club held a seminar on the renowned Ramadan TV series Ayza Atgawez (I Want to Get Married). This interesting event was attended by series cast members including Tunisian actress Hind Sabri, budding actor Tarek El-Ebiari and director Rami Imam. Argentinean Ambassador to Egypt Luis Enrique Cappagli inaugurated the group exhibition "Photographs from Argentina" at El Sawy Culturewheel. The ceremony was attended by El Sawy Director Mohamed El-Sawy as well as a number of ambassadors, among them Brazil's Cesàrio Melantonio, Cuba's Otto Vaillant, Mexico's Mar�a Onate Muñoz and Colombia's Mario Iguaràn. Award-winning independent Egyptian filmmaker Ibrahim El-Batout is participating in the second Doha Tribeca Film Festival with his latest film Hawi (Sorcerer). The event will take place from 26 to 30 October. Hawi depicts modern life in Alexandria in a unique cinematic drama. Egypt's sole participation in the festival is scripted and directed by El-Batout, who has previously directed the award-winning film Ain Shams (An Eye on Egypt) in 2008. Under the auspices of Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, the Breast Cancer Foundation of Egypt headed by Dr Mohamed Shaalan, in affiliation with the Suzanne Mubarak Women International Peace Movement (SMWIPM) and American Suzan G Komen for Cure, are organising the second Egyptian Race for Cure, set to take place on 23 October. The event comprises various performances including a show by marimba player Nesma Abdel-Aziz, Al-Masreyeen band led by Hani Shenouda and City Band. Powerful singer Riham Abdel-Hakim will sing a song especially composed for breast cancer patients, with lyrics by poet Nour Abdallah. Actress Yossra, among other celebrities, will attend the event. Ana Wa Qady Al Tahqiq... Ma Kan Fi Sanawat Al Samt (The Interrogator and I: Years of Silence) is the title of a new book by Ibrahim Nafei, former chairman of the board and editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram. Nafei narrates his long personal history with the institution, including details on the crisis years during which he was accused of corruption and mismanagement, accusations on which he was silent until acquitted. The book reveals numerous secrets, sheds light on media politics and the connection between the institution and government. At Alef prestigious bookstore in Heliopolis, the book signing of veteran writer and journalist Nawal Mustafa 's new novel, Al-Zaman Al-Akheer (The Last Era) took place in the presence of a number of Egypt's literary figures. Novelist Youssef El-Qaid, poet Ahmed El-Shahawi, journalist and writer Ahmed El-Khamisi, journalist Fatma Naaout, cartoonist Amr Fahmi -- who is also Nawal 's husband -- as well as scriptwriter Atef Beshai were among the distinguished guests. More news on El Sawy Culturewheel! The Women and Society Association organised a ceremony there titled " Hakawina" (Our Tales), which denounced domestic and school violence against children. Among the attendees were veteran actress Samira Abdel-Aziz, General Manager of the Association Seham Negm, General Manager of the Department of Education in Giza Nadia Abdel-Moneim and children's story writer Shawqi Hegab. The ceremony concluded with the El Sawy Culturewheel Director Mohamed El-Sawy reception of the association's shield of recognition. Last Friday the Badrakhan Library launched its children's art season in the garden. A recycling workshop was organised by Swedish puppet player Jacob Lindforse and director of the library's artistic activities Hani Taher. Children created amazing artworks out of yoghurt cups, juice bottles and other materials such as paper, plastic, cloth and carton. Lindforse told Nesmahar Sayed the reason behind this workshop was to help kids create figures and products out of disposable materials they use in their everyday life, and thus broaden their fertile imagination. The German University in Cairo (GUC) organised a breathtaking graduation ceremony for the class of 2010 at the university campus in New Cairo. The ceremony began with a speech by German Ambassador to Egypt Michael Bock followed by another by GUC founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Ashraf Mansour, who congratulated the graduates and welcomed the guests. The ceremony was attended by Governor of Cairo Abdel-Azim Wazir and his wife, who celebrated their daughter's graduation, as well as Minister of Irrigation Nasreddin Allam, Minister of Energy and Electricity Hassan Younis and Governor of Fayoum Galal Said.
