Made in China Sherif Sonbol captured a scene from Giacomo Puccini's Chinese opera Turandont, performed recently at the Cairo Opera House's Main Hall. photos: Ayman Barayez Greek Ambassador to Egypt Yannis Alexis Zepos held an honorary reception to bid farewell to Greek Cultural Attaché Yannis Melachrinoudis. The party was attended by head of the Arab Writers Union Mohamed Salmawy, actor Hussein Fahmi and his wife actress Liqaa Swedan, as well as actresses Laila Elwi and Simone, amid a galaxy of Cairo- based diplomats. The Lebanese-Egyptian Friendship Association, presided over by Negad Shaarawi, held a reception party in honour of Lebanese Prime Minister Fouad Al-Siniora on the occasion of his visit to Cairo. The event was attended by Lebanese Ambassador to Egypt Khaled Ziyada and Al-Ahram back-page editor Mona Ragab, among others. Italy's prestigious annual Grinzane Cavour Award, which has honoured 20 world-renowned intellectuals, writers and philosophers for their works, will now for the first time ever be awarded to an Arab, namely intellectual and leading literary figure Tareq Heggy. Besides writing 17 books in Arabic, Heggy 's repertoire includes five books in English which dealt with intellectual, cultural and educational maladies prevailing in most of the Arab cultural landscapes. The ceremony will be held at Naples, south Italy on 8 November. It is scheduled to be attended by Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, a host of ministers of culture from other European countries as well as a constellation of Nobel laureates including Jose Saramago, Nadine Gordimer and Gènter Grass. All three of these figures had won the Grinzane Cavour Prize before winning the Nobel in literature. In a big celebration, German Ambassador to Egypt Bernd Erbel expressed his pleasure to honour the founder, god father and head of the Board of Trustees of the German University in Cairo (GUC) Ashraf Mansour. He added that Mansour is becoming a cultural and educational icon who is supporting the development of higher education in Egypt. Actress Mirna Walid and pilot Wael Amin El-Degwi tied the knot at a beautiful ceremony held in the presence of a galaxy of celebrities. Popular singers Medhat Saleh, Mustafa Qamar and Tamer Hosni livened up the wedding with their popular melodies. Nile City cinema hosted a private screening for the new blockbuster Al-Balad Dih Fiha Hokoma (The Government is in Charge). The film stars actor Tamer Hagras, talented actress Nermeen Maher and actor Ezzat Abu Ouf. The script was written by Tareq Hamam while the production was directed by Abdel-Aziz Hashad. photos: Abdel-Hamid Eid At the Cairo International Conference Centre, the German University in Cairo (GUC) held a thrilling celebration to mark the graduation of 625 students. Among the graduates were Bassant, daughter of Al-Ahram Chairman of the Board Mursi Atallah, Ola, daughter of Cairo Governor Abdel-Azim Wazir, and the daughter of Editor-in-Chief of Shashati magazine Mona Nashaat. On the sidelines of the event, a galaxy of high-profile figures were honoured, including Minister of State for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Moufid Shehab. Among the attendees were German Ambassador to Egypt Bernd Erbel and Minister of Higher Education and of State for Scientific Research Hani Hilal. At the Garden City Nile Hilton Hotel, the Asian Diplomatic Wives Association (ADWA) under the auspices of Yasmine Fakher, spouse of Indonesian ambassador to Egypt, held the Asian Food and Crafts Bazaar last Saturday in aid of Egyptian charities to support Egypt's underprivileged. The bazaar featured numerous attractive auctions, while raffle prizes included air tickets, cruise trips, five-star hotel overnight stays, tickets for dinner, digital cameras, TV sets, and other electric devices. The Women's Research and Studies Centre at the Faculty of Mass Communication, Cairo University, under the auspices of faculty dean Laila Abdel-Meguid, held an honorary ceremony for recipients of the Press Syndicate awards. Al-Ahram journalist Marwa Tawfiq was awarded for her unique reportage on the daughter of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba. Among the attendees were deputy dean of the faculty Nagwa Kamel and Chairman of the Press Syndicate Makram Mohamed Ahmed, who was in charge of distributing the shields of recognition. An Armenian Folk Dance Festival was held at the AUC's Ewart Memorial Hall. Sartarabad dance troupe, which represents the Armenian community in Egypt, performed at the event. It was organised by the Houssaper Armenian Cultural Association under the auspices of Bishop Ashot Mnatsakanian, Prelate Diocese of the Armenian Orthodox Church in Egypt. The show featured 15 dances performed by 60 dancers, aged from four to 24 years. Among the most enjoyable dances were Memories, Qele Qele modern dance, Datevig, Tribute to Armenia and Hanina, although the evening's masterpiece was The White Dove. The show was a great success, due to a large extent no doubt to the diligence of Caroline Mazloumian, artistic director of Sartarabad dance troupe.
