The last beat To attract customers, one of Egypt's most prestigious patisseries during Ramadan decorated its premises with this huge puppet of the famous mesaharati beating on his drum to wake up the asleep to have Sohour. Before the puppet disappears in the coming days in preparation for Eid, Nader Habib captured this photo. photos: Ayman Barayez Al-Shorouq Publishing House, presided by Ibrahim El-Muallim, held its lavish annual Iftar at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. The evening was crowned by the presence of a bevy of luminaries and literati including veteran political analyst Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, Al-Ahram writer Salama Ahmed Salama, novelist Bahaa Taher, actress and cinema producer Esaad Younis, German Ambassador Bernd Erbel and Chief Editor of Al-Ahram's quarterly journal Al-Demoqratiya Hala Mustafa to mention but a few. German Ambassador to Egypt Bernd Erbel hosted a reception at his residence in honour of Director of the German Foreign Ministry's Culture and Communication Department Martin Kobler. In Cairo for talks with senior Egyptian officials to enhance bilateral cultural ties, Kobler served as Germany's ambassador to Egypt from September 2003 till June 2006. The reception was attended by a number of cabinet ministers, senior government officials such as Higher Education Minister Hani Hilal, as well as Egyptian, foreign and Arab diplomats. Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul-Gheit signed an agreement with Secretary-General of COMESA Sindiso Ngwena to establish the headquarters of the Regional Investment Agency (RIA) for COMESA. The signing of the agreement was attended by Ambassador Mona Omar, assistant to the foreign minister for African affairs; Ambassador Sabri Magdi, head of the African Associations Department at the Foreign Ministry; and RIA General Manager Heba Salama. This week, the Lebanese Embassy in Cairo honoured a number of Egyptian leading figures in the fields of culture and science. Leading among them were Culture Minister Farouk Hosni, honoured for his relentless efforts to reinforce cultural cooperation between Egypt and Lebanon, and author Tharwat Okasha for his translation of Jibran Khalil Jibran's The Prophet into Arabic. Also honoured were Secretary-General of the National Centre for Translation Gaber Asfour, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Culture Ali Abu Shadi and Chairman of the Board of Delta University for Sciences Mohamed Rabie Nasser. The Cairo Sheraton Hotel had the lion's share of Sohours this Ramadan hosting hit TV drama casts. Among those attending a Sohour at the hotel was the cast of Baad Al-Foraq (After Parting), which stars actor Khaled Saleh and Tunisian actress Hend Sabri, and is directed by Sherine Adel and written by Mohamed Ashraf. Meanwhile the cast of Ramadan TV series Nassim Al-Rouh (Breeze of the Soul), starring actor Mustafa Shaaban, actress Nelly Karim, retired belly dancer Hayatem, veteran actor Ahmed Rateb and actress Sheri, had their Sohour there as well. Iraqi singer A'ed Al-Monsheid along with Iraqi poetess Reem performed at the Iraqi night organised at the Cairo Opera House. Among the audience members were Iraqi Ambassador to Egypt Saad Mohamed and his spouse, as well as Iraqi oud master Nasseer Shamma. photos: Abdel-Hamid Eid As with every Ramadan in the last decade, singers are daily busy performing to audiences at various entertainment places. At Kenza Ramadan tent in Sixth of October City, Lebanese diva Elissa performed in a thrilling concert attended by a galaxy of celebrities, media figures and large audience. At the Solidaire Ramadan tent, rising pop singer Mohamed Hamaqi livened up his audience singing a collection of his highly sought-after songs in a very special Ramadan evening. Hamaqi 's audience surprised him with a cake to celebrate his birthday. Among the attendees were Ahly club goalkeeper Amir Abdel-Hamid. Dubai Media Foundation held an opulent Sohour at the Four Seasons Nile Plaza Hotel. On the sidelines of the Sohour, a number of Ramadan soap opera stars were honoured including gorgeous actress Yossra for her role in Fi Aidi Amina (In Safe Hands) and Poussy in Romanet Al-Mizan. Emirati Ambassador to Egypt Ahmed Al-Zoabi and a galaxy of celebrities were all present. President of the International Union of Muslim- Christian-Jewish Dialogue and Peace Education Ali El-Samman and his spouse Brigitte held a Sohour in honour of Mary Eisenhower, granddaughter of former US president Dwight Eisenhower and president of the People to People International Organisation. Attending the Sohour were tourism expert Amr Badr, businessman Mansour El-Gammal and head of the board of trustees of the UN Human Rights Technical Cooperation programmes Laila Takla. The German University in Cairo (GUC) held a Sohour at the elegant Saraya Hall of the InterContinental CityStars, Nasr City. The Sohour was attended by GUC founder and Chairman of the Board of Trustees Ashraf Mansour, and GUC President Mahmoud Abdel-Kader. A large number of Egyptian media figures were present such as Al-Akhbar newspaper's Chairman of the Board Mohamed Ahdi Fadli, head of the News Section at Egyptian TV Abdel-Latif El-Manawi, his lovely wife TV anchor Rola Kharsa, as well as Rose El-Youssef's Chairman of the Board Karam Gabr, Al-Ahram Weekly Editor-in-Chief Assem El-Kersh, President of Helwan University Abdallah Barakat as well as senior radio anchor Amani Salem. Launching this Ramadan's Sufi Jazz Tour 2008, Egypt's Eftekasat jazz band presented Jordanian singer-songwriter Ruba Saqr in a Sufi/jazz mix concert at Al-Sawy Cultural Wheel last Thursday. The tour will continue to Beit Al-Harrawi on 25 September and shall conclude in Alexandria's Jesuits Culture Centre on 26 September. Eftekasat 's musicians and Saqr are fusing several musical visions into one performance adding a jazzy and modern feel to the ancient Sufi tradition that has thrived over several hundred years in North Africa, Greater Syria, and further east in Central Asia and India. The band has recently concluded a European and US tour, participating in California's San Jose Jazz Festival and the Bansko Jazz Festival in Europe. Saqr 's latest activities in Amman included her appearance a few weeks ago as guest artist with world-renowned guitarist and jazz musician Jan Akkerman from Holland.
