Although the Egyptian market has witnessed in the past few years the spread of Chinese Ramadan lanterns that depict popular Egyptian stars, the majority of Egyptians still look for classical, traditional Ramadan lanterns made of coloured glass and brass and lit with a candle, as in this photo by Bassam El-Zoghby. A couple of days ago, Cairo Opera House Director Abdel-Moneim Kamel inaugurated the fifth Alexandria Arab Music Festival at Sayed Darwish Theatre (the Alexandria Opera House). The opening ceremony featured an address delivered by the festival's president Ratiba El-Hefni followed by Al-Dandorma (Ice Cream), an operetta aimed at reviving musical heritage. It was performed by singers Ahmed Ibrahim and Howeida Salah, along with the Cairo Opera Ballet Company, choreographed by Essam Ezzat and accompanied by the Abdel-Halim Noweira Arab Music Ensemble, conducted by Salah Ghoubashi. The second part of the concert featured pop singer Medhat Saleh who mesmerised fans with 12 songs, in the company of gifted pianist Amr Selim. Deputy in the Ministry of External Affairs of India Vijaya Latha Reddy paid a four-day visit to Egypt where she met with a plethora of state officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Arab League. Reddy had wide-ranging discussions on bilateral relations and the best means of strengthening cooperation in various fields. Indian Ambassador to Egypt R Swaminathan accompanied Reddy in her official visit that included visits to the Egyptian Museum and the Giza Pyramids as well as the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. A press conference was held on the occasion of starting the shoot of the new film Fasel wa Nowasel (We'll Resume Later), casting talented actor Karim Abdel-Aziz, actress Dina Fouad, veteran actor Ahmed Rateb, comedian Mohamed Lotfi and child actor Selim. The film is scripted by Ahmed Fahmi, produced by Hisham Abdel-Khaleq and directed by Ahmed Nader Galal and is the fifth collaboration between Galal and Abdel-Aziz. The press conference gathered the cast of the film in a discussion on the main ideas of the film and marking the shooting of its first scenes. The Cairo Opera House Main Hall witnessed an extraordinary event by students of October University for Modern Sciences and Arts (MSA) who presented a Shakespearean music masterpiece Midsummer Night's Dream under the auspices of Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni. The MSA students' performance surpassed many international professional shows; consequently they were asked to perform again at various Canadian and Italian theatres. Revenues of the play will be earmarked for slum development projects. Chairman of the Board of Trustees Nawal El-Degwi honoured the entire cast of the play. A coterie of ministers, education figures and celebrities were among the attendees, including Minister of Higher Education and of State for Scientific Research Hani Hilal, Minister of State for Legal and Parliamentary Affairs Moufid Shehab, Minister of Social Solidarity Ali Meselhi, Minister of Administrative Development Ahmed Darwish and Minister of State for International Cooperation Faiza Abul-Naga. Swedish Ambassador to Egypt Malin Körre, veteran actor Mahmoud Yassin, actresses Ragaa El-Geddawi and Athar El-Hakim and veteran journalists Samir Ragab and Mustafa Bakr were present. Superstar Amr Diab featured in a stunning concert at Porto Golf Marina in the North Coast. Fans gathered in their thousands to cheer to Diab who introduced a set from his upcoming album. A Sudanese delegation headed by Counsellor to the Sudanese President Mustafa Othman attended the theatrical performance Lesa fi Amal (There's Still Hope), starring actress Ghada Ibrahim and singer-cum-actor Sameh Youssri, scripted by Hamdi Nawar and directed by Essam Saad. The Sudanese delegation expressed their admiration of the play and applauded the cast. The invitation came from head of the Egyptian Association of Developing Human Resources Beshri Shalsh and aimed at reinforcing Egyptian-Sudanese cultural relations. A legendary concert by popular singer Tamer Hosni was held at Tittawin City overlooking the Mediterranean in Morocco where half a million of his fans were present. Hosni 's audience enjoyed an exceptional summer night on the melodies of his new and old hits. Within the framework of the Reading for All campaign, singer Ihab Tawfik featured in a concert at Ras Al-Barr. The concert was part of the Cairo Opera House celebrating the launch of the new Suzanne Mubarak Library in Damietta. Sami Yusuf, the British Muslim singer, songwriter and composer, signed a five-album deal with ETM International. The deal paves the way for his highly anticipated new album. After a two-year stint reflecting, travelling and gathering inspiration, Yusuf is ready to launch his third album, entitled Wherever You Are. Universally loved and admired, Yusuf has not only sold seven million albums, pulled in crowds of over 250,000 in Turkey, but has also received public recognition as amongst 2009's 500 most influential Muslims. Revolutionising the Islamic music industry, Yusuf is today a household name amongst 1.6 billion Muslims worldwide. Hailed by Time magazine as "Islam's biggest rock star" and named by The Guardian as "perhaps the most famous British Muslim", Yusuf 's talent is as strong as his career. In the framework of the cultural support programmes of the Egyptian Foreign Ministry through the Egyptian Fund for cooperation with commonwealth and Islamic-European countries, as well as recently independent countries, the General Organisation for Cultural Palaces (GOCP), headed by Ahmed Megahed, organised a tour for an Armenian training cadre composed of 12 members. They toured cultural venues affiliating to the GOCP, starting with the Giza Culture Palace and followed by Ain Helwan Culture Palace where Al-Fayoum Bedouins Troupe for Folk Instruments presented a thrilling music and dance performance. Eftekasat World Jazz Group will be touring the Balkan countries, Bulgaria and Serbia, August 2010 having been invited to perform in two major Jazz festivals: the Bansko International Jazz Festival and the Nisville Jazz Festival. Eftekasat will promote their new release "Dandasha" accompanied by world famous clarinet player and saxophonist Alex Simu who will share the stage with the band. Eftekasat is considered one of the few Egyptian bands to have reached the international music scene due to their remarkable musicianship and compositions that combine Jazz with oriental music. The band has toured many European and Arab countries, in addition to the United States, and performed at many major events and international festivals.
