CAIRO: In cooperation with the NGO Wafaa El-Nil, the third Annual Characters of Egypt Festival will run from Oct. 29-31 at one of Egypt's most beautiful natural parks, Fustat Wadi El-Gemal. This unique experience is set up with the aim of creating an understanding of Egypt's cultural diversity, while also spreading awareness about eco-tourism in an intercultural dialogue. Taking advantage of the diversity of Egypt's population, the festival will allow for the various tribes that inhabit the country's different corners of the desert to meet in one tent and share their experiences. This year's festival will include 350 representatives from 45 different tribes. This unique event is the chance to learn about the lives of each of these tribes in one location. Through the festival's three-day program, attendees will also enjoy a variety of activities, including concerts, storytelling, poetry, photography competitions, and many different sports and games. There will also be several exhibitions displaying authentic jewelry, traditional costumes and various hand-made artifacts. The main closing event will be the famous camel race, where each tribe will participate with their best two camels to race for a prize. At an Oct. 3 press conference in Cairo, representatives from the Ministry of Tourism, Fustat Wadi El-Gemal, Wafaa El-Nil Society, and different tribes gathered to announce the launch of this year's festival. Walid Ramadan, from Fustat Wadi El-Gemal, gave the opening speech followed by speeches by Mahmoud El-Kaissouni, a consultant to the Minister of Tourism, and Ahmed Farghal, from Wafaa El-Nil and Amr El-Ezzaby, head of the Egyptian Tourism Authority. This year's festival will include 45 tribes from Siwa and Farafra in the western desert as well as tribes from Northern and Southern Sinai. There will also be representatives from Al-Bashariya and Al-Ababda tribes, and inhabitants of the southern and eastern deserts. Discussing the importance of the Ministry of Environment's support towards the development of the great desert and Lake Nasser, El-Ezzaby said, “The Ministry of Environment supports tourism in a symbolic way this year, and the private sector should also contribute to the development of tourism in Egypt.” El-Kaissouni explained the goals of spreading awareness. “Our goal is not to increase the number of tourists, but to increase the style of tourism, which is very fragile, and should be developed by specialized authorities,” he said. The attendees will stay in tribes' housing and will be allowed to visit each tribal area at any time to experience first-hand the hospitality for which the tribes are all well-known.
