CAIRO - The first edition of The International Festival for Drums and Traditional Arts kicked off on friday in the Salahaldin Citadel in Cairo at 8:00pm. Thirty-five troupes from 25 countries will perform at the Citadel during the festival, including troupes from the Maldives, Columbia, Ecuador, Togo, Namibia, Sudan, Germany, France, China, Pakistan and Bangladesh, while Greece is the guest of honour of this year's edition. The African continent is the permanent guest of honour for the festival, which celebrates this year the occasion of the African Unity Organisation's Foundation in 1963, which changed later to the African Federation. The festival is being held under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture in co-operation with the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Planning and International Co-operation. The slogan of this year's festival is “The Drums Dialogue for Peace." The administration of the festival has chosen the eye of Horus as a logo for the festival this year. "The pharoanic legends narrate that the deity Set tore the eye of Horus into pieces and spread it all over Egypt, then Horus recollected all these scattered parts and cured them to be given the name of Wadget (the complete) body," said Intessar Abdel Fattah, the Founder and president of the Festival. "The eye of Horus is the symbol of one of the percussion instruments (the drum), which represents the space wherein all the participants get together. The hands around the drum symbolise the dialogue between the participants," added Abdel Fattah. "In the opening ceremony, all troupes will come together in one performance to highlight the importance of human communication, and to send a message of love for Egypt," Abdel Fattah said. All performances are free admission. A permanent exhibition is organised at the Citadel, where handicraft products will be exposed for members of the festival to purchase. North and South Sinai will have their own booths at the event.
The Performances will be held as follows: - Salahaldin Citadel: from Friday 19 to Friday 25 April from 8 to 10pm. - El Ghoury Dome: from Saturday 20 to Wednesday 24 April from 8 to 10pm. - El Hanager Arts Centre, Open Air Area from Saturday 20 to Wednesday 24 April from 6 to 8pm. - Benha Cultural Palace Theater: from Saturday 20 to Wednesday 24 April from 6:30 to 8:30pm. - Cairo Opera House – Open Air Theater on Monday 22nd & Tuesday 23rd April April from 8 to 10pm. - El Mansoura Cultural Palace Theater on Sunday 21st April from 6.30-8.30pm. - Children's Civilization & Creativity Center- Misr El Gedida from Sunday 21 to Wednesday 24 April from 11am to 12:30pm.
