Tutankhamun center stage at Frankfurt's 'Festival of Egyptian Culture'

By Maha ElNabawi/Special to Daily News Egypt                        November 14, 2011, 2:15 pm

http://thedailynewsegypt.com/art/tutankhamun-center-stage-at-frankfurts-festival-of-egyptian-culture.html

A sensational discovery 89 years ago by archaeologist Howard Carter turned the unknown pharaoh Tutankhamun into an international superstar. For years, Tutankhamun, his treasures and his tomb have been touring the globe with an ambassador-like presence in each city he visits.

Starting on Nov. 19 and running through April 2012 in Frankfurt, Germany, Tutankhamun takes center stage in an inaugural exhibition titled, “A Festival of Egyptian Culture,” organized by Germany’s leading concert promoter, Semmel Concerts.

A replica of Tutankhamun’s tomb chambers, true to scale and detail of the originals, will make the moment of discovery an attainable, three-dimensional experience for visitors. The replica tour began in 2008 and has successfully attracted nearly 2.5 million visitors from all over Europe including, Zurich, Brussels and Seoul.

Exhibited in a 4,000 square meter custom built gallery space, Tutankhamun will serve as the headline act of the festival — and for the first time, a rich, diverse program of contemporary Egyptian literature, music, visual arts and stand-up comedy in Frankfurt will accompany him.

“We see our exhibitions, always a little bit, as an ambassador for Egyptian culture. This exhibition is formed from a very serious scientific foundation and that’s why it is important to organize an interesting and rich program combining lectures with book readings, music and so on,” said Project Manager Christoph Scholz.

“While other Tutankhamun exhibitions may include lectures or book readings, typically they speak about Ancient Egypt, the Pharaonic culture and treasures. We will show this of course, but also for the first time we are showing contemporary Egyptian culture — music, art, book readings, movies, theater performances, comedy.”

Scholz told Daily News Egypt that Egyptian exhibitions are the most successful all over the world in museum rankings. He gave an example of National Geographic’s series, saying their best selling books, magazines and DVDs are about Egypt. Same goes with The History Channel and The Discovery Channel —Egyptian mania never goes out of fashion.

“A Festival of Egyptian Culture” aims to utilize Tutankhamun as an attraction to promote cultural dialogue and understanding between Egypt and Germany. Tutankhamun will act as a springboard for contemporary Egyptian cultural awareness in Germany.

“It’s important now to speak about Egypt, to support its art world, to invite known artists or young artists to Germany to start a cultural dialogue,” Scholz said.

“Tutankhamun [as a subject of the exhibition] is the motor, it is the stage, it is the platform and it is the marketing machine who creates for the Frankfurt audience a general positive atmosphere around the topic of Egypt. I want to use this momentum in order to present young bands, unknown artists and even completely unknown comedians to Germany.”

The festival kicks off on Nov. 15 with the photography exhibition “To Egypt with Love” in the foyer of the main exhibition hall on Mainzer Landstrasse (free of charge).

“To Egypt with Love” received notable accolade upon its highly successful opening this past March in Cairo’s Safar Khan Gallery. The group exhibition features the work of young photographers Alaa Taher, Bassem Samir and Hossam Hassan. The three artists ventured out into the heart of the January 25 uprising, capturing their different perspectives of the transformational uprising.

The exhibition will run through Jan. 22, 2012 and will also feature the 2009 video, “A774 Project: On Presidents & Superheroes,” by renowned visual artist Khaled Hafez. Both works are showing outside of Egypt for the first time.

Safar Khan Gallery will also present an exhibition titled, “Egyptian Art Today,” starting March 7, 2012, exposing contemporary paintings, photography and video art curated for the festival in Frankfurt.

On the first anniversary of the dawn of the Egyptian January 25 revolution, an exhibition titled, “From Facebook to Nassbook,” will open to commemorate the occasion.

“Nass,” the Arabic word for “people,” showcases the work of nine artists and their interpretation of the internet outage on Jan. 28, when people shifted communication from online social media back to word-of-mouth tactics.

The exhibit first opened in the Mica Gallery in London, shown during the “Shubbak Festival of Contemporary Arab Culture” in London earlier this year. It aims to expose how social networks have played a pivotal role in organizing mass protests in Egypt and the Arab Spring.

The festival hosts a number of book readings by both established and young authors. Khaled Al-Khamissi will be reading episodes from his bestseller, “Taxi.” The book offers a keen insight into the mindset of Egyptian politics and society before the revolution.
Additional notable literary highlights include: Mansoura Ez-Eldin discussing her 2010 novel, “Behind Paradise,” on the opening night of the fest.

Ghada Abdel Aal will be reading excerpts from her blog, “Wanna Be a Bride,” which has been published into a hugely successful book and was recently adapted into a TV series.

Revered novelist Gamal Al-Ghitani will discuss his acclaimed book “Pyramid Texts,” an exploration of the relation between Sufi mysticism and medieval Islamic history with ancient Egypt.

Celebrating what would be Naguib Mahfouz’s 100th birthday on Dec. 11, renewed German theater actor Ulrich Pleitgen will be reading from Mahfouz’s “Cairo Modern,” a novel written in 1945 that, nonetheless, speaks directly to the current realities of Egyptian society. The book was recently published in German.

Concluding the literary program of the festival, the Cairo-based bookstore Al Kotob Khan will present emerging authors not yet published in Germany, including, writers such as Yasser Abdul Latif, Mohamed Rabie, Al Taher Shargawy and Mohamed Abdel Nablin.

On Dec. 14, the “Egyptian Film in Frankfurt’s Cinema” will kick off a film series with Marwan Hamed’s adaptation of Alaa Al-Aswany’s best-selling novel, “The Yacoubian Building.”

Running through late February 2012, a gamut of films will be screened, including classics such as Youssef Chahine’s “Alexandria… Why?,” the restored version of Shadi Abdel Salam’s “Al-Momia” (The Mummy), combined with Ahmad Abdalla’s indie smash “Microphone.”

Topping off the festival will be a series of live performances, including theater, stand-up comedy and live music. On Jan. 28, a play by Thomas Rau titled “A Night with Nefertiti” will relay the story of the world-famous bust of the ancient Egyptian queen, currently on display at the Neues Museum in Berlin and what happens when she comes to life afterhours.

On March 8 and 9, also in the exhibition foyer, “Comedy from Kairo” will introduce Frankfurt to Egypt’s contemporary comedic culture in a two-day stand-up comedy performance featuring Rami Boraie, Mo’ Love, High on Body Fat and other comedians.

Coming to Frankfurt’s Gallus Theater on April 4 is Dalia Basiouny’s highly insightful monodrama, “Solitaire.” The one-woman play follows a decade in the life of a character in her thirties named Mona, starting with the Sept. 11 attacks in New York City and ending with Egypt’s Jan. 25 uprising.

Starting March 30 in Frankfurt’s famous music club “Das Bett,” Egyptian top electronic music band “Bikya” will hit the stage with the musical expressions of Mahmoud Waly, Mahmoud Refat and Maurice Louca, combining a unique sound of classic techno, funk, trip-hop and folktronica.

The music program also features “Nass Makan,” bringing together some of the finest traditional musicians in Egypt and Sudan, introducing Frankfurt to the more folkloric, traditional sounds of Egypt.

Rounding up the music series is Alexandria-based rock band “Massar Egbari” with their entertaining mixture of rock, jazz, blues and a few oriental elements. The group was recently named an “artist for intercultural dialogue between Arab and Western worlds” by UNESCO.

Arguably one of the largest and richest programs of its kind, “A Festival of Egyptian Culture” is a welcomed platform for cross-cultural dialogue between Egypt and Germany.

The program not only aims to expand cultural awareness but it also helps to mobilize the exposure of contemporary Egyptian art and literature, furthering the needed development of culture during a time of major socio-political upheaval in Egypt.

“Although Egypt currently has economic problems and political sorrows, when I’ve come to Egypt [post Jan. 25] I feel an open atmosphere almost like Berlin after the fall of the [Berlin] Wall,” Scholz said. “Suddenly galleries came out of the earth like mushrooms everywhere; you had graffiti and new art, comics, books and bands.

“Through this festival, we want to promote Egypt and tourism while expressing that Egypt is still a wonderful country. I hope we can transport this message in our German publicity of the festival.”

www.egypt.travel

Green Prophet’s Whirlwind Trip to the Siwa Oasis in Egypt

Tafline Laylin 

http://www.greenprophet.com/2011/11/greenprophet-siwa-oasis-egypt/

This was the plan: leave at 8pm Friday night from Turgoman station in Cairo. Arrive in Siwa at 5.30am and meet my friend Gwen from France at the Siwa Inn Hotel. Bestow copious hugs and kisses before finding Vivek, a Couchsurfing buddy who traveled from Alexandria. And then, after introducing my friends, relax in this beautiful oasis just 30 miles east of Libya before taking the Sunday overnight bus back to Cairo.

Here’s what really happened: the bus showed up with a broken belt, but I and a handful of other passengers, including a couple from Sicily, climbed on anyway. We were driven to a greasy junkyard, where we were given a bus that I was sure had not seen the light of day in months but that pacified a group of now grumpy Egyptian passengers. Finally, three hours behind schedule, bus #2 with the wheezy engine finally hit the road… and then broke down the following morning one hour shy of our destination!

Tafline’s whirlwind tour became even more of a whirlwind when the bus broke down not once, but twice, en route to the Siwa oasis near Libya!

Siwa is a colorful, sleepy town that lies in a depression roughly 30 feet below sea level. In the summer, fair-skinned people need not come by. But in November, the sun eases off during the day and the evenings are cool enough fo-r a camp fire.

The area is known for its dates, olives, olive oil, and a few other cottage industries. It is also renowned for its green building techniques (more on all of this to come). Because of its remote and tranquil location 350 miles away from the hustle and bustle of an increasingly-tense Cairo, it has become a popular destination. But this isn’t necessarily great for the locals, who are beginning to face serious water shortages. Although there are signs of destructive tourism operations, we received a rare look at the same soporific inner workings that have sustained this community for hundreds of years.

The population currently stands at roughly 23,000, comprised mostly of Berbers. While theyshare the same gentle, hospitable attitude of the Berbers that Karin and I met during our respective stays in Morocco, the Siwi language here is distinctly different.

Gwen and Yehia, a prominent local man whose 19 brothers and sisters (from two mothers, I should add) own a lot of agricultural property in and around Siwa, came to my rescue at the side of the highway at 9am on Saturday morning. Bus #3 showed up two minutes later, but we didn’t care. We left that bus in our dust!

It’s easy to lose track of time wondering among the dusty streets alongside donkeys and tuk tuks, watching young boys and men completing their daily chores, or else sipping sugary chai in the shade.

A short climb up the melted Shali fortress made of mud-brick and salt provides a wonderful sense of perspective. From the top, there are views of two small salt lakes, a valley full of leafy green palms used for pretty much everything, and the necropolis or mountain of the dead rises in a lumpy mound on the outskirts of town.

The planned group of three turned to six: the couple from Sicily joined our party, I called them Juicy and Crunchy, Vivek met Pierre from Quebec on his bus, Gwen spent the day meandering through town with us before leaving on Saturday night, and then there was me.. happy as can be away from the city again.

Stay tuned over the next few days for a peek at a group of woman in Siwa who make carpets under the army’s watchful management, the man who lost an eye to salt crafts, Siwa’s veteran green builder,and the man who makes olive oil that is good enough to drink…

Interview: Reviving Egypt's heritage hotels a smart investment

By Heba Elkayal/Daily  News Egypt                                         November 14, 2011, 5:16 pm

A woman by the name of Metzger won a court case in 2007 that decreed her to be the rightful heir and owner of Alexandria’s famed Cecil Hotel. The hotel was seized from the French-Jewish woman’s family in 1956 and was subsequently owned and operated by the Egyptian government for over 50 years.

Built in 1929, the hotel is an architectural gem on Alexandria’s sea front. Metzger then sold the hotel back to the Egyptian government for the (undervalued) low price of $8 million, essentially gifting Egypt with a landmark property that faced the possibility of being torn down by other buyers.

Private construction groups have been changing the face of cities across Egypt, including Alexandria, with the erection of high-rise buildings on sites where once stood regal palaces and villas.

Keeping a careful eye on the remaining heritage properties is Aly Abdel Aziz, chairman of the Holding Company for Tourism, Hotels and Cinema (HOTAC), which includes its subsidiary Egyptian General Company for Tourism and Hotels (EGOTH).

Abdel Aziz has been responsible for reviving multiple properties across Egypt considered heritage hotels, iconic in both their architecture and history.

“Luck,” says Abdel Aziz, has spared the Mena House Oberoi, the Gezira Royal Palace (now the Cairo Marriott & Omar Khayyam Casino) and the Cosmopolitan Hotel in downtown Cairo. These properties, in addition to the Old Cataract in Aswan, the Winter Palace in Luxor and the Luxor Hotel, have remained in their original form and are now part of EGOTH’s portfolio.

The Shepheard Hotel in Cairo, rebuilt after being burned down in the 1950s, is categorized as a heritage hotel for its historic significance, as are the Palestine Hotel in Alexandria and the soon to be Nile Ritz-Carlton (formerly the Nile Hilton). All are part of the portfolio managed by EGOTH under the brand “Historic Hotels of Egypt.”

Abdel Aziz is a charmingly intense character; with piercing blue eyes and a booming voice, he speaks passionately about managing and overseeing the renovation and restoration of these hotels.

Battered with age and neglect, or else having endured the disastrous decisions of bad management, the hotels are being slowly but surely restored to their former glory. Good aesthetic, taste and wise decision-making are vital when confronting the restorative challenges of these properties.

Working closely with the Supreme Council of Antiquities, Abdel Aziz has relied on the expertise of others when needed to achieve the best results. “When I need them to restore a 200-year-old fountain, I ask for help. What do I know about such matters as chairman of HOTAC? Nothing,” he said.

It’s quite a statement that what is essentially a government-owned company, EGOTH is doing a good job of restoring these properties. “That’s proof to you that when the government wants to do something good they can, but they just need the brains and the courage for someone to say: ‘Go ahead’ or ‘I don’t know’ or ‘I need an expert.’”

The Old Cataract Hotel in Aswan recently reopened after a three-year revamp.

“We had to give attention to this product and to do it right from the beginning. We could have had the restoration happening while operating the hotel, but I didn’t want to do this. My philosophy was to close completely for three years.

“All the pipes had to change, all the electro-mechanics of the building had to change. We couldn’t just paint the walls. I think the job was done in a proper way — by the book — and it was a team effort. Whether I was behind it or not…well one of these days somebody will [decide] that but not necessarily me. I will always say what I did was my duty: to preserve these hotels and bring glory back to these properties,” he said.

A restoration entails a complete overhaul of a building’s structure rather then a superficial or cosmetic facelift that occurs with a renovation. Abdel Aziz has taken both routes for EGOTH’s various properties.

With the Winter Palace in Luxor, slight renovations and refurbishments were made to the rooms for a temporary facelift until the hotel undergoes major restorations to bring it up to the caliber and quality of luxury hotels today.

The Mena House Oberoi has had annexes pulled down or restructured to make it more pleasant for guests; while the downtown Cosmopolitan Hotel will one day undergo restorations to recreate the beauty of this unique boutique hotel.

The decisions to pull down ghastly annexes that were more recently built, such as one in the Winter Palace Luxor, or to completely shut down a hotel’s operations, are made by Abdel Aziz personally. Such decisions carry possible risks that could be incurred in addition to the financial challenge. Great sums of money are needed for such large-scale projects, sums that were until recently self-financed by HOTAC and EGOTH.

A total of LE 470 million was spent on renovating phases one, two and three of the Marriott Hotel, and in four years time, the property saw a 94 percent return on investment (LE 410 million).

Meanwhile, LE 650 million will be spent on restoring and opening the future Nile Ritz-Carlton with a guaranteed return of $21 million made by the Ritz-Carlton company.

Before renovations were made to the Marriott Hotel & Omar Khayyam Casino, the annual returns were LE 130 million per year, increasing to LE 245 million per year after renovations.

“Renovation is important,” said Abdel Aziz. “The returns do come when it’s done right and I have a philosophy: when you do it, do it right or else don’t do it at all.”

Though the Jan. 25 uprising stalled the progress and tourism to Egypt has dropped, Abdel Aziz is not too bothered. “Though we budgeted returns of LE 270 million for one property, we’re now expecting to reach only LE 130 million. [But] we didn’t renovate these hotels for one or three years, we renovated [and restored] these hotels for the long term.

“Tourism will come back to Egypt. The Nile is here as are the Pyramids, the Sphinx and the Valley of the Kings. We are suffering now, but Egypt will remain.”

He adds, “My objective is that we restore all the properties in our portfolio. We now have to face receiving bank loans rather than self-financing our projects. The challenges are there but I think we’ve laid the foundation for the fight that should continue by other passionate individuals.

“If I remain for another year, I wish to accomplish about 30 percent more of the restoration needed. Whoever comes after me should be clever enough to take, not me, but the Old Cataract as an example of what to do in the future.