| Egyptian culture – photos |
Photographs by Caroline ChevatCurrent exhibitions of black and white photographs taken from 1999 to 2009 in Cairo, Alexandria, Luxor, El Minya and other locations of cultural interest in Egypt have been shown in Altnau, Düsseldorf, Konstanz, Lyon, and Zurich. The photos were taken by Caroline Chevat during our extensive research trips to Egypt. They can be purchased in A 1 format, printed on fine linen and carefully framed in wood. Please contact us for further information. Price: € 450 including postage and packaging in Europe.
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Photos: © Caroline Chevat| Egyptian culture – writers |
Abdallah, Jahia Taher (1938-1981)Jahia Taher Abdullah was born in 1938 in Karnak. He studied agriculture and worked for a short period in Karnak at the Ministry of Agriculture. In 1959, he met the poets Amal Donkul and Abdarrachman al Abudi. Two years later he wrote his first short story and, in 1970, a collection of his stories was published. In Cairo, he soon became known for the virtuoso oral performance of his stories. He placed great value on storytelling in order to reach the majority of the Egyptian people who were illiterate. His stories are about the Egyptian people, those still untouched by western influence. In 1981, Abdallah died in a car accident. Al-Aswany, AlaaAlaa Al-Aswany has been the best selling author in the Arab World since 2003.Trained as a dentist in Egypt and Chicago, Al Aswany has contributed numerous articles to Egyptian newspapers on literature, politics and social issues. His second novel, The Yacoubian Building is about Egyptian society. The novel was adapted into a film (2006) and a television series (2007) of the same name. Reading the novel is a rich and sensory experience. The book has been widely read in Egypt and throughout the Middle East and has been translated into several languages. Al Aswany lives in Cairo in Garden City, an elegant Cairo neighbourhood, were he combines his decades-long practice of dentistry with a successful literary career. He holds a weekly public salon in Cairo where literature, art and politics are discussed. Al Aswany is increasingly critical of the Mubarak government, which has held power non-stop for decades. Selected works
Al Ghitani, GamalGamal Al Ghitani was born in Guhaina, a village in Upper Egypt. His parents soon moved to the capital where he grew up in Cairo’s mesmerizing old town. After school, the young Gamal visited Sheik Tihama, who sold books in front of Al Azhar Mosque. For little money, he found books to read, mostly historical works from Arab authors from the 13th to the19th century, folk tales and the stories of 1001 nights. Later he studied handcrafts and worked for a few years as a carpet designer in Cairo. In 1968 he started his career as journalist, and became chief editor of the feuilleton Al Ahbar and, since 1993, of a literary and cultural magazine. Since the 1960s he has published novels and essays, which have won numerous prizes. His stories are historical and political and often deal with the effect of the temptations of modernity on the traditional lives of the poorer classes. Selected works
Bakr, SalwaSalwa Bakr has become one of Egypt’s most respected novelists and short story writers. She was born in 1949 into a lower-middle class family in Matariyya. The stories and rituals of her widowed and unschooled mother sparked her interest as did the views on the world and speech styles of the poor and uneducated women who inhabit much of her fiction. The daughter of a railway worker took a degree in business management and literary criticism in 1972 and 1976 before embarking on a career in journalism. She began writing in the mid 1970s and her work has been met with much critical acclaim. Bakr lived for several years in Cyprus, where she worked as a film critic for a number of Arabic-language publications, before returning to Egypt in 1986, where she has since concentrated on her creative writing. Today she lives with her husband and two children in Cairo and writes mostly about women in the lowest strata of society who suffer from a double discrimination. Repression in all areas of Egyptian life and in particular the political sphere is perhaps Bakr’s greatest concern. However she maintains that both men and women can be liberated through the contributions of women’s writings. Selected works
Rifaat, Alifa (1930-1996)Alifa Rifaat is probably one of the most fascinating writers in Egypt. Reviewers overwhelmingly praise her for the sense of raw emotion and authenticity in her writing. Her stories are deeply moving. They are of a rare sensibility, sensuality and beauty and seem to open doors to different worlds. At the same time they are open and cruel when they talk about the discrimination, humiliation and mutilation of women in Egyptian society. Alifa Rifaat was born1930 in Cairo into a very traditional family, where her father was the undisputed patriarch. Some of her family were landowners in a village in Province Sharquia and belonged to the upper class during the second half of the last century. During her visits there, she experienced the sense of past glory but also the chasm between rich and poor. She attended a school for home economics in Cairo until 1948, and in 1951 was obliged to agree to an arranged marriage. The marriage failed and she remarried a policeman from her family. When her first essay was published in a magazine, he forced her to decide between him and writing. She continued to write for several years under a pseudonym until this was discovered and she had to stop completely for the sake of her three children. Only after the death of her husband in 1979 she could express herself freely. Selected works
Al Tahawi, MiralMiral Al Tahawi was born into a Beduin family in Geziret Saoud in Sharqia. In 1991, she earned her BA in Literature (Arabic Language Studies) at Zagazig University and is currently Assistant Professor in the department of Literature and Criticism at Cairo University and is working on her doctorate. With her various academic studies, she has participated at numerous international conferences and published articles in magazines and cultural journals. Her works have been discussed by numerous critics and artists in Egypt and other Arab countries and Europe. In 2000 she won the country’s encouragement prize for her novel al-bazengana al-zarkaa (The Blue Eggplant). This made her the first female Egyptian novelist to win this prize. Her two novels have been discussed at various universities and institutes across Egypt and Arab countries as well as in Arabic language departments at many European and American universities. Her literary style is the subject of several research papers (master theses and doctorate degrees). Her academic research includes an extended survey of the forms of Bedouin folklore, which has been published (Folklore Art Magazine). Selected works
Idris, Jussuf (1927- 1991)Born 1927 in Bairum, Jussuf Idris is known as the father of Egyptian short stories. After studying medicine, he worked as a doctor and at the same time started to write short stories. In the mid 1960s he gave up his medical profession and devoted his time to writing. His work includes essays, novels and theatre plays. Jussuf Idris died in 1991 in Cairo.
El Saadawi, NawalNawal El Saadawi was born in 1931 in Kafr Tahla (Lower Egypt) and is a famous novelist, essayist and physician. Her central theme is the oppression of women. Her early stories were published in newspapers and magazines. In 1958 she made her debut as a novelist with Memoirs of a Woman Doctor, a partly autobiographical work. In the 1970s she began to openly criticize women’s oppression in different forms and touch on taboo issues like female circumcision, abortion, sexuality and child abuse. Saadawi’s stories combine fiction with nonfictional elements, her own knowledge of medical science, autobiographical details, and a depiction of social ills. Saadawi has denounced the patriarchy of all three great Near Eastern religions, and argues the theory that Ancient Egypt was originally matriarchal. Nawal El Saadawi has received several awards although her books have been censored and banned in Egypt. Contrary to common practice, her parents (her father was a civil servant, her mother from an upper-class family) sent all nine children, not only the boys, to school. Nevertheless, her traditional mother insisted on Saadawi’s circumcision at the age of 6. After school, El Saadawi entered medical school, was educated at the University of Cairo and studied later at Columbia University, New York. After graduating, she worked as a physician at the university and at the Rural Health Center in Tahla. She became Director General of Public Health Education in the Ministry of Health. In 1972 she was dismissed from this post for publishing Al-mar’a wa-al-jins, which dealt with sex, religion, and the trauma of female clitoridectomy – all taboo subjects in the country. In 1981, Saadawi criticized President Sadat’s one-party rule, after which she was imprisoned for two months in Qanatir Women’s Prison. She was familiar with the prison because she had done research among its inmates in the 1970s. She established the Arab Women’s Solidarity Association, which was banned in 1991. When her name appeared on a fundamentalist death list, she fled with her husband to the United States, where she taught at Duke University and Washington State University in Seattle. In 1996 she returned to Egypt. Selected works
Mahfous, Naguib (1911- 2006)Naguib Mahfous was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988. Mahfous wrote some 40 novels and short stories, 30 screenplays, and many plays. Most of Mahfous’ early works are historical novels. His central achievement in the 1950s was The Cairo Trilogy, a monumental work of 1,500 pages. Mahfous set the story in the parts of Cairo where he grew up. It depicts the life of a patriarch and his family over three generations from World War One to the 1950s. Later, Mahfous shifted his interest from the past to the present. His stories, written in florid classical Arabic, are almost always set in the heavily populated urban quarters of Cairo, where his characters, mostly ordinary people, try to cope with the modernization of society and the temptations of Western values. In Egypt he was widely considered a spokesperson not only for Egypt but also for other non-western cultures. Naguib Mahfous was born in Cairo. The family lived in two baladi districts of the town, first in Al Jamaliyyah, and from 1924 in Al Abbasiya. Both provided the backdrop for many of the author’s writings. Mahfous’ father was a civil servant, the family religious Muslims. Mahfous read extensively as a child. His mother often took him to museums. He was interested in Egyptian history, which later became a major theme in many of his books. Mahfous entered Cairo University, where he studied philosophy, graduating in 1934. By 1936 he decided to become a professional writer. Mahfous worked as a journalist, and before turning to the novel wrote articles and short stories, 80 of which were published in magazines. Mahfous’ first collection of stories appeared in 1938. In 1939 he entered government bureaucracy, where he was employed for the next 35 years. From 1939 until 1954, he was a civil servant at the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, and was then appointed director of the Foundation for Support of the Cinema, the state cinema organization. From 1969-71 he was a consultant for cinema affairs to the Ministry of Culture. After marrying in 1954, he moved from the family house in Al Abbasiya to an apartment overlooking the Nile in Jiza. In his old age, Mahfous suffered health problems, became nearly blind and had difficulties holding a pen. He also had to abandon his daily habit of meeting his friends at coffeehouses. Selected works
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| Egyptian culture - articles | Die Bewahrerinnen Kai Kopp, departement of worldmusic/jazz at LAUT Egypts rural music and dance heritage Claudia Heinle, tanz raum
Egypt’s urban music and dance heritage Egypt’s old faith – Sufism The Beduins of St Cathrine Ruh El Fuad – the life of a female Egyptian popular singer Ibrahim El Minyawi – the life of an Egyptian tabla player Egypt’s ancient combat art – Tahtib Egypt’s trance movements – Zar Mohamed Ali Street – subculture for popular Egyptian music
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| Egyptian culture – books | The music of the Arabs Touma, Habib Hassan Amadeus Press 2003 A documentation of the ethnic dance Images of Enchantment:
Colours of Enchantment: Ancient Egyptian dances
Dance in Ancient Egypt Oum Kaltoum La Musique Arabe Musiques D´Egypte Al Tarab The Fellahin of Upper Egypt Female Singers and Dancers in Egypt Die Welt des Raks Shaabi Baladi Women of Cairo Mulid! Carnivals of Faith
Sufism Accommodating Protest Bedouin, Settlers and Holiday Makers Women in Ancient Egypt Die Kunst des alten Ägypten
Architecture for the poor Construire avec le people Islam L´art de l´Egypte Orientalist Dance Vol I Le Caire L´Orient dans un miroir Anatomie pour le mouvement Orientalism Ägypten Farben des Orients Le Yoga des Pharaons Le Yoga de la la verticalité Pharonisches Yoga Yoga Egipcio Der Basar Baladi Women of Cairo A trade like any other Women and Demons |
| Egyptian culture – links |
Contemporary & traditional art in Egpyt
Cairo in Live – online magazine for culture – Cairowww.cairoinlive.comOnline magazin, that serves as a window to current cultural life of Cairo. Cairo is passing through a fast revolution in the varied fields of culture. Through a schedule of events you can keep track of the upcoming major independent cultural and entertaining events of Cairo. The directory page provides a full cultural map of Cairo. Makan – Cairo – Egyptwww.egyptmusic.orgCultural center for traditional music and arts in Egypt, directed by Ahmed El Maghraby. Beit El Harawy – The house of the Oud – ConcertsBeautiful restored historical building where events and concerts are organized, located in the old town of Cairo behind the Al Azhar Mosque. The Townhouse Gallery – Art Gallery – Cairowww.thetownhousegallery.comThe Townhouse Gallery is promoting contemporary arts in Cairo. Mahmoud Mokhtar – Egyptian Sculpturer – Museum – Cairowww.youregypt.com/eguide/destinations/greatercairo/cairo/mmokhtarmuseumThe Mukhtar Museum was built to house the sculptures of Mahmud Mukhtar who is considered to be one of the greatest Egyptian sculptures, inspired by the fellahin traditions of his country. The building was designed by Ramesses Wissa Wassef and houses eighty-five bronze, stone, basalt, marble, granite and plaster works. One building contains a Planetarium, the Gezira Museum and the Museum of Egyptian Civilization. The Gezira Museum contains objects that were collected by the royal family. Georges Kazazian – Egyptian contemporary composer – Cairowww.oud-sajaya.comThe albums of this creative genious capture a translucent way of playing the oud, his music defines the essence of the river Nile, ever – living symbol of Egypt`s ancient civilization. In some of his works he creates tones and colours with popular Egyptian musical instruments reflecting the ancient and the modern spirit of Egypt. He has performed at some of the most prestigious festivals around the world. Georges Kazazian has produced two works with tanz raum label – the CDs Monaga and Azraq. Karima Mansour – Egyptian contemporary dancer – Cairowww.karimamansour.comEgyptian, contemporary dancer who is based in Kairo and who is touring her programmes internationally. She has created MA´AT an independent contemporary dance company based in Cairo, Egypt that has been functioning and working since 1999 the first of its kind in Egypt. El Warsha – Egyptian Theatre Group – Cairowww.lafriche.org/nta/ressources/lieux/elwarshagb.htmlEl Warsha is the oldest independent theatre group in Egypt led by Hassan El-Geretly. ´El-Warsha´ is the Arabic word for ´workshop´. The the group´s creative process is marked by experimentation, a wide range of activities and a team-structure open equally to professional performers, students and workers. After staging European dramas at the end of the 80s, El-Warsha turned to renewing Egyptian traditions of performance like shadow-puppets, story-telling and stick-fighting (tahtib). Recently the group has been working on a new version of the old tale ´Hilaliyya´ from Upper Egypt. It brings culture to children and youths, organises the drama festival of Amman with the Jordanian theatrical group El-Fawanees, and has launched the Arab Arts Project – an artists´ network for improving exchange and co-operation. Dunia Massoud – Egyptian Singerwww.incognito.com.Ib/store/node/538Born and bred in Alexandria, Dunia Massoud left for Cairo at the age of 21, alone and independent, to the outrage and chagrin of her family. After a number of experiences on stage, both singing and acting, Massoud began a three-year journey searching for and documenting folk poetry and music. She travelled the length and breadth of the country, from Suez to Upper Egypt, to learn and study the musical repertoires of ordinary people. On her return, she founded her own independent troupe of musicians, with whom she now tours Europe, Asia and Africa performing Egyptian folkloric songs. She also joined both the Fathi Salama group and Al Warsha troupe, which gave her a way to be in touch with local audiences.
Hassan Fathy – Ägyptischer Architektwww.lrz-muenchen.de/~architektur/studium/veroeffentlichung/kairo/fathy.pdfBebilderter, detaillierter Beschrieb der Arbeiten von Hassan Fathy (1900 – 1989), einer der bedeutendsten ägyptischen Architekten. In Ägypten war Fathy umstritten. Kritiker warfen ihm vor, romantische Visionen der Vergangenheit zu bauen. Anhänger schätzten sein Anliegen, gute Architektur zu erstellen, um menschliche Lebensverhältnisse zu verbessern. Fathys Ansprüche an die sozialen Aspekte des Bauens waren hoch; mit dem Honorar für die Villen reicher Bauherren ermöglichte er den Bau von Dörfern für die arme Bevölkerung. In seiner Formensprache und Materialwahl orientierte er sich an der traditionellen islamischen Bauweise. Lehm ist sein häufig verwendeter Baustoff, Kuppeln und überwölbte Räume ein wieder belebtes Element in seiner Architektur. Hassan Fathy – Egyptian Architectwww.geocities.comHassan Fathy (1900 – 1989), Egyptian architect who pioneered appropriate technology in building especially by working to re-establish the use of traditional materials like mud brick. Fathy was recognized with the Aga Khan Award for Achitecture and utilized ancient design methods and materials. He integrated a knowledge of the rural Egyptian economic situation with a wide knowledge of ancient architectural and town design techniques. Website in English and French which shows his projects and important links.
Sami Amin – designer of hand made jewelery – Cairowww.sami-amin.comSami Amin is designer of hand made jewelery and accessoires. Graduated in the Faculty for fine arts in 1998, this young designer works with natural materials like leather, glas and wood and is inspired by the multy-cultural heritage of Egypt. His designs are manufacture at his own workshop in Cairo, manpowered with thirty skilled workers. He displayes at two own showrooms in Cairo, as well as a number of shops around the country, plus exports outside Egypt.
Nagada - textile designers from Egyptwww.nagada.netNagada encourages handweaving by using textiles from all over Egypt. The designs are inspired by traditional clothes of different origins, and are modern at the same time. Nagada creations are beyond time and fashion. Swiss Michel Pastore, potter, fabric maker, decorator and Nagada designer: ‘My idea was to find the richness of traditional design and make it modern and relevant … to be modern in the sense of primitive. Arab-Egyptian art in EuropeInstitute du Monde Arabe – IMA – Pariswww.imarabe.orgL’Institut du Monde Arabe est un lieu de culture fruit d’un partenariat entre la France et vingt-deux pays arabes. Fondation de droit français, l’IMA a été conçu pour faire connaître et rayonner la culture arabe. L´IMA est devenu aujourd’hui un véritable “pont culturel” entre la France et le monde arabe. Casa Arabe – Madridwww.casaarabe-ieam.esCasa Árabe and its International Institute of Arab and Muslim World Studies in Madrid and Cordoba, by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation, the City Councils of Madrid and Cordoba. It was created with the mission of becoming an active instrument in helping to strengthen and consolidate multifaceted relations with the Arab and Muslim countries. Casa Árabe is keen to play a dual information role: informing of Arab-Muslim realities in European and western spheres and vice versa: A space of mutual awareness and shared reflection. Egyptian Music
Egyptian music recordings by Jennifer Carmenwww.layalisharqmusic.co.ukThe producer Jennifer Carmen managed to select the best of Egyptian musicians who were based in London during the ´70s and the ´80s. London at that time became an epicentre of Arab art. Under the dirction of qanun player Abdel Aziz Sayed the musicians Ali Serour (kamanga), Bashir Abdel Aal (Nay), Emad Shaker-Said (org), Emile Bassili (kamanga) Hamid Mostapha (contrabass), Ibrahim El Minyawi (tabla), Samir Bin Ya Amin (req), Sheikh Taha (accordion), Farouq El Safi (duff), Gharib Ramadan (doholla), Issam El Matrawi (duff) play at their best – within the baladi and the classical Egyptian repertoire. Ateliers des Ethnomusisology – Genevawww.adem.chLes Ateliers d’ethnomusicologie sont une association pour les musiques du monde qui existent depuis 1983. L’existence même des Ateliers d’ethnomusicologie est doublement significative : d’une part elle témoigne d’une ouverture nouvelle aux « cultures du monde », d’autre part elle exprime à sa manière un peu de « l’esprit de Genève » dont se targuent ses habitants, un esprit qui serait caractérisé par une certaine forme de tolérance, d’humanisme et d’interculturalité. Cité de la Musique – Pariswww.mediatheque.cite-musique.frConcerts, documentation, museum, mediatque
World Music Institute – New Yorkwww.worldmusicinstitute.orgWorld Music Institute is a not-for-profit organization, founded in 1985, and dedicated to the research, documentation and presentation of traditional and contemporary music from around the world. Since its founding, World Music Institute has built the most comprehensive concert series in the United States. WMI seeks to entertain, educate and to provide spiritual nourishment. International Council for Traditional Music – ICTMwww.ictmusic.orgThe aims of ICTM are to further study, practice, documentation, preservation and dissemination of traditional music, including folk, popular, classical and urban music of all countries. The Council organizes meetings, conferences and study groups. ICTM maintains a membership directory and supervise the preparation and publication of journals.
History of EgyptCultnatwww.cultnat.orgCultnat is a centre for documentation of Egypt´s cultural and natural heritage. The site is under Library of Alexandriawww.bibalex.orgThe official Website of the Library of Alexandria. Academia Bibliotheca Alexandrinaewww.bibalex.org/English/aba/index.htmlThe Academia Bibliotheca Alexandrinae about the legacy of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. Eternal Egypt – five thousand years of history an interactive websitehttp://www.eternalegypt.org/EternalEgyptWebsiteWeb/HomeServletEternal Egypt is a site in Arabic, Englisch and French. Eternal Egypt brings to light over five thousand years of Egyptian civilization through interactive technologies, high-resolution imagery, animations, virtual environments, remote cameras, three-dimensional models and more. Initiatives in EgyptNew heropolis – Middle Egyptwww.newhermopolis.orgThis independent trust (England) aims to develop middle Egypt, economically and culturally, through the active promotion of both conventional and alternative forms of tourism. The area of Mallawi, where the ancient Hermopolis and the majority of the antiquities lie, lacks in basic facilities. The project aims to revive and preserve Egypt’s ancient philosophy and literature and link it with modern thought in Egypt, and the world at large.
Fair Trade Egypt
www.fairtradeegypt.orgFair Trade Egypt aims to empower local communities by offering disadvantaged artisans marketing and support services. Fair Trade Egypt promotes the application of fair trade principles as a cultural, social and environmentally responsible business ideal.
Egypt Craft Center – Fair trade shop CairoThis is one of my favorite places to buy gifts in Egypt, because, apart from carrying top-quality handicrafts, the store is attached to a number of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which ensures that the profits from selling the goods go to the people who produced them. This is one of the best places in town to buy the now well-known Fayum pottery, and it’s also an excellent source for locally woven cloth, clothes, scarves, and postcards. Prices are reasonable and fixed.
North-south consultants exchange
www.nsce-inter.com/En/Experience/Economic
To alleviate poverty among craft producers by facilitating their access to fair trade services.
Sekem – Human developmentwww.sekem.comThe Sekem initiative was founded to realise the vision of sustainable human development. Sekem aims to contribute to the comprehensive development of the individual, society and environment. Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish founded Sekem 1977 in Egypt and received the Right Livelyhood “establishing a business model for the 21st century in which commercial success is integrated with and promotes the social and cultural development of society through economics of love.”
Sekem – Dr. Ibrahim Abouleishwww.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SEKEM#External_linksThe organization Sekem in Egypt was founded in 1977 by the Egyptian pharmacologist Dr. Ibrahim Abouleish in order to bring about cultural renewal in Egypt on a sustainable basis. Sekem is located northeast of Cairo.
Sekem – Dr. Ibrahim Abouleishwww.freitag.de/2003/51/03510601.phpDas Wunder des Ibrahim Abouleish – Sekem – Sekem ist zu einem Modell für Ägypten geworden und hat den alternativen Nobelpreis erhalten von Barbara Schleicher. BodyworkGirokinesis & Gyrotonicwww.gyrotonic.comtanz raum teachers, Ainhoa Izagirre & Claudia Heinle are certified Girokinesis teachers. Institute International de Yogaiiy-yogikhane.chtanz raum teacher Caroline Chevat is currently a teacher trainee with Yogi Babacar Khane. Body Mind Centeringwww.bodymindcentering.comtanz raum teacher Maria Martinez is currently a BMC teacher trainee. tanz raum is not responsible for the contents of any external websites and accepts no liability for the information provided there. This declaration applies to all links to websites on www.tanz-raum.com. |