‘Egyptian Days’…Insights into 'Khedivate Cairo'

Magazine, Khedivate Cairo
Magazine, Khedivate Cairo
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‘Egyptian Days’…Insights into 'Khedivate Cairo'

Magazine, Khedivate Cairo
Magazine, Khedivate Cairo

Khedivate Cairo with its astounding architecture, remarkable urban layout, and cultural archive, is an integral part of Egyptian memory. It witnessed major political events in the country’s modern and contemporary history; it wasn’t only just elegant streets, great gardens and unique architecture, but also a hub for rich culture.

In light of the wide ongoing developments aimed at recovering the early charming and assorted form of Cairo, and on the occasion of its selection as the capital of Islamic culture, the ‘Egyptian Days’ magazine returned after a long hiatus, to shed light on this magical spot founded by Khedive Ismail Pasha in the ‘heart of Egypt, in 1863, to be a modern city with contemporary, civilized terms that compete European capitals.

The new issue provides insights into the history of the Khedivate Cairo, visiting its prominent landmarks, and highlighting the features that marked that era. It also explores many terms from the developed social and cultural life at the time, in articles written by historians and writers interested in that phase, as well as a bouquet of rare photographs that document valuable aspects of modern Cairo.

Editor-in-Chief, historian Ahmed Kamali takes the readers on a trip to Groppi, a coffee shop that lured foreign families and businessmen in Egypt, who used to gather in the vicinity of the Egyptian stock market building. After the 1930s, Groppi became a spot that Egyptian MPs visited regularly to take snacks and hot beverages.

“Khedive and Photography” by photography historian Francis Amin, is a report that explores the history of photography in Khedivate Cairo. It said that during the rule of Khedive Ismail, Egypt saw a great advancement in photography, as Ismail Pasha was passionate about collecting photographs of statesmen and landmarks from the West. He even invited Gustave Le Gray, a celebrity French photographer, to teach his children photography. The famous photographer used to accompany Princes Tawfik and Hussein in trips to Upper Egypt, which he documented in rare albums and pictures.

The biggest photography renaissance took place during the rule of Khedive Abbas Helmy, who brought senior European photographers, mostly from Austria, Hungary, and France, to settle in Egypt, and open their studios in the streets of the new Mahrousa. At the time, the governmental buildings and wealthy houses were decorated with the official photographs of the Khedive taken by famous photographer Émile Zola.

The issue also features an article by Prince Abbas Helmy (grandson of Prince Mohammed Ali Tawfik), head of the Mohammed Ali Palace Association, in which he wrote about the advancement of Egypt during the Khedivate era, and how it ranked among the world’s top countries. He also noted that Mohammed Ali Pasha laid the foundations of renaissance, opening doors for his successor to achieve more advancements. Prince Helmy believes that the Khedivate era was rich and profitable, and that people “should know and learn more about it so they can keep up with what is happening today.”

“Why does Egyptian cinema neglect the 19th century?” is the title of an article by novelist Nasser Iraq, in which he urges the local cinema to shed more light on the second half of the 19th century and its valuable and inspiring facts that could reignite the imagination of talented filmmakers.

Researcher Yumna Abdul Tawab writes about mosques during that phase, noting that Khedivate Cairo put great efforts to restore and renovate mosques including the Rifai Mosque, Sultan Qalawun Mosque, the Great Mosque of Muhammad Ali Pasha, the Mosque-Madrasa of Sultan Hassan, the Sultan Al-Moayed Mosque, and Al Azhar Mosque.

The issue also includes many other articles: ‘Senate Centennial’, ‘Car Club Centennial’, ‘First Meeting to Establish Egyptian University’, ‘Sufism in Khedivate Cairo’, ‘Khedivate Character in Cinema’, and ‘History of Bar Association Establishment’.



Village Bin Man Helped Unearth Ancient Bronze Statues in Tuscany 

A general view of the ruins of an ancient spa where around 20 Etruscan and Roman bronze statues were discovered in San Casciano dei Bagni, a hilltop village in southern Tuscany still home to popular thermal baths, Italy, May 29, 2023. (Reuters)
A general view of the ruins of an ancient spa where around 20 Etruscan and Roman bronze statues were discovered in San Casciano dei Bagni, a hilltop village in southern Tuscany still home to popular thermal baths, Italy, May 29, 2023. (Reuters)
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Village Bin Man Helped Unearth Ancient Bronze Statues in Tuscany 

A general view of the ruins of an ancient spa where around 20 Etruscan and Roman bronze statues were discovered in San Casciano dei Bagni, a hilltop village in southern Tuscany still home to popular thermal baths, Italy, May 29, 2023. (Reuters)
A general view of the ruins of an ancient spa where around 20 Etruscan and Roman bronze statues were discovered in San Casciano dei Bagni, a hilltop village in southern Tuscany still home to popular thermal baths, Italy, May 29, 2023. (Reuters)

One of Italy's most remarkable archaeological finds in decades goes on show this month - Etruscan and Roman statues pulled from the mud in Tuscany thanks in part to the intuition of a retired garbage man.

About two dozen bronze statues from the third century BC to the first century AD, extracted from the ruins of an ancient spa, will go on display in Rome's Quirinale Palace from June 22, after months of restoration.

When the discovery was announced in November, experts called it the biggest collection of ancient bronze statues ever found in Italy and hailed it as a breakthrough that would "rewrite history".

The statues were found in 2021 and 2022 in the hilltop village of San Casciano dei Bagni, still home to popular thermal baths, where archaeologists had long suspected ancient ruins could be discovered.

Initial attempts to locate them, however, were unsuccessful.

Digging started in 2019 on a small plot of land next to the village's Renaissance-era public baths, but weeks of excavations revealed "only traces of some walls", San Casciano Mayor Agnese Carletti said.

Then former bin man and amateur local historian Stefano Petrini had "a flash" of intuition, remembering that years earlier he had seen bits of ancient Roman columns on a wall on the other side of the public baths.

The columns could only be seen from an abandoned garden that had once belonged to his friend, San Casciano's late greengrocer, who grew fruit and vegetables there to sell in the village shop.

When Petrini took archaeologists there, they knew they had found the right spot.

"It all started from there, from the columns," Petrini said.

‘Scrawny boy’ pulled from mud

Emanuele Mariotti, head of the San Casciano archaeological project, said his team was getting "quite desperate" before receiving the tip that led to the discovery of a shrine at the center of the ancient spa complex.

The statues found there were offerings from Romans and Etruscans who looked to the gods for good health, as were the coins and sculptures of body parts like ears and feet also recovered from the site.

One of the most spectacular finds was the "scrawny boy" bronze, a statue about 90 cms (35 inches) high, of a young Roman with an apparent bone disease. An inscription has his name as "Marcius Grabillo".

"When he appeared from the mud, and was therefore partially covered, it looked like the bronze of an athlete ... but once cleaned up and seen properly it was clear that it was that of a sick person," said Ada Salvi, a Culture Ministry archaeologist for the Tuscan provinces of Siena, Grosseto and Arezzo.

Salvi said traces of more unusual offerings were also recovered, including egg shells, pine cones, kernels from peaches and plums, surgical tools and a 2,000-year-old lock of curly hair.

"It opens a window into how Romans and Etruscans experienced the nexus between health, religion and spirituality," she said. "There's a whole world of meaning that has to be understood and studied."

More treasures to be found

The shrine was sealed at the beginning of the fifth century AD, when the ancient spa complex was abandoned, leaving its statues preserved for centuries by the warm mud of the baths.

Excavation will resume in late June. Mariotti said "it is a certainty" that more will be found in the coming years, possibly even the other six or 12 statues that an inscription says were left behind by Marcius Grabillo.

"We've only just lifted the lid," he said.

After the Rome exhibition, the statues and other artefacts are to find a new home in a museum that authorities hope to open in San Casciano within the next couple of years.

Petrini hopes the treasures will bring "jobs, culture and knowledge" to his 1,500-strong village, which is struggling with depopulation like much of rural Italy.

But he is reluctant to take credit for their discovery.

"Important things always happen thanks to several people, never thanks to only one," he said. "Never."


Restoration Lags for Syria's Famed Roman Ruins at Palmyra

Tourists visit Roman ruins in Palmyra, Syria, Tuesday, May 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
Tourists visit Roman ruins in Palmyra, Syria, Tuesday, May 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
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Restoration Lags for Syria's Famed Roman Ruins at Palmyra

Tourists visit Roman ruins in Palmyra, Syria, Tuesday, May 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)
Tourists visit Roman ruins in Palmyra, Syria, Tuesday, May 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Omar Sanadiki)

At the height of ISIS’ rampage across Syria, the world watched in horror as the militants blew up an iconic arch and temple in the country’s famed Roman ruins in Palmyra.
Eight years later, ISIS has lost its hold but restoration work on the site has been held up by security issues, leftover ISIS land mines and lack of funding.
Other archaeological sites throughout Syria face similar problems, both in areas held by the government and by the opposition. They were damaged by the war or, more recently, by the deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake that struck a wide area of neighboring Türkiye and also Syria in February.
Youssef Kanjou, a former director of Syria's Aleppo National Museum, said the situation of heritage sites in his country is a “disaster.”
Without a coordinated preservation and restoration effort, said Kanjou, now a researcher at Tübingen University in Germany, "We will lose what was not destroyed by the war or the earthquake."
Before the war, Palmyra — one of Syria’s six UNESCO world heritage sites — was the country’s archaeological crown jewel, a tourist attraction that drew tens of thousands of visitors each year. The ancient city was the capital of an Arab client state of the Roman Empire that briefly rebelled and carved out its own kingdom in the third century, led by Queen Zenobia.
The militants later destroyed Palmyra's historic temples of Bel and Baalshamin and the Arch of Triumph, viewing them as monuments to idolatry, and beheaded an elderly antiquities scholar who had dedicated his life to overseeing the ruins.
Today, the road through the desert from Homs to Palmyra is dotted with Syrian army checkpoints. In the town adjacent to the ancient site, some shops have reopened, but signs of war remain in the form of charred vehicles and burned-out or boarded-up stores and houses.
The Palmyra Museum is closed, and the much-loved lion statue that used to stand in front of it has been moved to Damascus for restoration and safekeeping.
In 2019, international experts convened by UNESCO, the United Nations' cultural agency, said detailed studies would need to be done before starting major restorations.
Youmna Tabet, program specialist at the Arab states unit of UNESCO's World Heritage Center, said restoration work often involves difficult choices, particularly if there isn't enough original material for rebuilding.
“Is it worth it to rebuild it with very little authenticity or should we rather focus on having 3D documentation of how it was?” she said.
Missions to the site were held up at first by security issues, including land mines that had to be cleared. ISIS cells still occasionally carry out attacks in the area.
Money is also a problem.
"There is a big lack of funding so far, for all the sites in Syria,” The Associated Press quoted Tabet as saying, noting that international donors have been wary of breaching sanctions on Syria, which have been imposed by the United States, the European Union and others.
US sanctions exempt activities related to preservation and protection of cultural heritage sites, but sanctions-related obstacles remain, such as a ban on exporting US-made items to Syria.
Russia, an ally of Syrian President Bashar Assad's government, has begun restoring Palmyra's triumphal arch, the largest-scale project underway to date at the site.
“We have some funding from some friends in some places, but it is not sufficient in relation to the disaster that occurred,” said Mohammad Nazir Awad, director general of Syria's department of Antiquities and Museums.
It doesn't have to be this way, said Maamoun Abdulkarim, who headed the antiquities department at the time of the ISIS incursion. Abdulkarim pointed to the international push to recover damaged heritage sites in the city of Mosul in neighboring Iraq, also controlled by the militants for some time, as an example of a successful restoration.
“We need to make some separation between political affairs and cultural heritage affairs,” said Abdulkarim, now a professor at the University of Sharjah. He warned that damaged structures are in danger of deteriorating further or collapsing as the rehabilitation work is delayed.
The deadly Feb. 6 earthquake caused further destruction at some sites already damaged by the war. This includes the old city of Aleppo, which is under the control of the government, and the Byzantine-era church of Saint Simeon in the Aleppo countryside, in an area controlled by Turkish-backed opposition forces.
About one-fifth of the church was damaged in the earthquake, including the basilica arch, said Hassan al-Ismail, a researcher with Syrians for Heritage a non-governmental organization. He said the earthquake compounded earlier damage caused by bombings and vandalism.
The group tried to stabilize the structure with wooden and metal supports and to preserve the stones that fell from it for later use in restoration.
Ayman al-Nabo, head of antiquities in the opposition-held city of Idlib, appealed for international assistance in stabilizing and restoring sites damaged by the earthquake.
Antiquities should be seen as “neutral to the political reality,” he said. “This is global human heritage, which belongs to the whole world, not just the Syrians."


UNESCO Launches Framework for Enabling Intercultural Dialogue in Arab Region

Participants and experts discussed Wednesday the state of Intercultural Dialogue in the Arab region, and the ways to promote it using the UNESCO framework
Participants and experts discussed Wednesday the state of Intercultural Dialogue in the Arab region, and the ways to promote it using the UNESCO framework
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UNESCO Launches Framework for Enabling Intercultural Dialogue in Arab Region

Participants and experts discussed Wednesday the state of Intercultural Dialogue in the Arab region, and the ways to promote it using the UNESCO framework
Participants and experts discussed Wednesday the state of Intercultural Dialogue in the Arab region, and the ways to promote it using the UNESCO framework

The UNESCO Regional Office in Beirut has hosted a conference for the Arab regional launch of the UNESCO Framework for enabling Intercultural Dialogue, in close collaboration with the Anna Lindh foundation.

Participants and experts discussed Wednesday the state of Intercultural Dialogue in the Arab region, and the ways to promote it using the UNESCO framework.

Recognizing the potential for Intercultural Dialogue and the need for better data on Intercultural Dialogue to effectively tackle pressing global issues, UNESCO has developed the UNESCO Framework for Enabling Intercultural Dialogue in partnership with the Institute for Economics and Peace.

Including data from over 160 countries, the Framework serves as a guide on how best to improve the structures, values and processes that enable Intercultural Dialogue, knowing that Intercultural Dialogue can be defined as a process undertaken to realize transformative communication that requires space or opportunities for engagement and a diverse group of participants committed to values such as mutual respect, empathy and a willingness to consider different perspectives. An important tool for peace, conflict prevention, fragility reduction, and human rights promotion, a knowledge gap on what makes dialogue effective has hindered our ability to use this tool until now.

Speaking at the opening of the conference, Princess Rym Ali, President of the Anna Lindh Foundation said: “Diversity is a fact, but inclusion is a choice. I am proud to share Anna Lindh's powerful words during the Arab regional launch of UNESCO's framework for Enabling Intercultural Dialogue in Lebanon. In our collaboration with UNESCO, we strive to foster intercultural understanding among Euro-Med youth. Together, let's uphold the shared values of diversity, inclusion, and equality, as we embark on this transformative journey.”

UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Social and Human sciences Gabriela Ramos said that the region is rich in cultural heritage that reflects a wealth of diversity.

“From the Maghreb to the Arabic peninsula, the region holds one of the most ancient civilizations and is home to 450 million people. Despite this richness, the region is home to many of today’s global challenges ...Investing in Intercultural Dialogue is therefore a vital step towards building the trust and collective will to build a better future for all,” added Ramos.

“We now can prioritize and sequence investments to enhance dialogue for transformative impact. Today, we have the opportunity to take a significant step towards our goal, here in the Arab States, by using this initiative as a means to evaluate opportunities in the region for fostering intercultural dialogue and finding concrete ways to implement and contextualize this framework locally.”

Director of the UNESCO Regional Office Costanza Farina said: “As you may know that the Framework offers data sets and a rich analysis of key macro- and micro-level societal factors that create the space and opportunity for successful Intercultural Dialogue. According to its findings, the Arab region performs at different levels in Social Cohesion and Skills and Values. Inclusion, and Global Citizenship Education and Freedom of Expression are the areas which require more attention and hence actions.”

“In these consultations over next two days, we will share and use data and findings from the framework to deepen your collective analysis of gaps, challenges, and opportunities in the Arab region. In this regard, global conversations, and normative instruments such as the Mondialcult Declaration (2022) and Windhoek +30 Declaration (2021) respectively offer a robust policy framework for Intercultural Dialogue. Leveraging youth social innovation and skills enhancement is the core of the Youth Declaration of the recent Transforming Education Summit held in NY in September 2022. In this regard, youth perspectives in analyzing challenges and opportunities in the region and reflecting youth aspirations will be very important.”

“The key outcome of our consultations will be a roadmap which identifies priorities and actionable recommendations for the systemic use and operationalization of the Framework. The roadmap will enable the scaling up of a more sustainable intercultural dialogue in the Arab region.”

The Framework includes nine domains consisting of 21 indicators. Global, regional, and country level data on all nine domains can be accessed through the online platform for the Framework, serving as a guide on needs and priorities in regard to supporting intercultural exchange for policymakers. The first of its kind, the Framework provides stakeholders not only with an understanding of the environment behind intercultural dialogue, but also how to enable intercultural dialogue within their specific context. The Framework also shows for the first time the direct connection between peacefulness, conflict prevention and non-fragility, and human right protection with intercultural dialogue creating an additional incentive for countries to foster this important tool.


Marrakech to Host Parliamentary Conference on Interfaith Dialogue

An aerial view of Jemaa el-Fna square and marketplace in Marrakech, Morocco November 8, 2021. REUTERS/Ilan Rosenberg/File Photo
An aerial view of Jemaa el-Fna square and marketplace in Marrakech, Morocco November 8, 2021. REUTERS/Ilan Rosenberg/File Photo
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Marrakech to Host Parliamentary Conference on Interfaith Dialogue

An aerial view of Jemaa el-Fna square and marketplace in Marrakech, Morocco November 8, 2021. REUTERS/Ilan Rosenberg/File Photo
An aerial view of Jemaa el-Fna square and marketplace in Marrakech, Morocco November 8, 2021. REUTERS/Ilan Rosenberg/File Photo

The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and Morocco’s legislature are organizing the three-day Parliamentary Conference on Interfaith Dialogue: Working together for our common future on June 13 in Marrakech.

The conference will be held under the patronage of King Mohammed VI and will bring together Speakers and members of parliament, religious leaders, representatives of civil society and experts to engage in constructive dialogue and share good practices in addressing key issues standing in the way of sustainable coexistence, according to a joint statement by the organizers.

The meeting is being held in cooperation with Religions for Peace, and with the support of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations and the Mohammadia League of Scholars.

The conference will offer an opportunity for participants to jointly explore action points for building more peaceful and inclusive societies and to develop a roadmap for joint action, the statement said.

During three days of debate, dialogue and reflection, participants will identify avenues of collaboration in areas such as peace and the rule of law, building a common future, gender equality and youth participation, trust and mutual recognition, solidarity, and inclusion, the statement stressed.

The conference will conclude with the adoption of a declaration.


Mawhiba Presents Saudi "Gifted Arabs" Initiative Outcome at Arab Education Conference

The two-day conference on the “Future of Education in the Arab World in the Digital Transformation Era” concluded in the capital of Morocco under the auspices of King Mohammed VI. SPA
The two-day conference on the “Future of Education in the Arab World in the Digital Transformation Era” concluded in the capital of Morocco under the auspices of King Mohammed VI. SPA
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Mawhiba Presents Saudi "Gifted Arabs" Initiative Outcome at Arab Education Conference

The two-day conference on the “Future of Education in the Arab World in the Digital Transformation Era” concluded in the capital of Morocco under the auspices of King Mohammed VI. SPA
The two-day conference on the “Future of Education in the Arab World in the Digital Transformation Era” concluded in the capital of Morocco under the auspices of King Mohammed VI. SPA

King Abdulaziz and his Companions Foundation for Giftedness and Creativity (Mawhiba) presented on Tuesday the outcome of the “Gifted Arabs” initiative at the 13th Conference of Arab Ministers of Education in Rabat.

The two-day conference on the “Future of Education in the Arab World in the Digital Transformation Era” concluded in the capital of Morocco under the auspices of King Mohammed VI.

It was organized by Morocco’s Ministry of National Education, Preschool and Sports in cooperation with the National Commission for Education, Sciences and Culture and in partnership with the Arab League Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization (ALECSO).

The “Gifted Arabs” initiative highlights Saudi leadership in nurturing talents as well as the role of Mawhiba foundation in nurturing the gifted worldwide through the top comprehensive program, said Mawhiba Secretary-General Dr. Amal bint Abdullah Al-Hazaa.

The initiative allows Mawhiba to share its well-established qualitative expertise with the relevant authorities in the Arab World to foster responsibility toward the scientific, technological, and knowledge requirements and challenges, Al-Hazaa added.

Dr. Khaled Al-Sharif, director general of Mawhiba’s Center of Excellence, presented the results of the initiative through its first and second rounds, given that the initiative has aimed at investing in the talented and creative young Arabs.

So far, the Saudi initiative has discovered 606 gifted people representing 16 Arab countries, Al-Sharif said. The initiative has provided the talented students with qualitative enrichment and academic programs to develop their knowledge and capabilities, he added.

Mawhiba explained the efforts made in all aspects to discover and nurture gifted students, according to its vision represented in empowering talent and creativity as a main source of human prosperity.


ICESCO, Arab Bureau of Education for Gulf States Sign Cooperation Agreement

ICESCO, Arab Bureau of Education for Gulf States Sign Cooperation Agreement
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ICESCO, Arab Bureau of Education for Gulf States Sign Cooperation Agreement

ICESCO, Arab Bureau of Education for Gulf States Sign Cooperation Agreement

The Islamic World Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (ICESCO) and the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States have signed a new cooperation agreement to strengthen the existing partnership between the two institutions in areas of common interest.

The agreement was signed on behalf of ICESCO by its Director General Dr. Salim bin Mohammad Al-Malik, and on behalf of the Arab Bureau of Education for the Gulf States by its Director General Dr. Abdulrahman bin Mohammad Al-Assimi.

The agreement stipulates the joint organization of international workshops, seminars, and forums in the field of education, the launch of training programs and courses for teachers, the joint preparation of studies, and cooperation in the fields of educational technology and artificial intelligence (AI).

The agreement also aims to support scientific research in the field of education and encourage initiatives in open education, publications, publishing and translation, the establishment of networks for the development of technical, artistic and vocational education, and the development of educational systems in the countries of the Islamic world.


Presidency of Grand Mosque, King Salman Global Academy Sign MoU to Promote Arabic Language

Worshippers perform Friday prayers at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
Worshippers perform Friday prayers at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
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Presidency of Grand Mosque, King Salman Global Academy Sign MoU to Promote Arabic Language

Worshippers perform Friday prayers at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)
Worshippers perform Friday prayers at the Grand Mosque in the holy city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. (SPA)

The General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque and the Prophet’s Mosque signed a memorandum of understanding with King Salman Global Academy for the Arabic Language to promote the language, reported the Saudi Press Agency on Tuesday.

The agreement will kick off activities, programs and training courses in Arabic language and calligraphy. It covers lessons and lectures in Arabic language at the Two Holy Mosques, writing and publishing Arabic books, and building written or audio linguistic blogs.

The MoU will enrich the experience of visitors of the Two Holy Mosques and Umrah pilgrims by teaching them the Arabic language and calligraphy.


On a Culinary Homecoming, Influencer Chefs Look to Perpetuate Palestinian Dishes 

Palestinian chefs from North America taste local Palestinian products as they explore the quality and richness of Palestinian products and sustainable agriculture, in Gaza City May 8, 2023. (Reuters)
Palestinian chefs from North America taste local Palestinian products as they explore the quality and richness of Palestinian products and sustainable agriculture, in Gaza City May 8, 2023. (Reuters)
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On a Culinary Homecoming, Influencer Chefs Look to Perpetuate Palestinian Dishes 

Palestinian chefs from North America taste local Palestinian products as they explore the quality and richness of Palestinian products and sustainable agriculture, in Gaza City May 8, 2023. (Reuters)
Palestinian chefs from North America taste local Palestinian products as they explore the quality and richness of Palestinian products and sustainable agriculture, in Gaza City May 8, 2023. (Reuters)

For Canadian celebrity chef Suzanne Husseini, a first culinary tour of the Palestinian territories was a chance to preserve and promote the dishes and folk-remedies of her ancestry.

During a farm-to-table tour of the occupied West Bank, Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip, Husseini and four other high-profile chefs encountered a Palestinian cuisine often unfamiliar to foreigners more accustomed to news of conflict with Israel.

"I'm back home, in Palestine, to follow, to see, to explore and document and research and reconnect with my people, with the land, with the farms, with the food - because food is my language," said Husseini, whose family comes from a town near the West Bank city of Nablus.

The tour was sponsored by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) with a view to expanding the international appeal of Palestinian cuisine despite the relative scarcity and expense of some of its ingredients.

The chefs, with Palestinian roots, focused on traditional techniques such as how to turn the poisonous dark purple Palestine lily, which blooms in the spring, into an ingredient for soups and a traditional medicine.

They also learned about the nutritional benefits of "freekeh", wheat picked while still green, smoked to retain its natural proteins and served like rice.

Mirna Bamieh, a chef and founder of the Palestine Hosting Society, which curates and seeks to revive traditional Palestinian recipes, discovered a local variant of the "kubeh" meat dumpling frequently associated with Kurdish kitchens.

"It was super fascinating because you know, we always think that we don't have a kubeh culture in Palestine,” Bamieh said.

Ismail Abu Arafeh, head of Solutions Mapping at the UNDP, said the tour gave the chefs a window into the wider culture of Palestinians amid their decades-old struggle for statehood.

"They want to see the history, the cultural significance, but also, most importantly, the nutritional value of what these old dishes bring," he added, suggesting the process could "position Palestine as a niche market that serves really the old traditional ways of production".


Egypt Commemorates 118th Anniversary of Heliopolis

Baron Empain palace's in Heliopolis. (Shutterstock)
Baron Empain palace's in Heliopolis. (Shutterstock)
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Egypt Commemorates 118th Anniversary of Heliopolis

Baron Empain palace's in Heliopolis. (Shutterstock)
Baron Empain palace's in Heliopolis. (Shutterstock)

Egypt held weeklong celebrations to mark the 118th anniversary of Heliopolis, or New Egypt, one of the capital Cairo’s most famous neighborhoods.

During Heliopolis Week, the ministries of tourism and communications organized a cultural and arts festival at the Granada Palace to highlight historic events from the neighborhood.

Heliopolis was established by Belgian Baron Édouard Empain in 1905 after the “Heliopolis Oases Company”, currently known as the “Heliopolis Company”, signed a contract to construct a railway line linking the Cairo city center to New Egypt. Empain began building the neighborhood over an area of 25 square kilometers and he later named it Heliopolis.

In a speech at a festival marking the end of Heliopolis Week on Thursday, Ahmed Issa, minister of Tourism and Antiquities, said: “New Egypt was born in the Cairo desert and it boasts several unique breathtaking sights, such as castles, gardens and places of worship.”

Cairo enjoys unique tourism characteristics that can transform it into one of the world’s greatest tourism cities, he stressed.

The Baron Empain palace is a major historic building in Heliopolis, a landmark, and a tourist attraction in the Egyptian capital, he noted.

In 2020, the Egyptian government opened the palace after renovation and development, and turned it into a museum that highlights the history of Heliopolis.

Built by the Barron on Salah Salem street on an area of 12,500 square meters, the palace dates back to 1911. French Architect Alexander Marcel was inspired from the Angkor Wat temple in Cambodia, and the Odisha Hindu temples.

Empain lived in the palace, whose belongings were auctioned in the early 1950s. It remained neglected until its ownership was transferred to the Egyptian culture ministry in 2007. Its renovation was completed in 2020.

The Heliopolis Heritage Foundation organized Heliopolis Week under the sponsorship of different government agencies. The festival was aimed at “putting Heliopolis on the tourism map,” according to officials at the ministry of antiquities and tourism.

The festival included seminars and panel discussions about the history of Heliopolis, and how to revive historic buildings and areas to boost tourism. It also included art exhibitions that highlighted the history of the neighborhood.

Issa said these activities “help shed light on the historic and touristic landmarks in Egypt,” noting recent renovations and restorations in several regions that will help boost the sector.

Egypt plans to attract 30 million foreign tourists by 2028 through the National Tourism Strategy that calls for developing aviation and improving the quality of services in the tourism sector.

Issa had previously revealed tourism to Egypt had grown by 43 percent in the first three months of 2023 compared with the same period last year. Fifteen million tourists are expected by the end of the year.


Egypt Unveils Recently Discovered Ancient Workshops, Tombs in Saqqara Necropolis

An Egyptian antiquities worker brushes a recently unearthed embalming bed at the site of the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, 24 kilometers (15 miles) southwest of Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, May 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
An Egyptian antiquities worker brushes a recently unearthed embalming bed at the site of the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, 24 kilometers (15 miles) southwest of Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, May 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
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Egypt Unveils Recently Discovered Ancient Workshops, Tombs in Saqqara Necropolis

An Egyptian antiquities worker brushes a recently unearthed embalming bed at the site of the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, 24 kilometers (15 miles) southwest of Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, May 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)
An Egyptian antiquities worker brushes a recently unearthed embalming bed at the site of the Step Pyramid of Djoser in Saqqara, 24 kilometers (15 miles) southwest of Cairo, Egypt, Saturday, May 27, 2023. (AP Photo/Amr Nabil)

Egyptian antiquities authorities Saturday unveiled ancient workshops and tombs they say were discovered recently at a Pharaonic necropolis just outside the capital Cairo.

The spaces were found in the sprawling necropolis of Saqqara, which is a part of Egypt’s ancient capital of Memphis, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Mostafa Waziri, secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said the workshops had been used to mummify humans and sacred animals. They date back to the 30th Pharaonic Dynasty (380 BC to 343 BC) and Ptolemaic period (305 BC to 30 BC), he said.

Inside the workshops, archaeologists found clay pots and other items apparently used in mummification, as well as ritual vessels, Waziri said.

The tombs, meanwhile, were for a top official from the Old Kingdom of ancient Egypt, and a priest from the New Kingdom, according to Sabri Farag, head of the Saqqara archaeological site.