Ali Kassem, Asmaa Galal Deliver Great Performance in 'El Harsha El Sab'a'

Actors Ali Kassem and Asmaa Galal during a scene in “El Harsha El Sab'a" series.
Actors Ali Kassem and Asmaa Galal during a scene in “El Harsha El Sab'a" series.
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Ali Kassem, Asmaa Galal Deliver Great Performance in 'El Harsha El Sab'a'

Actors Ali Kassem and Asmaa Galal during a scene in “El Harsha El Sab'a" series.
Actors Ali Kassem and Asmaa Galal during a scene in “El Harsha El Sab'a" series.

Over the past few hours, the performance of actors Ali Kassem and Asmaa Galal in “El Harsha El Sab'a” drama, screening on MBC Egypt and Shahid VIP, was trending on social media.

Ali Kassem plays the character of “Sharif”, who falls in love with Salma (actress Asmaa Galal) but has no plans to marry her. However, Salma refuses to live such a relationship, and dumps him, before he reconsiders their situation and proposes to her.

Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Kassem said he never imagined the remarkable interaction his role as “Sharif” sparked, adding that “I don’t set expectations before the show. My job is to do everything I can and leave the feedback to the audience. The only opinions that matter are those given after the last episode. I am really thrilled about all the great interactions I have received so far, but I am still going to wait the end.”

Kassem attributes this success to the chemistry between him and Galal.

“This is not the first time we work together, and we are close friend in real life, this is why we have a strong chemistry and we never had a problem in acting together. Over the past three years, we always hoped to collaborate in a new drama, and our dream has finally become true with Director Karim al-Shenawy, who we both love and respect.”

About the backstage, Kassem said: “The casts of “El Harsha El Sab'a” and “Khalli Balak mn Zizi” are so similar, both featuring actress Amina Khalil, director Karim Al-Shenawy, scriptwriter Maryam Naoum, and musician Khaled Kamar, which gives us further motivation and positive vibes.”

“El Harsha El Sab'a” is starred by Amina Khalil, Muhammad Shaheen, Ali Kassem, Asmaa Galal, Aida Riyad, Hanan Suleiman, Muhammad Mahmoud, and Imad Rashad, written by a team led by Maryam Naoum, and directed by Karim al-Shenawy.



Ancient Egyptian Coffin Given New Life in Britain

Staff at Swansea University welcome back the artifact. Photo: Swansea University
Staff at Swansea University welcome back the artifact. Photo: Swansea University
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Ancient Egyptian Coffin Given New Life in Britain

Staff at Swansea University welcome back the artifact. Photo: Swansea University
Staff at Swansea University welcome back the artifact. Photo: Swansea University

An ancient Egyptian coffin was given a new life after it has been returned to Swansea University's Egypt Center in Wales.

The artifact, believed to date from about 650 BC, is now back at the university after thousands of hours of conservation work at Cardiff University, where it was painstakingly cleaned, reconstructed and consolidated to prevent it from deteriorating further, according to BBC.

The coffin, originally made for a man called Ankhpakhered in the Greek city of Thebes, was transported back under the watchful eye of the center’s curator Dr. Ken Griffin.

Staff described the finished project as “beyond our wildest dreams.”

“The coffin was gifted to us by Aberystwyth University in 1997 but details about its history are sketchy,” Griffin said.

He added: “It actually ended up being used as a storage box at one time, with other Egyptian objects placed in it for safekeeping.”

The university’s Phil Parkes explained that the wooden coffin was covered in textile and then had a thin layer of decorated plaster over the top.

He said: “Much of that textile had become detached over time and was just hanging loose.”

Parkes added that the separate wooden head was detached and there were a couple of large pieces of wood missing, the side of the base had fallen off and it was in a very sorry condition overall.