The violin, queen of the strings!

    In classic music in general, the violin had always been and still is of a major presence and importance.  Take for example for its value, the Bach’s violin sonata number one in G minor and witness its effect on you from the beginning of the work till its end. This music was composed in 1720 as the first of six, where the five  other works are two sonatas and three partitas and all for violin as the principal or solo instrument. And although we are approaching three hundred years of its composition, it is still amazing. The violin which plays solo, is doing all the job alone, hence its uniqueness as well as some other important instruments which are accomplished stand-alone like the piano. Although in some interpretations, the violin is accompanied by a harpsichord or a piano in the background playing mostly another melody, the violin captures you, moves softly but decisively to penetrate you and instantaneously alters your mood. From the Adagio of the first movement to the Fugue allegro to the Siciliano till the final Presto, you are surrounded by the violin that talks to your soul and mind. A whole fifteen minutes, or slightly more according to the version, of pure spiritual pleasure. 

  Vivaldi to my mind and knowledge was the greatest composer of the Baroque era and he consacrated a big part of his compositions for the violin. Not only the 'Le Quattro Stagioni' or 'Il Grosso Mogul' or 'La Stravaganza', go and listen to 'Dresden Concerti'. It is always a charming and marvellous time to listen to works of Vivaldi but in particular his violin ones. We can consider this red priest the champion of violin in the Baroque period and a leader of many musicians following his style. 

(To be cont.)

A trip to part of Islamic Cairo - 2

  Walking further inside the southern part of El Mu3ez Le Deen Ellah street, I passed by many unidentifiable monuments, some of them were disguised by makeshift stalls for variable goods. Then I continued my stroll in the street till I reached Souq el Aqqadin. There to my delight, I discovered the presence of Sabil of Mohammed Ali Pasha. I had a previous knowledge about Sabils, as a salient feature of Islamic Architecture - being an act of benevolence done by rulers or wealthy people towards the poor - their components, function and their association sometimes to Kuttabs (Quranic schools). The monument was well preserved and open to public visit. It was restored few years ago in 2004, thanks to a donation from USAID, the European Union and the Embassy of the Netherlands in  Cairo, through the American Research Center in Cairo by specialists led by the Polish historical conservation architect, Agnieszka  Dobrowolska. She produced a book on her experience in this successful project that was published by the AUC press.

   Mohammed Ali Pasha, the viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1848, is generally considered the founder of modern Egypt, viewing the deep change that he brought. Despite being a foreigner, he did for the country what many of its original descendants didn’t. Being a visionary, a leader, a very smart individual endowed with many talents to govern and plan, he succeeded to build the basis for new industries, sent educational missions abroad, attracted talents from around the world to serve his ambitions to ameliorate and even to excel above many countries. He did put emphasis on the agriculture sector taking it to a higher, disciplined order, with new crops and abundant production. Exports of Egypt rose to unprecedented level. New cities, ports, were established. An indigenous powerful army and modern navy were formed. Government institutions, ministries and circles were arranged. To protect Egypt’s interests, he sought to protect its water resources, both inside the country and outside it by trying to explore the origins of the Nile. He noticed the dangers surrounding his country, so decided to expand Egypt’s borders, and entered many wars for that reason and to satisfy his ambition of being the ruler of an independent state. He was too a great builder and left many public works and magnificent monuments, for different purposes. One of them is his Sabil which was erected as a memorial to his deceased son (Prince Tusun) who died of bubonic plague in 1817. 

   The Mohammed Ali Sabil’s, is one of the still remaining few in Egypt, having an Ottoman style. It is very beautiful both from inside and outside. And though it has been built in 1820, it is so attractive that it is worth visiting despite that it is in a busy commercial part of the street and only reachable by foot. Strangely, few tourists visit it, and it is off the usual or planned path for any touristic itinerary whether local or international. Covered with marble panels mostly from the outside of its bowed structure, having bronze doors, topped with its lead-covered dome, the Sabil is both robust and majestic. The façade shows panels of poetic verses written in Ottoman Turkish, including the name of the Sultan Mahmud the second, and mentioned because Egypt was a part of the Ottoman empire at that time. The arched windows have grilles which were once gold covered meant to impress those who were entering to have a cup of cold clean water from the marble basin behind. I didn’t enter because while walking, I decided to expand my tour to visit many more monuments in the short time period available. But I learnt later that from the inside, the dome is ornamented with Turkish landscape paintings, not Egyptian one. Also that one can get to the upper floor to see the unused classroom with its wooden desks, waiting for students desperately. Below the main hall of the Sabil there is the cistern of water that supplies the basins and which can be visited through a small stair. On exhibition inside is the story of Mohammed Ali Pasha, his deeds and his family. Many posters showing the conservation process that took place to preserve the Sabil and many that talk about water, are on display, as I discovered from researching on the subject.

   I was impressed for sure and refrained from getting in and continued walking in the street seeking its end just to pass by the Wekalet Nafisa Al Bayda, and took a rapid incomplete side glimpse of it, and postponed visiting it too and its associated Sabil, because it also needs much time. It lies in al-Sukariyya street off El Mu3ez Street and before few meters of Bab Zuweila. It is as far as I know one of the other conservation projects also done by Agnieszka  Dobrowolska and her team. Nafisa Al Bayda was the beautiful white slave of unknown certain origin, turned lady due to her marriage to first Ali Bey Al-Kabir then to his slayer, Murad Bey who fought against the French occupation forces led by Napoleon. She was a wealthy, good, charitable woman, intelligent, cultured who could read and write in Arabic and Ottoman Turkish and spoke French. She built her vast Wekala and Sabil in 1796 two years before the French Expedition to Egypt.

  

   Then in the end of the street I reached the important gate of old Fatimid Cairo, Bab Zuweila, from where the yearly pilgrimage ceremonies to Mecca took place. The Mahmal, the caravan carrying the cloth cover of the Ka3ba which was sewn and ornamented in Egypt, started its journey towards Mecca from here. This was also the site of hanging of the last Burgi Memluk Tuman Bay, by the invading Ottoman forces of Selim the first in 1517. To be noted that Zuweila was a Moroccan tribe coming as worriers with the armies of the Fatimid, who conquered Egypt and established a ruling dynasty in 969 AD. But the gate itself was constructed in 1092. There were a terrible prison beside the towers of the gate and there was another Burgi Memluk, who was imprisoned there, and vowed that if he was ever to become Sultan, that he will destruct the prison and build a mosque instead. He was the Emir turned Sultan, called al-Mu’ayyad who reigned in 1412 and built the magnificent and important complex mosque-madrasa-mausoleum in 1415. This became an important academic institution in the 15^th century throughout the middle east. Two fine minarets were erected, one above each tower of the gate, characterizing Bab Zuweila over any other gate of the Fatimid Cairo.  

End of part two (To be cont.)

NB. Some of the pictures in this post above are not mine, but taken from the Internet. 

A trip to part of Islamic Cairo - 1

   It is a non-planned trip that will be related here. I had the intention of visiting as much as I can of the Old Islamic Cairo for a long time, but this was procrastinated many times for many reasons. Lately I had bought an English booklet-guide on Islamic Cairo, which was by the way so well-written, the week before and read most of it, and the idea reappeared on the surface, that I must see for myself. While I was in Cairo for a work-abroad interview, and after finishing it, I found that it is still early till the time of the train back to Alexandria. So, I decided to get back to downtown Cairo and decide there, where I will spend the next six hours exactly and from where to start. I took a rapid meal first, then back on feet towards Opera Square. While I was walking, after consulting the map several times, I decided to start with the ‘Al Azhar’ district. Haphazardly, I followed a sign in Opera Square and while walking in its direction, I heard a woman yelling towards the driver of a small minibus to take her to ‘Ghureya’. So, this will be the start of my adventure.  I hopped in, with two companions, the woman and her girl who were going there.

   I asked the driver to drop me by the ‘Wekalet El Ghuri’. Sultan Al-Ashraf Qansuh El Ghuri, the second to last Burji Mamluk Sultan of Egypt and Sham who ruled since 1501 to 1516 AD. The Complex of EL Ghuri was built in 1504 AD. The driver headed there and on arriving, he told me, to get off because I am near it. He was not accurate. It was a chaotic place, that I found myself near, and completely unaided, searched around for clues to identify the place and buildings. At first, I was discouraged from the mess, the crowd, the traffic, the filthy streets and the noise, but I decided to discover more. I distinguished  - what I knew later from a search after returning to my city – that I am in a part of the El Mu3ez Le Deen Ellah street, which proved to be the southern part, which is known as El Ghureya. It is a market that infiltrates many historic monuments of different Islamic era. It was not Wekalet El Ghuri that I dropped by, but another salient feature of the Ghuri complex, his mosque-madrasa. I climbed the stairs cautiously and had a rapid peep inside, then returned discouraged to the street level. In front of it, I saw another feature of his complex, the mausoleum-khankah. I didn’t take any  photographs, giving the bad appearance and fearing to be mugged . I decided to drop going to the Wekala (caravanserai) this time and carry on inside the street to learn more.

   Continuing inside the street-market, I felt as if I am flashing-back in history, though the people had different outfits, modernity and some trivial additions. I presumed that the ancestors of the street vendors and those of the multitude of small shops on both sides of the street were working in the same trade. Every few meters your eyes will catch a monument of a different era, identifiable in its architecture and evidently variable  in its bad neglected current state.  People may be even living in or using the monument itself in such a way, that you feel that one day it will crumble on their heads. The condition has gone worth after the revolt of January 2011, when the state weakened greatly. To my astonishment, I found that some old raba3 (quarter) were demolished randomly and incompletely to make way for high rise apartment buildings, which is completely and lawfully forbidden here, but that a handful had seen the light of the day defying the law, the state and history. A complete architectural discord note among a melody of historical monuments! 

  
(First Part ends here. To be cont.) 

NB. (The pictures are not mine, they are from the Internet, the first depicts the Mausoleum of El Ghouri then his Mosque, then two pictures of his Wekala, from top to bottom.)

Lament, but!

Lament, but!

Lament, weep, bleed but do not die

For the air is not thin and birds still fly

The sun  shining on time as you sob or quietly cry
 

No matter, what goes on but life sure will pass by

---------------------------------------------------------

Life had been rough, days were hard to you 

Distorted, tortured, wounded and scared too

Bewildered, dizzy, tormented and yet not so blue

You championed life, always trying to be true

----------------------------------------------------------

For the hurdles were high, and time was slow

Dreams crumbled but thankfully, you didn’t blow

Be sure, that your inner energy will always flow

And in the very end by happiness your face will glow  

Extension, expansion!

   One very interesting remark is that the human being is the only animal able and capable of extension and expansion without limits and beyond his living needs. To explain the idea, look at the aspiration of a man or a woman to form a family, to expand their power and authority and to secure their extension in the future by raising their progeny. In the same context, they try always to socialize with new companions, buddies and friends, for the reason of  expanding their influence. It seems that the individual human is by default born insecure from inside and always trying hard to have either persons or materials that give him or her the elixir of security and inner serenity.
   This also applies to companies, organizations, cults and religions, which always work through its members to get more money, power, followers or customers, for the very essential need of security through competitiveness, challenge, marring the opponents or knocking them out altogether of the ring by force or plot. Even wars have the ultimate goal of expanding the territories of the belligerent countries, or pressing through the use of bullets and missiles, what the diplomacy failed to acquire, that is material gains for securing extension and expansion of the power - in any form - of a certain country. Even clandestine groups, whether ideological or criminal aspire for more of this expansion but by clandestine ways. 
   Even, the conquering of new territories in Antarctica or the Arctic, has the long range aim of expansion of the powerful country (Russia, Canada, USA, United Kingdom...) for the control of resources or opening new trade routes. That is the same in the many projects (fulfilled partially and minimally till now as published), that superpowers have in mind when they spend billions of Dollars and years of work to conquer space and colonize a distant moon or planet.
   Historically on the international scale of politics, it has been like that from the days of the old empires, Egyptian, Greek, Persian or Roman, who sought more power, by attacking other nations, to be more secure, have more resources, more manpower and slaves for the very notion that occupation of other lands and expansion of the original boundaries will bring many benefits to the selected superior people of the empire. So that the people of the empire can therefore extend their power by having more concubines, male slaves, acquire more knowledge, more wealth, and more secure good living. That state of affairs continues till now, by the use of fancy ways of diplomacy, media, transnational gigantic companies or even the use of modern warfare to oblige or overcome a certain country to submit to the will of a more powerful one. 
   Thus, the advance of the mankind in the future, revolves upon, finding new means of fulfilling the needs of security and providing not only the basic requirements of the individual person, family or group of people, but the true equilibrium and respect of cultures, resources, environment and human rights. To this end, globalization has to find new humane, just and altruistic aims, other than the current expansion and extension by the hegemony of a superpower.       

About the novel "Chicago"!

This novel of 453 pages actually 446 pages of reading which appeared in January 2007 from Dar El Shorouk in Cairo, was an instant success, and till the end of November 2007 has been reprinted nine times. Thereafter, it has known an unprecedented number of prints in the Arabic literature of modern times in Cairo, after Naguib Mahfouz.  As a matter of fact, these were the legal prints, and I can't figure out, the forged ones, because they are numerous. In my opinion this novel is fantastic. It has a definite personality, a message and a purpose. It could be classified as a transnational literature, though it relates two different societies.
Some has accused the novel and its writer already of putting too much porn language, or erotic material or dialogue or description, I personally find it very artistic and in its place. It is an eye-opening novel, that you can't leave more than one day before completely reading it and reaching its end, to find yourself touched and affected by its characters and their different stories whether converging or diverging. Chicago can be analyzed on different levels as I think, but to my mind, you can discover each level by multiple re-reading of the work. But even if you read it once, you will find a work of fiction that can be compared to a vibrant movie with different scenes and settings, with a rich dialogue totally natural. It has been rumored that it will be turned into a movie or a drama TV series, and we are still waiting for that. The writer has used a style of writing so intelligent, that you can't predict what is coming next whether words or events. While reading Chicago, I was totally awake, and suspense was surrounding my awareness. I had been absorbed inside the lives of the characters and was feeling the conflict inside each of them. An excellent novel, and I believe after completing it, that it will be translated also into different languages.Not only that occurred, but Alaa el-Aswany, the dentist, activist, writer and the novelist who had written this piece of fine literature "Chicago", has received many recognizing prizes and merits for this work from many countries. 

About (Life of Pi) movie! - 2

   The Taiwanese-born American director Ang Lee, succeeded to make this epic film, despite opinions that challenged him that the Booker Prize winning novel in 2002, on which the film was based written by the Canadian Yann Martel, cannot be interpreted into a moving picture. It is not a simple adventure film about a lonely survivor being stranded in the large ocean for long after his ship sank, but it is a complex movie, that discusses the philosophy of life, religions and the concepts of good and evil. No wonder at all, that the film was nominated to eleven Academy Awards, as it was beautifully made caring for small details not only big ones.. The cinematography of this film, with the special effects, added to the original music score were all outstanding. Thanks to a genius director, it was possible to make such a film possible. Films that incorporate ferocious animals that are required to evolve through multiple phases of the story, are difficult to make, so what we can say about this movie where a Bengal tiger is the second hero of the film. The good thing is, that the director didn't resort to graphics lavishly but in the appropriate amount. The story around which the film was made, was good, despite that it has some relation on one side to Robinson Crusoe and Noah's Ark on the other.

Reflections about the social networking groups of the Internet

   Many times, I have deeply thought, especially after communication problems while chatting with some people on the Web or getting angry from a bad reaction, an unacceptable post, non-ethical comment or disgusting message, that social networking sites are problematic more than beneficial, viewing that they are condensation of life but in the virtual electronic world. People, that are shielded by distance, non-touch, freedom from shyness, and immunity from physical retaliation, tend to be unreal at many times, in the sense of embellishment by disguising themselves not only in their identities, names and pictures but in their attitudes, style of response, selection of words and language (sordid or clean) and reaction whether quiet or bursting, as well.  

   Social networking  groups especially closed and secret groups are like hungry sharks, roaming to catch edible fishes with an unabated satiety. Alas, some think that social utilities on the Internet are like washing machines, they always need to be fed by fresh detergents. Thus, the electronic friendship tied there is not real and solid, but is bubbly, liable to burst by any simple gust of wind. What is the benefit of collecting 'friends' on your Facebook account? And why you have so much vanity with the high numbers of friends you have got, as long as you do not care to connect, electronically in a fair way and frequently with them? And the more important why is it not important to you to tie a real-life friendship with these friends, using the tool of the social utility? And why you do care to sanctify the tool and slide into the vice of worshiping yourself?

Psychologically speaking, is the accumulation of hundreds, not to say thousands sometimes of friends, on your Facebook account, is healthy? How you can cope with communicating with such a huge number of persons assumed to be 'friends' at any one time? 

   Differentiation from real life authentic friendship and the sham electronic friendship, is important. I think that for a person to be considered as an authentic friend, requires many criteria. You have to meet the person in real life, face to face even once, and have a conversation with him/her either casually or voluntary, but smart and deep. The two parties, have to find some sort of common ground, sympathy, and to be certain of the real identity of the person candidate for friendship, not to mention a quick appraisal of the person's values and attitude to Life in general.These criteria are not feasible through the Internet communication, even in Skype or alike video conferencing. To this end, one must know that the term, 'friend' in the social networking sites, is not accurate, and it is better as one friend suggested 'contact'. One has to be true to himself and know that it is a mirage not a real oasis. So it is completely accepted to detach yourself from a group, contact or friend, once you know that it is nuisance not a good experience.

About ‘The rise and fall of Royal Alexandria: from Muhammad Ali to Farouk’

About ‘The rise and fall of Royal Alexandria: from Muhammad Ali to Farouk’

 

The Muhammad Ali reign

 

For the sake of truth and revision of our Egyptian history to know the true events and the real facts, I am writing this article. I would like to share it with you, with all due respects to antagonizing opinions. The title herein, is the original title of a lecture, I attended in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina on March the 21st, given by the eminent British historian, Philip Mansel, who is an authority on the Ottoman empire, the Levant and the French Revolution and has to date, eleven book titles, of which the most acclaimed three are, “Constantinople”, “Levant” and “Sultans in Splendour” and believe what, these are his only three books about the East Mediterranean history. The presenter and animator of the lecture was the renown Dr. Khaled Fahmy, the Egyptian historian, scholar and the head of the History Department of the AUC. To a heavy attendance, Professor Mansel, addressed his audience with a PowerPoint picture slide of old Alexandria, personalities and events.
Dr. Mansel, started to talk about how, Muhammad Ali, found in the beginning of his reign, Alexandria, as a small coastal village full of ruins with a population of only six thousand people mainly indigenous. Then, understanding the value of the city, its strategic position and its potential, he started to stay in it, to study plans to upgrade it, in gradually increasing periods of time. Then he commissioned many huge projects that resurrected the city from ashes, like the naval arsenal, the Mahmudiye canal inaugurated in February 1821, the refurbishing of the naval port of Alexandria and the establishment of Ras el-Tin palace which was started to be built in 1817 and intensified extensively the fortifications of the city from 1812 on. He was the first ruler since hundreds of years to allow Christians to ring the church’s bells officially. Due to the fact that he has been the first also to announce across the country a state of religious tolerance to all religions and their denominations, many flocks of oppressed Jewish and Christian Europeans from one side and from other territories of the Ottoman empire, decided to settle in Egypt. They brought their expertise, new ideas, enthusiasm and work power to build new beginnings to themselves and their families, and henceforth affected positively the general local population. New opportunities arose, so European talents were attracted to serve Muhammad Ali and presented him their abilities to modernize Egypt and his beloved Alexandria. (To be continued)

Ludwig Deutsch and his Egyptian paintings

The Austrian painter, Ludwig Deutsch, born in Vienna, lived 80 years, from 1855 to 1935. He is the descendent of a well-known Jewish Austrian family. His father was a financier. He studied arts primarily at the Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna for three years. Then he moved to Paris, where he continued his practice and training at the studio of Jean-Paul Laurens. He was an orientalist painter, and had good relation with another Austrian Orientalist artist in Paris, named Rudolf Ernst. He visited Egypt for five times, between 1883 and 1904, when it was under British Occupation. It was a totally, different Egypt, but thanks to this magnificent painter, many scenes of the period had been immortalized and frozen in time.
The Egyptian paintings by Ludwig Deutsch were very carefully and beautifully drawn. They are full of details in full color and very accurate depiction of small as well as large real life items. You feel like it is a photo taken with a high definition camera, or as if you are seeing by your own eyes a still scene in real life.
Here is for instance one of his painting called: 'The Nubian Guard', created in 1892.

And another beautiful painting called: 'The Chess Game', created in 1896.

And this one called: 'The Sahleb Vendor', created in 1886.