Latest in Culture Highlight
Latest in Culture
Egyptian-Swiss Karim Noureldin’s latest installation art connects India with Middle East
Spanning three continents and two cultures, as well as two disciplines, the work of Swiss-Egyptian artist Karim Noureldin is increasingly receiving the attention it deserves. This year the Swiss private banking group Julius Baer asked him to work on a site-specific installation. With offices in 20 countries, the group decided to unveil the work for …
Cairo Opera House to hold two concerts in Saudi Arabia
The Egyptian Minister of Culture Inas Abdel Dayem said that Saudi Arabia will host, for the first time in its history, two consecutive concerts of the Cairo Opera House at the King Fahad Cultural Centre in Riyadh next Wednesday and Thursday. Cairo Opera House prepared an artistic programme for its first visit to Saudi Arabia, …
Sohag Museum to be inaugurated by president after 29 years of planning: antiquities minister
75% of GEM complete after receiving EGP 3bn in government funding
Israel’s 70th: not a happy celebration for author Lizzie Doron
Award-winning Israeli author Lizzie Doron became renowned for her books depicting the Jews’ traumas. When she started researching the life of Palestinians — and became friends with the enemy — everything changed.DW: Israel is celebrating the state’s 70th anniversary this year. What does it mean to you? It’s a day with many, many questions. As a child …
The ‘Markle sparkle’: Why Prince Harry’s fiancée reminds people of Princess Diana
Who exactly is Meghan Markle, the 36-year-old fiancée of Prince Harry? With one month to go until the wedding of the year, a new biography on the American actress-cum-future princess’s life hits the bookshelves.Meghan Markle has captured the imagination of young wannabe princesses around the world: An attractive young woman, who has dug her way …
Biker Zone celebrates 5th anniversary this year
Following the smashing success of the previous four rounds of Biker Zone, the first and most renowned Egyptian event in the field of outdoor sports, adventure sports, extreme sports, motorsports, and bicycles, Phenomena—the organiser of Biker Zone—announced the date for holding the fifth round: 4-5 May 2018 at Cairo Festival City, in a big celebration …
Saudi Arabia opens first movie theater with ‘Black Panther’ screening
Reforms in Saudi Arabia taking place under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman include lifting a 35-year ban on cinemas in the desert nation. A showing of “Black Panther” is scheduled for a test screening in Riyadh.For the first time since officials lifted a 35-year ban on cinemas in Saudi Arabia last year as part of …
China to offer visa-free travel to its own ‘Hawaii’
China unveiled plans Wednesday (April 18) to permit visa-free travel to its southern island of Hainan, as Beijing pushes international tourism to the tropical destination in another step to open up the region.The new policy will start in May and allow travellers from 59 countries to visit Hainan for 30 days visa free, said Qu …
Why Catalan separatists are singing a traditional German children’s song
A dusty German children’s song has gained new life after Catalans misheard the lyrics as “Viva Puigdemont” and turned it into a viral sensation. The hashtag #BiBaButzemann now leads to posts from the separatist movement.A German children’s song has become a beloved anthem of Catalan separatists. A woman listening to the radio broadcaster RAC-1 noticed …
High Five: 5 bizarre nicknames you wouldn’t supect are used for Queen Elizabeth
The British monarch is also a great-grandma and a wife, which is why the Queen doesn’t only have official names and titles, but also different unsuspected nicknames.Commonly known as Queen Elizabeth or the Queen, her full name is Her Majesty Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Mountbatten-Windsor. Elizabeth is also her mother’s name; her second name pays tribute …
SOMA gallery to host Youssef Ragheb’s Full Fathom Five exhibition
The Cairo-based SOMA art gallery will host an exhibition by artist Youssef Ragheb, named Full Fathom Five, which opens on 17 April and will last until 7 May. The exhibition will include text and images, which will move in parallel narratives, but will also briefly cross paths. The concept behind the exhibition is to show …
A famous Viking king’s treasure discovered on German Baltic Sea Island
Archaeologists are thrilled with the discovery of a valuable cache of silver from the late 10th century on Germany’s largest island, with coins linked to the legendary Danish king Harald “Bluetooth” Gormsson.Archaeologists have unearthed bracelets, necklaces, rings, beads and brooches across an area of some 400 square meters (around 4,300 sq. feet) near Schaprode on the …
Lost in Space: A family journey in outer space
Netflix’s latest reboot of 1960s hit show features fractures of modern families, struggles of rebounding
Egyptian photography project Banned Beauty wins top prize in World Press Photo Contest
Project documents Cameroonian girls’ breast ironing, stories beyond it
Man Booker International Prize 2018 shortlist celebrates indie publishers
With story settings ranging from the Parisian music scene to the invaded streets of Baghdad, the international edition of the prestigious British literary prize shortlists diverse titles all published independently.Six authors and their translators are competing for the €58,000 ($71,000) Man Booker International Prize, including four European language titles, one South Korean and an Arabic …
13 cultural references that made Friday the 13th unlucky
Through myths, books and films, Friday the 13th has become an unusual day — even for those who aren’t superstitious. The makers of the same-named movies might know a thing or two about this.In 1980, a slasher film featuring a masked killer was shot on a budget of $550,000 — and obtained nearly $60 million …
‘Witch It’ wins top prizes at German Computer Games Awards
The most important prize in the country’s gaming industry, the German Computer Games Awards selects innovative games in 14 categories. This year’s winners include “Huxley,” “Assassin’s Creed Origins” and “Townsmen VR.”The German Computer Games Awards (Deutscher Computerspielpreis), were presented on Wednesday in Munich. First awarded in 2009, it is the most prestigious accolade in the …
Upper Egyptian identity revived in spearing competition
Far away from the city’s modernism that demolished the inherited Egyptian identity, citizens of Upper Egypt still hold on to their elders’ cultural rituals, which “El-Mermah” (Spearing) is one of. El-Mermah is the oldest fencing competition in the history of Egypt. On their horses, young men of Upper Egypt, especially in the region’s south, …
‘The Simpsons’ fires back in political correctness controversy in TV and books
The latest episode responded to comedian Hari Kondabolu, who had criticized the show’s portrayal of its Indian character, Apu. “The Simpsons” also feeds into to a larger debate about updating literature.In Sunday’s episode of the popular TV show “The Simpsons,” Marge Simpson picks up her favorite childhood book, “The Princess in the Garden.” Soon after …
Egypt marks beginning of spring with Sham Ennessim celebrations
Thousands of Egyptians took to public and private gardens, amusement parks, hotels, and boats to celebrate the ancient holiday of Sham Ennessim. Once a date to mark the start of spring for ancient Egyptians, beginning the harvest season, the holiday has taken a more secular turn to become celebrated by the majority of Egyptians, regardless …
French film icon Jean-Paul Belmondo at 85: his most memorable roles
“I would say I’ve done everything I wanted to,” says Jean-Paul Belmondo. Take a trip down memory lane as the star of the French New Wave and countless gangster movies celebrates his 85th birthday."You really suck," says Jean-Paul Belmondo playing small-time criminal Michel Poiccard at the end of "Breathless," a 1960 movie directed by Jean-Luc …
Münster: a sleepy city of culture turns into a crime scene
Münster is well-known throughout Germany and beyond as a lively student city with lots of culture. The city made global news when a van was driven into a crowd in the old town.Several people were killed and injured when a van was reported to have rammed into a crowd in the city Münster on Saturday …
More than a ladies’ man: The new Casanova Museum explores the man behind the myth
Giacomo Casanova is known worldwide as a ladies’ man, but he was much more: a priest, a spy and a writer. He now has a museum dedicated to him in Venice.Venice has a new attraction that’s sure to delight many tourists: the Casanova Museum and Experience. Founder Carlo Parodi remembers noticing throngs of tourists wandering …
‘Grotesque’ selfies banned at Cannes Film Festival
Is this the end of the red carpet selfie hunters? The director of France’s glamour film festival says that violators of the newly imposed selfie ban will not be let in to see films.Thousands of festival goers take selfies every year as film stars walk the red carpet at the French Riviera film festival. But …
Tahya Misr Fund enhances living conditions of Upper Egypt’s citizens
Away from the beauty of Nubia, where tourists always go and become fascinated by the quietness and peace that surrounds the houses’ bright colours, and its kind people, lie thousands of unseen Nubians that suffer from severe poverty and inhumane living conditions, where they do not have access to drinkable water or functioning sewage systems. …
'I Have a Dream': On the lasting power of Martin Luther King Jr's words
50 years after the assassination of civil rights activist Martin Luther King, his words — and especially his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech — have an unparalleled resonance. But why has his voice had such staying power?"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they …
Egypt mourns young generations’ ‘godfather’
Ahmed Khaled Tawfik dies at 55
Dangerflow performs onstage concerts with Ahmed Sheba, other Egyptian artists
Dangerflow, an American hip-hop group from Miami, Florida is bringing their exciting sound to Egypt for a series of concerts in Cairo and Alexandria, according to a Tuesday press statement from the US Embassy in Cairo. Dangerflow’s visit is a part of the US Department of State’s American Music Abroad (AMA) programme, which is the second in the embassy’s Al …
Facebook: ‘The truth has been lost’
After the recent data abuse scandal, Facebook wants to make it easier for its users to protect their privacy. But big data entrepreneur and technology critic, Yvonne Hofstetter, doubts that anything will change.Facebook boss Mark Zuckerberg has repeatedly apologized for the fact that British political consulting firm Cambridge Analytica could illegally mine data from 50 …
Spotify: How a Swedish startup transformed the music industry
As the popular music streaming service goes public today, Spotify is set to continue to revolutionize the music business. But who ultimately profits?Eleven years after it was founded, Spotify finally goes public on April 3. As the company’s CEO and co-founder Daniel Ek explained on his blog a day earlier, Spotify seeks to put itself …