4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Crypts, corridors & sycamore tales: Khazana School for Heritage workshop concludes - Heritage special
Charming, colourful illustrations that waltz between time and space were on display. These vivid scenes were part of a leather-covered, handcrafted storybook titled News of Crypts and Corridors and Stories of Sycamore Trees.
The rhymed story, based on oral legends from the districts of Manial and Roda, is the brainchild of published author and writer Mariam Abdel Aziz.
'It's an illustrated book—more of a story that is read, viewed, and heard because I also have it in a podcast,' Mariam told Ahram Online. 'It's a project that combines different art forms: there is Arabic calligraphy, illustrations by Israa Kamal, the writing, and the storytelling,' she added.
The book is one of several outcomes from last week's closing ceremony of the workshop titled Joy and Content: Narratives and Entertainment Heritage of Roda Island and Manial District, organized by Khazana School for Heritage in collaboration with the American University in Cairo's (AUC) Rare Books and Special Collections Library.
'I used to collaborate with Khazana in telling stories they collected from other districts, such as Fagalla, but this Manial experience—I lived it from the beginning. I learned how to collect oral information, what tangible and intangible heritage means, and how to interview people. We gathered so many stories, and among them were legends. The legends were the most inspiring to me,' she explained.
Mariam based her book on the legend of the Al-Mandoura tree—an ancient sycamore believed by some to be a source of fertility for barren women and by others to possess healing properties for the skin.
'The tree had its own guard, which is something very novel. His name is Am Khalifa. He's a legend himself—his origins and personal life remain unknown,' she added.
The rhymed story, written in the classical maqama style of Arabic literature, takes readers on a journey through urban legends doubting the existence of crypts and corridors in the Manial district. The plot flows swiftly through the multicultural layers of Manial and Roda, weaving together cultural figures, landmarks, Sufi walis, and the historic Nilometer.
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