Latest news with #NaguibMahfouz
CairoScene
07-07-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
Naguib Mahfouz Museum Extends Hours With Two Evening Shifts
The new hours -5 PM to 9 PM on Saturdays and Sundays - aim to accommodate more visitors and encourage nighttime cultural tourism. Jul 07, 2025 The Naguib Mahfouz Museum in Cairo's Al-Gamaleya district will begin operating two evening shifts on weekends starting July 6th. The new hours -5 PM to 9 PM on Saturdays and Sundays - aim to accommodate more visitors and encourage nighttime cultural tourism in the historic heart of the capital. Dedicated to Egypt's only Nobel Prize-winning novelist, the museum is housed in the Bayt Al-Qadi complex and has become a major cultural attraction since its opening. It includes a library, rare manuscripts, and Naguib Mahfouz's personal belongings, giving visitors intimate insight into his life and work.
Al-Ahram Weekly
03-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Naguib Mahfouz Museum adds 2 evening shifts starting July - Stage & Street - Arts & Culture
The Museum of Naguib Mahfouz, Egypt's Nobel laureate for literature, has added two evening shifts on Saturdays and Sundays starting this July. The move aims to revitalize cultural activity in Historic Cairo, allowing tourists and local visitors to explore the rare collections, works, and possessions of the famed Egyptian novelist. On Saturdays and Sundays, the museum will be open to visitors in two shifts: from 9am to 2pm and from 6pm to 10pm. Throughout the remaining days, the opening hours remain unchanged, from 9am to 4pm. Naguib Mahfouz Museum The museum, which opened in July 2019 in the Muhammad Bek Abu Al-Dahab Complex, is an edifice built in 1774 under Ottoman rule. It lies beside the main entrance of Al-Azhar Mosque. The museum comprises two floors spanning an area of 1,600 square metres. The first floor hosts several libraries, including a general library with 165 books, a literary library with 119 books, Mahfouz's library with 1,091 books on art and literature, and a collection of approximately 266 books penned by Mahfouz in Arabic, along with their translated copies. The second floor is divided into several halls, including the Nobel Hall, which is dedicated to displaying Mahfouz's Nobel medallion and certificate, along with other certificates, medallions, and awards he received throughout his life. The floor also features the Biography Hall, which showcases his personal belongings, including clothing, glasses, pens, papers, and letters, along with manuscripts written in his handwriting and his desk. The Literature Hall displays the old and new editions of Mahfouz's works along with his translated works. The Alley Hall features an exhibition on Mahfouz's life and a film about the neighbourhood where he lived and its influence on his writings. Additionally, there is a Filmography Hall containing footage from movies made from his books. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
CairoScene
23-06-2025
- Entertainment
- CairoScene
Five Films That Define Salah Abu Seif's Cinematic Legacy
Nearly three decades after his passing, Abu Seif's legacy endures through the generations of filmmakers he inspired, and the stories he told that still ring true... Jun 23, 2025 Today marks the death anniversary of Salah Abu Seif (1915–1996), a pioneer of Egyptian cinema and a defining voice in the rise of cinematic realism in the Arab world. Often credited with introducing neorealism to Egyptian screens, Abu Seif placed everyday life at the heart of his films, examining themes of class, power, and social change. His filmography includes landmark works like 'Al-Fetewa' (1957), 'El Kahera 30' (1966), 'Bedaya w Nehaya' (1960), and 'The Second Wife' (1967), many of which were adapted from major literary works and remain essential viewing in Arab cinema history. His collaborations with writer Naguib Mahfouz helped shape a cinematic language that felt both grounded and poetic. Nearly three decades after his passing, Abu Seif's legacy endures through the generations of filmmakers he inspired, and the stories he told that still ring true... Raya w Sekina (1952) Starring Negma Ibrahim, Zouzou Hamdi, Anwar Wagdy, and Shoukry Sarhan, 'Raya w Sekina' follows the story of two serial killer sisters who lived in Alexandria in the early 20th century. The plot follows the infamous case as they work with their accomplices to murder working-class women and stea ltheir jewellery. Shabab Emraa (1956) Starring Taheyya Kariokka, Shoukry Sarhan, and Shadia, 'Shabab Emraa' follows the story of a young man from the country who arrives in Cairo to finish his education. His landlady, a widow and successful businesswoman in the quarter of the Citadel, seduces him. Although she teaches him much about life, she also makes him forget his obligations to his family, his studies, and his religion. Ana Horra (1959) Starring Lobna Abd Elaziz in the role of Amina, 'Ana Horra' follows a young girl who is unable to accept Egyptian society's male-biased gender roles. 'Ana Horra' is the first of Salah Abu Saif's Empowerment of Women Trilogy, followed by 'Al-Tariq Al-Masdood' and 'El Banat wel Sayf'. Bedaya w Nehaya (1960) Based on Naguib Mahfouz's novel by the same name, 'Bedaya w Nehaya' tells the story of a family after the death of a father: one brother turns to crime, another leaves to work in a different city, and the youngest pursues a military career. Their sister, Nefisah, becomes a prostitute after a failed love affair. El Kahera 30 (1966) Another film based on a Naguib Mahfouz novel, 'El Kahera 30' follows the story of Mahgoub Abd El Dayem, a young man who comes from Upper Egypt to the slums of Cairo. After meeting someone from his village, he is offered a job to marry the minister's mistress, on the condition that the minister visits her once a week.
Asharq Al-Awsat
05-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Asharq Al-Awsat
Three Rivers, One Bridge: Mahfouz's Last Dreams Revisited
With refreshing honesty, the Libyan British novelist Hisham Matar begins his translation of Naguib Mahfouz's last dreams with a confession. During their only meeting in the 1990s, Matar asked Mahfouz how he viewed writers who write in a language other than their mother tongue. The question reflected the concerns of a young writer born in America, raised partly in Cairo, and later sent to a British boarding school under a false identity to evade persecution by Gaddafi's regime, which had disappeared his dissident father. Naguib Mahfouz on the balcony of his café overlooking Tahrir Square in Cairo, 1988. (AFP) Mahfouz's reply was as concise and sharp as his prose: "You belong to the language you write in." Yet Matar admits that, in later recollections of this exchange, he often caught himself embellishing Mahfouz's words, adding an unspoken elaboration: "Every language is its own river, with its own terrain and ecology, its own banks and tides, its own source and destinations where it empties, and therefore, every writer who writes in that language must swim in its river." In this sense, I Found Myself... The Last Dreams, published by Penguin's Viking last week, attempts to be a bridge between three rivers: the Arabic in which Mahfouz wrote his original text, the English into which Matar translated it, and the visual language of the American photographer Diana Matar; the translator's wife whose images of Cairo are interspersed throughout the book. No easy task. Mahfouz's translations have often sparked debate—whether over inaccuracies, neglected context, or occasional editorial interference. A touch of this affects Matar's attempt without ruining it. For instance, in translating Dream 211, where Mahfouz finds himself facing Saad Zaghloul, leader of the 1919 revolution, alongside "Umm al-Masriyyin" (Mother of the Egyptians)—a title referring to Zaghloul's wife, Safiya—Matar misinterprets the epithet as a symbolic allusion to Egypt itself, rendering it "Mother Egypt." Beyond this, however, the first published translation by Pulitzer-winning Matar flows smoothly, matching the simplicity of his project's origin story: it began one morning over coffee at the kitchen table, where he translated a few dreams for his wife, only to find himself having done dozens—eventually deciding to publish them as his first major translation. The images complement the dreamlike atmosphere without attempting to directly translate any of them. (Courtesy of Diana Matar) Perhaps the concise, economical language of Mahfouz's final dreams made the task easier. Between dreams, Diana Matar's photographs of Cairo—Mahfouz's city and muse—appear shrouded in shadows, dust, and fleeting impressions, sometimes ghostly in detail, complementing the dreamscapes without directly illustrating them. Here, she joins Mahfouz in her love for Cairo, which became her "muse" after accompanying her husband to that summer meeting with the Arab world's sole Nobel laureate in literature. Relying on black-and-white imagery and abstraction where possible, Diana seems to bridge the temporal gap between her Cairo and Mahfouz's. Diana Matar took most of the book's photographs between the late 1990s and early 2000s. (Courtesy of Diana Matar) In his introduction's closing lines, Hisham Matar imagines Mahfouz flipping through the translation and remarking, in his trademark brevity: "Of course." But perhaps closer to the truth is that he would repeat his original verdict: "You belong to the language you write in." Perhaps we must accept that translation—not just of this book, but in general—is a bridge, not a mirror. And that is enough.
Al-Ahram Weekly
03-06-2025
- Business
- Al-Ahram Weekly
Iran's FM prays at Al-Hussein Mosque, dines at traditional restaurant in Cairo - Foreign Affairs
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi visited key landmarks in Cairo and met with prominent Egyptian figures during a trip to Egypt on Monday. In a post on the X platform Tuesday morning, Minister Araghchi said he performing Maghrib and Isha prayers at Cairo's historic Al-Hussein Mosque. He later dined with prominent Egyptian figures at the iconic Naguib Mahfouz restaurant in Khan El Khalili– a venue that hosted President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi and French President Emmanuel Macron during the latter's visit in April. Among the prominent figures Araghchi dined with were former Egyptian foreign ministers Amr Moussa, Nabil Fahmy, and Mohamed El-Orabi. The top Iranian diplomat described the dinner conversation as 'very productive.' Earlier on Monday, Araghchi also met with President El-Sisi, where they discussed bilateral and regional issues, including the current regional conflict. He also held talks with his Egyptian counterpart, Badr Abdelatty, where both ministers expressed a shared interest in strengthening ties. They agreed to enhance cooperation in key areas, including trade, tourism, and continued political dialogue. While formal diplomatic ties have yet to be fully restored, with ambassadors still not reappointed, Araghchi noted that close coordination between the two sides continues. He added that Iran is not pressing for a specific timeline, and will proceed at Egypt's pace, stating, 'When our brothers in Egypt are ready, we will be ready.' The Iranian foreign minister stated that 'After many years, Iranian and Egyptian diplomacy has entered a new phase.' إنني سعيد بتواجدي في القاهرة مرةً أخرى. لقد كانت لدي لقاءات مهمة للغاية مع فخامة الرئيس عبد الفتاح السيسي، ومعالي وزير الخارجية بدر عبد العاطي. بعد سنواتٍ طويلة، دخلت الدبلوماسية بين إيران ومصر مرحلةً جديدة. مستوى التفاعل والتعاون السياسي، والأهم من ذلك مستوى الثقة والاطمئنان في… — Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) June 3, 2025 This marked Araghchi's second visit to Egypt since becoming foreign minister in August 2024. His first trip, in October, was the first by a high-ranking Iranian official to Cairo in over a decade. In recent years, ties between Egypt and Iran have notably improved following decades of tension rooted in Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution and Egypt's peace agreement with Israel the same year. Renewed diplomatic engagement in 2023—especially in the wake of the war in Gaza—led to a wave of senior-level talks, reflecting a mutual interest in restoring normalised relations. 'As two influential regional powers with ancient cultures and civilisations, Iran and Egypt share a joint responsibility for maintaining peace, stability, and calm in the region,' Araghchi added in his X post. Follow us on: Facebook Instagram Whatsapp Short link:
