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WORKSHOPS
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| Typical cooking |
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A pleasant boat trip across the Nile leads to the home of Muhammad where the cooking class has been organized. With a few twigs picked up near the door of her home the young woman lights the fire for cooking the molokheyya soup (local vegetable resembling spinach), potatoes cooked with onions, with ochre in the pot rather than the foul (dish of yellow beans and black beans seasoned with sesame oil and lemon) while Umm Muhammad in the shade of the date palm gives instructions on how to make the “shamsi” bread right from the kneading to the oven. |
| Feluca |
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A light breeze touches one’s face, turn towards the brilliant green of the banks of the Nile where goats and little donkeys placidly graze, and carries the felluca towards the Banana Island. The felluca captain will guide the student wishing to learn some tips on Nile navigation while the fish leap out of the water as though giving a welcome. |
| Calligraphy |
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Learning to write well in Arabic, is the aim
of the majority of the students of this language.
Continuous practice with correction by the teacher is the main way of learning the basic notions of writing, but a more complex approach is necessary to acquire the basis of the art of calligraphy. It is the artistic approach which must link the mind to the hand of the student in order to acquire the refined lines of Arab calligraphy. This is indispensable for understanding through the tip of the “calame” the culture which created it. |
| Raqs al-sharqi or oriental dance |
| The social role of the dance
was extremely important in the ancient Egyptian culture. The beat
of the rhythm, the movements and the techniques, have evolved throughout
the centuries to develop a type of dance characterized by the sinuous
movement of the belly and hips. Al-raqs as-sharqy is derived from a more folkloric and spontaneous dance albeit less refined, called “balady”. It is easy to arrange to see the performance of this dance, by both men and women, at marriage receptions. Those who wish to learn the precise movements of the oriental dance (the “belly dance” as it is known in Europe) can be shown and taught the techniques which they can enjoy performing when the notes and rhythm of the lute, the “tabla” the “nay” and the “rababa”start to play. |