Eighth Issue - December 2015

Bi-monthly Perioidical Eighth Issue /December 2015
Table of contents
Letter from Cairo
A Bi-Monthly Periodical on the
current political, economic, and
cultural developments in Egypt
p4
Issued by Foreign Information Sector
State Information Service
Arab Republic of Egypt
120 years
of cinema
in Egypt
Board Chairman
Ambassador
p8
Salah A Elsadek
Editor-in-Chief
Abdel Mo'ti Abu Zeid
Egypt understands
pain of the
Russian people
p 11
Executive Editor
Al-Azhar Grand
Nashwa Abdel Hamid
Imam: Terrorism has
no religion
Editor
Mostafa Ahmady
p 12
Layout
Is the lost
Nisreen Ahmed
Queen Nefertiti
hiding behind
Tutankhamun’s tomb?
SIS Website: http://sis.gov.eg
Email: letterfromcairo@gmail.com
Editorial
120 Years of
Egyptian Cinema
he Eighth Issue of Letter from Cairo features cultural
T events
and activities seen in Egypt recently, including
the Cairo International Film Festival; the dream concert by
world-renowned Yanni under the pyramids plateau; the visit
of Hollywood celebrity Morgan Freeman to Egypt to film
“The Story of God”, a documentary on religions and related
rituals all over the world; the attempt to uncover more secrets
of the pyramids; and trying to answer the question whether
Queen Nefertiti is hiding behind King Tutankhamun’s tomb,
a theory if proven true, would be Egypt’s most important find
in the 21st century.
Egypt hosted the 37th session of Cairo International Film
Festival, with the participation of Italian celebrity Claudia
Cardinale as the guest of honor. Cardinale voiced her deep
admiration of the time-honored Egyptian cinema. And for the
first time ever, world-renowned musician Yanni performed
under the Pyramids’ plateau, a dream concert that came true,
as Yanni described the experience as thrilling! Speaking of the
pyramids, Egypt launched Scan Pyramids Project to uncover
more secrets of the only living wonder of the ancient world.
Still with the pyramids, as Hollywood celebrity Morgan
Freeman visited the stunning place and other historical places
in Egypt to film “The Story of God”, a documentary on the
concept on god in different cultures worldwide. Moreover,
the world might be closer than ever to uncovering Nefertiti’s
tomb, as British Egyptologist Nicholas Reeves believes the
beautiful Queen’s tomb might be behind the walls of King
Tut’s mausoleum.
120 years
of cinema in Egypt
ClaudiaCardinale,
guest of honor at Cairo Int’l Film Festival
Italian celebrity Claudia Cardinale is in love with Egypt because “it is a great nation”.
Cardinale was the guest of honor of the 37th session of the world-renowned Cairo
International Film Festival. The Italian celebrity visited the Pyramids and Sphinx and
said Egypt is a charming country that attracts lovers from everywhere in the world. She
also voiced admiration of the time-honored Egyptian cinema industry. She expressed her
happiness after she won an award named after Egypt’s legendary actress Faten Hamama.
The Festival also honored three Egyptian iconic figures who passed away this year: Faten
Hamama, world-renowned actor Omar El-Sherief and veteran late actor Nour el-Sherief.
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120 movies from 64 countries were
on display at the Festival including the
American movie “Ricky and the Flash”
starred by Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline,
Mamie Gummer, and directed by Jonathon
Demme, who won the Oscar for his famous
movie “Silence of the Lambs” in 1991.
Arab movies
include the Algerian “Madam Couraje”
and the Yemeni “I’m a ten year old and
divorced”, as well as the Egyptian “El-Leila
el-Kebeera” and “Men Dahr Ragel”. In the
closing ceremony, Head of Jury British
producer Paul Westar announced the winner
movie “Mediterranea” by American-Italian
writer and director Jonas Carpignano that
secured the Golden Pyramid Award and
best actor award went to the movie’s star
Koudous Seihoun. The winner movie is
co-produced by Italy, France and the US.
The movie discusses the challenges that
the African migrants face who migrate to
Europe.
Special Jury Award (Silver Pyramid)
went to Icelandic director Dagur Kari
for his movie “Virgin Mountain (Fusi).
Bronze Pyramid Award went to Argentine
Santiago Metre for his movie “Paulina”.
Best Actor Award went to French Louis
Bourgoin for her role in the French “I’m
a Soldier”. Romanian director Corneliu
Porumboiu won the Naguib Mahfouz Best
Script Award for his movie “Treasure”.
Croatian movie “Bright Sun” won the best
artistic contribution. Youssef Chahine for
Best Short Film Award went to “Euroman”.
“The Red Spider” movie won Shady Abdel
Salam Award for the best movie within the
Critics’ Week Contest. And finally, Syrian
movie “Waiting for Fall” won Salah Abu
Seif Best Movie Award within the Arab
Cinema Prospects Contest.
International Cairo Film Festival started
in 1976 based on an idea by the Egyptian
Association for Cinema Writers and Critics
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of the French cinema. After the successful
display of the first world movie in Paris,
France in December in 1895, the first
ever motion picture was on display in
Alexandria, Egypt in January 1896: “The
Rain” by French Lumiere brothers. Then
on January 28, 1896, Cairo saw the display
of a motion picture. Over 120 years, the
Egyptian cinema produced more than
3000 movies that most Arab satellite TV
channels repeatedly put on display till the
present time. The year 1927 witnessed the
real beginning of the Egyptian film-making
industry as two movies were produced
then “A Kiss in the Desert “ Kubla fel
Sahara” and “ Leila”. One of the famous
silent movies was “Zeinab” directed by
Mohamed Kareem, Egyptian renowned
director.
under journalist Kamal el-Mallakh, and it
is the first international film festival in the
Arab World and the Middle East.
Egypt’s cinema history is as deep as that
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In 1935, Studio Masr was established,
which was a turning point in the history
of Egyptian cinema, where in 1939, the
“Al-Azeema (Determination) movie was
produced. At the same time, Egypt’s talking
magazine was released and it is still alive
so far. In the aftermath of World War II, the
number of Egyptian movies was doubled
from 16 in 1944 to 67 in 1964, and Cairo
got its famous title “Hollywood of the
East”. The Egyptian movie was on display
in cinemas in Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, East of
Jordan, Palestine, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya
and then Abyssinia (currently Ethiopia).
Egyptian movies found their way to India,
Pakistan, Greece and even the United
States of America.
In 1960s, cinema industry was
nationalized and the State then produced
serious and important movies. In 1970s, the
State’s role in film-making was retreating
and in the 1980s, a new line of directors
appeared, producing such important
movies that depend less on novels and
stories, rather on cinema techniques and
style. World renowned late superstar Omar
El-Sherief left a great heritage of movies
locally and internationally. El-Sherief
starred in “Dr. Zhivago”, Lawrence of
Arabia, the Thirteenth Warrior, and “Che”
which tells the story of the revolutionary
icon Guevara. Egypt also boasts late great
director Youssef Chahine who made such
famous movies as “El-Naser Salaheddin”,
“Bab el-Hadid”, the Land (Al-Ardh),
“Adieu Bonaparte”, and the Immigrant.
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Dream concert by great Yanni under
the Pyramids plateau
On September 5, the world renowned
Greek-American musician Yiannis Chryssomallis, popularly known as Yanni, has announced on his official Facebook and Twitter accounts that he will be performing along
with his phenomenal orchestra for the first
time ever in Egypt by the Giza Pyramids on
October 30.
For 25 years, the 60 year old keyboardist,
pianist, composer and music producer, and
two-time Grammy Award nominee, has experimented with music beyond the boundaries of popular music genres, despite it being
labeled under ‘New Age’. From combining
electronic music synthesizers with full symphony orchestras, to the use of exotic instruments on stage, Yanni’s music has retained its
unique edge despite its ever changing vibe.
Besides his studio recordings which are
internationally acclaimed, Yanni’s live performances are yet more celebrated. Calling
them the ‘United Nations’, Yanni has handpicked some of the most phenomenal musical talents from around the world to join
his orchestra which includes musicians from
Cuba, Paraguay, Taiwan, Armenia, Canada
and more.
Once Yanni arrived in Egypt, he published
videos by the River Nile showing his excitement to perform at the Pyramids. Following his arrival, Yanni shot a clip to promote
tourism in Egypt based on an agreement
with the Tourism Ministry. The clip will
be used by 24,000 Sony stores for the next
six months, according to concert organizer
Ashraf Haridy.
His tour to Egypt included visits to the Pyramids, Khan El-Khalili, Al-Muez Streets,
and Cairo Citadel. The pictures taken from
these tours were used to promote tourism
in Egypt with the hashtag #ThisIsEgypt to
show people the true image of Egypt, Saad
said.
Yanni started his press conference in Egypt
saying ” I am here to celebrate Egypt and
The Egyptians, I want to send message to
whole world who are Egyptians the passionate and friendly people”. During the conference, Yanni revealed his intent to present a
new musical composition, created exclusively for Egypt, which he called “In celebration
of Egypt.”
Yanni’s ‘Dream Concert’ by the Pyramids
follows a number of concerts that were performed on the premises of world famous sites
including the Taj Mahal in India, the Forbidden City in China, the Kremlin in Moscow,
El Morro Castle in Puerto Rico, the ancient
city Byblos in Lebanon, the Carthage in Tunisia and Burj Khalifa in Dubai.
“There is nothing like the excitement and
interaction with a live audience,” Yanni told
Linda Sickler in a 2012 interview to Savannah Now. “I get butterflies before every single show, and I feel an immense connection
and inspiration from every audience, anywhere in the world. Nothing beats performing live, there is nothing like it.”
The ancient Egyptian Pyramids and Sphinx
were the spectacular backdrop to Yanni’s two
Cairo concerts . Receiving a standing ovation before the concert had even begun, and
with the Egyptian flag proudly rested on his
neck, Yanni repeatedly told his concertgoers,
“Long live Egypt.” The legendary musician
told the lucky ones in attendance that performing in Egypt was a long dream of his.
He even joked that “I want to pinch myself
to make sure I’m not dreaming.” Engulfed
with a warm welcome, Yanni described his
Cairo concerts as “a message of peace and
love from Egypt to the world.”
But the attendees were in for an even bigger surprise. A special friend of Yanni’s appeared on the huge TV screens set up next to
the stage. Yanni’s NASA astronaut friend reported live from his spaceship to inform everyone that he was enjoying his good buddy’s
concert all the way from outer space.
After playing his final piece, Yanni expressed his love for the people of Egypt and
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Egypt, world uncover Pyramids’ secrets
The Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities
announced the start of the global-Egyptian
project to explore the secrets of the pyramids.
The project takes place under the supervision
of the Ministry in coordination with the
Faculty of Engineering of Cairo University
and the French HIP Institute, as well as an
international team of experts from Egypt,
Japan, Canada and France. The Minister
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of Antiquities said the year 2016 would be
that of Pyramids, regarding that project as
unprecedented as it aims at penetrating into
the heart of the Pyramids via using the stateof-the-art scientific means.
The project, known as Scan Pyramids, will
employ cosmic rays and thermal imaging to
look at the insides of the pyramids. The project
sheds light on four of the most important
treasures of the Fourth Dynasty (2575-2465
BC) in Dahsour area, 15 km south of Saqqara.
The project will start with the Bent Pyramid in
Dahshour and the Northern Pyramid known
as the Red Pyramid. Minister of Tourism
said that project would help attract tourism
to Egypt again as tourism accounts for 10%
of Egypt’s GDP. The Scan Pyramids project
aims at answering that question which still
confuses the world: How were the Pyramids
built without any technological assistance?
Hollywood Celebrity Freeman:
I will come again to see the Pyramids
Once starring as god in “Bruce Almighty”,
Morgan Freeman wants this time to
discover the “Story of God”, a documentary
on religions and religious spirituals in
the world. In cooperation with State
Information Service and the ministries
of culture, tourism and antiquities, the
Hollywood celebrity Morgan Freeman
made it to Egypt for filming some scenes
of the documentary. Minister of Tourism
Hisham Zaazou said Freeman’s visit to
Egypt would bolster tourism and boost the
influx of tourists to the country. During his
stay in Egypt, Freeman visited the Fatimid’s
era street El-Mo’ez, al-Hussein District, elNil Kasr (Palace) Bridge,
the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, the Giza Pyramids and Saqqara. He also paid a visit to the
famous Luxor City, a home to one third of the world’s antiquities including the famous Valley of Kings
and historical temples. Speaking of Luxor, the Hollywood superstar said the city is incomparable to
other cities in the world. The US celebrity said he would come back again to see the pyramids and
enter the Great Pyramid. The Hollywood superstar and Minister of Tourism launched the “#this_is_
Egypt” to support tourism in the country.
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The British Daily Mail:
Is th
Quee e lost
n Ne
fertit
hidin
i
g beh
ind
Tuta
nkha
mun
's
tomb
?
The international media is wondering whether
Queen Nefertiti is hiding behind King Tutankhamun’s tomb. The British Daily Mail published a report on the lost Queen tomb, thought
to be the King’s stepmother. British Egyptologist
Nicholas Reeves who is leading the investigation
team said last month he believed Queen Nefertiti’s tomb is behind the walls of King Tut’s mausoleum. If this is proven true, it will be Egypt’s
most important find in the 21st century.
The British newspaper quoted the Egyptian
Antiquities Minister Madmouh el-Damati as
saying “We said earlier there was a 60 percent
chance there is something behind the walls. But
now after the initial reading of the scans, we are
saying now its 90 percent likely there is something behind the walls.”
The newspaper also quoted Japanese radar specialist Hirokatsu Watanabe as saying: “There is,
in fact, an empty space behind the wall based on
radar, which is very accurate, there is no doubt.”
The newspaper said such discovery would uncover more secrets of ancient Egypt and help
boost Egypt’s tourism industry.
Experts have long wanted to understand why
King Tut's tomb was smaller than that of other
pharaohs and why its shape was more in keep12
ing with that of the Egyptian queens of the time.
Reeves’ theory might provide the clue, should
Queen Nefertiti lay there. Queen Nefertiti has
been long believed to have died during Akhenaton’s reign; but other experts, including Reeves,
have come to believe she outlived her husband
and may have briefly ruled Egypt. Nefertiti’s
statue bust was found in 1912, 400 km north of
Luxor. It is believed that Queen Nefertiti married Akhenaton when she was 16 years old and
they had 6 children; both established the “Atun
Cult”, referred to by the sun disc.
Discovery of the century?
The quest for Queen Nefertiti
If recent radar investigations ultimately prove
that Tutankhamun’s tomb was the last resting
place of the lost Queen Nefertiti, it would be the
most remarkable archaeological discovery of the
21st century Egyptologists now believe that they
are a step closer to finding a royal burial chamber as radar scans reveal two void spaces behind
the west and north walls of Tutankhamun’s burial chamber. This result adds weight to the theory launched in August by British Egyptologist
Nicholas Reeves claiming that the burial place of
Queen Nefertiti is hidden inside the tomb of his
son-in-law, the golden King Tutankhamun.
Reeves came up with his theory after a close
examination of high resolution 3D laser scan
photos taken by the Spanish Factum Arte Organisation to create a replica of Tutankhamun’s
tomb, now erected in the area adjacent to the
rest-house of its discoverer, British archaeologist Howard Carter, on Luxor’s west bank. It was
the first time radar scans were conducted in the
tomb, representing a crucial step in the investigation.
At dusk, when tourists left the site and the Valley of the Kings fell silent, Minister of Antiquities Mamdouh Eldamaty, along with Reeves,
Japanese radar specialist Hirokatsu Watanabe
and Egyptian Applied and Environmental Geophysics professor from the National Institute of
Astronomy and Geophysics Abbas Mohamed
moved into Tutankhamun’s tomb which was a
hive of activity. Almost two dozen archaeologist,
scientists and technicians were inside the tomb,
their devices connected to electronic wires
sprawled every which way on the floor of the
tomb’s entrance yard. Watanabe was left alone
in front of the burial chamber’s west wall with
his Japanese-made Koden-brand radar machine.
At a distance of five centimeters from the wall
Watanabe placed his machine and slowly started
to push the trolley on which was installed the radar device, monitoring the waves and reflections
which appeared on a tiny computer screen suspended at the top. When Watanabe reached the
centre of the wall he shouted, “There is a change
of material here”. The point on the wall was actually where Reeves believes contains the traces
of a hidden doorway. Watanabe re-scanned the
wall and then proceed to the north wall.
After scanning the north wall, he examined
the multi-coloured signs shown on the computer screen and noticed that the first part of the
north wall was solid while its second half showed
changes in material which indicated the existence of something which he could not identify.
“There is, in fact, an empty space behind the
wall based on radar, which is very accurate, there
is no doubt,” Watanabe noted. He said that obviously this void space was an entrance to a very
deep “something”. At this point, Watanabe
could not determine the size of the hollow space
behind the wall; the data had to be analysed in
order to better understand it and to come up
with the correct results.
Eldamaty described the results of the radar
scans as “good and positive”. He added that “although we do now believe 90 per cent that the
west and north wall conceal something behind it,
probably a burial chamber, more work is needed
to yield accurate results. “The scans will be sent to
Japan for further analysis, which will take around
one month to complete.” “My close examination
of these scans highlight the apparent presence of
closed doorways on the west wall, potentially
13
leading to an additional Tutankhamun period
storeroom,” Reeves told the Weekly. “The radar,
behind the north wall seems pretty clear.
“If I am right, it is a continuation of the tomb,
which will end in another burial chamber. It
does look indeed as if the tomb of Tutankhamun
is a corridor tomb and it continues beyond the
decorated burial chamber. “I think it is Nefertiti and all the evidence points in that direction,”
Reeves said, but warned that even the most minor of incisions in the wall could damage the
inner chamber that may have been hermetically
sealed for many years. “The key is to excavate
slowly and carefully and record well. The fact is
this isn’t a race. All archaeology is disruptive.
We can’t go back and re-do it, so we have to do it
well in the first place,” Reeves said. But, “I am feeling more certain today than I expected to be”.
If the scholars were able to prove their theory,
“this would be a new step that could lead to a
most significant archeological discovery in the
21st Century,” Damaty said. “The construction
of Tutankhamen’s tomb was not completed
when the young Pharaoh unexpectedly died at
the age of 19, thus the tomb of Nefertiti who had
died 10 years earlier, was partially adopted for Tutankhamen’s royal burial,” Reeves said briefing
his theory to reporters in a press conference held
at the Egyptian State Information Service (SIS) in
September.
14
During the conference, Reeves had passionately
defended his theory saying that his careful examination of the ceiling of the tomb has revealed a
“line that extends along the ceiling from the antechamber to the edge of what he believes is the false
door leading to Nefertiti’s undisturbed tomb.”
This supports my theory; “Tutankhamen’s burial
chamber was a part of the corridor leading to
the false wall behind which Nefertiti’s tomb lies.
After the sudden death of the boy king, the area
before the wall was extended to accommodate his
sarcophagus and the four huge shrines.”
During the conference, Damaty announced
the ministry’s next step was to carry out radar
and thermal imaging that would help establish
whether there are secret rooms hidden behind
the burial chamber of Tutankhamen. He added
that a conclusion on Reeve’s theory is to be announced by the end of this year.
Reeves’s theory was developed after he examined ultra-high resolution images published by
Factume Arte; an art replication establishment
that created a facsimile of Tutankhamen’s burial
chamber in 2014. In the images, Reeves noted
some cracks in the northern and eastern walls of
the tomb. He suggested they mark two passages,
leading to Nefertiti’s tomb that were blocked,
plastered and painted. Among the other clues is
that neither the tomb nor the mummy of Nefertiti has been found yet.