Having completed restoration works of Aisha Fahmy Palace, an iconic edifice located at the Zamalek district, next to the Old Boulaq Bridge, the Cultural Development Fund -- one of the Egypt ministry of culture's sectors -- began laying plans for yet another ambitious project: Journey of Creativity (Rehlet El Ibdaa), a cruise that would spread arts towards southern governorates.

"The cruise will move from the dock at the Aisha Fahmy Palace and head towards the south of Egypt, passing through many cities and villages, Giza, Assiut, Menia... all the way to Aswan," Mohamed Abou Seada, head of the Cultural Development Fund, told Ahram Online.

Carrying the working name of Journey of Creativity (Rehlet El Ibdaa), "the cruise will be a carrier of cultural values and knowledge," he added before elaborating on the several purposes that the cruise will serve.

"The travelling artists – painters, filmmakers, actors, dancers and musicians – will have an opportunity to get inspired by the journey, landscapes, as well as cultural and archaeological riches that lie along the Nile banks," Abou Seada explains.

Computer generated image of the Journey of Creativity cruise and its activities (Photo: courtesy of the Cultural Development Fund)

On the other hand, the cruise will carry a full programme of artistic activities presented to the residents of the cities and villages visited.

According to the plans, the Journey of Creativity cruise will have on its board easels for the visual artists, library, film screenings and light equipment, a small stage, folding chairs that would be put in use for the audiences at each stop.

"In each location visited, people will be invited to watch films that talk about culture or a theatrical performance. We also plan to create walks through the boat allowing the people to get acquainted with tools of artistic productions. The visitors will also have access to the library on board," Abou Seada explained, pointing in specific to the young generation in Egypt's south who would be among the beneficiaries of the project.

"The cruise will be a great platform for the large number of Egyptian population disconnected from the cultural activities to finally see how rich Egypt's culture is. We cannot be closed in Cairo or Alexandria," he commented.

Computer generated image of the Journey of Creativity cruise and its activities (Photo: courtesy of the Cultural Development Fund)

This is not the first time for the Cultural Development Fund to reach out to Egypt's governorates. One of the notable examples of moving outside Cairo is the annual Aswan Sculpture Symposium, during which artists reside in the southern city and produce work.

The symposium includes accommodation in a specific location, the Journey of Creativity however is characterised by a mobility that will feed the creative minds as well as residents of the visited locations.

"We can even incorporate the symposium's activities with the cruise, taking the sculptors onto the journey and as such giving them yet another inspiring experience." Abou Seada expects that the journeys would take seven to 10 days.

"Our plans have no limits and the cruise is a platform for many dynamic ideas. We have already drawn all the skeleton of the project, now we will start the implementation process. It is very probable that by the end of 2015, the first Journey of Creativity cruise will move from the Aisha Fahmy Palace's dock towards southern governorates," Abou Seada concluded.

Computer generated image of the Journey of Creativity cruise and its activities (Photo: courtesy of the Cultural Development Fund)

Computer generated image of the Journey of Creativity cruise and its activities (Photo: courtesy of the Cultural Development Fund)

Computer generated image of the Journey of Creativity cruise and its activities (Photo: courtesy of the Cultural Development Fund)