American University in Cairo
New Cairo Campus
The Sullivan Lounge
Wed 16, 1-2pm: “History Hash Outs — Listening to the Past: Street Hawkers and Cairo’s Lost Sounds” lecture features Ziad Fahmy, Professor of Modern Middle East History, Department of Near Eastern Studies, Cornell University. Professor Fahmy is the author of Street Sounds: Listening to Everyday Life in Modern Egypt (Stanford University Press, 2020). Street Sounds was a co-winner of the Urban History Association's 2021 Award for Best Book in Non-North American Urban History. He is currently on sabbatical as a Fulbright Distinguished Scholar in Egypt, researching and writing his third book, Broadcasting Identity: Radio and the Making of Modern Egypt, 1925-1952.
Beit Al-Sehemi
Al-Gamaliya, Al-Darb Al-Asfar Alley, Al-Muiz St, Tel 02 2591 3391
Mon 14, 7pm: “Beginnings and Career” seminar features architects Wael El-Masry and Hamdy El-Setouhy, who will talk about their professional path as Egyptian architects.
The Egyptian Museum
Tahrir Sq, Sadat Station, Tel 2578 2452
Cairo Hall 39
Mon 14, 11am: “Archaeology, Museums, and Territory: How to Make History Accessible to Everyone” conference will be delivered by Prof. Cristina Mondin, who obtained a Master and a PhD in Archaeology at the University of Padova (Italy), and has a special interest in the study of Roman pottery in Northern Italy, Egypt and Turkey. The conference will be moderated by Prof. Ali Abdel-Halim, General Director of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo and Associate Professor of Arabic Language and Literature at the University of Bologna and Director of the Italian Archaeological Centre at the Italian Cultural Institute Giuseppe Cecere. The conference is organized, in cooperation with the Egyptian Museum, and the Italian Archaeological Centre of the Italian Cultural Institute in Cairo in celebration of the International Day of Monuments and Sites (IDMS), celebrated on 18 April.
Tahrir Cultural Centre (TCC)
AUC’s Tahrir Campus, Al-Sheikh Rihan St, off Tahrir Square, Tel 02 2615 2694/01280009077
Oriental Hall
Fri 11 and Sat 12 April, 9am - 5pm: "Entertainment in Middle East History: The Serious Business of Leisure and Fun" is the annual history seminar, hosted by the Sheikh Hassan Abbass Sharbatly Department of Arab and Islamic Civilizations. This year’s theme explores the vibrant role of entertainment in Middle Eastern culture.
Fri 11, 11am-12pm: Part of Tahrir CultureFest 2025, “Reflections on the Nile: Sustainability, Innovation and Action” is an engaging discussion on the urgent need to protect water bodies from plastic waste and how education, technology and entrepreneurship can drive change, following the Nile kayaking tour. Speakers: Badr Kotb, Mechanical Engineering Graduating Senior, AUC; President, AUC Enactus, Farah Ghonaim, Mechanical Engineering Senior, AUC; HR Director, AUC Enactus, and Noureldin Amrousi, Mechanical Engineering Graduate, AUC; Projects’ Co-director, AUC Enactus.
Main Garden
Fri 11, 3-4pm: “Stir, Stir, Slurp” join Kids Life Coach and Storyteller Lamya Tawfik ’97, ’04 for this fun-filled session of stories and imaginary soups. In this interactive workshop, kids will dive into the joyful world of “The Magic Stone Soup,” followed by creating their own "superpower soup."
Ewart Memorial Hall
Sat 12, 2-30pm: Join Mahmoud El-Tamimi, founder of the Cairo My Address project, for a captivating historical discussion exploring the profound influence of foreigners on Egyptian society.
Armenian Room
Sat 12, 12pm-7pm: Step into the historic Armenian Room to see the newly redesigned 38 Armenian alphabet letters. The room also showcases the first recorded Armenian proverb as a tribute to Armenian heritage and Cairo's community.
Howard Room
Sat 12, 4.30-5.30pm: Join Yasmine Motawy for a discussion on her book Children’s Picture Books and Contemporary Egyptian Society, exploring how children’s literature reflects two decades of Egyptian neoliberalism, moderated by Hebatalla Salem,
Senior Instructor II, Department of Arabic Language Instruction, AUC.
Oriental Hall
Sat 12, 6-8pm: “Cairo’s Architecture: A Cosmopolitan Canvas” panel explores the manifestations of the colonial, postcolonial and neoliberal eras in re-making the urban fabric and architectural styles of Cairo. It features Ibrahim Karim, Founder, Science of BioGeometry; Professor of Architecture, Pascale Ghazaleh
Associate Professor, Sultan Al-Qasimi Department of History, AUC among others.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 10 April, 2025 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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