A Mashrou’ El Mareekh or Mars Project touring Egyptian cities initially sounded humorous. In only two years, however, it proved to be one of the most promising cultural movements. The young and talented Mariam El Quessny, who founded the movement, hit the streets of Maadi, Cairo in 2009, asking people to listen to a short-story she had written and wanted to read out to them; she found that “the atmosphere was great. I didn’t want to announce an event or wait for people’s feedback on my work; so I went to the streets to express myself. I wanted to get an immediate response and see how the masses would react,” she told Ahram Online.
Initially the movement was named Project Yourself, and it aiming to reach out to the public and show a range of fresh talent expressing the diversity of Egyptian culture. Project Youself toured cities and villages all across Egypt. “At first people were sceptical,” El Quessny remembers. “Some thought we were running for parliament and waited for us to buy their votes; others thought we were from a trademark company promoting a product so they gathered round for their free samples,” she giggles.
Yet in short period of time, El Quessny managed to spread her message. “At first it was named Project Yourself and we even took a grant from the Nahdet El Mahroussa Foundation,” she says. As the movement grew, however, it was renamed Mashrou’ El Mareekh; that happened in 2010. “Well, it is a funny name,” El Quessny says, “yet it also carries our message. We wanted to divert the public’s imagination away from anything that was ever presented before on earth, bring them something wholly original and unique. We do not even have a plan; we want this project to grow organically on its own and through its participants who are at the same time its audience.”
Among the volunteers is Rowan El Shimi, who has on several occasions joined Qafilat El Mareekh (the Mars Caravan) on its tours, exploring villages and small towns. “We visited Alexandria, Minya, Bahariya, and Mansoura,” El Shimi says. Qafilat El Mareekh sets stages for open-mic performances. “At this caravan, you can present a topic for debate, sing, dance, recite poetry, whatever you happen to have the talentfor or want to speak about out loud. I find that this movement develops randomly, becoming more creative and appealing among the different audiences and participants we deal with.”
This week, among many other projects it is overseeing – the current Masterpeace project, for example – Mashrou’ El Mareekh is collaborating with the international Moving Planet movement that is set to undertake a programme in Egypt on Friday 23 September: groups of people will form “a human flood” that will move through the streets of Cairo, wearing blue to symbolise the Nile. The group will move together using clean transportation (walking, running, cycling) to demand a clean-energy future that will protect Egypt's precious water resources against climate change. In this international event, Mashrou’ El Mareekh’s participation will include their famous open-mic stage at the march's final destination. The stage will be set for enthusiasts to express their thoughts or talents, “something related to the theme of course,” as the organisers put it.
Following this environmental awareness event, Mashrou' El Mareekh plans to hold its own march to Tahrir Square on Sunday 25 September for the first time. Although Mashrou’ El Mareekh is a project that has no economic or political roots in Egypt, it is obliged to engage in Egypt’s current affairs. Therefore, El Quessny considers it her mission to “debate and discuss current issues. We will march to Tahrir for the first time and have debates. We are all part of Egypt and we should all work on developing ourselves, hence, the nation. Egypt needs us all to understand one another and communicate with each other; in Tahrir, we will address current issues and help audience express their thoughts and worries.”
The Moving Planet Cairo march, in collaboration with Mashrou' El Mareekh, will start on Friday 23 September at 9.00 am and will continue until 1.00 pm. The march will begin from Maryland Gardens in Heliopolis and end at in Korba. Stay tuned for the Martians’ next mission.
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