Inside The Middle East
SHOW #72
Alexandria, Egypt
Hosted by Hala Gorani from Alexandria, Egypt
This month Inside the Middle East takes you to Alexandria on Egypt's Mediterranean coast, founded by Alexander the Great 23 centuries ago. Its renowned ancient library, with an unrivaled collection, was a cultural and intellectual centre of the ancient world. Although most of the knowledge was lost when the library burned down two millennia ago, a new library seeks to resurrect that lost momument and become a modern beacon of knowledge. The head of the new Biblioteca Alexandrina Ismail Serageldin shows us around in My Middle East.
Most of ancient Alexandria lies at the bottom the sea. Our cameras were there as a fragment of this lost city was brought to the surface. Amid a media frenzy, a crane extracted a red granite slab believed to be part of a temple dedicated to the Egyptian goddess Isis near Cleopatra's palace.
A cultural and commercial hub for centuries, the city's splendour has somewhat crumbled since its heyday in the early 20th century. Alexandria retains its charm and heritage. We take you inside the legendary Cecil hotel - built in 1929 and frequented by royalty, artistic and literary giants and political legends... From Agatha Christie to Sir Winston Churchill to Henry Moore.
We also take a look at the art scene - we meet the father of theatrical dance in Egypt, Mahmoud Reda, as he marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Reda Troupe that has travelled the world performing folkloric dance... And introduce you to contemporary artist Mohammed Aboulnaga who walks us through his exhibition Holy Feet.
In Your IME Diary we bring you Christmas celebrations from Bethlehem's Church of Nativity and take you backstage at Amman's Stand-up Comedy Festival.
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