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| Nefertiti Cultural Salon |
In a world where
culture and heritage often take a backseat, Nefertiti Cultural Salon emerges as
a beacon of hope and knowledge. Founded in May 2023 by a group of passionate
women from the fields of journalism and media, this salon aims to revive
interest in Egypt's rich heritage and its ancient civilization. With a line-up
of dynamic discussions and events, Nefertiti Cultural Salon seeks to bridge the
gap between history and modernity, inviting the community to engage in
meaningful dialogues about their cultural identity. In the following
paragraphs, we explore the inception, purpose, and activities of this unique
cultural hub.
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| Nefertiti Cultural Salon team |
The Journalist “Mouchira
Moussa” stated that the Nefertiti Cultural Salon was founded by women who
worked in the field of Egyptian journalism and media in May 2023, The idea for the salon came after more than
twenty years of work in journalism, writing about the ancient Egyptian
monuments, culture, and heritage. The opportunity to establish and hold the
salon's activities at the Creativity Center of Prince Taz Palace, which is part
of the Cultural Development Fund, arose to discuss issues related to Egyptian
civilization and its great human heritage through monthly dialogue events,
hosting specialists in various fields of culture, heritage, and creativity. The
radio host Wafaa Abdel Hamid and journalists Kamila Atris, Mouchira Moussa,
Nevin Al-Aref, and Amany Abdel Hamid supervise the preparation of the salon.
After working for over 20 years in interested areas like archaeology, heritage,
and culture, we had wanted to establish a salon for some time, but the real
start came with the release of the documentary film "Cleopatra" about
Afrocentricity, which captured the attention of many Egyptians who didn’t know
what Afrocentricity meant. We were encouraged to start by Dr. Hani Abu
Al-Hassan, who was the head of the Cultural Development Fund, and he suggested
we hold the salon at Prince Taz Palace once a month. This palace is an ancient
Mamluk palace, and its historical atmosphere gave the events a mix of old and
modern, achieving some of the main goals of the salon. At the same time, the
artistic, cultural, and heritage activities brought some life to the ancient
historical walls and enhanced the ability to develop the surrounding
communities along with enriching the cultural and artistic movement
continuously.
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| A previous meeting for the salon |
Ms.
“Mouchira Moussa” explained that
they began in May 2023, and what distinguishes us from others is that we are the only ones discussing
ancient and contemporary Egyptian civilization and ways to revive heritage and
culture. We do not simply convey dry information; we reach the heart, and there
is interaction among the guests. The reason for naming the salon after
Nefertiti is our love for her, as she is very beautiful, and Nefertiti, as a
queen, experienced rebellion against old beliefs with her husband, King
Akhenaten. Nefertiti is considered one of the rare and unique artifacts, just
like the mask of Tutankhamun, which is golden, and the bust of Nefertiti in
Berlin is a unique statue. Nefertiti, with her grandeur and beauty in the
colorful details and craftsmanship, is a symbol of beauty in Egypt, not just
for her looks but because of the beauty of the craftsmanship. The statue is
something that you can't take your eyes off due to its greatness, and the
statue combines all contradictions between royal greatness, advanced
craftsmanship, and technological progress. Although she was not as great as
Queen Hatshepsut, who built the Egyptian empire, or even Iyah Hotep, who was able
to lead all the warriors and created a strong family afterward, but Nefertiti
played a subtle diplomatic role behind her husband. She was present at a
critical time that represented the peak of maturity and strength for ancient
Egyptian civilization. Some people ask why we didn't name it after Nefertari,
even though she is beautiful with her lovely tomb. From my perspective, the
beauty of Nefertari lies in the fact that King Ramses loved her, so he built a
temple for her and called her “She for whom the sun rises.” However, Akhenaten
did not do that for Nefertiti, but she created her own place with her strength,
beauty of character, and presence as an authentic Egyptian woman.
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A previous meeting for the salon
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The Journalist “Amany
abdel hamid” said that the visitors are those who care about the issue of
heritage and culture. In commenting on what Ms. Mouchira Moussa said, we
started with the topic of Afrocentricity because it is a strange phenomenon or
a controversial invitation in Egyptian society. Our desire in the salon is to
breathe life into our civilization; we do not want it to remain an old heritage
idea locked in museums but to transform into an exchange of information among
generations. We see that direct education based on rote learning in schools
does not create a state of awareness for the coming generations. However, in
the salon, the information is direct and open for discussion and interaction.
With the agreement of all the salon's makers, we always discuss subjects that
matter to people without diving too deeply into history. We tell the story of
civilization, but we also present the continuity of its manifestations because
civilization is within the Egyptian himself, in their customs, traditions,
daily rituals, and ways of thinking in dealing with changes in their society,
which creates true civilization that we pass on to future generations.
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A previous meeting for the salon
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Ms. “Amany abdel
hamid” explained that we started with a hot topic like Afrocentricity, or the
Central African idea, which we explained. The people of West Africa and
Americans of African descent had an issue since they were enslaved and brought
from their homeland. They wanted to feel that they had a civilization, so they
searched for the strongest civilization in the region, which is the Egyptian
civilization that represents this continent, claiming, "Our roots are
there," and they tried to prove that their origins are Egyptian. But the
Egyptian civilization is highly advanced. Just as we started with a
controversial topic, we aimed to continue in the same direction, looking at
what is important and motivates people about what they want to know and don't
find in information sources, so they visit us to obtain information in a clear
and direct manner without modification or self-censorship. We also talked about
Cairo as a unique architectural heritage and how we preserve it, and how
architecture created Egyptian identity. We began working on this connection
between the old and modern, holding multiple salons discussing rituals,
customs, the Egyptian language, identity, holidays, and ways of celebration.
There was a significant discussion in January about protecting and preserving
heritage and how to safeguard it and keep it alive for future generations.
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A previous meeting for the salon
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The Journalist “Kamilia
Atris” stated that our aim is to convey the beauty of Egypt to future
generations. The core idea of the salon is always how to reach the audience and
show that everything has Egyptian roots and that its origin is ancient Egypt.
For example, in the episode that Professor Amani mentioned about celebrating
holidays, we discovered that all these rituals have their roots in ancient
Egypt. Even in Ramadan and the lanterns, all of this is originally from ancient
Egypt. For instance, in an episode about women's rights, we found that these
rights are recorded on walls and in books dating back to ancient Egyptian
times. As time goes on, we discover that our civilization is magnificent. She
assured that the salon's goals include shedding light on the human values of
ancient Egyptian civilization, addressing controversial issues raised within
Egyptian society and their connection to ancient Egyptian history, and working
to identify the sources of strength, uniqueness, and authenticity present in
ancient Egyptian civilization and the extent of its impact on our lives today.
Furthermore, we aim to introduce symbols of thought and creativity and those
who contributed to building the society and civilization that has lasted for
thousands of years. To achieve these goals, the salon is careful in choosing
the topic of each event while connecting the past with the present, selecting
guests based on their expertise and professional experience, organizing art
exhibitions within the changing display hall at Prince Taz Palace alongside its
activities, and presenting artistic segments at the end of several events in
line with the discussion topic. Additionally, the salon emphasizes opening
dialogue with the audience at the end of its events, whether for questions or
sharing information and ideas.
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A previous meeting for the salon
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| A previous meeting for the salon |
The Radio Host “Wafaa
Abdel Hamid” confirmed that the main goal of establishing this salon is to
promote the legacy of ancient Egyptian civilization and encourage or instill
belonging to this homeland. We create a bridge of communication between the
present and the past, returning the origins of everything to our ancient
Egyptian civilization. Our real guests are considered the elite. at the
beginning, they came to support us, but now they request to join us, and many
of them are significant figures in society, including professors, doctors, and
ministers. A testament to this is the initiative launched by Zahi Hawass for
the return of Nefertiti. The first initiative for the return of the head of
Nefertiti from the Berlin Museum came from the Nefertiti Salon. We work with issue
and conviction, as we operate voluntarily, and the guests who participate with
us also participate voluntarily.
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A previous meeting for the salon
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Ms. “Wafaa Abdel Hamid” added that Our audience is cultured and sophisticated,
and the composition of our audience varies; we have artists, university
professors, and antiquities officials, most of whom hold advanced degrees like
PhDs. She also mentioned the presence of young people, noting that we were
surprised during the Afrocentricity episode when young people showed
enthusiasm, as this is an important issue for the Egyptian people. Throughout
the salon and its events, we occasionally had youth presents; at other times,
they were not present, but a majority were often included, being both young and
old. Many young people ask questions and direct their comments. While we
provide a wealth of information, we also engage in investigative discussions,
asking the audience about topics like Dr. Zahi Hawass, where most of the attendees
were university students, foreign journalists, and African journalists, all
curious about whether the head of Nefertiti would return or discussing the
Rosetta Stone. The results of this episode were astounding. We dream that the
salon becomes an extended event where we reach our maximum potential to tell
the heritage effectively in practice, not just to document it through words or
meetings. We also aim to document it through production and continuity and want
to move to different villages and governorates across Egypt.
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A previous meeting for the salon
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In truth, the
Nefertiti Cultural Salon represents an energy of love felt by us, the salon
members, towards our country, which fate has led us to explore its cities,
regions, and historical sites. Journalism has been a means of expressing our
appreciation and gratitude for this great country. The desire to tell the story
of beauty and introduce the points of antiquity and authenticity is the
motivation for us to continue our cultural work outside the limits of writing,
journalism, and media.
