Titled “Treasures Through Folk Art Between Egypt and Peru,” NMEC inaugurated a heritage art exhibition in collaboration with the Embassy of Peru in Cairo. The exhibition was held in the museum’s Textile Gallery. This exhibition was part of the ongoing collaboration between the museum and the Republic of Peru, showcasing the decorative ceramic folk art of artists and craftsmen from both Egypt and Peru. It took place on Sunday, July 7, 2024.
Titled “Timeless Melodies,” NMEC organized a musical evening featuring the artist and composer Hany Shenouda at the Grand Theater on April 28th.
As part of the role played by the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization NMEC in preserving the Egyptian heritage, the museum is privileged to announce the launching of a new initiative.
“Tabliet Misr ” is an initiative that aims at promoting and documenting Egypt’s traditional cuisine, with its most prominent dishes, that were usually served on a round dining table, famously known as “Tabliet”. It is worth-mentioning that the table’s roundedness refers to eternity in ancient Egyptian philosophy. Thus, sitting around the “Tabliet”, indicates that all Egyptians, despite of their backgrounds, gather around and are bounded for eternity.
Therefore, we cordially invite you to attend the opening of “Tabliet Misr” that takes place on February 19th, 2023 at 4:30 P.M, at NMEC’s Grand Theater.
Coordinator
Dr . Sahar abd elrahman
NMEC library Manager
The Launching of Tabliyt Misr Season Two 15th of February 2024
During the second season, Tabliyet Misr initiative aims to establish the sustainability concept, and combat waste in Egyptian cuisine, to better confront climate change through different agricultural seasons. One of the most important goals of the initiative is to educate, encourage and empower people to grow their own food, as one of the most important health, economic and social pillars of Egyptian cuisine
On February 15, 2024, NMEC hosted a three-week temporary exhibition called “On the Tabliya” in honor of Egyptian cuisine, which is among the richest and most ancient in history, to commemorate the start of the second season of the “Tabliyat Misr” initiative. About seventy objects, many of which had never been on display before, represented Egypt’s culinary culture from the Old Kingdom through the Modern Era.
A depiction of an offering table from the Old Kingdom, as well as real food from ancient Egypt, including meat and grilled birds, bread, and fruit, were all on display in the exhibition, along with several models of tableware and kitchen tools.
In the end, a real Tabliya was constructed to imitate rural families’ dining halls and convey the Egyptian belief that a family gathering around the Tabliya symbolizes harmony and cohesiveness.
Most housewives dispose of leftover food, especially after large gatherings; however, artist Taghreed Youssef repurposes these remains, such as egg shells, pistachio shells, clam shells, legumes of all kinds, olive seeds, date pits, and much more, into artistic pieces with an ancient Egyptian inspiration.
In light of global warming and the search for alternative resources, solar cooking is an economical way that is more sustainable. So, this project «Cooking Sunshine» depends on visiting the different cities in search of recipes that depend on sunshine in its cooking process whether by fermenting, preserving or drying, and documentery the recipes through different artistic media to revive traditional recipes.
In order to raise community knowledge about waste reduction and to provide safe, healthy food, these discussion circles explore the sustainability of Egyptian cuisine. They also include home gardening techniques and how to preserve and store food according to season.
NMEC launched the first of its interactive discussion sessions entitled “Grow Your Food”, as part of the “Tabliyet Misr” initiative’s second season to revive Egyptian popular dishes. The sessions are held in the museum’s library and via online live streaming to raise awareness and protect the heritage of Egyptian food throughout history.
The participants witnessed a discussion session moderated by Prof. Dr. Hassan Abu Bakr, Professor of Organic Agriculture and Biological Control at the Faculty of Agriculture, Cairo University, in the presence of a group of experts in the field of sustainability in Egyptian cuisine, including Dr. Mohamed Hassan, Dr. Saeed Shehata, and Dr. Ahmed Hawash from the Research Center. Agricultural and Professor Shahira Mahrez, a researcher in the field of heritage and traditional fashion, as well as a group of scholars and researchers from universities and lovers of Egyptian heritage and those interested in it.
The museum is also keen to discuss vertical, aerobic and hydroponic farming methods, and methods and methods of farming without soil on the roofs of buildings, schools, youth centers and factories. Pictures of actual projects for these models were also presented, with suggestions for implementing these ideas. A dedicated area in the NMEC garden will act as a practical and applied model for the outcomes of the sessions.
The Young Egyptian Chef presents traditional foods in a simple and practical way to children and referring to traditions related to food, whether in song or popular proverbs, also displaying the different food culture related to the regions, villages, as well as those related to celebrations, seasons, holidays, and harvest seasons.
Furthermore, the activities and emphasize the importance of family bonding and gathering around the Egyptian Tabliya which supports the idea of preserving the link between the past and the present. It also discusses the quest to document grandmothers’ foods through the store of memories with home-cooked taste. The Young Chef is considered the easiest way to preserve and document the food heritage, through engaging the future generations and empowering them to learn to cook local food. This was implemented in partnership with SADKO Group.
The chickpea legume, sometimes known as Halbessa, which originated in West Asia and the Mediterranean, is shaped like the head of a falcon, or “Horus.” It comes in two forms and is one of the earliest meals ever made. The first is the green, which is called “malanah” and is eaten during Easter. Another version is called “Halbasa,” which is a warm, spicy drink made by boiling chickpeas in water with spicy tomato juice and usually some lemon juice added for flavor. It is a well-liked dish that street vendors sell along the Nile Corniche.
Umm Ali is the second wife of Izz al-Din Aybak, the first of the Mamluk Sultans, after his first wife Shajarat al-Durr. From his second wife he had his son Ali, Umm Ali. Shajarat al-Durr became angry and killed the sultan. Umm Ali decided to plot against so Ali, can become a sultan over the country, and “Umm Ali” decided to mix the flour, sugar, ghee, and chips “Umm Ali’s ingredients” and distribute them on the occasion of Shajarat al-Durr’s death and the ruling of her son, “Ali,” as sultan over the country, and from here came the name “Umm Ali.
Learn, cook, and taste besara and sprouted fava beans in a workshop entitled “Sprout and Besara” as part of the Little Egyptian Chef’s workshops at NMEC as part of the activities of the second season of the Tabliyet Misr initiative, which are popular foods with Egyptian roots that give the body warmth and energy, especially in the winter.
Dr. Ahmed Ghoniem, Chief Executive Officer of the Egyptian National Museum of Civilization, Fatitat, Ambassador Alvaro Iranzo of Spain, Cairo, opened an exhibition of archival images entitled “Inspection trips on archaeological sites in Upper Egypt and the archives of Eduardo Toda”, organized in cooperation between the Museum and the embassy of Spain in Cairo. The exhibition features a number of photographs from the collection of Eduardo Toda y Güell, who served as the Spanish Vice Consul in Cairo between 1884 and 1886, pointing out that these photographs are a documentation of the work of the Egyptian antiquities during the nineteenth century.
Dr. Ahmed Ghoneim, CEO of NMEC and the Spanish Ambassador Alvaro Iranzo in Cairo, opened an exhibition of archival images entitled “Inspection Trips on Archaeological Sites in Upper Egypt and the Archives of Eduardo Toda” organized between NMEC and the Spanish embassy in Cairo. The exhibition featured photographs from the collection of Eduardo Toda y Güell, who served as the Spanish Vice Consul in Cairo between 1884 and 1886. It is believed that those images are a documentation of the work of the Egyptian antiquities during the nineteenth century.
In collaboration with the Spanish Embassy in Cairo, NMEC organized an artistic evening with a flamenco performance, presented by the renowned international dancer Annabel Veloso with her band. Annabelle Veloso is a Spanish artist, one of the most prominent creatives in the industry. She began her artistic career as a model and then attended the School of Flamenco (Amore de Dios), presenting several successful international performances and participating in specialized festivals, and won world art awards.
NMEC hosted the Egyptian international award winner opera singer Farah Al-Dibani to perform a mixture of Opera pieces along with traditional Arabic songs. Farah was awarded the best young singer by the Paris Opera in 2016 and is the first Egyptian to win this award. She sang in Europe’s most famous theatres, including the Paris and Berlin Operas.
NMEC organized a lecture on the historical secrets of Khedive Ismail’s reign, entitled “Ayam
Afandina”, the lecture was delivered by Dr.Majid Faraj, the Egyptian historian, during which he revealed many historical secrets about the reign of Khedive Ismail. Followed by a book signing ceremony “Misr El Mahrousa”.
NMEC hosted an event to showcase the puppet operetta of El Lelia El Keira, by the late Salah Jaheen and the melodies of the late Syed Mekawi, followed by a recital by Ambassador Hong Jin Walk of South Korea on the saxophone.