Events in the Maq’ad of Sultan Qaitbey  cultural hub

Sultan’s Fair for the Sixth Time

14 – 16 December 2018

The sixth ‘Sultan’s Fair’ at the MASQ – Maq‘ad of Sultan Qaitbey in the Desert of the Mamluks in Cairo was the biggest yet, with three days full of events. As usual, handicraft makers from the neighbourhood and from afar presented and offered for direct sale the products of their crafts. The “Merry Times at Sultan’s Fair” offered visitors a chance to shop for Christmas gifts. There were special attractions and events on each day.

On Friday, 14 December, an exhibition of works by students of the Applied Arts Department of the German University in Cairo opened in the oratory of Gulshani. This was the first time when the building, currently under conservation by ARCHiNOS, opened to the public. The students presented their semester’s work on urban improvements to the Qaitbey area, carried out in collaboration with ARCHiNOS.

On Saturday, 15 December, the team of the of the Nahda Art School for Social Theatre (NAS) that is affiliated to the Jesuit School in Cairo gave a street theatre performance “Nomad”, reflecting on the human desire to always search for new horizons. The performance in the courtyard in front of the Maq‘ad  of Sultan Qaitbey combined music, theatre, dance and pantomime in an expressive, vivid and colourful spectacle. This was the second time that the group performed at MASQ, each time to a great applause of the audience.

On Sunday, 16 December, ARCHiNOS Director Agnieszka Dobrowolska gave in the maq‘ad a lecture on our work in the “City of the Dead” for the students of Helwan University, which was also open to the general public. This was followed by a concert by Nouran Abotaleb in tribute to the legendary Lebanese singer Fairuz. The huge hall of the maq‘ad  overflowed with both local residents and guests from all over Cairo. The audience welcomed with enthusiastic reception the famous pieces delivered in the singer’s outstanding vocals.

The 6th Sultan’s Fair was organised in cooperation with our sister not-for-profit organisation, the Sultan Foundation, which operates the Maq‘ad of Sultan Qaitbey Centre, and was financed by the Drosos Foundation.