24 July 16, 2017 Travel www.thearabweekly.com

Agenda

Marrakech: Through July 31

The Marrakech Festival of Popular Arts and Folklore showcases Moroccan tradi- tions, music, dance and costumes through the ages. There are concerts, exhibitions and Moroccan street troupe performances.

El Jem: Through August 12

El Jem Roman Amphitheatre, about 160km south of Tunis, hosts classical musicians from all over the world for the International Festival of Symphony Music of El Jem. In its 32nd year, the festival pro- A corner in one of the fields where tourists enjoy serene times and traditional Egyptian food. (Mohamed Abu Shanab) gramme includes symphonic and orchestral music from Ukraine, Italy, Austria, China and Tunisia. Egypt’s pottery-making village Beiteddine: Through August 12

The Beiteddine Art Festival, an attraction for tourists in ’s Chouf Moun- tains, includes a variety of performances from opera Mohamed Abu Shanab and concerts to theatre and art exhibitions. The festival Fayoum Oasis welcomes more than 50,000 visitors, as well as numer- othing around the ous star performers. Majida small village of Tu- el-Roumi, Pink Martini and nis in Egypt’s Fayoum Kadim al-Sahir are to perform Oasis, 100km south- at this year’s festival. west of , suggests Nthe charm awaiting inside. Tunis, Jounieh: named after the Tunisian capital for Through August 15 its geography and architecture, has long established a reputation as a The Jounieh Summer Festival, hub of art and culture known par- set near Jounieh Bay north of ticularly for its handmade pottery. , includes performances “Part of the charm of the vil- from international artists such lage is that most of the houses are as Michael Bolton. much like those in Tunisia: Painted white with their windows painted Hammamet: blue. The landscape as well looks Through August 26 a lot like that of Tunisia, includ- ing hills, greenery and the desert,” Hammamet, a Tunisian town said Ashraf Ramadan, a Cairo-based on the northern edge of the tourist guide who organises visits to Gulf of Hammamet, is the site the village. of the 53rd Hammamet Inter- The village’s charm is far deeper national Festival. Concerts and than the colour of its homes or its plays are scheduled for more geography. It is the residents who than a month. are at the heart of its appeal. Jerash: Approximately 4,000 people live Fayoum’s waterfalls, a major tourist attraction A guest space outside a home in Tunis village. July 20-August 5 in Tunis. Some are farmers and oth- near Tunis village. (Mohamed Abu Shanab) (Mohamed Abu Shanab) ers are fishermen but most of the population works in pottery, turn- The Jerash Festival of Culture ing the traditional craft into an art. leries and pottery showrooms. and trained many local children in Some residents have turned the and Arts, first organised in Visitors are always keen on taking the craft. Several of her students roofs of their simple mud-and-brick 1980, transforms the ancient back colourful glazed potteries, in- opened pottery studios. homes into guest centres where Jordanian city of Jerash into The village of Tunis cluding pots, vessels and decorative The village now boasts a pottery they receive tourists, offer authen- one of the world’s liveliest offers several guest items that are sold much cheaper school, several pottery studios and tic and delicious Egyptian food and cultural events. With singers, locally than in the shops in Cairo. an art centre. It also is the site of an traditional Egyptian drinks for a poetry readings, ballet perfor- houses and home stays Items sold outside Tunis for tens annual pottery festival. small amount — $5-$10 for breakfast mances, symphony orchestras as well as a wide range of US dollars, sell in the village for Tunis is not listed on Egypt’s and $10-$20 for lunch. and art shows, the Jerash Festi- tens of Egyptian pounds — a bargain tourist map. Neither is it part of the “There are also some nice small val showcases Jordanian cul- of activities, including at a time when the exchange rate is packages of most travel companies hotels in the village but Tunis’s ture in many different areas. bird watching and 18 pounds to the dollar. because it has no beaches, no luxu- beauty lies in the open where visi- Tabarka: horseback riding. “True, most of the residents of rious hotels or branches of interna- tors can be in direct contact with the village earn a living by work- tional restaurants. It does, however, nature and people,” Ramadan said. July 21-29 “The residents of Tunis have ing in pottery but this is not about have its special rural charm and the Tunis is only a step away from made the reputation of their village money,” said Hani Mahmud, a vil- very kind nature of its people. a rich treat of historic sites, all The Tabarka Jazz Festival in from this art,” Ramadan said. “This lage resident and potter. “It is about Apart from touring the pottery of which are present within the Tunisia returns with re- reputation has reached some of the the love of art and the desire to do galleries and showrooms, visitors boundaries of Fayoum. nowned international and farthest corners of the globe.” something unusual.” can enjoy the serenity of the land- They include the Pyramid of Ha- local jazz artists such as Beth Residents have turned their The transformation of Tunis into scape of cultivated fields overlook- wara built by Amenemhat III, the Hart, Roberto Fonseca, Stanley homes into pottery workshops. an art hub for pottery started in ing branches of the Nile River. Tu- sixth pharaoh of the 12th Dynasty of and Oum. Concerts Some use pottery wheels and oth- the 1980s, when Evelyne Porret, nis offers several guest houses and ancient Egypt, and Dimeh al-Siba, take place at La Basilique of ers simple jiggering machines to a potter from Switzerland, moved home stays as well as a wide range which contains the ruins of a city Tabarka. Guests also may at- make beautifully designed ceramics there and built a pottery studio. She of activities, including bird watch- believed to be founded by Ptolemy tend free street performances. that are displayed in the village gal- was the first potter in the village ing and horseback riding. II in the third century BC. : Hamada Hussein, an accountant August 31-December 31 in his mid-40s from Giza province, said he first visited Tunis village “La Perle” features 65 artists with his family several months ago. performing amazing stunts “I was taken by the scenery in the and aerial antics above an village and its natural beauty,” Hus- on-stage pool filled with 2.7 sein said. “The serenity of the area, million litres of water in a its residents, the gifts one can take state-of-the-art, custom-built back home and the beautiful sites theatre. The show takes place surrounding it make Tunis a place at Al Habtoor City. worthy of visiting more than one time.” Tunis is increasingly becoming a We welcome submissions of destination for both Egyptians and calendar items related to foreigners looking to enjoy a unique cultural events of interest to mixture of culture and nature away travellers in the Middle East from the bustle of Cairo. and North Africa. Please send tips to: A potter working on a new object in Tunis A pottery showroom in Tunis village. Mohamed Abu Shanab is an [email protected] village. (Mohamed Abu Shanab) (Mohamed Abu Shanab) Egyptian travel writer.