'Dancing, not war': Signs of normality in Ukraine's shattered Kharkiv

'Dancing, not war': Signs of normality in Ukraine's shattered KharkivTowering apartment blocks were shelled by Russian troops (AFP/Dimitar DILKOFF)

Patrick FORT
Tue, May 17, 2022, 2:07 AM·4 min read



Three women plant flowers on a roundabout in central Kharkiv, while not far away men fill sandbags for a defensive barrier on the north of the city, the side closest to Russia.

It is a stark illustration of how people in the war-battered city in the north east are attempting to recapture some essence of normal life, even though Russian aggression lurks not far away.

Kharkiv, the regional capital, has been battered by the conflict, enduring an assault by Moscow's forces lasting several days and fighting in its suburbs, before weathering regular salvoes of shelling.

But the noose around Ukraine's second-largest city has been loosening in recent days, even as the war rages elsewhere.

However, much local infrastructure has been ruined and many residents have yet to return.

"We are trying to keep the city alive," a city hall spokeswoman told AFP.

The city of 1.5 million people in peacetime "is huge and some people can't move or go to work without buses", she said, explaining that some routes had restarted.

The spokeswoman said the mayor had neither encouraged nor dissuaded residents from returning.

"The situation is different in every district," she said.

At Kharkiv's railway station, many people who fled in February at the start of Russia's invasion are returning.

Some areas have been hard hit.

In the northeastern Saltivka district, towering apartment blocks were shelled by Russian troops who came from Belgorod, a Russian town on the other side of the border.

- 'State of shock' -

Cashier Iana, 49, and her husband contemplate the damage to their flat that now overlooks a void since the facade was blasted away.

Iana's husband entered through the roof, lowering himself down with a rope.

"He got in and it was horrible," she said.

"Even the rescue services told us that it will be demolished. When rescue workers climbed up to eighth floor, they said that the floor and the walls were shaking."

"I don't want to leave Kharkiv. I was born here and my son grew up here... Our parents received this house in 1975.

"Obviously we can't leave it to our children. We must overcome this ordeal and continue to live. What else can we do?"

Oleksandr Vendland, a 45-year-old widower, visits his ravaged apartment, including the bedroom of his two daughters aged eight and 14.

A pink bag, a large stuffed toy and child's drawings now speckle the rubble.

Vendland, who sent his daughters to family in Germany, said it would now be "impossible" for children to live in the city.

"They need food, education. There is nothing here. No medicine. It is very hard to find it," he said, calling for outside aid to ensure the city's survival.

He complained that only volunteers were visible in Kharkiv, demanding to know where government support was.

 

- 'Symbol of Kharkiv' -

Sporadic gunfire continues to hit the area, causing unease among the returned residents, Vendland said.

Water leaks from pipes shattered by explosions. Electricity, gas and water technicians work around the clock to restore utilities.

"No holidays in times of war!" said Sergei Oleshko, an electrical engineer working on fallen power lines.

"We're not soldiers but here we are! We're a bit scared with the shelling continuing."

In the city centre, helmeted architects and experts sporting bullet-proof vests are already assessing the local government headquarters, blueprints and hammers in hand.

Located on the central Freedom Square, the monumental 1950s building was struck by a missile on March 1. The video of the powerful strike was seen worldwide.

"We were evacuated before, thank God," said Konstantin Isayev, 46, a manager as he visited his former office while workers cleared rubble nearby.

Isayev said he has resumed work elsewhere but that he hoped to return to the ravaged site soon.

"For now, we only do expert evaluations," said Anatoliy Butenko.

"We look for all the damage. I think we will not be able to restore it in one year. I think it will take up to two... It's the symbol of Kharkiv."

Before a night-time curfew comes into force, music-lovers gather at a cultural centre for a concert -- the first in the city in months.

"We want to dance every day. We want to come back to slow dancing, not war," said Yevgen, a guitarist in a local ska band.

 

US urges India to reverse ban on wheat exports

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Washington's top diplomat to the UN, said India's wheat export ban would worsen global shortages 

(AFP/SPENCER PLATT) 

Tue, May 17, 2022,
The United States hopes India will reverse its ban on wheat exports, Washington's top diplomat to the United Nations said Monday, warning the move would worsen global shortages of the commodity.

"We're encouraging countries not to restrict exports because we think any restrictions on exports will exacerbate the food shortages," Linda Thomas-Greenfield said during a ministerial gathering on food security ahead of a meeting of the UN Security Council.

The UN meeting -- to be chaired by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken -- will include Vellamvelly Muraleedharan, India's minister of state for external affairs.

India holds a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

"We hope that (India) can, as they hear the concerns being raised by other countries, that they would reconsider that position," Thomas-Greenfield said.

India, the world's second-largest producer of wheat, on Saturday announced it would ban exports without special authorisation from the government in the face of falling production caused primarily by an extreme heatwave.

New Delhi -- which had previously pledged to supply wheat to countries once dependent on exports from Ukraine -- said it wanted to ensure "food security" for India's 1.4 billion people.

Blinken is on Wednesday set to hold another UN meeting also related to food security.

That session aims to "bring countries together to look at what countries might be able to help fill the gap" in wheat supplies caused by Russia's invasion of Ukraine -- two major exporters of the commodity, said Thomas-Greenfield.

The talks would also identify "countries who need the support from countries who can fill the gap," she added.

The United States could be included in these countries, she said, adding that discussions were already underway with American farmers on the topic.

Wheat prices hit a record high in the European market Monday in the wake of India's decision.

SEE https://plawiuk.blogspot.com/2022/05/india-ban-on-wheat-exports-anti-farmer.html

French city allows burkinis in swimming pools in controversial change

The French city of Grenoble on Monday authorised the wearing of the so-called "burkini" by Muslim women in state-run swimming pools, reigniting one of France's most contentious debates on religious dress.

© Fethi Belaid, AFP

The all-in-one swimsuit, used by some Muslim women to cover their bodies and hair while bathing, has become a controversial talking point during the holiday season in recent years.

Seen as a symbol of creeping Islamism by its critics and an affront to France's secular traditions, many right-wingers and some feminists would like to ban it outright.

It is prohibited in most state-run pools -- for hygiene, not religious reasons -- where strict swimwear rules apply to all, including men who are required to wear tight-fitting trunks.

The move applies across the board, meaning men will able to wear long shorts and women can also bathe topless in the Alpine city's pools.

Grenoble's mayor, Eric Piolle, one of the country's highest profile Green politicians who leads a broad left-wing coalition at the city council, has championed the move but run into a fierce campaign of opposition.

He managed to rally enough votes at a city council meeting to approve the measure, despite not having the support of his own EELV party which distanced itself from the measure.

It was carried by the slimmest of margins with 29 votes for, 27 against and 2 abstentions after two-and-a-half hours of tense debates.

"All we want is for women and men to be able to dress how they want," Piolle told broadcaster RMC Monday.

Opponents see it differently, including the influential conservative head of the wider Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes region, Laurent Wauquiez, who has promised to withdraw funding from the city.

"I am convinced that what Mr Piolle is defending is a dreadful dead-end for our country," Wauquiez said at the beginning of May, accusing him of "doing deals with political Islam" to "buy votes".

At the council meeting the former right-wing mayor Alain Carignon urged a local referendum on the issue.

"You can't force through such a sensitive subject. You have no legitimacy, you weren't elected for that," he said.

'Harm to Republican values'

The regional spat has put the burkini back in the headlines nationally, animating French talk shows and the political class ahead of parliamentary elections next month.

The issue of how people dress for the pool touches on highly sensitive topics in France, including fears about the influence of Islam and threats to the country's cherished secularism.

"It seems to me that [mayor Piolle] doesn't realise the harm he is doing to our Republican values," Prisca Thevenot, a spokeswoman for President Emmanuel Macron's party, told Radio J on Monday.

"This would be breaking with the rules to respond to political desires based on religion," she added.

Attempts by several local mayors in the south of France to ban the burkini on Mediterranean beaches in the summer of 2016 kicked off the first firestorm around the bathing suit.

The rules, introduced after a string of terror attacks in France, were eventually struck down as discriminatory.

Three years later, a group of women in Grenoble caused a splash by forcing their way into a pool with burkinis, leading the prime minister at the time to insist that the rules should be followed.

French sports brand Decathlon also found itself at the centre of a similar row in 2019 when it announced plans to sell a "sports hijab" enabling Muslim women to cover their hair while running.

Grenoble is not be the first to change its rules, however.

The northwestern city of Rennes quietly updated its pool code in 2019 to allow burkinis and other types of swimwear.

The debate about the burkini comes as French Muslim women footballers are battling to overturn a ban on the wearing of religious symbols during competitive matches.

The French Football Federation currently prevents players from playing while wearing "ostentatious" religious symbols such as the Muslim hijab or the Jewish kippa.

A women's collective known as "les Hijabeuses" launched a legal challenge to the rules in November last year.

(AFP)

COMMODITY FETISHISM

Macklowe art collection becomes most expensive ever sold at auction


Andy Warhol’s “Self Portrait” during a press preview on May 6, 2022 for the Macklowe Collection at Sotheby's in New York 

(AFP/TIMOTHY A. CLARY)

Mon, May 16, 2022, 8:02 PM·1 min read

The famed Macklowe collection, subject of a bitter divorce battle between a New York property developer and his ex-wife, became the most expensive art collection ever sold at auction Monday.

Sotheby's sold its second offering of works from the collection for $246.1 million, bringing the total value of the group of paintings to $922.2 million, a spokesman told AFP.

That exceeds the $835.1 million that the Rockefeller collection sold for in 2018, then the highest total ever made by a single private collection at auction.

Among the highlights of Monday evening's sale were Mark Rothko's "Untitled," which fetched $48 million and Gerhard Richter's "Seestück"", which went for $30.2 million.

Andy Warhol's "Self Portrait" sold for $18.7 million while Willem de Kooning's "Untitled" went for $17.8 million.

Sotheby's won the rights to sell the Macklowe works back in September. It sold 35 of the pieces in November for $676.1 million before selling the remaining 30 on Monday.

Sotheby's had described the paintings as the "most significant collection of modern and contemporary art to ever appear on the market."

During divorce proceedings, Harry Macklowe and his ex-wife Linda had been unable to agree on how much the vast collection was worth.

A New York judge ruled in 2018 that the they should sell all 65 works and split the profits.

pdh/jh

Indonesians celebrate Vesak at world's largest Buddhist temple



The procession and countdown to Vesak were livestreamed for those who were not able to attend 

(AFP/JUNI KRISWANTO)

Mon, May 16, 2022, 

Hundreds of lanterns were released into the sky by Indonesian Buddhists celebrating Vesak day at the temple of Borobudur for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic hit the country.

More than a thousand Buddhists from across the archipelago gathered at the largest Buddhist temple in the world, situated in Magelang, Central Java, to commemorate the birth, enlightenment and death of Buddha Siddharta Gautama.

Celebrations on Monday night included prayers and meditation, collecting holy water and the release of flying lanterns symbolising the letting go of negativity.

"This is the first time we were able to hold the celebration since the pandemic started, since we are still in the middle of the pandemic, we limited the number of participants to only 1,200 people," Eric Fernardo, the spokesman for the event, told AFP on Monday.

Only those who received an invitation and a double dose of a Covid-19 vaccine were allowed to enter the sprawling complex of Borobudur to join the ceremonies.

Before the pandemic, the event was usually attended by more than 20,000 people from across the Muslim-majority country and other places.

"After two years of not being able to celebrate Vesak Day here, now we finally can, even though not exactly like before the pandemic as there still are restrictions, but I'm so happy", Christina, a 20-year-old Buddhist who goes by one name, told AFP.

"We can still feel the enthusiasm and excitement, even though the number of attendees are limited," added the student from Jakarta, the Indonesian capital.

Despite the restrictions and stringent health protocols, monks and worshippers reverently followed the three-day procession and ceremonies, including the ritual to collect holy water from the pristine springs at Jumprit in nearby Temanggung district.

The procession and the countdown to Vesak, just before midnight on Monday, were also livestreamed for those who did not have an invitation to attend the event.

Indonesian Buddhists account for less than one percent of the country's more than 270 million people.

Built in the ninth century, the Borobudur Temple was abandoned when the Hindu kingdoms of Java island declined and a majority of Javanese began to convert to Islam.

Buried under volcanic ash and hidden in the jungle, the temple's existence was largely forgotten until the 19th century. It has undergone a major restoration and is today a UNESCO world heritage site.

Str-dsa/lgo/aha

Algerian rapper Soolking plays Harlem's Apollo during debut US tour



As his merengue-inflected single "Suavemente" once again topped France's songs chart, Algerian rapper Soolking was stateside, delighting fans and wooing new followers with his blend of rap and Maghrebian folk music

 (AFP/Angela Weiss)


Maggy DONALDSON
Mon, May 16, 2022,

As his merengue-inflected single "Suavemente" once again topped France's songs chart, Algerian rapper Soolking was stateside, delighting fans and wooing new followers with his blend of rap and Maghrebian folk music.

Already acclaimed in the Francophone world, the Algerian rapper Soolking this year set his sights on North America, where he played historic venues including New York's Apollo and the Globe Theatre in Los Angeles.

"I never thought that one day I would come here to sing," the artist born Abderraouf Derradji told AFP backstage ahead of his set at Harlem's esteemed venue, which launched the careers of icons including Billie Holiday and Aretha Franklin, and where James Brown recorded a groundbreaking live album.

"It's a mythical hall like Paris' Olympia... where so many legendary artists have performed," said Soolking, wearing oval sunglasses and a black beanie.

"It's an honor for me; it's cool."

Born and raised in a suburb of Algiers, the 32-year-old was born to a percussionist father and at a young age began playing music and learning dance.

He first moved to France in 2008, but returned to Algeria to be in the rap group Africa Jungle, with whom he released two albums: "Ched Rohek" and "Eclipse."

The artist returned to France several years later, launching a solo career in 2016, adopting the moniker Soolking and starting to play small venues and drop music online.

He went viral shortly thereafter after performing his song "Guerilla" -- a track about his experience immigrating without papers -- on the popular French radio Show "Planet Rap."

- 'Representing for Algeria' -

With two successful albums under his belt and another on the way, Soolking embarked this spring on a North American tour that along with New York and Los Angeles included dates in Montreal, Houston, Chicago and Washington.

The artist who sings in both French and Arabic is interested in expanding his global reach but isn't terribly concerned with where his fans come from: "The most important thing is my fans."

"In my country of origin, there's people who listen to me and people who don't listen to me," the rapper continued. "I'm going to look for what's human, because in the end, music is feeling."

As evidenced by his first New York show, Soolking had broken ground in the United States long before he played any of its stages: fans danced and sang along at the Apollo, waving Algerian flags and illuminating their phones.

"It's just amazing to see someone from our country in New York City and their name in lights," said 26-year-old Sarah Hammadi, one of four cousins who traveled from New Jersey to catch the show.

"It's amazing -- he's really representing for Algeria."

"It just feels like you're back at home," seconded her cousin Dilia, 18. "He's such a pop icon in our country... it just brings warmth to our heart."

mdo/caw

UK to unveil unilateral plans for post-Brexit trade in N.Ireland


Media reports say the UK government is planning legislation allowing London to unilaterally override some of the rules around Northern Irish trade

(AFP/PAUL FAITH) (PAUL FAITH)

Joe JACKSON
Mon, May 16, 2022, 

Britain will detail Tuesday how it plans to overhaul post-Brexit trade rules in Northern Ireland which have sparked a political crisis in the province, amid fears it is risking a UK-EU trade war.

Foreign Secretary Liz Truss will "set out the rationale for our approach" in a statement to MPs in parliament, according to Prime Minister Boris Johnson's spokesman.

The UK government is yet to confirm what that entails, but media reports have said it is planning legislation allowing London to unilaterally override some of the rules around Northern Irish trade.

London wants to rewrite the so-called Northern Ireland protocol, which it agreed as part of its 2019 divorce deal with the European Union, amid trading frictions since it came into force last year.


The arrangements, which mandate checks on goods arriving into Northern Ireland from England, Scotland and Wales, have angered the province's unionists who claim they undermine its place within the UK.

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Brandon Lewis said Tuesday that the protocol "doesn't work for business, it doesn't work for anybody in Northern Ireland".

He told Sky News that problems should be solved "preferably by agreement with the European Union" but "we will do what we need to do to ensure that products can move to Northern Ireland in the way they should be able to... from Great Britain as part of the United Kingdom's internal market."

The largest pro-British party, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), is currently refusing to resume power-sharing in Belfast with pro-Irish rivals Sinn Fein until the protocol is reworked.

Its stance comes nearly two weeks after Sinn Fein won a historic first victory in elections for the devolved Stormont assembly, which entitle the party to the role of first minister in a joint executive with the DUP.

- 'Legislative solution' -

The impasse threatens to leave Northern Ireland, which suffered three decades of sectarian conflict until a 1998 accord largely ended the violence, without a government.

Johnson is adamant the current situation risks peace and stability in Northern Ireland and that his government has the right to act if the EU refuses to meet its demands.

"We don't want to scrap it, but we think it can be fixed," he told reporters during a visit Monday to Northern Ireland to meet its political leaders.

Reports say the mooted draft law, which will allow UK ministers to selectively disapply parts of the protocol, may not be tabled yet and would in any case take months to progress through parliament.

That could prove insufficient to persuade unionists to resume power-sharing in Northern Ireland, with the DUP saying Monday it needed "decisive action" not "the tabling of legislation".

- 'Keep their word' -

The EU, which has been in discussions for months with the UK over improving the implementation of the protocol, has insisted it cannot be renegotiated.

European leaders have warned London against taking unilateral steps, and suggested it could jeopardise their entire Brexit deal, resulting in punitive tariffs and an effective trade war.

"This is an international treaty, it's international law, we can't just pretend it doesn't exist," Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said Monday in Brussels.

Johnson's government says that checks on goods heading to Northern Ireland from England, Scotland and Wales are undermining peace in the province, with unionist protests already turning violent in the past 18 months.

The separate trading arrangements, which bind the province to many European rules, were agreed because it has the UK's only land border with the EU.

Keeping the border open with neighbouring Ireland, an EU member, was mandated in the Good Friday Agreement, given the frontier was a frequent flashpoint for violence.

But it means checks have to be done elsewhere, to prevent goods getting into the EU single market and customs union by the back door via Northern Ireland.

The United States, which was a guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, has expressed alarm at suggestions the UK could scrap the protocol.

jj-cjo/kjm

Biden reestablishes US troop presence inside Somalia

A house destroyed when Al-Shabaab militants attacked a police station on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Somalia in February 2022

(AFP/Hassan Ali Elmi) 

Sebastian Smith
Mon, May 16, 2022, 

President Joe Biden has ordered the reestablishment of a US troop presence in Somalia to help local authorities combat the Al-Shabaab militant group, a senior American official told reporters Monday.

The move reverses an order from Biden's predecessor Donald Trump, who in late 2020 pulled nearly all US forces from the East African nation as he sought to wind down US military engagements abroad during his final weeks in office.

Biden "approved a request from the Defense Department to reposition US forces in East Africa in order to reestablish a small persistent US military presence in Somalia," the official said.

Fewer than 500 troops will be involved, the official said, adding that it will "take a little bit of time to reach that" level in Somalia.


That is slightly smaller than the original footprint of 750 US soldiers who spent years in the country conducting operations against Al-Shabaab, but were then removed under Trump and rebased in neighboring countries Kenya and Djibouti.

In December 2020, just before he left office, Trump directed the withdrawal from Somalia "against the advice of senior US military leadership," the official said.

"Since then Al-Shabaab... has unfortunately only grown stronger," the official added.

- Support from Mogadishu -

The official suggested that Biden's decision had more to do with the security of US forces than with the election on Sunday of a new Somali president, Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, after more than a year of political instability and a drought crisis.

Somalian leaders over recent years have been constant in their support for cooperation with the US military in battling Islamic extremists, the official said, adding that Washington remains confident the new administration will continue to do so.

Congratulating the newly elected president, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken urged him to develop "security forces to prevent and counter terrorism and assume full security responsibility from the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia."

By reinserting US troops, Washington will reduce the risks involved in back-and-forth mobilizations of forces that have been conducting counterterrorism operations inside Somalia.

The move would boost efficiency and the effectiveness of special operators, and allow for uninterrupted training periods with local partners.

Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby said Monday that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin viewed the current form of operations as "inefficient and increasingly unsustainable."

“The purpose here is to enable a more effective fight against Al-Shabaab by local forces... Al-Shabaab has increased in their strength and poses a threat," he said.

Kirby also insisted that the US forces will act as a supportive element and that Somali forces will continue to be responsible for directly battling extremists.

US troops "will continue to be used in training, advising and equipping partner forces to give them the tools that they need to disrupt, degrade and monitor Al-Shabaab," the Pentagon spokesman said.

"Our forces are not now, nor will they be, directly engaged in combat operations," he said.

sms-mlm-pmh/jh/caw

Sudan sanctuary offers haven for exotic birds
AFP - Yesterday

Tucked away east of Sudan's capital Khartoum, a sanctuary of lush green vegetation has been a haven for dozens of exotic birds from far and wide.


© -Over 100 birds of 13 different species currently inhabit the reserve

"I have a passion for birds," said Akram Yehia, owner of the Marshall Nature Reserve which covers 400 square metres (4,300 square feet).

"I wanted to create an ideal environment that simulates their natural habitat."

Yehia, 45, set up the huge caged aviary in his house's front yard four years ago, and has handcrafted dozens of birdhouses.

He created a habitat of trees, adding a garden pond and mist nozzles for cooling off against Sudan's scorching heat.

Over 100 birds of 13 different species currently inhabit the reserve.

Ring-necked parakeet, rosella birds, as well as Meyers and red-rumped parrots flit across branches and compete over birdhouses in the reserve.

"I have trained and tamed them over the years so they won't attack each another," he said.

Yehia says his favourite is an African grey parrot who answers to the name "Kuku" and has a knack for mimicking human sounds and movements as well.


Sudanese and foreign visitors are allowed to drop in for two to three hours a day only.

"It's only limited time so we don't disturb their habitat," said Yehia.

Business, however, has been impacted since an October military coup that has triggered regular mass protests met by a violent crackdown.

Visits often get called off on protest days as streets are blocked, making it hard to move around the capital.

"The tear gas fired during the protests is very dangerous for the birds," Yehia said.

"I know people living closer to large protest sites and who've lost all the birds they own."

Yehia has also been grappling with increasing expenses in Sudan, where the local currency has plummeted against the dollar, and food and fuel prices have soared.

"I want to expand the reserve but it's very expensive now," he said.

To visitors, the reserve is a welcome break from the hustle and bustle of Khartoum.

"I never knew that such a place exists in Khartoum," said Anna Shcherbakova, a visitor from Ukraine.

A local visitor, Hossameddine Sidahmed, said he hopes the reserve expands and grows "even more beautiful".

Egypt composer's star rises with 'Moon Knight' fame

eFollowing his score for the Pharaohs' Golden Parade last year, Egyptian composer Hesham Nazih was tapped to write the music for Marvel Studios' latest series, 'Moon Knight' 

(AFP/Khaled DESOUKI)


Bassem Aboualabass
Mon, May 16, 2022, 1

For nearly 30 years, his music has made its way to every young Egyptian's ringtone -- but it's the country's ancient history that recently propelled composer Hesham Nazih to the realm of superheroes.

Following his career-defining score for the Pharaohs' Golden Parade last year -- a grandiose spectacle that saw 22 mummies transferred across Cairo to a new museum -- Nazih was tapped to write the music for Marvel Studios' latest series, "Moon Knight".

The six-episode saga starring Oscar Isaac tells the story of a superhero who draws his powers from an ancient Egyptian god.

"Ancient Egyptian civilisation is extremely appealing for any composer, whether Egyptian or not," the 50-year-old composer told AFP from his studio in Cairo.

But while drawing inspiration from ancient heritage was "not an artistic goal" in and of itself for the musician, it has allowed him to realise his dream of transcending national boundaries.

- Drawing on heritage -

In April 2021, all eyes were on the globally streamed procession of mummies through the capital, when Egyptian soprano Amira Selim, clad in a full-length gown adorned with Pharaonic motifs, took the stage with a haunting performance of the Hymn of Isis.

The ode, the lyrics to which were taken from texts in the "Book of the Dead", was sung in phonetic ancient Egyptian and featured an arrangement of traditional folk instruments along with a classical orchestra, cementing the composer's genre-shattering prowess.

The result was a media fervour that took Nazih himself by surprise, with the piece being shared widely both in Egypt and abroad.

"The audience's reaction was very moving," he told AFP, adding that the parade "holds a special place in my heart" as it showcased the talents of Egyptian artists.

Riding the ancient Egypt high, the virtuoso was selected to compose the score for Marvel's Moon Knight, marking his first foray into Hollywood.

Helmed by Egyptian director Mohamed Diab, the series has proven massively popular among his compatriots -- despite there being no way to legally stream the show there yet -- due in no small part to Diab's insistence on the production being an Egyptian affair.

In addition to a cast and crew that brings together the likes of Egyptian-Palestinian actress May Calamawy and Egyptian editor Ahmed Hafez, the series soundtrack has been peppered with popular Arabic songs, ranging from golden-era classics to modern electro street music known as mahraganat.

"I'm still processing all of it. Moon Knight is a whole other level for me," the composer said. "I was seeing reactions from so many different audiences and cultures."

But Nazih's latest experimentations with ancient Egypt weren't the first time he has drawn from Egyptian heritage.

For the 2014 thriller series "The Seven Commandments", Nazih wove in spiritual Sufi chants, to massive success. The soundtrack was a hit on social media, achieving a long-held dream for the musician.

When he was nine, he explained, he stopped halfway down a street in Alexandria to watch a Sufi ritual in a small mosque, and was haunted by the "majesty" of the scene.

Decades later, he was finally able to channel it into a composition.

- No formal training -

"Music doesn't communicate information, it's pure emotion," according to Nazih, and it was emotion that took him from a career as an engineer to creating more than 40 soundtracks for film and TV over the past three decades.

Having first felt the impact of a great score as a child, he has been chasing that high ever since. "I knew then that I wanted to go into this field, to make people feel what I felt," he said.

His music has defined famous films including 2003's "Sahar El Layali" ("Sleepless Nights" in Arabic), which was almost tipped as Egypt's submission for an Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film that year.

In 2019, Nazih scored "Al-Fil al-Azraq 2" ("The Blue Elephant 2"), Egyptian cinema's highest ever grossing film, earning 100 million pounds ($5.4 million).

Over his career, he says he has seen the once-stringent boundaries between music and film begin to dissolve.

"Film composers aren't recognised as true filmmakers by directors because they're musicians, but they're not recognised as musicians by their peers because they belong to the world of cinema," he said.

But things might be changing. In 2018, Nazih was the first musician to receive the Faten Hamama prize at the Cairo International Film Festival, which is awarded to renowned figures in cinema, but had previously only ever gone to directors and actors.

Three years later, he was also recognised in the musical world, winning a lifetime achievement award at the Cairo Opera House Arabic Music Festival.

bam/sar/sbh/bha/jsa