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The Children of Ramses
| Article
# : |
17951 |
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Section : |
THE ARTS
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| Issue
Date : |
5 / 1990 |
1,988 Words |
| Author
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Michael Gibson
Michael Gibson, author of a number of books on art, is the
Paris art critic for the International Herald Tribune and a
frequent contributor to publications in Europe and the United
States. |
The village of Harrania sits within sight of the pyramids of Giza, a half-hour's drive from central Cairo. In recent years, the huge chaotic, dust-swept city of fifteen million souls has gradually begun encircling it.
Thirty-nine years ago, of course, things were different.
It was then, in 1951, that Ramses and Sophie Wissa Wassef came to Harrania with the idea of launching a utopian experiment. First they spent time building an indispensable groundwork of affection and trust with the children of the village.
Egyptian children do not have long school hours since teachers, even today, must teach three shifts every day. Children on the early shift, for instance, are out by eleven and have the rest of the day free. They can work in the fields or play in the streets.
The couple had bought a plot of land in the village. Wissa Wassef, an architect fascinated by the traditional adobe architecture of his country, had started building a handsome, inexpensive structure there. It was low-cost, because mud, after all, costs nothing. And in that climate it becomes as solid and durable as concrete.
It took time, but once the Wissa Wassefs had established a relationship of trust with the children, they asked them if they would like to learn how to weave.
A dozen of them expressed interest and began working regularly. As Mrs. Wissa Wassef recalls, the girls were
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