Rania Khallaf visits Alexandria to trace anything related to spirituality in our hasty material life

When I first heard about this “Spirituality Workshop” I was completely confused, but having been invited to attend the event by its convener, the established caricaturist Hassan Fedawy — who is known for his crazy and unexpected ideas — I grew more and more enthusiastic to learn about it.

Spirituality is a term that yields many interpretations; it could refer to our relationship to God and religion, or to music that has a Sufi beat, or for some others it might refer to witchcraft or astrology.

However, what would you make of combining art and spirituality together? It could be a highly refined product.

Spirituality (rawhanyat in Arabic) is the name of a weekly workshop convened and supervised by Fedawy, a creative caricaturist and associate professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Alexandria.

Dozens of young people from all walks of life attend the workshop on a weekly basis. Sufi music by legendary musicians such as the famous Nubian singer Hamza Alaa Eddin, widely known internationally, or Sufi chanter Ahmed Barin, give a special contour to the creative atmosphere. The workshop also invites famous literary figures to join and enrich the experience — one good recent special guest was the Nubian novelist Hagag Odoul, who resides in Alexandria.

During the three-hour workshop, which takes place in the historical Saint Mark’s Cathedral on Nabi Danial Street, participants are given a unique opportunity to dig deep inside themselves and come up with something unique that reveals their inner spirit.

There are papers and pencils ready for an outpouring of what is going on inside the creative self. And occasionally, this unique spiritual experience is artistically interrupted by small discussions between Fedawy, the master, and his students.

Are we talking about a healing session here? Most probably, yes. The place itself is already infused with a kind of spirituality thanks to its great history and architecture, and position among other churches in Egypt.

After a delicious lunch at the Greek Club, which overlooks the sea and the Qait Bey Fort I asked my friend Fedawy what triggered the idea in his mind, and why now?

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