Ancient Pharaonic harp strums along to new tune
(Artdaily.org)

When Mohamed Ghaly`s workshop was reduced to rubble in February, he could never imagine that a new cultural centre dedicated to an instrument with Pharaonic roots would thrive just months later. The semsemia, similar to a harp and made of beechwood with steel strings, is believed to have ancient Egyptian roots. It appears on ornate engravings on tombs. Ghaly, a carpenter by trade, is one of the last craftsmen in Egypt keeping the cultural heritage of the instrument alive. `It`s an enchanting instrument that summons you in a way, and I answered its call,` he told AFP. In the last century, the triangular lyre-lookalike with a round bottom has become associated with the coastal towns dotted around the Suez Canal, especially Port Said. It was brought over by