International Conference: A Church, A Mosque. lnterdisciplinary Conversations between Architecture and Art History.

Organised by Fatma Keshk, Sabine Frommel, and Thomas Faucher

PROGRAMME

MONDAY, May 18th
Institut français d'Egypte à Alexandrie
Pre-Conference: Opening Keynote

18:00 –19:30: Inaugural Keynote Lecture
- Mohamed Dessouki: St. Mark’s Church in Manshiyya Square.

19:30: Welcome Cocktail Reception.

TUESDAY, May 19th: Full Session (09:00 – 17:00)
Anna Lindh Foundation
Theme: Transfers, Hybridization, and Materiality

09:30 –10:00: Welcome Remarks & Introduction.
- Josep Ferré, Anna Lindh executive director
- Sabine Frommel, Fatma Keshk and Thomas Faucher

10:00 –11:30: Session 1 –The Iberian Peninsula & Mediterranean Models
- Felix Arnold: Hybrid architecture on the Iberian Peninsula: Dichotomies between form
and space (9th-11th century CE).
- Luis Rueda:Coptic vs. Christian Iberian Woodworking: Two Ways of Assimilating Islamic
Arts.
- Carlos Plaza: Cultural Interaction Spaces: Mosque-Churches in the Hispanic
Renaissance, from Seville to Mexico.

11:30 –12:00: Coffee Break.

11:30 –13:00: Session 2 –Between Rome, Byzantium, and Istanbul
- David Hendrix: The Conversions of Byzantine Churches in Istanbul and Thessaloniki.
- Sabine Frommel: Rome and Istanbul in the 16th Century: The Architectural Treatise as a
Vector of Transmission.

13:00 –14:30: Lunch break (for speakers only)

14:30 –16:00: Session 3 –Symbolism, Light, and Imperial Significance
- Eman Shokry Hesham: Red Porphyry: Survival of the Imperial Significance.
- Nader Gharib: Contemporary Natural Lighting Techniques for Symbolic Expression in
Religious Architecture.
- Manfred Luchterhandt: Defilers of Islam: Al-Turtusi’s Critique of Christian Aesthetics in
Early Mosque Architecture and its cultural Background.

16:00 –17:00: Round Table Discussion: Cross-Cultural Perspectives on Sacred Space.

19:30: Dinner (speakers only). Greek club in Qaitbay (White and Blue).

WEDNESDAY, May 20th: Morning Sessions & Site Visits
Anna Lindh Foundation
Theme: Memory, Modernity, and Local Identities

09:00 –10:30: Session 4 –19th Century Neoclassicism & Modernity
- Barbara von Orelli: Squaring the Circle. Gottfried Semper’s Dresden Synagogue: An
Oscillation Between the Forms of the Church, the Mosque, and the Synagogue.
- Mathieu Lours: Neoclassical Churches, Temples, and Synagogues (Mid-18th to Mid-19th
Century France).
- Kristina Seiling: Minaret and Church Tower: Hassan Fathy’s Mosque in New Gourna and
Coptic Sacred Architecture.

10:30 –11:00: Coffee Break.

11:00 –12:30: Session 5 –Plural Memories and Urban Landscapes
- Kathrin Machinek & Mahmoud Said: Alexandria: cathedrals and congregational
mosques in a cosmopolitan city.
- Alaa El-Habashi: Sacred Places - Heritage Places: The Evaluation of Authenticity in
Selected Churches and Mosques in Egypt.
- Souad Toumi: Goulette: History, Multiple Architecture, and Plural Memory.
- Sabine Frommel, Fatma Keshk: Concluding Remarks and Perspective on Heritage.

13:00 –14:00: Closing Lunch (for speakers only).

Afternoon: Architectural Site Visits (for speakers only)

14:30 –15:15: Abu al-Abbas al-Mursi Mosque
- An exploration of the neo-Islamic style developed by Mario Rossi, illustrating the 20thcentury
dialogue between Mediterranean traditions.

15:30 –16:00: Synagogue of Alexandria
- The Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue in Alexandria stands as a testament to Egypt's Jewish
heritage, renowned for its Italian-built architecture.

16:15 –17:00: St. Catherine’s Cathedral
- A landmark of the Latin Catholic community in Alexandria, showcasing European inspired
sacred architecture.