The American Research Center in Egypt’s (ARCE) Washington, DC Chapter in cooperation with the Egyptian Embassy hosted two lectures with the Egyptian Embassy in November as part of the Egyptian Ambassador's Cultural Series. On Tuesday, November 9, 2004, Dr. Ahmed A. Elnaggar, Professor and Chair of Architecture at Howard University, Washington, D.C. spoke on “Islamic Architecture and Urbanism in Cairo.” The slide lecture walked guests through old Cairo, or "Fatimid al-Qahira", which is an open museum of mosques, schools, alleys and homes, and helped viewers appreciate its artistic and architectural marvels, as one of the richest cities in Arab and Islamic architecture.

Dr. Betsy Bryan, Professor and Chair, Department of Near Eastern Studies, Johns Hopkins University (and an ARCE-DC member) delivered a second excellent lecture on Friday, November 19th about Johns Hopkins’ recent excavations at the Mut Temple in Karnak. Ambassador and Mrs. Fahmy attended the lecture, as did 75 ARCE-DC and Embassy invitees.