A photo of chicken shawarma wrap with Tzatziki sauce SimSim’s in Avon, served at the Saints Peter and George Coptic Orthodox Church annual Egyptian Festival.
Chicken shawarma from SimSim’s in Avon, served at the Saints Peter and George Coptic Orthodox Church annual Egyptian Festival. Credit: Gennifer Harding-Gosnell / Signal Cleveland

Members of the Christian Egyptian community from around Northeast Ohio gathered at the Sts. Peter and George Coptic Orthodox Church in Westlake to celebrate their rich culture. 

Coptic was the primary language of Egypt prior to the arrival of Arabs to the region, spoken from the 5th century to around the 1400s, when language use shifted to mostly Arabic. Coptic is still the language of the Egyptian Christian Orthodox Church and is used in hymns and prayers. 

In this audio soundscape, Signal Cleveland’s Gennifer Harding-Gosnell hears from church members and other attendees about why the Egyptian Festival is important to them. The soundscape features George Girgis chanting in the Coptic language.🎧📻👇🏽

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Audio Producer (she/her)
I create audio stories meant to engage and inform people in a way that pushes beyond media stereotypes. I aim to build trust between local media and the community, striving to teach people “how” to think about life in Cleveland, not “what” to think.