- Title: Cairo bookshop lets you scream worries away
- Date: 25th October 2016
- Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) CUSTOMER, MOHAMED EL-DEBBABY, SAYING: "I used to go into this room but to play music, then things changed after the room got transformed into a scream room. I entered it at a time when I was really stressed and came out much more relaxed. What's even better is that I was able to find solutions to the problem I was facing, those realizations came as I was screaming."
- Embargoed: 9th November 2016 08:45
- Keywords: scream room Egypt Cairo bookshop bookstore stress youth worry escape
- Location: CAIRO, EGYPT
- City: CAIRO, EGYPT
- Country: Egypt
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA00355I3GID
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Seeking an escape from their stressful daily routines, young Egyptians have turned to the "scream room" to relieve their frustrations.
The soundproof room is located inside a bookshop west of the capital Cairo and comes equipped with a drum set, allowing visitors to bang their worries away.
It's the first room of its kind in the Middle East, says the owner of The World's Doors bookstore, and the idea received mixed responses when first introduced to the public.
"The scream room wasn't my idea, it was Omar Eniba's idea. He's in charge of the marketing with me; he came up to me and told me to start the scream room. I agreed to try it out, we released a promo about it and we got several different responses from people since it's something that doesn't exist in Egypt or in the Arab world in general," said Abdelrahman Saad, the bookshop owner.
Saad offers each visitor ten minutes inside the scream room free of charge.
Only one customer can enter the scream room at a time, and the walls are insulated with black fabric to ensure complete privacy.
One regular visitor, Mohamed el-Debbaby, said he found screaming beneficial in solving his problems.
"I used to go into this room but to play music, then things changed after the room got transformed into a scream room. I entered it at a time when I was really stressed and came out much more relaxed. What's even better is that I was able to find solutions to the problem I was facing, those realizations came as I was screaming," said el-Debbaby.
Customers must register first before entering the scream room and are required to leave all electronic devices at the door.
"When you enter the room it's like you've entered a whole other world, without your phone and without anything else that can have an effect on you. If you see bad news on your phone while you're still outside of the room, you still might see another piece of bad news if you go inside with your phone, so then we achieve nothing. So you enter here into a different world that is separated from anything else, doing whatever you want to do without anyone wondering or asking but afterwards, you get out feeling relaxed," said another customer, Ahmed Sharaf.
The bookshop, which opened three years ago, provides a space for studying as well as arts and crafts lessons for children.
It also offers music recording rooms, film screenings, and on some nights performances for underground musicians. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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