Crammed into the tiny upstairs of the small northwest Iowa County Museum is *** collection of rare and historic musical instruments. They aren't exactly displayed in the style of the Smithsonian.

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.

A spellbinding harp concert at the Turkish Embassy in Cairo last week marked 100 years of diplomatic ties between Turkey and Egypt, celebrating a shared musical heritage that stretches back millennia.