Tunis — It was curtains on Sunday at the Tunis Municipal Theater for the 14th edition of "Carthage Theater Days" (JTC). The closing ceremony was chaired by Mr. Abderraouf El Basti, Minister of Culture and Heritage Preservation.

Since its inception in 1983, "Carthage Theatre Days" has paid tribute to Tunisian, Arab and African Theatre in recognition of its pioneering and creative achievement.

Under the theme "Theatre Without Borders,» the 2009 JTC edition was exceptionally rich coinciding with the celebration of the centenary of Tunisian theater and "Kairouan , 2009 Islamic Culture Capital".

14 Arab artists among whom Raid Mohsin, Akil Mehdi and Faouzia Arif (Iraq), George Ibrahim (Palestine) and Yousef Al Balushi (Oman), hakim Harb (Jordan), Zoubair Ben Bousheta (Morocco), Asaad Fedha and Jihad Saad (Syria), Zahi Wehbe (Lebanon), Fahad al-Harthi (Saudi Arabia) and Abdullah Rashid (UAE), Nadira Omran (Jordan), were honored.

The 14th edition of "Carthage Theatre Days" also paid a special tribute to Arab women. Syria's Raghda Sharani (director of "Tiamo") received the memorial symbol of the Arab Women's Organization (AWO) chaired by First lady, Mrs. Leila Ben Ali.

Twenty seven Tunisian playwrights were also honored such as Taoufik Boughedir, Ezzedine El Garouechi, Taoufik Ashour, Moncef Charfeddine, Eltijeni Zlila, chedhli Zaara, Rachid Gara, Abdelmajid Lakhal, Anisa lotfi, Latifa El Gafsi, Ahmed Snoussi and many others...

The play "A love story in 12 minutes, 3 meals and one kiss," directed by the Moroccan Faouzi bin Said was the final play to be performed.

In an interview to "Tunisiaonlinenews", in reaction to the standing ovation that greeted artists during the closing ceremony, Ahmed Snoussi, a well known Tunisian actor said that "the most beautiful tribute for an artist is the audience's applause, which is a pledge of loyalty and an expression of admiration and satisfaction".

For her part, Halima Daoud, another actress said that being honored on this special occasion is a stepping stone for her career.