One of the more bizarre and surprisingly quite fun experiences I've had in Egypt as of late was an attendance to an Egyptian "rock star" show at al-Husayn, the area home to the famous al-Husayn Mosque, the al-Azhar Mosque, and of course the popular tourist market Khan al-Khalili in the heart of Islamic Cairo. After getting wind of some major happenings in the area from the local coffee shop guys, Sayed, his friend Mohammad, and I took a quick cab ride there around midnight. Though the show was already underway, apparently it had just started, and the square was packed with old clunker station wagons packed with 'Sa'id'is' (Upper Egyptians) and galibayya clad men and women from the Delta area.
The concert was held in the open area in front of the al-Husayn mosque, where the singer and his little band of traditional musicians stood up on stage, and the thousands of fans stood all around on the ground, extending out to the outskirts of the park. I've been in Egypt for almost a full year, but NEVER in my life have I seen so many galibayyas! (These are like long dresses that men and women who dress in the traditional fashion wear.) It struck me as kind of funny to see them pushing and shoving to get close to the stage, incessanty waving at the video camera arm which was "scanning" the crowd. Though there wasn't exactly what I would call a "mash pit," it was pretty packed in the front and if you weren't careful, you could easily get caught up in the rocking and swaying of the head and the body, in a back and forth, back and forth lull, that is the traditional Sufi dance. The music goes on for hours and hours, and you feel yourself getting into a trance with the drums, the rhythyms, and the ascending, declining, and wavering drawn out voice of the singer.
I felt a little strange being there, (being the only foreigner that I saw), but everyone was pleasant and just wanted to show off their dance moves to me or perhaps get in on a picture. Though I only stayed for a few hours, apparently Egyptian families come from all over to attend the event which goes on for almost the whole week. I could see whole families, men, women, children, even little babies, in their big picnic setups, the children dancing about, eating sandwiches and dates, and buying sweet berry juice from the roaming juice man. They and me included--were all having a great time.
posted by Katie Warren @ 5:22 PM
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