Making The Promise

Last night one of my grooms got engaged. His fiancee has been to university apparently. The engagement party was held in the neighbouring village of Abu Sir and involved a gift of jewelry worth several thousand Egyptian pounds to the prospective bride followed by dancing and general celebration.

Band On The Run

Another uniquely Egyptian traffic photo. While crawling along in some heavy traffic the other night we saw this band casually sitting on top of their equipment in a pickup truck. That's one way of keeping an eye on things being transported.

Dancing Horse

As many have enjoyed the photo of the mare and photographer, this was shot at the same exhibition. Egyptian dancing horses are usually stallions, the work taking a lot of muscle. They dance to the music of local musicians.

Jazz Old And New

We just recently finished a jazz festival in Cairo, ten days of free jazz in some of the most interesting venues in the city. I saw the first night at Manial Palace, but getting up at 6 am on a farm isn't conducive to late nights listening to music however fun. This was a Spanish/Cuban group playing with some Nubian percussionists on the first night. The mix was wonderful and rich. But then that is the whole idea, to have music bring people together.

Just A Cottage

I went to a jazz concert at Manial Palace the other night, the opening night of a European/Egyptian jazz festival. There was a reception before the concert in a palace that had belonged to Prince Mohamed Ali, a fascinating space covered in gold and marble with a bedroom containing a solid silver bed. Just a weekend place I guess.

The Flute Man

I've known this man for almost fifteen years and have probably bought about twenty flutes from him over that time, first for my own children and now for other people's. His face is wonderful and his smile as he patiently instructs purchasers in the delicacies of blowing a bamboo whistle is irresistible. My driver was the latest victim of my purchases of two whistles for his sons.

The Mother's Heart

Cairo, as a city of that name, began with the conquest of the old city of Fustat by Sallah el Din, better known in the west as Richard The Lionhearted's foe Saladin. He established the the heart of the old city of Cairo in his Citadel overlooking the city in the late 1170's. Sallah el Din was a Kurd, the first of the Ayyubid rulers of Egypt, just one of the many ethnic groups to come to and be absorbed by The Mother of The World, as Cairo has been known. Subsequent rulers added on and changed the Citadel, but it is the home of the mosque of Mohamed Ali and the site of some marvelous music concerts in the summer. The music festival sells its tickets for about LE 2 each, well within the reach of working class Egyptians who will hear everything from folk music, to classical Arabic music, to modern Arab jazz while sitting under the stars and looking out over the city.