After excavating my partying self from the Au Revoir Event, kissing dance colleagues and friends I’d made, and heading to my room to pack, I enjoyed one skinny hour of sleep. This is not whining- sleep lost over such amazing adventures is a luxury. Sleep also seems to be a non essential in Egypt.

Yes, morning did find me a little weak at first but I perked up as I washed my hand full of vitamins, probiotics, and a nutrition bar down my throat. I checked out of the hotel, met Kanina and enjoyed a swift cab ride to the airport and an hour-long flight. Thus began yet another chapter of adventure called Luxor.

our greeting comittee in Luxor

As soon as my shoes hit the Luxor tarmac, I felt something new that I’d not yet found in Egypt. I was caressed by clean morning air vs. choked by exciting Cairo smog. I was beckoned by open roads and a vast sky vs. entertained by lawless auto-congestion and kamikaze pedestrians. Most of all, my mind was blessed by a single goal which was to tour history. My three Cairene goals of dancing, touring, and working with suppliers for Alimah’s Closet felt far away in Cairo. This was Luxor with it’s Luxorious Oasis feel.

Both Kanina and I seemed to be slipping into a peaceful place where all we felt was serenity, expansiveness, and… hunger. We had planned to begin touring strait from the airport. Go, go, go with bags in tow. But we had to stop for food and a breathe of fresh air first.

Shwarma sandwiches and pepsi for breakfast on the balcony of Snacktime restaurant, was an unexpectedly intoxicating experience.  The novelty of a hoagy in the morning on a tippy top table, the fact that we were starved, and the amazing environment began to work a refreshing magic on me – even though Kanina kept cracking me up saying “OMG, this is soooo good”.

Kanina over looking serene street life from Snacktime balcony. p.s. Temple of Luxor stares at her.

sugar cane on the carriage floor.

"Old and New, Past and Present?" This guy could have easily fit in a thousand years ago. But here he is strolling by the motorcycles with his tahtib (stick).

The gently waking town of Luxor below our balcony was dreamy and hypnotic.  Walkers seemed like sages, wise men, or scribes telling a story with each slow step. An occasional donkey cart clip-clopped it’s way past taking a piece of my mind away with it. Horse drawn carriages adorned with shiny, jingling metal tags pulled their slightly British beauty past us (the British occupied Egypt for 100 years, I think).

Even the screaming motor bikes racing through the scene were at half the speed of Cairo’s bikers. Once past, they’d simply slip around the bend leaving a calm, empty street before us again. A truck piled high with vegetables in hand-worked baskets bumped along making me grab for my camera. It was all so rich.

yes, apparently, Old McDonald has a Luxor delivery boy

This pleasant parade past mammoth Luxor Temple’s pillars and statues was perused by Kanina and I with our morning sod’s in hand. LOL I never drink soda. I think we could have sat there staring at the magnificent and mellowing sites side by side for a long time. Peering down over my right hand railing I could see a shop owner quietly grinding rough rock into smooth stones on a spinning wheel even as my whirling brain disengaged from the rush of Cairo. I was so content I could barely speak but I think I squeezed out a “Happy Birthday, Kanina.”

SIDE NOTE: What a thrill for me to be in Egypt with or without anyone celebrating life. But to have this be Kanina’s birthday, too, brought even more happiness to various moments in the day and the trip. As if “Celebrate life, grab it up, love it” were being delivered to us every day.

Egypt University is everywhere. Having minimal education about Egypt that I recall, having had resisted all fads to Walk Like an Egyptian and sing about King Tut in the 80′s and 90′s, having passed on name dropping the Goddesses of ancient history to avoid being a self-serve hijacker of history I didn’t really know about, I arrived in Egypt quite ignorant of it’s history. I tried reading books to get ready but found it a massive task full of terms I didn’t know.

Our guide and friend, Egyptologist, Said.

This is why I was very excited when our tour guide introduced himself as a college graduated, certified Egyptologist. A chance to learn from an expert was upon me. Said was an articulate, proud Egyptian, who was also an incredibly efficient teacher.

Taking us to Karnak Complex first, our tall, twenty-something, highly-educated, multi-lingual teacher sat us in the lobby for quite a long time tutoring us to the relevant history. Said broke the chronology of Egypt’s ancient history down on a small note paper for us.  He spoke slowly as he pointed to his paper.

In this first lecture and all others, Said would always leave room for questions every few sentences and read our faces to make sure we were following along.  Said was never thrown by any question no matter how simple minded.  When we answered his questions correctly or interjected something which we observed, he would answer “Excellent” in a voice that had an inspiring mix of pleasant approval and professorial “this is serious business”.

Said and Kanina

SIDE NOTE: Said was so attentive to our needs that later in the day, he re-worked the entire plan for us bc he could see we were getting tired. He made sure we could get a nap, eat, and see Luxor Temple by night when it was lit up instead of during the day – which was amazing, by the way.  What a blessing it was to have Said to lead our tour.  Worth every single penny.

***If you are going to Luxor, you must look Said up and book his services. Contact me or Kanina of Rhode Island for his info***.

You always remember your first Egyptian ruin.  Karnak, my love.  Being totally unschooled in these matters, I could not get my head around the fact that huge architectural structures were buried in sand, or partly buried, some had been so deeply buried that other structures were built on top of them by accident.  I could grasp losing a statue or two in a sand storm, but, these buildings were like losing the entire pentagon.

Ram headed sphinx lead the way to Karnak

What was missing from my brain, was the concept of how long “thousands of years” really is. I’m still digesting how many sand storms, religions, occupations, floods, earthquakes, growing seasons, migrations, and families might be born in a few thousand years. These make it possible to lose a couple of CrioSphinx, I guess.

I don’t even know the name of the town my father came from in Italy without looking it up so I guess it’s entirely possible to lose track of building over time. maybe.

Next, I could not  get my head around the fact that the ancient Egyptian people could create all of these works without computers or gasoline driven machines. Some of the blocks used in this complex are 200 tons. This stuff is gigantic.

Tiny Kanina walking the 134 columns of Hypostyle Hall; Karnak. This is the largest room of any religious building in the world.

The massive architecture and artistic expressions at Karnak include 8 story high stone kings, gods, goddesses, wall sculptures, and hieroglyphic story telling on pillars and walls that span 61 acres. Karnak complex is so large it would hold 10 average European Cathedrals. All made without a single gasoline powered crane.

With all due respect, please forgive me for saying it, but if 4000 years ago people could move 200 ton rocks and create perfectly proportional art upon 22 meter high pillars, what the hell is wrong with us? Why are we unable to go to work if the car has a flat tire? Why is the ceiling on the big dig falling down on motorists? Did our civilization get in the wrong line when God was passing out engineering genes? Are we the bumblebees of civilization barely keeping it in the air, or what?!

Seriously, it’s nothing short of astounding how big the Egyptian ruins are.

Lotus style pillars - what a perfect day we had.

Queen Hatshepsut's Obelisk, the tallest ancient Obelisk standing in the world.

Size aside, the fact that through floods and earthquakes, the carvings and paint remain and this was another brain burner for me.  The explanation to that was easier to grasp thankfully.

First of all, stone is a great medium if you want your artwork or building to last forever. Alabaster, Granite and Sandstone compose most of Egypt’s ancient architecture and artwork. Even the paint is often made of ground stone mixed with a fixative.

But, stone aside, it’s the climate. Dry, warm, and sandy Egyptian conditions make for keeping mummies, artwork, and architecture alive. If it had rained there all the time, no such luck – especially with the sandstone.

Perfectly clear detail. Various Gods pulling a boat to the next life. Anubis and Horus are 2 of the Gods on this boat.

Libyan captives. See how they are tied at the elbows? Amazing detail due to dry, warm, climate.

Something else that really excited me was that, in some cases, we were able to see these amazing works “in progress”, or unfinished.

There was a the pillar that appeared to be just a stack of unpolished, rough, round rocks standing next to a whole row of smoothly polished and shaped finished pillars.

Pillar on far right is "work in progress" and it's still gorgeous. Not shaped and polished. Just a stack of rocks.

There was a pile of mud brick that the workers climbed up onto in order to build a high wall or cut the artwork into the wall. The mud brick pile was never removed and looked very unfinished.

Mud brick pile was used to get up to the wall and do work. Still sitting there.

I felt thrilled by seeing these works in progress and gleaning insight into how the structures became what they were. Seeing things undone made the artisans more human, it gave me more ability to appreciate and understand the work that went into the finished products.

In retrospect the mud brick wall and unfinished rough pillar made me think of those last two days of rocky dance with Randa. I wondered if I could choose to view these unpleasant patches of dancing “In progress” as highly cherished snapshots in someone’s photo journal – almost more valuable than the pics of the fabulous finished products. It seems important to cherish the journey and respect the effort vs resent it and feel ashamed of the mistakes. In my love of the unfinished pillar, could I glean a different point of view of my own life’s works?  I found several interesting thoughts related to art, life, and the value of the jagged edge. I’ll stop rambling here. You get the idea.

SIDE NOTE: I came here to Egypt first and foremost bc I loved the music and dance. Now, though, I plan to continue reading and studying about the architecture, art, history, past and current culture and politics. Forgive me, fellow Masri (Egyptian) for my ignorance and know that I am now a devoted student and fan of this amazing country.

Sofra for dinner: If you go to Luxor, you might enjoy dinner upstairs at Sofra as we did after Karnak and a nap. A tray of small glass bowls of delight – our appetizer sampler was an unforgettable start to our meal. Using fire-baked bread, I shoveled one amazingly spiced, sauced, and mysterious bite after another into my mouth.

pots of fire heat Sofra

perfectly imperfect lights are everywhere

Scratchy, vintage Oum Kalthoum music drifted through the air. Coals afire in big metal bowls burned for heat. A small but vividly painted ceiling dome in the ceiling’s center was crowned with an old, cut metal lamp. Dark brown, antique, arabesque-carved wood chairs and couches were arranged around large trays on legs used for tables. Outside the window was a dusty street with rebar topped, unfinished buildings. Honestly, this was beyond culinary paradise. It was Casablanca Fantasy meets 2012 reality.

We chose 4 hot and 4 cold apps.

We stayed for two calls to prayer (Call to prayer happens 5 times a day) and had to be pried out of there by our guide to go see the Luxor Temple. I’d be there this very moment if I could be – still toasting, “Happy Birthday, Kanina” forever!

Here is what one of the calls to prayer sounded like: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=3029609692006&set=vb.1015741111&type=2&theater

Luxor Temple by Night: Our after-Sofra tour began with Said taking us to The Avenue of the Sphinx. Fifty-eight gorgeous Sphinx with human heads were lit up and waiting for us on either side of this avenue. My imagination became drunk when Said told us that over 700 sphinx were once lining this processional road connecting Luxor Temple to the Karnak Complex. Queen Hatshepsut, who insisted on being buried with the kings vs the queens, used this Sphinx road for processionals for the Feast of Opet and other processionals were here, too.

A few of what was once over 700 sphinx lining the road

Like the Mass Pike flows next to Newton, this ancient statue lined processional road sits smack dab in the center of Luxor’s active township. You also can’t miss two gigantic statues of Ramses II and countless immovable pillars and temple structures reaching to the heavens. Right there across from Snacktime with motor bikes screaming by on their modern day missions sits all of this, The Temple of Luxor. If you like having your mind stretched like elastic, this old and new place is for you. 

Two, huge Ramses II statues flank the Temple Entrance

Inside the temple which has open ceilings is amazing artwork and detail remaining thanks to the desert climate. Even though the Romans used the Temple and destroyed some of the work, even though a muslim mosque was built right on top of some of part of the structure, this temple still stands intact enough to silence the average chatting tourist.

Seeing a few statues of a queen next to a king, with her hand on his shoulder or tucked under his arm, I gave pause. I asked Said if this was affection as we know it? His response was that the gesture was more about supporting the king than of romance and fulfillment. It seemed a slightly uncomfortable moment bc I realized every time I had said “how sweet” about these gestures, he may have been thinking “how dopey” about my western fantasy of love ever after. Marriage and reproduction, it seemed, were a higher calling than love? I don’t think I handled this topic too smoothly but with admiration flowing all over that luminously lit temple, I think we got along ok.

The Surprise: As we piled back into our waiting van and headed back to our hotel, I found it odd that Said kept telling the driver to pull over and saying to Kanina and I,  “Would you please excuse me”. He’d jump out and go to a store or something. I didn’t pay that much attention to it but it was becoming noticeable when he said, “Will you excuse me for the third time” with a little apology mixed with aggravation in his voice. I felt bad the poor guy had to keep stopping but we were having a great time people watching and going over the amazing sites we’d seen.

Said got in the van after his third stop and we drove off only to hear him to tell the driver in Arabic to pull over again. This time, however, by the side of the road and not a shop, we came to a stop. It was at this point that I began to have a hunch… after some crinkling of plastic bags in the front seat Said turned to us saying that they wanted to do something special for Kanina’s birthday. Said went on to produce a red flower for each of us, some white frosted cake, plates, plastic wear, and even special party music. Kanina was squealing, we were both laughing, and… y’know, I was crying. I was just so happy for Kanina who was totally surprised and we were both so completely moved by the kindness, the effort, and the sweet heart of our Egyptian hosts – now friends.

A mini party was on. I took pictures on Kanina’s camera bc my battery fainted from all this happiness.  ”thank you” and “oh my goodness” went around and around as we ate the white cake with marshmallow flavored frosting. It was light and yummy and not as stiff as marshmallow back home.

Then, when our hearts had settled a bit, Said produced yet another surprise, a gift for Kanina, a mini pyramid with a hawk Goddess (Hathor?) floating off it’s peak via magnet. Hathor, for protection, I think. He apologized that it was made in China – it was all he could find at this point in the evening. China had been a topic at some point in our day so this comment was really quite funny. Our head’s were shaking in disbelief that in Said’s very calculated and thoughtful manner, he had this one more surprise up his sleeve. Kanina was smiling from ear to ear and back again. And, I was just a tearing up mess.

This act on the part of Said and our driver felt like a gift reaching not just from tour guide to tourist but rather from human to human, from the heart of one country to the heart of another country. Global values of human kindness were filling our hearts and our van. Need I say it? Happy Birthday, Kanina?

I just LOVE Kanina’s birthday!!!!!!

The Nightcap: Could it get possibly get any better? Well, yes, it could and it did. All night we’d been noting a perfectly crescent shaped moon just like you see in Arabic artwork, mosques, etc. This moon posed and flirted with us up there all night long from Sofra to Luxor Temple and now this. As we entered our hotel room, each with a beer in hand from the downstairs bar, the moon had perched right outside our room reflecting itself in little undulations on the sleepy Nile river. It was a poetic, rusty orange crescent that hung just sweetly hung over our balcony specifically for us.

We wrapped up in blankets and sat out in the cool desert breeze with our beers. Chatting about this and that, we sat staring out at the sinking moon until it disappeared into the clouds next to the sillouette of a palm tree.  I tried taking pictures of Kanina but neither of our cameras were equipt to capture the low-lit wonder world we were drenched in. This day began on a balcony and it beckoned us to end the same way. We’d just have to keep the memory in our hearts and  in our journals.

TOP: The moon, the nile, the palm tree, the balcony. BELOW: Kanina staring at the Nile moon on her birthday

If you EVER get to be anywhere near Kanina on her birthday, do not miss it. Amazing things happen. This was by far one of the most amazing days I’ve ever lived.

Thank you all for reading this blog, sending support of this trip, and for sharing this fabulous journey. You are all in my heart as I write.

Wait til you read the next entry: Luxor by Hot Air Balloon – Oh yes we did!

With all good things, comes responsibility and sometimes trials of fire. Did Harry Potter have a bunch of tests to pass in order to become worthy of his magic? I think he had nothing on me and many who came to Egypt. Here are three three tests I had to face.

Test #1: Entrepreneurial. Wrestling with the time consuming, complex, and distracting challenge of tracking down new suppliers for Alimah’s Closet, buying, ordering and shipping merchandise was not easy.

Even before my dance course began, on arrival day in Egypt, I trekked to the Khan el Khalili Bazaar in search of “the hip scarf guy”. Thank God, Kanina was with me for this day and many of the other other outings b/c it was a lot of information to take in.

A store in Khan el Khalili. stimuli overkill

At the hip scarf guy’s store, checking out his line of merchandise, took a lot of time, counting out Assaya (canes), Tahtib (sticks), and hip scarves took quite awhile. Sadly, the progress ground to a halt when I discovered he was unable to take a credit card. Either that or his sons who were in charge that day didn’t know how to work the machine. It was hard to tell what the exact issue was bc the sons did not speak English and I was conversing through a friend of my cab driver. Since the cash card I brought, like a traveler’s check by visa, would not produce cash out of any atm machine I tried, I’d have to leave a deposit, return another day when the owner was in the shop and hope they’d take a credit card then. I began to leave a deposit of $100 not realizing that $100 is equal to $600 pounds, basically. Currency exchange had not yet become part of my brain. Luckily, the folks with me pulled my money back and re-worked my deal for me. oy vey.

SIDE NOTE: Everything takes a ton of time in Egypt and often multiple visits.

SIDE NOTE: If you go to Egypt, bring cash. Nobody would take a credit card it seemed.

Another day during dance week I tried not to resent the fact that while my dance friends were at breakfast, I was going to visit a costume factory.

I was breaking my promises to my family and walking the streets of Giza alone to find this factory. I kept my eyes to myself as I passed amazing old world sites; a weathered man pulling a cart of oranges yelling up to the windows and passers by; A huge tray of fresh pita-shaped bread awaiting buyers displayed 18 inches off the ground on bricks at a corner store; Cats – lots of cats; random cars by the side of the road fighting the desert sand and dust; and people scanning this odd white girl as I walked. Acting sure of foot and not as if I were counting streets so I knew when to turn right, I was a bit nervous, for sure.

I blew my cover and scared the life out of myself and 2 men when I  mistakenly opened the wrong door and found myself in someone’s house. I was not sure it was a house and tried not to stare bc any garage in America with a dirt floor and piles of stuff vs an arrangement of furniture. Against the wall, heat was produced by an open flame burning coals or something in a large metal dish on metal legs. The guys stared at me and  I them until I produced an Arabic written card explaining where I was going. Luckily they took me there and it was only steps away. So many of the Egyptian people I met are extremely lovely and kind.

Almost no purchase can happen without having tea or soda with the shop owner or employee. It's a touch of service and a nicety that does not happen at your local Walmart back home.

The factory owner and his family, too, were just a delight. Bringing me mango juice and showing me around to the cutting room, beading room, sewing room, etc.  I acted as if I had not just survived my heart-pounding, artery-clearing first solo flight in Egypt and cordially smiled as I met the owner and his family. We went over what he makes best, how he designs for troupes, his asking his prices, turnaround time, how he takes payment and so on – all before my morning dance class started.

I felt very different than the other clear-eyed dancers in the room when I got back to the dance course. I found that getting into the moment for dance proved quite a clunky gear shift.

As it went, between classes all week, I was planning an outing or meeting with a few kind dancers who also had stores and studios like mine. SHOUT OUT TO RAKSANNA and FATIMA:  MUAH! I was trying to get updated phone numbers that worked bc mine were not working or I just did not know how to dial yet, picking brains for who makes what product best at what price point, updating my list of people to see with newer names, and probably annoying the heck out of my friends.

I tried not to judge my situation, to just do what I had to do and experience it as it was coming at me. But it was draining to be keeping this double focus. The other dancers at Randa, Of Course were enjoying dance, dance, dance and then going to bed early while I was arranging English speaking guides, wandering around areas I’d never been in, seeking out people, trying to log what I’d found for products, prices, etc, and “Acting as if” I was the business woman I hoped to someday be.

Eman Zaki is the top designer in Egypt. Kanina's costume came out amazing!

I do have to state that in spite of feeling sorry for myself I was and am proud of myself. I was paying my dues, sacrificing some dance progress and sleep, for sure, but finally getting my own list of resources that I could be proud of and that was a huge accomplishment.  This was something I’d wanted to do for years. The suppliers Bill and I “Purchased” when we bought the store were not, in fact, worth the money we paid. Dance store colleagues I had back home, who were all lovely people, would never give me the names of the suppliers they were using, nor would I ask bc, as I was learning here it Egypt, it took a great investment of time, courage, and money to find and secure relationships with Egypt’s belly dance designers and factories.

It was also, I admit, truly fascinating to see the factories and costume designers who were once just a vapor to me. All of these folks were sincere and wonderful people who were eager to work with me. Service like this is lost in America. All had their families’ involved as I suspected. Little kids helped, mom’s, aunts, brothers, sons, sisters, etc Some families were “competitor designers” competing with their own families.  Yet they helped each other out in most cases. Some were business men and some were business women but all had in common the Egyptian work ethic. And, all were making glamorous costumes, bras studded with rhinestones and sequins while on a backdrop of a dirt-road kind of country full of muslim standards. It was quite a lot to take in. I came love Egyptian people and how much they were trying to interact with me, protect me from shady deals, etc. I wanted to buy from every single one of the designers - especially since the revolution has caused massive job losses and hardship when practically all of the tourism dried up.

Nancy, on break from working with us, wrapped my head. She was the sweetest thing.

This adorable little guy, Mustafa, was an incredible help at one factory that I visited until 5AM. yeah, it's like that there.

Nancy holds a costume while it's photographed on the tablet.

So, test #1:  To improve the quality of my store’s items, upgrade my supplier list, and to support this country and the people of Egypt whom I was falling in love with, was a puzzle, a time suck, a threat to my dance progress and my sleep, and a credit card nighmare for this math novice working in a different currency but I pressed on. Harry Potter would have been proud of me. PASS.

Test #2: Are you willing to be “a work in progress”?

Classes at Randa Kamel Of Course, here in Egypt were going wonderfully for me.

Badre, our folkloric teacher

Between Folkloric dance, modern Egyptian style, assaya(cane), Randa’s Technique combos, rhythms, stage make up, seeing shows, dance outings,  visiting the costume vendors in the hotel, getting to know an international group of women, Sara Farouk updating us daily on opps to see dance or what not, sweet but strong, heart-felt speeches by Randa about our level of commitment to high standards and feeling the music we were all having a great time.  “Were” is the key word.

Then, on Thursday, Randa’s Oriental style routine hit us hard. It was not just me. Many in the class were challenged by this material. But run after run of each section of the dance I found myself following the leader, hanging on by a thread, behind the beat, and unable to internalize the dance or hear the music. The volume of direction changes, weight shifts, new arm patterns, and “micro turns” had me frustrated to say the least.  It was also a fast number so a mis-step left you in danger of being mowed over by the other dancers. Getting back “on”, I felt like a frog trying to cross a highway full of moving traffic.

Old mental traps which I’d battled with in younger years re-presented themselves. Little demoralizing habits, such as, playing humbling imaginations that the whole room was looking at me when I was visibly on the wrong foot,  labeling myself a “bad” dancer, nursing a mental block against the routine by thinking I would never get it so why try, telling myself I did not deserve to be in this class and had wasted my money coming here. oy vey.

This routine went on for two whole days of class and so did those pesky thoughts. To stay on my feet trying, fighting through all the negative chattering in my head took all the focus I had.   Like a mud slide in my mind, my mood was always trying to slip away on me. I wanted to give up and sit down so badly. But, I refused. Sitting was to let errant thinking win.

I remembered many an episode in college where taking dance with the dance majors left me in quit-mode. I seemed to think that I was either awesome or I stunk and there was no patience or kindness for being in the middle range. I later learned that if one is not willing to suck, be imperfect, be “In progress”, if one gives up when the task is hard, the growth ends. So, like the great pyramids, I stayed standing, fighting it out with myself here in Egypt.

I said to myself, “get back into the music and out of your head, listen, enjoy, let it flow, just flow”.  I tried to find one area where I could make a little improvement each time. I tried to remember that this number was hard for everyone, not just me, and that I had no right to assume everyone was ace-ing it but me.  I myself had heard some seasoned Randa followers admit that they were lost at times. Kanina had mentioned that most people looked lost when she took a break and observed.

In the end, I did not ace that routine. But, I did show up, stand up, and not sit down to avoid this character-building workout. Even if I did not get this routine, I would pass the test, dammit.

Test #2: Willing to be a work in progress. PASS. 

Test #3: Revealing one’s self

Congruently running my nervous system ragged were 2 days of a very hard Oriental routine AND the  fast approaching Au Revoir Show which I had signed up to dance in while back in Boston.

SIDE NOTE: What I did not tell a soul, even myself, was that I had a dream,  a wish, a fantasy that while in Egypt, I wanted to dance AND sing during my show with an Egyptian band.  Everytime the wish crossed my mind I thought it seemed impossible.

1. I don’t know any musicians here so how would that opp ever arise?

2. How would I rehearse with a band if the opp did arise? With the busy schedule I am keeping of classes, researching alimahscloset suppliers, and seeing Egypt, this seemed impossible.

3. How would I explain my vision of a cabaret singing/dancing act to anyone here?

4. Without my dear friends, students, family, and fans in the audience, would the song and dance act work? This group here could think my song and dance dreams odd

5. My Arabic. Do I really think my Arabic singing strong enough to put out in Egypt? Would I make a fool of myself?

Well, without forethought, when Sara and Samir, our organizer and the band leader asked what song I wanted to dance to, I said “Bitwannes Beek if you let me sing a little bit of it with the band”. I could not believe those words came out of my mouth in that moment. And, that Samir and Sara said yes was even more shocking. What the hell had I done and what had they agreed to?

As it turned out, the band leader, Samir, kept thinking we’d sing it together or that I’d be mouthing the words during my dance. I boldly pressed on until my vision of a dance and song act, with a mic stand placed in front of me on the stage was clear to all. And, Samir gave me a 5-10 minute rehearsal, gratefully, in which I had to express the song was not in the correct key but, of course, the Arabic musicians do not use the word “Key”, it’s maqam instead.

I was calm and grateful on the exterior. Inside, though, beneath the bravado, I was nauseous. Obsessing about the opening moments was actually a 2 day affair in my head filled with personal coaching to “stay in the moment”.  The pristeenly clean dancers in these parts seemed to choreograph bc the band seemed to play “record copy” but I was unable to find the time to choreograph between classes and appointments for Alimah’s Closet. So my fears of seeming sloppy as I improvised the opening were hard to tame.

Samir, Randa’s singer and band leader, the best!

Pouring over Arabic pronunciation of the song at every free moment, including when I was asleep, and singing phrases for Samir and other Arab speaking people was building confidence in my singing. But, the band, the sound system, my improvised dancing and the audience reaction were impossible to predict.

In the show’s running order Kanina was first. She was also a bit concerned about dancing in the company of the “Modern Egyptian” Crowd. She chose Sowwah, a classic tune which seemed to draw an odd look from a few gals at lunch when they asked her song. I was bummed that Kanina, who can zill to any tempo, decided not to zill because in this dance land, zills are not common. She wondered might it throw the band off? In her few minutes allotted with the band leader, he sang her the tune as he felt they’d do it. She, too, like me worked on it in her head and at the random 2AM moments of free time we had.

Finally, both of us, supporting each other and sympathizing with the challenge, had to come to a place where we decided to “Dance for ourselves” vs try to please the many classmates and staff in this foreign dance land. “Let’s do this for the gals back home and for ourselves. We are dancing our dance in Egypt”.

The primping on Friday night began. Randa’s hair stylist came to my room and used an antique method to curl hair. Using a propane fire pot, he heated a tiny metal rod and the u shaped clamp that hugged the rod. Wrapping a strand of hair around the rod at a time from the scalp to the end of the hair, he tiny-curled my whole head with that fire and hot rod method. He spoke no English so it was hard to say “Are you sure this is safe to have an open flame in a hotel room with only one door and the window which is blocked off”? LOL As with many a moment in Egypt, the skill of going with the flow proved worth it. I sat for about an hour during which I sang to him and myself and the hair came out really cool.

Getting my hair done with the fire heated curling iron. wow.

As the night began, the competition dancers performed first. Each were truly super stars and a joy to watch. Both Kanina and I were clapping and being supportive – trying to stay in the moment. The huge buffet was opened soon the moment came. It was time for our shows to begin. Even if poorly received,  I hoped to look back over my shoulder without the regret of having not tried and that was almost all I had to hang onto in the face of the nerves. But, even better than knowing we tried, I can happily report that both Kanina and I stepped up to the plate called Egypt and hit it out of the park.

First, Kanina.  Stunning in Turqouise, completely looking at home in her dance, Kanina opened the show with all the grace and pride that I know her to present back home. I was so proud of her that I was beaming and yelling like any football fan at a superbowl. She was luminous backed by that big band, lit up in a wonderful light show, and doing her thing.

My show was later in the night. The wait was painful as fabulous show after fabulous show passed across the stage. As my music started, I swooped in with my cape turning in a spiral shape on the floor in front of the stage. I opened my cape along and offered my heart strait at Randa’s table as the first accent sounded. What a sweetie, Randa, who yelled with appreciation. I repeated the phrase in the other direction and then to the stage I went as the tempo kicked in with 4 or 5 drummers rocking the stage like they do in Egypt.  I incited some clapping as my dance unfolded for 3 minutes roughly. Then came the full band stop in Bitwannes Beek. Usually, at that point, the band’s singer would begin singing and… I stepped to the mic. What a freakin’ thrill to be myself. I love to sing, I love to dance, I have one life to mix it all up within. Both my singing and dancing selves united and Randa was yelling and people were clapping. What I feared might be seen as odd seemed to thrill the audience and compliment the Arab speakers in the room.

When the vocal part ended and I began to dance again, i was met again with more yelling and happiness from the audience. What a generous and open minded group to follow my dream with such enthusiasm.

I'm singing!

As my last beat finished, I had asked the band to give me a long and tremmering shimmy section with which I filled my pink and silver costume up with shimmering movement while I gave a heart felt air kiss to each band member. As the tremor built, I then jumped up and down to one knee as I threw one  giant kiss at Randa on the accent from the band that I turned into an exciting punctuation mark. I then hopped up and ran off the stage on toes, cape in the air. Thank you, Shadia for the cape.

My sweet friends from France were all hugs. Seriene saying she was moved to tears. Said from Germany gushed “OMG, the singing, the dancing, the costume, everything”! And, Sheila from NYC, who encouraged me to come to Egypt was full of compliments. Mamdo, one of the vendors who’d seen me all week was all smiles and fascination wanting to know how I did it- learned the Arabic song. The Hotel staff whom had become our friends were thumbs up. Kanina said, “You nailed it”  and she noted that the band played a tad faster than she knew I wanted the song. And, best of all, Randa, during my show was yelling out loud her appreciation of my choices.

So, I had admitted my dream, went for it AND it made sense and brought joy to others. The relief was great and I… y’know, cried a little in the bathroom. I was so happy it was over. LOL. I wanted to call Bill immediately bc he knows how hard it is to play for other artists, he is a drummer, and he heard my angst about the classes and my fear of putting myself out there in Egypt. But I did not want to miss any of the rest of the show so I changed quick and got back to the event.

Kanina and I and everyone from the staff and classes danced our hearts out for the rest of the night. I’m sure that everyone in the show felt a great reason to celebrate having passed the test of revealing their dances and their selves on that brightly lit stage.

OH! almost forgot, the entire room sang happy birthday to Kanina as she came up to get her Randa, Of Course certificate. Or, was that when she went up to win her Hisham Ozaki original costume?! She had a fabulous night, indeed. So happy for her.

Celebrating the night with Samir and everyone

Randa gave us each a certificate and a hug

Sheila from NYC and I dance it out

Said from Germany is such a great guy!

Kanina, Raksanna, and I

TEST #3: reveal yourself. PASS.

We were told only that we were going on an outing. “Bring layers as it may get cold when that sun goes down”. It gets cold very fast here by the way.

Turns out we were going to El Ezba Resort, a Classic Hollywood Themed event location. Antique cars from 1940s are parked on the grounds, pics of all the classic Egyptian black and white movies on the pavilion walls, many black and white posters of dignitaries, palm trees, live musicians roaming, large posters of Fez-wearing guys on the buildings, and an oasis-like pool. All lovely like a vacation. We drove through poverty to get here but it was very peaceful in here it was also the warmest, sunny day we’d had since arrival

****Again, the organizors of The Randa Kamel Of Course Festival have it going on. They knew we’d been working so hard in classes and trying to see dance at night and me trying to do upgrade Alimah’s (stock-shopping-Egypt-research) and so on.  It was such a needed day of rejuvenating sun and education NOT in the classroom.

Rababa or Spike Fiddle. oooooooold.

Dancing to the  music was, of course, a dancing horse. When we do Saidi dance (folkloric dance with cane), we do some kicking pony-like footwork that this horse was doing. Is this the  finely trained Arabian horse we imitate? No. Perhaps, a cousin or a close friend to the fine Arabian. But, his front feet were picking up one at a time on the beat (almost) and then, sometimes he’d step double time. His trainer did have a little switch which I was sad to see. But, I think we just saw a really old tradition.

There was this delicate, pretty little girl and her sweet little goat. She let us pet and hold the goat or take our pic with her for 5 pounds. I wanted to steal this little girl with tattered sleeves and her little goat, too. I just loved them both.

Much later that day, I observed her and noted that the little girl had behavior far beyond her years. She went from sweet to bossy if she did not get her baksheesh – tip. And, once I saw her trying to tie her hair back and she had the goat’s head between her legs to keep it from running off. She could probably man handle a full grown cow if she had to. Stealing her home to us could have bad results, I imagined. I might awaken to the sound of her chopping up the piano for firewood.

As we entered the gate, a round woman was sitting on the ground baking bread in a brick fire oven. She had a big basket of bread on her head – hot out of the oven. She began the highest pitched Zaghareet I’d ever heard. I motioned to her to hear it again and you could see her grossly fat tongue in a knot like a golf ball trilling from side to side. Then the yell at the end sounded computer generated – that high. I was amazed really. video is on my Facebook wall.

As we followed the pathway, the sounds of yet another wandering band drifted toward us. We found three guys in Fez hats oud, violin, doumbek, a pavilllion with a DJ waiting, and a dance floor with several round tables facing it. We figured we were in for some sort of entertainment.

While we milled around the pavilion waiting for guidance we found camel rides, free henna, Donkeys to pet and lovely locations to take pics. We began to socialize with the people we’d been sweating beside and enjoy the moment. I was so, so, so charmed by Ramses the Camel that I had to go over and talk to him. Ramses wore a fabulous camel blanket with colored pompoms and tassels. I was reminded of my long time ago friend Mary who married a Labanese man. Her husband was horrified that she adored the camel blankets and would wear them for dance. They are very colorful and fun.

So, Kanina rode first like a pro. She looked fabulous in the white turban. I was so proud of her.  I was afraid of the getting up. I heard you can fall forward when they put their back feet on the ground first. But, if Kanina did it, I could. I held onto the saddle horn tightly and up we went without any issues.

I hope you can click on this and see me in a video on the camel: IMG_1265 I just loved the slow lope of Ramses and imagined traveling across the desert. Camel riding is so much more comfortable than horse. Kanina and I both rode on our own and then together for a longer ride which was a blast. At one point we got off and fed Ramses some grass and weeds. His nose was so soft. I just adored that camel. I massaged his head and thanked him for the ride. He was 6 years old. Thank you, Ramses!

PS we got bilked by 20 pounds each plus tipping on that. Long story but I have no regrets.

Before I knew it the DJ was playing all sorts of music. Our folklore teacher lead us in some Debke line dance. Then some rap from good old usa come on. Bollywood stuff was playing. It was really fun and we got wild out there. I am quite shy around dance floors but when I let go I really have fun.

Then, the folklore show began. I can’t recall the name of the group at this moment but they were quite something in brightly colored costumes. First in orange and yellow robes. Next the ladies had black dresses with scarves on each hip. I wonder if that was Tunisian? I have to find out more.  They did several fabulous dances including one that we learned the other morning in class. Where the man and woman get together and use the scarf to dance. Very sweet.

Then, lunch under the other pavilion. It was amazing. I’ve been eating very little veggies here bc they don’t have much that is cooked (avoiding bacteria). Well, this buffet was like vegetable paradise. Plus, they had stuffed grapeleaves, stuffed cabbage, rice, a veggie stew. Then, after we sat, the staff put these gorgeous brass boxes filled with coals on our tables that had kbobs on the top foil covered grill. It felt like an antique method of keeping food warm. It doesn’t take much to thrill me. I was thrilled with this box. I really want one.

We ate with the Scottish gals and due to my Scottish roots and their sweet nature, I just love those gals! Raksanna and Fatima joined us, too. Before long the band from outside the gate came in and table side partying ensued. They would sing your name if you’d give them money so we danced and shook money at them over head- another tradition tolearn about.

shaking money so the band will sing for you

Sweets included baklava and fresh oranges from the farm right there. Kanina had Turkish coffee which she gave me a taste of out of her tiny cup. Reminded me of what happens when you leave the coffee on for too long but I found the long handled pot that the coffee is in to be yet another old exotic tradition that I wanted to sample.

After lunch, we had a group photo and then went back to Pavillion #1 for the rest of the folklore show.

The Tanoura was truly memorable. Mind you, I hoped to see one here and Egypt and now, I was seeing my second. The first was the male dancer on the Nile Cruise Maxim Ship. Awesome. This one was a female and, I have to say, she surpassed the gentleman.

In addition to the usual “tricks”, she sang her song which was a prayer and gestured it with lovely hand motions and poses. When she held her hands like a mirror and looked up into them as if for guidance the image was so lovely it made me cry (I know, again with the crying?!) She herself bounced as if crying while turning, she did amazing head swings while turning, she used two flowing black scarves, she balanced the discs on her head while spinning, she bent at the waist and back up on the beat.

Female Tanourra

The whole spinning dance went on for at least 15 minutes. When she was done, she stopped on a dime, looked out at us, bowed and ran off without a hint of dizziness. Then, some dancing men did the crowd Tanourra over our heads and invited a few dancers to try the skirt and spinning on the dance floor.

After that, there was stick dance. Also, a really cute and funny dance about 2 Arab men fighting which after being her for less than a week now, I have a totally different perspective on.  It was performed by one man in a 2 man suit. My camera battery died and it’s hard to describe but suffice it to say it was funny and refreshing that they would poke fun at themselves.

I took a nap on the bus ride home but opened my eyes in time to see in the distance my first glimpse of the pyramids. Wow. not in  a picture but in real life. I cat want to see them.

Now, I am home in my room. It’s a lot of stimulation every single day here and then bam, alone. that part is wearing on me. I should wash my clothes out in woolite and hang them, work on my dance, and finish this blog entry in reverse order. I miss my family a lot. As much fun as it is an how enriching it is, the socializing can be hard on my inner shy gal. And, even if I’m having a blast, I am aware that I am a long way from home – especially tonight. We are not supposed to leave the hotel this evening due to the revolution anniversary. Tahrir square was full of people I read on CNN and they don’t want us out in any harm’s way.

Ramses says, “Hi”,

Aurel

Randa Kamel is the real deal. Not only is she a performer of legendary proportions but she is a patient, competent, and generous teacher. I came to Egypt to take classes with her and others but hers are this week and they are really great. Here is how she does it:

With music. she has a DJ in the room running sound for her. She also has her live drummer and singer in every class whom she uses during the breaking down of sections.

With sweet broken English. I expected to have to follow the bouncing ball but Randa’s come a long way now and communicates in English very, very well. She’ll occasionally defer to the DJ for translating her thoughts but it’s mostly when she’s gotten tired.

With patience. Randa breaks everything down. She repeats phrases a lot. She said one day if we have to do it a hundred times we will. She is very, very sincere about wanting to see us do the move correctly -even down to the facial expression. For someone of her stature to be that kind and patient is really amazing.

Me and Diva Randa on break from sweaty Modern Egyptian class today

With Generosity.  Up on a platform, teaching 50 women of all skill levels every day until she is sweating just like we are while also performing in the same week and being involved in overseeing the entire week long course requires a lot of giving out. You can tell she is tired sometimes but she pushes through it and the music picks her and us up.

Also, her generosity shows when we get a passage correct and she yells  ”Humdullah!!!”    ”Aiwa”    ”Yeeeeees” and      ”You should see yourselves, your faces”!  She is so happy when we get it.

AND, on the topic of her generosity, Randa is giving away many of the moves and concepts I’ve seen her do in film and hoped to learn. I am so happy about this. I wondered if she’d keep her good stuff to herself like some do. No, she is giving it out (like any of us could do it justice anywaysLOL).

On the second day, I think, we were not understanding her definition or Moell vs Horr (these are both when the singer riffs in Arabic). Randa said, “I just want you to know that I am here for you. Ask me questions. My room is BLANK. Come by. Festivals lost their soul. That is why I put this festival together. I want us to be together, everyone happy” her heart is very big.

With humanity. Randa does seem to get frustrated if people leave the room. She takes it personally it seems bc she has put so much into this course. She does get a little irritated if the drummer, sound guy, or singer are in the wrong place. She will show that she gets tired, cold, and frustrated for a moment if we are not getting a step. But, she does not let herself get out of control. She makes a joke about it or holds her tongue back. Today, she was really kind to a student who was a very impolite and abrasive. Many a diva would have eaten the student’s lunch and kicked her butt out of the room.  I watched and was amazed that Randa held a  nice smile and was very polite.

With a great team: Every morning for 2 days, we’ve done folklore for warm up with a sweet guy. I forget his name but he’s well known here and he is showing us famous dances from upper egypt, etc. His english is really rough and he’s not a master teacher as Randa is but he’s got some really cool historic dances locked in his body. The best part is not what we learn (I don’t really love dancing that stuff) it’s watching him demonstrate how it should go. The fast footwork, hops, playing of spoons and the stories of the towns that make the dances is all so endearing and enriching. And, we had ballet the first day as a warm up. But, the guy was… terrible. So, it seems like, she gave us the folklore guy for warm up instead. We do debke with him next which I cannot wait for!

Our folkloric dance teacher

Randa has Sara Farouk in charge. Sara used to run the Ahlan Wa Sahlan festival of Raqia Hassan for many years. Sara is AMAZING at keeping 50 women of all nations on top of all the details, changes, offerings and issues. She is patient taking questions and good at sparing herself by saying things like “Do not answer me now about this, see me at 2PM. Do not give me your cd now, I want it tomorrow, etc”. She speaks  to us each morning before class and often at break to make sure we know what is happening. She sets up cab rides for people who want to go out, gets tickets to shows, etc, she makes the hotel turn the heat up, she tells us about etiquette in this country. Most importantly, she builds Randa up with every introduction. And, she saves Randa’s energy by making sure Randa never has to say a single thing about anything other than her teaching material. It’s very a very classy arrangement as it should be.

Randa’s brother Fadi is also on the team, Wasim is on the team (so sweet), Tracy is the photographer who is also really, really nice. And Gezira Travel is on the team for people who want to book a guide at the Pyramids, etc.

All together, I am thrilled with this course. Randa is one of the best teachers I’ve taken from and one of the finest dancers I’ve ever seen live. I mourn that I did not come to Egypt sooner and learn more about this newer Egyptian stuff earlier. But, perhaps it was meant to be this way. If I came a long time ago, I’d have missed Randa who only just began this weeklong festival.

Next week, I will try to take some dance classes at the Nile Group Festival including the amazing Tito Seif. I cannot wait for that.

better get some sleep, it’s revolution anniversary day. We’ll see what happens.

With love for all the kind notes of support. As much fun and amazing as it all is, I do have an inability to go to bed at night. It’s jet lag, excitement or being unsettled bc I feel far away from home. xo

Aurel

 Nile Cruise part 2:

Sara Farouk, played cruise emcee welcoming all of us and then announcing that a very special guest would be joining us. We had no idea who this could be. Sara went on to describe that this guest is the ” woman who started it all”, stating that we owed “it all” to her. This was “the person who first began working with women in groups and teaching Egyptian dance”, Sara said.

My mind was reeling and searching it’s belly dance history to figure out who this person was. Then, open swung the glass doors at the far end of the ship as Sara shouted her name and in came a huge ICON in Egypt and in the belly dance world internationally,  Nagua Fouad. The place went wild with cheers and everyone stood to their feet. The band started to play a traveling song for her and she was walked to her table as sea of smart phones and cameras were working overtime to capture her  – including mine.

Nagua Fouad and I

Nagua Fouad is legend, legend, legend. She is the only remaining dancing film star who came from the 50′s. She took the dance and made little theatrical dramatic vignette’s with it. She is over 70 years old now but even walking in you could tell she was royalty with her big, show girl style.

After our highly esteemed guest, Nagua Fouad, was seated, a grand whirling dervish dancer in a brightly colored skirt, top and cap was presented. This man spun for about 20 minutes in brightly colored skirts, top and cap.  He did my favorite Dervish “Trick” which is to spin while taking one of the top skirts off, lifting it over the head, then, while still spinning, folding it into a baby shape and holding it.  He had his own modern day twist on the costume, too,  which make his skirts and hat light up so he looked like one of those 4th of july kids toys. It was exciting.

If you've never seen Dervish Whirling before, it looks like one skirt but the showy presentations have 2 skirts layered so that one can be moved over head and so on. I've never seen a skirt light up like this did at the end of his dance.

Finally, after all that excitement, Sara brought on the star, Randa Kamel. In purple full and flawy with rhinestones  a plenty including a rhinestone shin treatment (not sure what to call it).   Much like one of my other all time favorites, Phaedra from Boston, Randa hit the floor on fire. I’d only seen her on video and I was very curious to see what her show would would be. There she was in three D just as powerful, fresh, and full of joy as I expected. Her opening show was full of shimmies and  her signature pointing and singing along including one with Egyptian Singer, Hoda, and a Shaabi number, I think. Hard to recall it all bc the woman did so much in this evening.

After taking the place by storm and leaving to long lasting applause, we noticed that the band was playing something soft and droning. A tension filled the air as if clearly something or someone else was coming.

Within minutes of leaving in purple classical Oriental costume, it was Randa who returned in a folkloric inspired dress made of black fishnet with pink paillet bra and belt, pink head cover with paillettes and the traditional prop for this dress, the cane, was covered in sequins. Folkloric style ( stick,cane, earth, tending and protecting the animals) is lovely but what made her appearance extra fun was a totally adorable guest donkey (fake with someone inside it). Randa danced down the back aisle this time, bringing the camel through the guests to Nagua Fuad’s table and having fun.  Once on stage, she showed a super sassy dance, of course. ANd, she did a few more numbers, too, in that costume. So desert gal sweet.

the true folkloric dress is not sheer or sexy like this but it's 2012 and it's Randa. She did 7 year's in Mahmoud Rheda's Egyptian Folkloric troupe so she acts out a little.

Randa tends her Donkey in the crowd.

Next, we had a fashion show of one of the costume designers vending at the event. Very fun.

And, to my surprise, Randa came back again! This time in a a really cute pant suit. NO stopping this woman at all.

Randa in Blue pants suit

Randa in blue pants suit brought to you by me and my iPhone

The big surprise in this set was that she brought up Nagua Fouad to the delight of the crowd.  We were all on the edge of our seats and at the same time stunned by seeing Nagua dancing live before us.

Nagua’s  flare for drama which I’ve only seen on film was totally “on”. At one point, she got us clapping and motioned to the band to cut out. She shimmied to the sound of our own clapping. While she stood there making us make her dance, she made jokes by looking for her watch as if to say “can I go now”? And, the crowd ate her up. We each hope that when we are over 70 we too have fun loving moves and spirit to show the world.  Then, Randa gave her a gift on stage. People were very moved by the love between them.  Randa went away again.

Nagua Fouad inciting us to clap for her shimmy.

Next up was Randa’s sister who sang. And, then, Randa returned AGAIN with exactly the same energy she began the show with – high energy. She wore a hip hop cam0 look: a brown sequin base ball hat and matching vest over bra and pants with cut outs.

Then, she went away again and then came back AGAIN in a blue dress with pink bra and sash on the hip. Then she brought dancers up from the crowd to dance with the band and we all cheered.

Next up, some folkloric singers came out and sang our favorite songs with the band -which, by the way, was about 19 guys strong. The folk singers invited all of us and we did join them on the floor to dance.  Randa came back in street clothes to hand with us.

Needless to say, I think I saw two legends in one night. Nagua and Randa. I have no idea what time that night began or when it all ended and typically the Nile would have been part of the evening, too, but after the dock party with the drummers, I could have been in a Walmart for all I know. I was just taking it all into my iPhone and my brain. I saw every person on that ship lose track of their financial worries, their sick loved ones, and the fact that they hate their boss. The group was in love with Randa bc she was expressing joy, music, emotion and beauty. That is the ultimate gift the artist can give us. I am inspired. I was also thinking that I should state to anyone who asks that if you ever want to take a workshop in Egypt, the Randa Kamel, Of Course, is worth every penny just for the opening party.

xo to those who have helped me to see this amazing country and study dance here. The partys ain’t bad either.

Aurel

Fifty belly dance students from Mexico, Scotland, Russia, Japan, Germany, Latin America, USA, and more were thrown an opening night party for attending Diva Randa Kamel’s week long workshop. We first enjoyed a a cold drink in a champagne flute at the Barcelo Pyramid Hotel Ballroom where we’d be studying all week. A welcome was given by Irish Event Coordinator and dancer, Sara Farouk, who is a  seriously strait forward, efficient, reliable,  and knowledgable gal. Then, we boarded a chartered bus to the Nile River where we were treated to an evening of non stop entertainment upon the Nile River Maxim, which, in my opinion, was worth the entire price of tuition to this course.

As we descended the stairs to the cruise ship dock we found ourselves passing through a surprise welcome committee of at least 10 happy drummers drumming including riq, doumbek, and other drums I don’t know the names of, and 2 merry mizmar playing along either side of the dock. We were all smiles.

BTW:  I am up to three live Mizmar since landing in Egypt and I only hoped to hear one. Sometimes, you get what you want. I am currently rolling in it.

the welcome committee

Once on the dock but still at the top of the gangway,  at least one male dancer, maybe more, was working with Tahtib (stick),  the old traditional Egyptian folk dance that belly dancers learn about so they can appreciate and perform Cane/Assaya, the female counter dance to Tahtib.

As we watched all this fabulous sound and movement unfold, the musicians in their desert-deflecting white robes pulled us into dancing. One of the Mizmar players, every few minutes, would point his horn skyward and just begin wildly swing it side to side as he played. It was Rock and Roll Mizmar and clearly called everyone to get into the mood to have a great night.

Before we knew it, a circle line dance lead by one of the guys ensued while other drummers pulled dancers into the center to dance. Some gals were shy to dance with “the real thing” but eventually, everyone stopped worrying and jumped in to feel the joy, and excitement. Even among the by standers, smiles and happiness were clear to see on each moonlit face in our Nile-side party. Kanina danced for a long time in the center group and the circle. I loved taking pics of all this and I wondered if this music and dance jamm was just for us or does every Nile Cruise get this dockside, pre-ship party? I’ll look into that. It was an unforgettable start to the night.

Then, still drumming and playing, the musicians led us and our happy party to the reception area of the cruise ship where a few sufi dancers came out of no place and began dancing for us. What a fabulous plan this was by whomever arranged it. After the sufi guys did a bit of spinning for us, they invited a few of us to do some spinning and head shaking moves. These moves are traditionally enjoyed as a way to get rid of any djinn- bad moods, tough times, evils spirits, taxes, hang nails, etc. I jumped in and my mood, which was not bad, was indeed better after moving around. Our Irish event coordinator, Sarah, must have felt really good bc she shook her hair/head in circles with serious intention exactly on the beat as the drummers sped up and up and up and up and then, bam! She stopped exactly when the band did. Everyone clapped and we were ready to cruise.

Spinning does take your mind off your troubles

As we made our way onto the ship, people jockeyed for good seats. My seat was not good but I am not above standing on a chair or moving to an odd spot when the show comes on which is what a did. As one show after another took the night away in record time, I was wherever I needed to be to see it all.

If you have a minute. I’d love to share, the rest of this night with you. A HUGE surprise started the on-ship entertainment portion of the evening. I could not believe it and Kanina almost had a heart attack (those are her words).  Cruise on to Nile my post “Cruise 2″ if you want to read about it.

Wish you all were here. Thank you for your love.And, again, I am safe, so far, and have had no trouble.

Love, Aurel

Day #2 ( please see Facebook to see the pics that go wit this post I can’t get them to post on here. they go to a gallery that I don’t know how you can get to. grrr.)

Apparently, every single day here something surprising and awesome happens.

As with last night’s surprising live music encounter, day #2 kept it’s surprise until dinnertime.  Unaware of the good fortune about to befall us, Kanina and I sat to eat at the hotel only to hear the waiter mention a wedding zeffe was starting in the lobby. My heart jumped and my body followed.

We left our table heading for the lobby in hopes of catching a moment of the proceedings. There, a band getting the party started played to the couple. Then, the delightfully happy family began dancing in a small circle, hands in the air in front of the stunning bride and groom, while several drums, a mizmar, and a trumpet played, and guys were singing.  After they got the folks excited, they moved the procession up the stairs to the ballroom while playing. I felt like I was peeking in on an ancient tradition bc these instruments predate amplification -as do these traditions, of course. All really old stuff unlike American traditions of dancing to the Chicken Dance at weddings

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: One of my musical hopes in Egypt was to hear a real live mizmar. I’ve only heard them on recordings. Designed to be loud, possibly in Turkey and known first as the Zorna or Zurna (email Cynthia Ricciardi who wrote the history of each instrument for a Helping Hips installment), I used to hate the sound. Then it became my friend bc it cued me to use folkloric movement when I heard it. This instrument goes with several folkloric dances. When improvising dance, you appreciate sounds and rhythms that have significance and give you information on what/ how to dance properly.

So, there I was,  scurrying around the outskirts of the party thrilled to see this ancient tradition and hear my friend whom I’d never met, the Mizmar. As I gawked, smiled, and fought back tears I was a little scared of being annoying to the family and friends but I was so excited. I got so into the moment that I had to force myself to take pics.  I am posting a video on FB as this post uploads.

I’ve danced a few wedding Zeffe’s myself now in Mass and it’s the biggest honor of all the wonderful dance moments I enjoy.  But I’ve never had a multiple drummer band leading the parade like this evening’s couple had. And, seeing this in Egypt where it all began really helps me capture the feeling and the tradition in my heart. I know that the next wedding I dance will be extra special.  Tonight, we did not see a belly dancer but who knows what happened upstairs?

So, “day two” was supposed to be a simple day of rest and even that turned out to have a perfectly exciting bunch of surprises in it.

If the mizmar, zeffe, and lovely bride, groom and family were not enough, we met a fabulous dancer whom I’ve seen on the web. Raksanna from Chicago is a 5 time teacher at Ahlan Wa Sahlan Festival in Egypt with many performance credits. In spite of the prestige and skill she obviously has in this art form, she was incredibly warm, down to earth, and generous with her knowledge of Egypt. I promised not to tell about it but Raksanna is currently involved in a very cool production. Friend her on Facebook and ask her.  Or visit http://www.raksanna.com

Thank you, Shadia. Thank you, Shadia. Thank you, Shadia. For telling me to go to Egypt to hear the music and see the dance and study with the teachers. I get it now. Each day here is full music, music, music that moves the soul and amazing people.

Sleep, though,…. not so much sleep here in Egypt. I am totally upside down. My room has no window either -it’s blacked out, so after a complete deep state of rest took me over yesterday, I was in a cave and slept until 2or 3PM?

So, I better hit the feathers as my mother says. Tomorrow, we go to the Cairo Museum. They Pyramids were built a few thousand years before Christ so there is a lot of history to cover. I’m sure I will learn a lot. And, I aim to see the Golden mask of King Tut and other antiquities from this ancient culture.

Yes, this museum is by Tahrir Square where demonstrations are held but we will stop and turn around if any danger presents itself. Our driver is the same who protected us amazingly in the Khan Kahlili market the other night, Tamer. I hope that Karem also comes, our English speaking guide. We’ll see. THEN……. Tomorrow night…….we see Randa Kamel dance….. on the Nile Maxim Cruise…..

These pics are Kanina and I. And, some sweet gals who wanted to be photographed with us and us with them. So, our cab driver who stayed with us in the museum took the pics for us. The gals are in university in Egypt.

So… I just came in from yet another day full of experiences so memorable that they made me weep. I swear I am not making this up.  Perhaps tomorrow will stink. But, so far, each day here just fills me with amazement, gratitude and amazement.

Below, in brief – really brief due to time constraints are highlights of what happened:

Met new dance friend, Fatima from Belgium. Fatima, much like me, has her own teaching and store. Much admiration.

The Cab Ride Kaleidoscope was wonderful in the light of day:

A pair of 10 year of boys driving a donkey in front of their Donkey cart pulling what looked like a giant bag of plastic 5 feet high out among the traffic whizzing cars.

4-5 lovely teen girls in matching pink head scarves- a school? A coming of age scarf?

A seemingly vandalized or crushed BMW totally totaled with wheels collapsed in off their axles but with a cover to protect it from dust.

kids and adults walking in traffic that Americans would only attempt if on an illegal substance.

People walking with their stuff on their heads, of course, groceries, laundry, cats (kidding).

Urban Cairo for the first time – looks like NYC with a bunch of plate glass store fronts with western clothes and other kinds of shops. We passed several shoe shops with floor to ceiling crazy shoes displayed. We were told that when you are all covered up as a woman, the footwear is a place to express yourself. We went to a travel agent in the block with all the travel agents.

Tahrir Square -just two days before the January 25th anniversary of an unprecidented peaceful overthrow of  Mubarick after 30 years reign of misery. It was really odd to be driving through the area where the revolution and demonstrations have been. Set back from the road, all we saw for proof was a banner that had a “25″ on it and a fist. And some people gathered. But overall, we were amazed at how peaceful it was and not destroyed. People were out strolling through traffic on a sunny day. Just cars driving and people walking by/through. We almost did not come to Egypt bc of this sunny place (about 45 min drive from our hotel, by the way).  We’ll see what the 25th brings. I am actually very, very happy to be here at this historic time. Hope it stays that way.

The Cairo Museum. Sigh. There are no words.   I am not a big museum. I can only take in so much. But, this was like visiting a church or something sacred. The lives of people who lived thousands of years ago are still rippling on to us and represented in their “things”. My eyes started leaking in the opening room as we touched and studied the burial chambers, writings in hieroglyph, and the statues for clues into who these people were. I recall that a few were scribes but many of the huge, rock carved boxes had no inscription for us to read. So, we don’t know who went to rest in those boxes.

As we went deeper into the next room, we saw more artwork and statues than burial tombs. Paintings, for example – can you imagine your painting still “speaking to people “after 4000 years? Very moving to me. There were some seriously skilled jewelers that lived, people, and their stuff is still here. Tiny beads for very ornate jewelry. Teeny animal carvings that are really detailed. Religious artifacts, of course, many little carvings of their deities and for their in home shrines, or whatever. Their furniture that remains, again, is someone’s artisanship. We saw three beds that have frames made out of cat profiles. Hard to explain but, it took vision, concept, and skill to make furniture.

The people who’s stuff and burial items we were looking at,  seemed like they were still here in a way. And, that they were geniuses b/c how can I be looking at King Tut’s thousands of year old underwear but my underwear  from last summer has holes in them?  And, there were some sandals in the King Tut area that I swear I’ve seen on Newbury Street in Boston. Inlaid stones and beads and glint gold placed perfectly on the thong sandal. I mean, Exquisite work. We have not really invented anything better when it comes to some of these items. They had it right a loooooong time ago. NOt sure what I’m getting at exactly. I have to read more about these folks and figure out what the heck happened to them.

And, PS,  at King Tutenkhamen’s collection, you can see the underwear AND the socks he wore!  They look quite comfortable in a  cotton (Egyptian Cotton, I presume). You can see the stitches in the seamstress’ work, the woven fabrics.

The last thing we saw was my goal… the room with Tut’s golden mask which they placed over his mummy head -which, his mummy was inside a few nesting gold carcoghogi, each more stunning than the one before it.  We saw a lot of stunning gold today to say the least.

I have a lot of reading to do to learn more about this really amazing civilization. Some questions I have are about the kings and queens and the husband/wife relationships in general in the culture. Several statues feature a loving gesture. The queen’s hand is being held by the king. Or, the Queen is touching the shoulder of the king. Was it real affection like w know? Or are the affectionate gestures just to indicate that marriage relationships? Was Tut a good king? Were the rest of the people broke bc he was so rich? And, do some people I am meeting here in Egypt descend from these lines?

And, wow, I could have been dead due to stupidity or self loathing I faced in the 90’s. I would have missed all this. And, Kanina rocks and I get to be alive and share this with her and anyone who wants to know. Really!?! I left that museum saying, if my cab crashed and time was up, it’s ok bc I felt so grateful to have seen so much and enjoyed it so much.

In the cab back to the hotel, we bought T-shirts that say “25″ on them to commemorate the revolution. We bought them out our cab window from a  guy on the curb as we drove.

That was the amazing day I had From Ancient Civ to Tahrir’s current revolution. The night I had is a totally separate and amazing story.

Thank you to those who are reading along. I wish you were all here. Get here if ever you can. The people are really nice and they lost 20,000 jobs due to the media’s replaying of the Tahrir bad stuff. NO tourists are here. They are so appreciative to see anyone.

love to all, Aurel

When was the last time you were stuck in traffic when next to you pulls up a guy in jeans on a motor cycle with a woman, fully covered in black fabric, nothing but eyes peeking out, on the back – oh, also, exhaust pipe puffing out black smoke that makes your eyes sting? Seen that lately? Me neither until today.  How about people lighting fires by the side of the street– sitting on the curb next to their hot coals to guard against the cool desert air creeping in? When was the last time, in the shadow of  a glowing and immense Citadel Mosque with many domes, did a plexi glass, flourescant lit Burger King ad called your attention. There it was today with dare devil highway, median covered in black skid marks from tires, bumpers and who knows what else as underlines to the scene? Ahh, how about the kind of poverty and over crowding where homes are built illegally by the road with the rebar and junk sticking up from what look like unfinished roofs? They just keep building up, I guess. I’d also never seen a woman and her 8 year old dart across 4 lanes of testosterone-driven, traffic before today. All in “Day One” of the trip.

Oh, horse and buggies share the same roads with old vw-like buses with the doors ripped off so people can hurl themselves out quickly (city buses); dust covered cars with various and sundry cargoes tied on top; people sitting on top of cargo on top of cars and trucks. I’ve seen all this today and so much more.

Kanina and I agreed that no movie producer has ever shown this place the way it really is. It simply could not be reproduced with the same punch as it feels in real time.  More like a 6D movie vs 3D movie.

A photographers paradise, though. Men wave, point, and shout at other men in an animated fashion a lot. In stores negotiating the simplest silly things, fights break out.  Jumping out of cars and waving arms seems quiet common. I’ve always been afraid of fighting but this is just a communication style  here and for some reason, it’s awesome. Old and new cultures colliding all make you want to point and click but with jaw gaping open, and drugged out on the sensory overload, the shots whiz by. I did get a few pics in but it was only day one. I’ll do better.

The most amazing sites today were

1.  a room full of middle aged, older, and younger 20 some-things who were clapping and singing along to classic Arabic songs (belly dance stuff) that a kanoun and riqq player were putting out. Shisha pipes at every table, snaking their way into the mouths of head scarved women and guys in Fez hats running around dealing with the coals. Everyone from every age just sitting there tight to the band, after dinner or before, singing along and clapping as if at at a summer camp.

I melted with excitement and emotion. In pondering the emotion I said I felt like I had met the real heart and soul of what I’ve been drawn to for the last 15 years in belly dance.  The pure, classic instruments being played in their home-land to an audience who’s love of music was just so honest and forthcoming.

Our New England musicians rock it, too. This band may not have been any more amazing than what is home. But, the location, the audience’s multi generational enthusiasm, and the fact that all we did was open a door to a restaurant off the khan Khalili. There, along with the brass table tops, arabesque scroll design work, and shisha pipes was the most delightful happening all centered on the love of the music. I fought back tears at what a perfect end to this day we were having.

Baba Ghanouj and a chicken stew went down perfectly with this scene in the background. Kanina’s hummos was awesome, too. She did not offer me a bite of her pigeon (yes, you read that right) and that was ok with me. She’s so cool.

We’d have stayed longer but Tamer, our cab driver, and Karem, his friend who speaks English quiet well were waiting for us outside. They took IMPECCABLE care of us all evening. Even helped us with negotiating at “most amazing site #2″ (I think- so many to choose from).

2. Mahmoud’s 4 floors of belly dance stuff.  Yeah, folkloric dresses of all styles, hips scarves of all styles, skirts, canes, Taktib, Bolts of fabric in all sorts of cool glittery patterns hanging all over the joint. I’ve dealt with some of these folks over the internet but to be there and see and meet the three men watching soccer on TV who were in charge LOL.

A big bonus for me was that Kanina, Karem, and Tamer, came in with me. The guys jumped right in translating for me and giving me courage in negotiating. I charmed them a little with a few Arabic words I’ve been working on forever. As they all argued about how I’d get my red canes which would have to be made for me, I shouted “Tehbbe tekle Hagge” (I want something to eat). They laughed. I left a deposit, went to eat, and will go back to wrap it up sometime in the next two weeks.

When I think of all I saw today, I am so grateful and inspired. To see this side of the world and to have the love of music, folk dance, and Raqs Sharqi in my life, to be able to study dance with the great Randa Kamel, it’s just beyond me. I pray I can make good on all this provocative experience, this gratitude, and the gift of these glimpses into the bigger picture of the world.

I hope this blog has given you a taste of what I saw today. If it did, you are certainly exhausted, like I am and full of wonder.

blessings,

Aurel