The Cultural Scene in Cairo

Situated as it is in the Middle East and North Africa region, Cairo’s enviable location makes it a melting pot of diverse cultures. As a newcomer to Cairo, the best way to “take the plunge” is to take advantage of the numerous venues across the city that play host to cultural events. On any given day, you can attend a musical performance ranging from classical, jazz, or Arabic music, lose yourself in an enthralling ballet performance, visit a contemporary art exhibition, dance to live music or watch a new foreign film.

Some of the cultural hotpsots of Cairo are:

Al Sawy Cultural Centre in Zamalek is one of the more interesting venues in Cairo. This “happening” place is tucked away under the 26th of July Bridge and is the scene for everything from plays, movies, musical performances to yoga programs and even painting, photography and arabic classes. No better place than this to serve as the “introductory class” for the cultural scene in Cairo (http://culturewheel.com/)

Also in Zamalek is The Cairo Opera House, the premier performance venue in Cairo. It comprises of a Main Hall, a Small Hall and an Open Air Theatre. The Cairo Opera Company and the Cairo Symphony put up regular performances during the season. The hallowed halls are graced by a number of visiting ballet and contemporary dance troupes. The Main Hall of the Opera is the place to head to if you are in the mood for dressing up-a jacket and a tie are a must to attend performances here. (http://www.cairoopera.org/index.aspx).

Performances that cannot be accommodated at the Cairo Opera House find a platform at the Ghoumariya Theatre in downtown. Also managed by the Cairo Opera House, the Ghoumariya theatre plays host to foreign dance troupes and more recently was the venue for performances under the auspices of the India Culture Week.

Definitely, one of the better musical experiences of Cairo is listening to the Zar songs at Makan in Downtown. (http://www.egyptmusic.org/). Zar music is practiced in Upper Egypt and is distinctly African. The performance area is like a big living room-you can either lounge on the carpets in front of the performers or sit on the chairs to enjoy the sublime music.

The Al Genenina (garden) theatre is a 500- seat open air amphitheatre inside the Al Azhar Park on Salah Salem road. The ambience lends to the charm of the wide range of musical performances that are put up here. Go early before the performance starts to catch the sun setting over Cairo. Admission to the performances is usually free.

Manasterly Palace on Rhoda Island (also called Manial Island) is another inspiring venue and is also one of the finest buildings in Cairo. The International Music Centre holds its instrumental and Chamber music concerts here. If you are early for a performance, you have time to enjoy the pleasant wait on the balcony overlooking the Nile. (http://www.manasterly.com/).

Apart from this, many of the nightclubs like Cairo Jazz Club, After Eight etc also feature live performances, albeit their music is western-influenced. The Whirling Dervishes or the Tannura dancers at the Al Ghouri caravansaray, near the Al Azhar mosque, are mesmerizing to watch. The explosion of colours, the rhythmic music and the passion of the performers leaves you entranced as does the beautiful architecture of the venue Wilkalet al Ghouri is Cairo's best preserved example of a medieval hotel (Wikala in Arabic). At dusk, the lights come on; the lighting only enhances the performance. Entrance is free and the seats fill up fast. But it is worth going early to occupy front row seats.

Movie buffs have never had it so good. Many cultural centers regularly screen foreign films series. They are not always subtitled in English, though. The French Cultural Center (http://www.cfcc-eg.org/), the Cervantes Institute in Cairo (http://elcairo.cervantes.es/es/default.shtm), the Goethe Institute and the Italian Cultural Institute are the most prolific. The Indian Cultural Institute, screens enjoyable Bollywood movies, popular amongst the locals. Most of these screenings are free. Another reason for the movie goers to cheer is the Cairo Film Festival, which takes place around the end of every year. Several theaters participate in this weeklong festival that screens uncensored versions of the films.

Art aficionados are spoilt for choice with many venues spread out across the city. In Downtown is the Atelier du Caire-one of Cairo’s older galleries, bringing together writers and artists. The entrance to the Masrabiya gallery, also in downtown, is to be found in the alley of an ahwa and has some of the finest artworks on display.

The most popular cultural venue in downtown is the Townhouse Gallery located in a “working area” with car mechanics, sign painters, carpenters and coffee shops occupying the surrounding space. The main building is three-storeys high and houses exhibition halls, a library and studios. The adjoining building, the Townhouse Factory was an erstwhile paper factory. The Gallery promotes independent artists by providing an outlet for their work and also provides studios for the resident artists. It also hosts lectures, film screenings, workshops, music and theatre performances (http://www.thetownhousegallery.com/main7.html).

Another culturally wealthy area in Cairo is Zamalek, which has a high concentration of galleries tucked away in the narrow alleys, all within walking distance of each other. The Zamalek Art Gallery (http://www.zamalekartgallery.com/index.php), the Gezeira Art Centre and the Islamic Ceramic museum showcase some noteworthy stuff.

Darb 1718, a non-profit contemporary art gallery, located in the heart of Old Cairo has managed to carve a name for itself as one of the bastions of independent art. The venue is best known for hosting unique art exhibitions and art installations. (http://www.darb1718.com/Pages/ShowPage.aspx?pageid=1).

With its collection of nineteenth century European masterpieces, the Mr and Mrs Mahmoud Mukhtar museum is a must-visit, as much as for its impressive collection as for some stunning views across the River Nile. The huge stained glass window leading upto the second floor is beautiful; so are the antiques that are on display. Photography enthusiasts must check out the Contemporary Image Collective, occupying the second floor and rooftop of a charming villa in Mounira. It focuses on visual images and apart from exhibitions, film screenings and performances, it also provides photography workshops and lectures.

Keeping your “cultural quotient” high is never going to be a problem in Cairo with so many unique experiences to choose from!

Circus in Cairo

It has been a long while since I have been to a circus. The word “circus” conjures up memories from childhood of swinging acrobats, tigers, lions and of course clowns.

The National Circus at Agouza has all this and more. The tickets priced at LE 50, 30 and 20 are reasonable and worth the amount. If you are buying the LE 50 tickets, then you will get a ringside view of the fun, but the LE 30 seats are good too and probably best to enjoy the proceedings.

As usual, the circus starts with a clown act and then in come the acrobats, jugglers and magicians. The magic show is particularly good. Though most of it is something that has been seen before, but watching it “live” is awe inspiring anyways. The best magic act for me was when the magician poured water into the folds of the newspaper, then opened it and voila, there was no water. Immediately, his assistant brought over a glass to him and this time when he tilted the newspaper, water flowed into the glass. Magic? Of course! The act that got the loudest ovation was when he took three strips of cloth and turned it into the Egyptian flag!.

The acrobats truly dazzle with their “balancing” act. A man lying on his back with his legs 90 degrees and balancing a ladder on his feet-so far so good!. Then a woman comes and gets onto the ladder and climbs right to the top rung and performs a number of acrobatic acts at the top. All the while, the man is balancing the ladder and the woman; while the woman is balancing herself and performing the acts at such a height.

The finale was with six lions and three tigers. They were a delight to watch. A particularly lazy and recalcitrant lion was the butt of the ringmaster’s whip on a number of occasions – this had us wincing and would surely raise the hackles of the animal rights activists. Nevertheless, it is indeed a wonder to watch such ferocious animals all docile and at such close quarters.

Definitely, a recommended outing for the whole family! And just to sweeten the deal, you can also get yourself photographed with a small cub! (who has probably been sedated)

P.S. I had forgotten to take my camera, not expecting much. Just for this, I will make a return trip to the circus

ARABS GONE WILD

Attended the “performing to a packed house” Comedy Box Productions’ “Arabs Gone Wild” and it was a laugh riot. The best acts were in Arabic, though. People were laughing so hard at the jokes in Arabic that I have a feeling that I missed the best lines. Nevertheless, it was still a very enjoyable performance.

I particularly liked Ronnie Khalil for his take on the experiences of an American-Egyptian, visiting Cairo-from the traffic situation to engaging a cab to attending the never-ending “family dinners”. Dean Obeidallah, a US resident and raised by a Palestinian father and a Sicilian mother gave a hilarious account of the stereotypes associated with Mexicans, Italians, Egyptians etc. When he introduces himself as a Palestinian, he is confronted first with a silence that lasts for 5 seconds and then the response “tough situation”.

Maysoon Zayid, Sherif Hedayat and George Azmy brought the house down with laughter with their spoofs on Arab stereotypes. Aaron Kader, whom I had earlier seen as part of the “Axis of Evil” act was superb too.

The shows were performed at the Cairo International Conference Centre in Nasr City. The centre is equipped with parking facilities for 1200 cars and the organizers of the show had thoughtfully provided mini-vans to transport the audiences from the parking lot to the hall. The hall, with a seating capacity of 2500 was packed, with just a few spare seats.

After Eight

“After Eight” is a nice little pub in downtown. The exterior is not inspiring at all. The pub is at the end of an alley and at the entrance to the alley, there is a hoarding with the name “After Eight” in cursive handwriting. Below the hoarding, there is a “paan-beedi” kind of shop. Since it had rained the evening previous to our outing, there were puddles of water too. Not very encouraging and welcoming! I looked at my friend; she had frequented the place before and looked back confidently at me... and we plunged ahead…..and am glad I did!

The place is quite popular; for a long time, our group members were the only guests and I was wondering whether it would remain that way. Soon, people started pouring in and by the time we left, all the tables were taken and there was “standing room” only.

The place is very dimly lit. There is a bar in the corner and a DJ station behind the small, raised dance floor. The DJ started out with some slasa numbers and immediately the dance enthusiasts took to the floor. The Karaoke session had many takers too. The enthusiasm of the patrons to take a shot at singing was contagious and I impulsively let my friend propose my name for the song “Hotel California”-because that is the first song that came to my mind since I had been listening to it in the car. Of course, I immediately had second thoughts and begged and pleaded with my friend to get back the request paper but to no avail. Everyone was singing like a professional and my tension was mounting…every time a song would end, I would hold my breath and wait for the axe to fall-i.e. for my name to be called out. But I lucked out!-my friend had forgotten to mention the code number for the song and so the request was invalid.

Did not catch any grub there but saw platters of food being brought to the other tables. People were doing some “serious” eating ….so the food should be good. Their cocktail menu seems innovate though I did not much like the “After Eight” cocktail that I had ordered. It seemed like I was having “Pudin Hara”-for the uninitiated-Pudin Hara is a mint digestive used extensively in India.

Regretfully, we had to leave at the “witching hour” but it seemed as if the party had just begun….the place was getting smokier, louder, noisier ….will definitely go back!

And if you are wondering how you will you manage to get parking near the pub, there is some good news. Paid parking is available a little ahead of the pub on the opposite side. The charges are around LE 1/minute -at least the car will be safe!

Cover charge: LE 40
Address: 6, Kasr El Nile Street, Downtown

Cairo Petroleum Wives

Last week attended a gathering of the Cairo Petroleum Wives (CPW)-an organization that is dedicated to “promoting social, cultural, educational activities and furthering friendship among women.”

The name “Cairo Petroleum Wives” is attributed to the ladies who started the organization, some 30 years back, but they welcome all English – speaking women in their midst and no affiliation to the petroleum industry is required. I had the opportunity to attend their event-“Show and Tell”-an innovative format. The members had brought along with them food items that they had “discovered” in Cairo which could be used as substitutes for ingredients available “back home”. Or they simply “showed” stuff indigenous to Egypt and “told” us about how it could be adapted and used in our meals.

The President of CPW Dianne Crewse, a dynamic and friendly lady demonstrated how to make the milky, frothy lemon juice which is so popular in Egypt. It is extremely simple-quarter a “baladi” (country) lemon, put it in a liquidizer with 2 teaspoons of sugar, a glass of water and some ice cubes and run the liquidizer and voila! Your thirst quencher is ready. Dianne had also managed to persuade the head chef at the “Maadi House” to take us through some Egyptian spices and their uses. We ended the morning with a raffle draw, with some members winning “hard-to-get” favorite foods. Never mind about me-am never lucky at these kind of draws!

Apart from the regular informative gatherings, CPW also has a very active book club and hold your breath!-a bowling club too! The book club gets together regularly to discuss a book or watch a movie and even does some related field trips together. The bowling club has a “bowl” of a time and meets twice a month. There is much more happening –you too can be a part of all the fun-send your name and number to cpwives@yahoo.com and you can receive emails on their upcoming events.

The Africa Cup of Nations

Egypt won the Africa Cup of Nations last night. Caught the game at a nearby café. The enterprising café had put up chairs on the pavement adjoining the café and set up a television outside and squeezed in 70 people in a place meant for 30…. but it gets the adrenalin really going watching a sporting event in a social setting and with a big crowd. I was cheering along with my Egyptian friends for the Egypt team, pumping my arms at a great save by the Egyptian goalkeeper, throwing up my arms in despair when the Egyptian team failed to capitalize on a “golden chance”, feeling outraged when the Cameroon team members were roughing up the Egyptian players- and I thought to myself here I was watching a tournament that I had never heard of till I came to Cairo, and cheering a team that I knew nothing of …..but it did belong to my “resident” country and I have some good friends here and have had some good times here….

The celebrations after Egypt’s win were stupendous (can’t think of a more apt word here) –this is the second consecutive time that Egypt has won the championships-this time in a foreign land! Stayed up late into the night –the celebrations on my street were deafening and entertaining. Here are some images to give you an idea of the scale and the kind of celebrations -Cairene style!

Book Fair-Nasr City

Had been quite excited about attending the international book fair at the Cairo Fair Grounds in Nasr City-but could not make it till today. And it being a Saturday and a school holiday, the place was swarming with people; it was tough getting to the shelves to have a “dekho”. For Arabic readers, the exhibition is a boon, but there is a good range of English titles too.

For books in English, enter through the gate 11 and make your way towards the Atelier Pavilion- here you will find books on just about everything-from agriculture to zoology. All the books are being sold at 10% discount, a higher rate of discount being offered on some. Next to the Atalier Pavilion is the Naguib Mahfouz Pavilion which is hosting the American University of Cairo -here the discounts are great-ranging from a minimum of 20% on all books to as high as 75% on certain books. Might be a good idea to make a list of books which you have coveted for some time (especially the dictionary and the encyclopedia types) and purchase them at this time of the year. Books on Egyptian history, the Pharaohs, Tutankhamen are plenty and available at bargain prices.

A word on the organization of the book fair-There are no signboards or banners put up to serve as a guide-had to ask for directions a number of times before reaching the area where the English titles were being exhibited. For expatriates, who can’t read Arabic and can speak only shuya shuya! (a little), navigating the huge grounds is extremely frustrating!

On a separate note, I recently finished reading “The Yacoubian Building” by Alaa AL Aswany, published in 2002. I, of course read the translated version; I do believe sometimes the sub-text is lost in translation-but I am glad that I read the book, nevertheless.

The book takes a look at the Egyptian society in the 1990’s. The protagonists are residents of the “Yacoubian Building”-the “real” Yacoubian Building exists to-date on Suleiman Basha Street in Cairo. Having lived in Cairo for the last three months, I was better able to relate to the places, events and circumstances as described in the book. The characters are well-etched and representative of the Egyptian society. The author has very skillfully narrated the turmoil, the change and the identity crisis that the country was going through at that time. He has done so by giving the readers a peek into the daily lives of the residents of the Yacoubian building, each with different ideologies, attitudes, circumstances and financial conditions-sometimes the characters seem so real that I felt as if I had met the person in Cairo. What I really liked about the book was the narrative-it is so gripping and “flows” so well that I managed to finish the book in one sitting!

Definitely worth reading, especially if you are staying in Egypt for some time.

Wust El Balad

I had never wished with such intensity that I could understand/ speak Arabic- as I did last night when I went to see Wust el Balad perform at the El Sawy culture wheel. Wust el Balad (‘downtown” in Arabic) were fantastic…moving from soulful songs to “foot tapping” music effortlessly and the audience knew all the lyrics! The fans clapped in rhythm to the music, some danced to their music and still others sat enthralled by their music. I just loved their music- though I didn't know what they were singing about- a blend of oriental and the western. Their three vocalists have such powerful voices; each with his distinctive style of singing -they are backed by five others on drums, guitars, oud and the keyboard. Together they are pure magic!

And contributing to the magic was the venue-the 400 strong amphitheatre at the El Sawy, by the side of the river Nile. You can find this “happening” place tucked away under the 26th of July Bridge, and is the scene for everything from plays, movies, musical performances to yoga programs and even painting, photography and arabic classes. And all of this at very affordable prices-the ticket for the Wust el Balad concert was LE 25, (approx INR 175). The good things in life were never so accessible! A place very similar to the Prithvi theatre in Bombay which is also credited for showcasing “untested” talent from all over the country. El Sawy is an absolute “must visit”, whether for a movie in the wisdom hall, or to borrow a book from its library, grab a coffee by the river Nile or be part of a thrilling Wust el Balad performance!

Though the band was formed in 1999 by two of its current members, they have only just released their first album-till now a live performance was the only way to get your “Wust” fix. If you want to know more about them, check out their website at http://www.wustelbalad.com/

Music is a universal language-this came true for me last night. Hopefully, the next time I attend a concert of Wust el Balad, I will be the audience that sings along to their music!