Fearless Travel

I was alone in my apartment with naught to do but stare at the walls all night (since the TV was out and I’d finished my work) so I decided to take a stroll. Streets at night in Cairo, especially in the summer, are alive with children playing in the relative cool and families spending time together. I remembered a musical event going on down the street, near the mausoleum of Sa’ad Zaghloul - Sa’ad Zaghloul was the first true reformer in Egypt who is credited with establishing such things as elections and the shoura or “advisory” council who is elected by the people; He served as Prime Minister to the King in the 1920’s and formed the Wafd party - and behind the Turkish embassy. The site was an old service garage that had been converted into a concert club; very much like a jazz club in New York City. THe music, however, was not jazz but a mixture of East African and Muslim music called “Zar.” Zar is sung by women with men accompanying on instruments or occasionally offering an opening benediction. It is a form of healing and catharsis in the rural Muslim world where women are largely marginalized or ignored. It is both social and spiritual. I hope you enjoy this snippet I taped in 2006:

Though “Zar” as sung by the ensemble which calls itself Mazaher (those who make “Zar” music) is a major part of this concert venue, they also offer other interesting music which, much like Zar itself, is slowly dying out. Visit them at:

www.egyptmusic.org

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