Friday photo: Sufi Dancing in Cairo
Events, Nightlife, Photo Friday, Things to Do — By Pharaonick on March 26, 2010 at 4:20 pmThis is a photo of the free Sufi dancing show that takes place at Wikalet al-Ghouri in Cairo every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. The show starts at 8.30 pm, though there are only 250 tickets so it’s best to arrive when the doors open at 6.30 pm.
The show is admittedly touristy, though it is also spectacular: by far the best you can see in Egypt, unless you are lucky enough to stumble upon a Sufi order at one of the moulids (local festivals).
Trippy-swirly psychedelic spinning for God – you can’t get better than that!
Note – photo used with permission of Nadia Maanani.
11 Comments
Great shot. This looks much more organized than Sufi nights in Pakistan!
Sweet pic!
Great pic
Great shot! Very colourful.
Just came in from shooting my camera in the bright sun. Eys not adjusted, yet. Coulda swore I read “Things To Do-BY PHARACHICK” !
Great shot. Got my glasses on now !
The colours. And the swirling. Amazing!
Finally got around to visit. A stunning photogrpah although I get the impression that the show has little to do with the ideas of Sufism. I just wrote an article about the festival in Konya/Turkey.
Thanks for the comments y’all. Inka you are right – the show as it stands doesn’t have a great deal to do with Sufi practice: it is, first and foremost, a show. But having said that, the music and the dance itself (leaving aside turning your skirts into babies and sticking your head through your dress) is derived from genuine practice. And although it’s touristy, it’s genuinely very well done.
great, colourful pic – wow!
thanx Nick. i went there in feb ’09. ah, memories. reminds me of those kaleidoscope thingys we used to get in our christmas stockings. put it to your eye and twist the glass to see different patterns. almost as magic as the sufi dancing.
Wow, what a shot. Looks like an incredible event.