Tag: Esna

Faces of Upper Egypt

Posted in Adventure, culture, family, Photography, travel, wanderlustTagged , , , , 7 Comments

Getting to know the people of Egypt is equally as magical as the ancient architecture and history. Wandering around the Nubian neighborhoods was a great way to observe the locals at work and at play. What follows is a portrait gallery of faces in their familiar places:

This man is paid to remove wrinkles. His cheeks are filled with water, which he sprays across a bolt of cotton fabric. Now he’s ready to run his foot across it with a scorching hot iron.

Finished products are then delivered to the fabric merchants, who specialize in either female or male colors.

The town tailor likely receives an order to design a proper galabeya…

or a pile of pillows and textile merchandise.

For pillows and mattresses that flatten or sag over time, it’s time to visit the wool fluffer, who will beat the filling until it’s been rejuvenated.

Busy mornings are usually followed by a bite to eat.

some shopping…

or a smoke.

It’s safe to say that locals feel more secure, when they’re protected by the guard on patrol,

or washed by the man who prepares your body for burial.

The school bus may not be yellow,

but it gets the kids to school on time…

where they are very receptive to strangers with cameras,

which is more than I can say when the tables are turned.

Dancing the Tanoura

Posted in Adventure, Art, culture, Entertainment, History, music, Photography, travel, videoTagged , , , , , 6 Comments

Tonight was cultural arts night aboard the Viking Ra, and all hands were decked out in their finest Egyptianized evening wear, in celebration of our host country.

It provided the perfect opportunity for women to shimmy in their cotton camel PJ pants, embroidered tunics, and spangled belly dance costumes,

while a few men rocked the casbah in their galabeyas (long shirts) and keffiyehs (square-shaped, cotton scarves).

Personally, my taste borders on Tommy Bahama does Margaritaville at REI, with little to no resemblance of anything Middle Eastern-related, so I reimagined a hand towel as a Nemes (royal headdress), and called it a night. Leah chose to ignore the fashion directive.

It was also a time for traditional Egyptian cuisine–served family style–followed by an hour of Sufi-themed music and dance.

With the riverboat tied up in Esna for the night, Viking passengers benefited from a wealth of local talent who came aboard to showcase their cultural arts–steeped in a medieval tradition of Islamic spiritualism that deals with purification of the inner self through a deep devotion and physical experience of God.

As enchanting as it was hypnotic, a member of the troupe performed the tanoura (Arabic for ‘skirt’), a trance dance not unlike the Turkish Whirling Dervishes, but with an Egyptian “spin.” Its origin dates to 13th century Egypt, when whirling in place became a means to reaching karma. The dancer spins anti-clockwise–which symbolizes Muslim pilgrimage around the Kaaba, while also preventing dizziness.

Our dancer wore a multi-layered tanoura of many colors (collectively weighing over 50 lbs.), as he performed his meditative ritual for over 15 minutes, dancing with trays, and scarves. Unbelievable!

Then the ship lights dimmed, and the tanoura turned psychedelic!

It was an enlightening way to spend the evening!