29 Nov. - 5 Dec. 2001
Issue No.562
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Al-Ahram Weekly Online 29 Nov. - 5 Dec. 2001 Issue No.562 |
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Going Ramadan
Youssef Rakha spends the evening in Ghouriya
When all is said and done, the quintessential Ramadan outing should take place in the vicinity of Al-Azhar. Not that there is any lack of festivity elsewhere in the city: the so called "tents" inspired by the traditional shader -- and it is here, it must be said, that one tends to end up on any given evening out in Ramadan -- offer shisha and sahlab in even the smartest neighbourhoods. The vaguely Fatimid aura that has always characterised the external aspect of the month spreads to Western-style establishments, which make adjustments to the menus and introduce shader motifs into the décor. Unless they subscribe to the newest trend in tent culture, the environmentally friendly tent, moreover, they too procure the necessary smoking implements for late-night customers. Arabic calligraphy exhibitions and period dramas notwithstanding, all across Cairo, it is the Ramadan lantern that seems to illuminate your steps as you go along. Grocery shops stock Ramadan-specific foodstuffs, cafes fill to overflowing, patisseries and sweet shops thrive.
photo: Mohamed Lutfi
Still, there is something about Al-Azhar that makes Ramadan particularly enjoyable. The original seat of the Fatimid state supplies all of the above plus imbuing the evening with a sense of authenticity. The implements of Ramadan, so misplaced elsewhere, finally appear to be in their natural habitat; the crowds no longer look purposeless or bored; and the neighbourhood's own aura of Oriental mystique seems perfectly apt for the purposes. Now that the Ministry of Culture has acquired the use of the area around Ghouriya for a range of fun activities, it seemed only natural that, having had the post-Iftar green tea and shisha at Al- Fishawi, our party of three should cross Al-Azhar Road to attend a performance at the most popular of these by now classic venues: Beit Al-Harrawi. Outside as we approached, a throng of impatient spectators charged at the gate, bearing testimony not so much to the popularity of the little known Yorka Troupe, members of which were tuning their instruments inside, as to that of Al-Harrawi itself. We arrived early, but the impromptu café set up yearly in the alleyway separating Beit Zeinab Khatoun from Al-Harrawi was already throbbing with activity. While amiable enough security staff informed us that the doors were not open yet, a even more amiable waiter pointed to a cluster of seats to the side.
First, while we are waiting, a stroll through the arts and crafts souq set up annually in Beit Zeinab Khatoun. Here the Ramadan spirit takes on an overtly commercial aspect. And notwithstanding the presence of some objects of interest, it must be stated unequivocally that the most attractive thing about the souq is the beauty of the venue in which it is held. Variations on Khan Al- Khalili themes are all one gets in the main courtyard. Being the work of "artists" much of the pottery, leather and tapestry is unduly pretentious; "innovative" ornamentation tends to bear negatively on the aesthetic appeal of traditional craftsmanship. But there is worse to come: the papyrus on display in one of the rooms, for example, can be found all year round at any number of street corners downtown, where one can haggle freely with the peddlers who dispense it and procure the desired souvenir at a cheaper price. My companion intoned desperately when we bumped into each other outside the Supreme Council for Culture Bookshop, another of the house's glorious chambers: vidoes and CDs in alluringly glitzy covers stood side by side with the latest books produced by various arms of the Ministry; and although everything looked impressive, one could not help suspecting the content.
Another room is devoted to rugs, batiks and galabiyas: more Ghouriya than Khan Al-Khalili, this, but no less unremarkable for being so. Yet another, also with rugs and batiks, however, has the most astounding display of Ottoman headgear: fezs of all shapes, sizes and colours, down to the tiniest, purely ornamental specimens. Nader Mohamed Abdel-Rahman, a coppersmith from Khan Al-Khalili and the only artist present, works silently alongside his display. "My only mentor and tutor, my only teacher," he assures us when we approach him, "is this neighbourhood." He has a workshop and a store in Khan Al-Khalili, he says, but the opportunity to exhibit in Zeinab Khatoun -- he has been doing it for six years in a row -- is not to be missed. "Of course, there is greater interest. This being an exhibition, not just another shop, it being Ramadan and everything, people from all walks of life come along and observe the work. But I assure you that the main reason one enjoys being here is the feeling of the place itself, the history and the connection one has with it, for I have spent all my life in this area and all the work you see comes directly out of it."
Beit Al-Harrawi was packed with the usual, heartening mixture of human types: the aspiring artist, the be-higabed family woman, the over-seasoned Grillon intellectual, the tourist-expatriate, the young man-woman about town. So popular was the event that, more than 15 minutes before the performance was due to begin, there was hardly any standing room. And this is not to mention those watching the fuzzy live broadcast on the screen outside. Again, the presence of the venue was more overpowering than anything in it, yet the aforementioned mixture, so harmonious on the surface, still managed to inspire joy in the hapless observer.
Now it must be admitted that, among the most pleasurable experiences at Beit Al-Harrawi is that of going to the bathroom. Located on the top floor, it affords the opportunity to see the inside of the building, ascending the sturdy stone steps and sensing, however tentatively, what it must have been like for the original inhabitants. A spotless, vast chamber equipped only with toilet and sink, it is clear that the bathroom itself was once far grander than it now appears, yet some of that grandeur is happily retained.
Directed by Abdel- Moneim Said, the Yorka Troupe offers "Andalugerian" music, a contemporary combination of Flamenco and Algerian tunes. At first sight, the troupe seems to be made up of an unconnected group of practitioners from various musical backgrounds, yet as they begin to combine their efforts, the integrity of their work gradually emerges. Ali Khattab's guitar started off the show with a powerful outburst of rasguedo, while the beauty of Marwa Samy's gypsy's fiddle became apparent only later. Through the evening the sound shifted constantly, from pure Flamenco to jazzed eastern tunes reminiscent of Ziyad Rahbani, from quasi-classical Arabic music to something approaching Franco-Algerian rai. Amer Mohamed's oud was initially completely overshadowed, but when eventually it was heard, it was all the more moving for having been so modest. Some "slow" Spanish-inspired pieces were a little too quiet for their own good, some Arabic tunes surged too forcefully in the attempt to generate energy. Much, in the end, turned out to be a little too pedestrian for comfort; and one couldn't help noting that, however accomplished and well thought out, the performance, with its limited percussive range and purely individual virtuosity, was ultimately a demonstration of how "Andalugerian" music had not been achieved. There was Andalusian (in the inaccurate sense of Flamenco) and there was Algerian, but alas, a credible fusion of the two (each of which admittedly had its noteworthy moments), there was not.
A walk to Wikalet Al-Ghouri -- another classic Ramadan venue -- brought back the sense of grassroots mystique, but in the end revealed, sadly, that it has been undergoing renovations for many months and will therefore not be witness to any performances this year.
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