Playing house
A new party lifestyle takes questions relating to Egypt's cultural and political identity out of the limelight.
Fatemah Farag gets with it
What do sweeping notions of who the Egyptians really are explain? I ponder the question as I squeeze my way through groups of young women in shorter- than-short miniskirts and men bulging with muscles in tight t-shirts, all of whom are seeking to get to the centre of the dance area of the newly opened nightclub, Pacha. It strikes me that it is not really the right time to be thinking about issues of a social and cultural nature, but then again, despite my spiky heels I am still a bit of a nerd.
We are attending the opening night of Pacha Sharm El-Sheikh on 29 April. Outside the open-air nightclub -- formerly Bus Stop -- crowds are queuing to get past the bouncers in black. Those on the VIP list get whisked through, and paper bracelets are strapped to their wrists to point out their distinction.
But aside from the paper bracelets, what else differentiates among the hundreds shaking their hips to the music played by DJ Danny Rampling? Young and old, thin and not-so-thin, pierced and un-pierced -- all look essentially the same. People speak Russian, Italian and Arabic, and the common language unifying them is that of the names of DJs -- who are spoken of with reverence -- and the words used to classify the loud and pumped-up music: techno, trance, R&B, hip hop, new age and house.
As we are showered in soap suds, smothered in white smoke and rocked to the beat, we become one sea of humanity. According to Sanafir/Pacha Sharm El-Sheikh owner Adly El-Mistikawi, "House music is the revolution of youth against the traditional music establishment as embodied by the big production companies such as Virgin and Sony. This is a music developed via computers in people's homes; a music that defies authority, opposes the power of money and politics, is against war and for peace."
Money, however, was abundant on the night, and the VIP list bore witness to this. But that is not to say that the clothes, taste in music and lifestyle that were on display at Pacha belong exclusively to the elite. The Sanafir/Bus Stop/ Pacha phenomenon seems merely representative of a generation of cafés and night spots where middle to upper- middle class Egyptians are increasingly adopting and manifesting "European" tastes. But what also of the boom- boxes and rap dancing in Cairo's Tahrir Square last Sham El-Nessim? Working class youth, it appears, may not be as dissociated from the "wave".
According to El-Misitikawi, "Today there are a lot more Egyptian clubbers, because on the one hand House Music is based on African and Egyptian rhythms with which we identify, and on the other hand, given the free and easy communication technology that now exists, young Egyptians have connected into the international music scene and are in touch with the rest of the world," he said.
"The Americans are getting there," according to El-Mistikawi, "but they still lag behind the Europeans in this kind of music because they are under more pressure from their government in favour of the establishment music."
And of all people, he would be the first to know. Bus Stop parties had taken Sharm by storm over the past few years. And now that the name Pacha with its logo of two luscious red cherries sits in bright red neon over Sanafir, El-Mistikawi can finally boast that the Egyptian clubbing scene has gone international. "Pacha is an international name known all over Europe. It is an honour to be on its list of nightclubs and to be the only Middle East/Africa country on that list, to be the only open air Pacha on the list and to be the only nightclub/hotel Pacha."
It is appropriate that Sharm El-Sheikh should become the icon of this new lifestyle space: one that grows not in ghettos but out in the open with the brazen confidence of the better-off youth. There are the logistical pluses, such as an almost year round high occupancy rate and an international clientele. "We are a beach resort with an international crowd. And with the devaluation of the pound, we are in an advantageous position to pull in more tourists."
And then there is the newness, if you will, of Sharm El- Sheikh itself. It is a city that sprung up on the southern tip of Sinai in post-war Egypt; a city whose pioneers have broken with tradition and the Nile valley in search of their own space. "The only other resort in Egypt comparable to Sharm is Hurghada, which is linked to the mainland and hence very linked to traditional culture," mused El- Mistikawi.
Seriously, where else can women walk around in sheer dresses and not be made to feel in the least out of place? Where else do shop owners speak what sounds like fluent Italian and Russian? And where else do most menus come in three languages if not four?
"This is the city of peace," El-Mistikawi opines, adding: "The first Pacha which was established in Ibiza was where young people in the 1960s gathered to express their slogans of peace and love. And so it is apt that Pacha Sharm El- Sheikh be a continuation of that heritage."
As the song goes: "All you need is love." So throw all your conceptions and misconceptions out into the sea, climb onto a table, and dance the night away. Who we really are is up to us to decide -- but let's leave that question for the morning.
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