Abir's Casbah E-zine  **January to April '09**

Volume 4 Issue 1

Contents The contents are bookmarked, just hit & go!

Paid Advertising... Yep! Abir's Casbah E-Zine has that service!           

The "Spectacular Events"  gives a cover poster and a link to your website or e-address or tel, and if you have a PDF registration document, a hyperlink to it for downloading by the students is included!  Your "Big Ad" will display on   "What's Happening" Page! If you submit a listing in the preferred "What's Happening" format, it will be DOUBLE COVERAGE! The cost is a one time charge of $100.00.  The ad will run until the event has past.   This is open to ALL Canadian Events.   

"Featured Shopping" - Space is negotiated with the Editor off line

Next issue will be May 1, 2008. Get your events in before  April 28th, or you WILL miss out on all this great advertising vehicle!!!

Note: Articles or letters sent in to Abir's Casbah E-Zine is the writer’s view, not that of the editor of Abir's Casbah E-Zine…

 From the Editor
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Check out the Spring!!!

Heart felt apologies to Abir's Casbah Magazine and contributors.... With huge changes in my life and location, I have had nothing but problems with my website.  I am piecing it back together, thank you for not giving up on me... Please help me populate the "What's Happening Page" (another casualty in the BIG CHANGE)

2009 is going to be a FABULOUS year. I wish you and your families all the best!!!

Dance Always!
Jamilee
 

Spectacular Events
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Has been moved to "What's Happening" In this section you will find exciting upcoming events.   If you are interested in advertising  YOUR upcoming event in "Spectacular Events" please e-mail jamilee@abirscasbah.com 

Featured Shopping
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Featured Musicians

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 Read This!!!
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(Read This!! Has stories, interviews, reviews etc sent in from the big wide world dance community)

Travels in Egypt

 by Barbara Tomporowski (2008)

Copyright B. Tomporowski

As I learned during a tour hosted by Son of the Pharaoh in November 2008, the beauty of Egypt ’s landscape is equaled only by the hospitality and humour of its people.  With my daughter, one lady from Edmonton and several Calgarians, we spent two and a half weeks journeying from Cairo in the north to Aswan near Egypt’s southern border, and then east to the Sinai desert and the Red Sea. 

Our tour began at the Giza Plateau, where we saw the Great Pyramid of Cheops and had a camel ride.  The city of Cairo almost reaches the edge of the Giza Plateau, but fortunately the desert stretches unbroken on the other side.  We went to Saqqara the next day to see the earliest pyramids.  Clambering down the gloomy, narrow shaft of the Bent Pyramid was one of the highlights of my trip.  We also saw the Egyptian Museum, which has about 250,000 artifacts, and enjoyed a dinner cruise featuring a belly dance performance, lounge singer and tannoura dancer.

 
After a few days in Cairo we took the overnight train to Aswan .  Erin Dvorak and I did an impromptu dance performance in the train’s entertainment car.  The smoke-filled, narrow space could have been the setting for a film noir movie.  As the train clattered through the darkness, our audience included Egyptians, Brazilians and Canadians from the tour as well as Vancouverites who hadn’t known about the large belly dance movement in Canada.

We toured the temple of Isis at Philae, and went to a dinner and dance show at a Nubian village.  The show featured traditional Nubian dances as well as a humorous African-inspired dance in which our group participated.  Then we went to Abu Simbel, which is a massive temple carved into a mountain in honor of King Ramses II.  It must have taken an incredible effort to build Abu Simbel initially, but it also required enormous cost and work to relocate it in the 1960’s when it would have been flooded by the construction of Egypt’s High Dam.

 
We boarded a cruise ship at Aswan and sailed the Nile.  The cruise is like taking a step back in time.  The people who work along the riverbanks usually wear traditional clothing.   Trucks and tractors are occasionally visible, but camels and donkeys are more common.  The contrast between the sedate pace of rural Egypt and the cosmopolitan city of Cairo is as great as between the verdant shores of the Nile and the golden sands of the desert. 

 
We stopped at several temples during the Nile cruise.  My favorite was Dendara, which is sacred to Hathor, the goddess of music and dance.  Dendara is a little off the regular tourist track, but it was well worth seeing.  The temple has an interesting layout with a tiny underground crypt, a painted alcove, and narrow side passages.  Its paintings retain much of their original colour, and most of them are in good condition compared to carvings and paintings at other sites that have been defaced over the centuries. 

I came away from the trip with a better understanding of the importance of music and dance in Egyptian culture.  Classic music is still popular, even though people often play modern Egyptian pop music.  The soulful sounds of Om Kalsoum and famous belly dance compositions can be heard in taxi cabs and at hotels…sometimes coming from old vinyl record players. 

I took dance lessons with Aida Noor and Raquia Hassan.  The technique was challenging, and the lessons were unforgettable.  For example, Ehab Sabry took Erin and I to Aida Noor’s studio in a taxi – which was a frightening experience in Cairo traffic.  Ehab sat down to smoke and watch us dance.  After about ten minutes another man came in and began dancing.  No one introduced him, so it wasn’t until the break that we learned he is a dance teacher and he was there to demonstrate the moves for us.  Whenever we made a mistake, Aida would talk to Ehab and the other teacher for a few minutes in Arabic, and then someone would explain it to us in English.  The lessons were different from what I am used to in Canada, but I learned a lot and it was an honor to meet these famous women of dance.

I taught a lesson on the cruise ship, and also took a lesson there from Khyrea, who is one of the last Ghawazi dancers.  Khyrea’s lovely personality shone through even though she doesn’t speak any English. 

Performing on the cruise ship was another highlight.  The lounge was packed, and the audience called out and clapped as soon as they saw me arrive.  It was wonderful to have such an excited, appreciative and interactive crowd.    

We danced again at our hotel on the Red Sea.  The party was held under the full moon in an outdoor pavilion surrounded by low benches, rugs and pillows.  The hotel manager and people who were staying in the hotel came to watch as I started to dance.  The members of our tour group joined in, and all of the hotel staff participated.  Erin and I took turns performing, but I was exhausted long before the audience was.  We slipped down to the Red Sea to finish a beautiful evening with a moonlit walk.

If you are interested in going to Egypt, I suggest that you go on a tour rather than trying to go on your own.   There are a number of reasons for this:

·t is difficult to drive around Egypt, which has the highest rate of motor car fatalities in the world.  A tour will have drivers and staff who will escort you wherever you need to go.

·Tourist sites are monitored by the tourism police and the military.  I felt very safe everywhere I went, but would not have felt comfortable dealing with these officials. The tour staff arrange for entering the sites, pay the fees and are there to help if any misunderstandings occur.

·The assistance of an Egyptologist is vital to appreciate Egypt’s art, history, politics and culture.  There seemed to be a fact, figure, story or legend behind every temple, every monument, every artifact and carving inside the temples and monuments, and within Cairo as well.  I would not have been able to appreciate everything we saw without the tour staff. 

·People who work in the tourism industry expect to be tipped for any service, and merchants can be quite aggressive.  I was not any good at haggling, so I appreciated the help of the tour staff in negotiating prices and letting me know whether I was getting a reasonable deal.

I am deeply grateful to Carol Card with Son of the Pharaoh, Ehab Sabry and Bishoy Amir for arranging so many wonderful experiences in Egypt.  I also appreciated the moral support from our new friends on the tour, who patiently watched while I tried on costumes, came to every performance, and even helped sew me into a new costume.  By going on the tour, I have been blessed with good friends, wonderful memories and a greater appreciation for Egyptian dance and music.

click on this for YWhat's Happening (Canada)
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JA- We needed to move it to a page of it's own as it was making the E-Zine just  too LOOOOOONG.....Don't miss a thing!!  Click on it for the latest in events!!!

Where' s the Dancing?
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AIRDRIE ALBERTA:

Paros on 4th  7:30pm every Fri & Sat  Tel: 403-912-4922   113 Main St. NW in Airdrie

CALGARY ALBERTA:

Shows Friday & Saturday-Phone for reservations

Istanbul Restaurant  8:15 pm Tel:403- 229-0542  1420 9 Av NE

Pegasus Restaurant  8:00 PM  Tel:403- 229-1231  1101 14^th St. SW        

Moroccan Castle  (Call to verify)  8:00 PM Tel: 403-283-5452  19^th  St. NW             

Mykonos  8:00 PM (Call to verify)Tel: 403-230-0016  1121 Center St. N.       

Olive Grove Restaurant    7:15 PM Tel: 403-256-4610  Midnapore Mall   (past Canyon Meadows turn pike on McLeod Trail)

Sahara Restaurant 7:30 PM Fri,  9 PM Saturday:00  PM Tel- 403-262-7222 - 739 2nd Ave SW (Live Band on Saturdays!!)

Santorini Greek Taverna  8:30 PM Tel: 403-276-8363  1502 Center St. N

RED DEER,  ALBERTA:

It's All Greek to Me Restaurant  Dancers every Friday and Saturday night, for reservations call 403-358-5544

EDMONTON ALBERTA:

Shows Every Friday & Saturday-Phone for reservations

Cosmos  8:00 Fri-9:30 Sat. PM (Call to verify time) tel: 780-455-7474  10810-124 St

Grub Med 7:45 PM  Tel:780-436-1988  (19 St & 17 AV) 17 Fairway Dr

Koutouki Restaurant –8:30- 9:00 PM  tel:780-452-5383 - 10704 124 Street NW

Syrtaki  8:00 PM Tel: 780-484-2473  16313 111^th AV. 

Yiannis on White  8:30 PM  Tel: 780-433- 6768  10444  82^nd Ave.

Shows Saturday Only-Phone for reservations  

CoCoDi, after 11:30 PM Saturdays (live music), 10160-100A St., 425-1717  

Ziveli's  - 9:00 PM   tel: 780-453-3912 - 12202 Jasper Avenue

New Asian Village – 8:30 PM  tel: 780-433-3804 -10143 Saskatchewan Drive

SHERWOOD PARK, ALBERTA:

Nikos Taverna  7:30 PM Saturday Only tel: 780- 417-9317 -180 1020 Sherwood Dr

WINNIPEG, MANITOBA

Charisma of India Restaurant, 83 Sherbrook St., Winnipeg, MB – Canada. Ph (204) 222-7878 – Every 2nd and 4th Saturday at 7:30 pm

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Middle Eastern Dance Magazines
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Whether Hard Copy or On-Line can provide a wealth of information, where to get “Stuff” and things to do and see!!  Be sure to give the following info- Fee- in Chq , or Money order only (NO CASH), Name/ Address/ TN & area code/ Fax/ e-mail and involvement- *Teacher*Performer* Student* Other*- all or what ever applies!  And, when you send in your subscription request, tell ‘em Jamilee Abir referred you!!!

~~~CANADIAN~~~~
MID-BITS!  Canadian Mag!  Published 4 times a year- only $25/ year  Mail Cheque/Cash/Money order to MID-BITS  1423A Yonge St. #8, Toronto, ON, M4T 1Y7  Editor- Mayada-  e-mail -  beaven@idirect.com

  SAHDA - Vancouver based- Middle Eastern Society (MEDA), newsletter- Sahda- published 12 times per year, lending library, events The Middle Eastern Dance Association  P.O. Box 41092, Shaughnessy Postal Outlet  2529 Shaughnessy Street  Port Coquitlam, B.C.  V3C 3G1  LM at 604-688-6338 website:   www.MEDA.bc.ca    

Belly Button Bulletin -The Voice of the Eastern Dance Circle of Manitoba This is very well written hard copy newsletter published 4 times a year.  For info on subscription & costs please  e-mail Cheryllyn at bellybuttonbulletin@yahoo.ca see www.easterndancecircle.com

 ~~~UNITED STATES~~~~
 JAREEDA SUBSCRIPTIONS: US FUNDS PLEASE- U.S.A. $24; Canada $30 a year; other countries $40. Make checks payable to: JAREEDA and send to P.O. Box 680, Sutherlin, OR 97479. Visa and MasterCard also accepted; for information: e-mail jareeda@jareeda.com  website: www.jareeda.com

SnakeByte from the Gilded Serpent!  On line Magazine!  VERY  interesting!!!    www.gildedserpent.com 

 ~~~INTERNATIONAL~~~
Salome's ORIENTAL DANCER Site :  She is based in Japan right now.  She is an international performer as well as she has extensive belly dance directories, on-line lessons, articles, and interviews  www.orientaldancer.net

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