Egyptian Current Events

On June 25^th five bombs were detonated around the city of Cairo. The timing of the bombs have lead investigators to believe that it was a coordinated attack but since no one has claimed responsibility they cannot know for sure. There were no fatalities in the explosions but six people were injured. Four of the five primitive bombs were detonated in subway stations and the fifth was detonated under a car in front of a courthouse. Since the recent election of President Abdel there has been a relative calm over Egypt and this was the first attack to break that streak. The Interior Ministry quickly accused the Muslim Brotherhood of the attacks because they were an extremist group that backed the former President Morsi. The Brotherhood has been labeled a terrorist group by this new military backed government and there have been numerous arrests dealing with protests that they have linked to the Brotherhood.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/26/world/middleeast/cairo-explosions-end-postelection-peace.html?_r=0

On June 30^th two police officers were killed outside the presidential palace while attempting to diffuse a number of bombs planted around the area. The “Soldiers of Egypt” militant group foreshadowed these attacks (around this location in particular) and claimed to have aborted them but were unable to remove the bombs in time. This day is known to many Egyptians as their “second revolution” because it marks the first anniversary of the protests that eventually lead to the downfall of their former president. Many militant groups have engaged in these attacks since July of last year claiming that they are in response to the criminal acts of the new regime and have marred numerous high-profile events in the process.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jun/30/cairo-bombings-first-anniversary-anti-morsi-protests

Music, dance, and theater in Egypt

The Rababa:

 

The rababa is a two string bowed instrument, similar to the violin or a small cello, that is arguably the oldest string instrument. It was used primarily by story tellers and folk singers but popularity for the instrument declined when the European violin was introduced.

Raqs Sharqi:

 Raqs Sharqi is a “classical” Egyptian dance that flows to the Turkish inspired Egyptian art music and the more modern Egyptian classical music played by large orchestras. It is also divided up into two more types of dance known as “traditional” Sharqi and “modern” sharqi. Traditional sharqi was performed for the wealthy aristocrat families and the modern sharqi is performed around the world for all types of audiences. 

Egyptian Theater:

Theater was a large part of ancient Egypt’s traditions. They had religious depictions, traditional myths, and once colonized they had a heavy Greco-Roman influence. These performances took place for any number of reasons including religious events, festivals, or a special performance for the wealthy. One of the favorite plays was the murder of Osiris by Seth. This play would cast professional actors for the main characters and, many times, would use the general public for the use of extras.

http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/picture07102007.htm

http://www.tanz-raum.com/egyptian-music

http://www.raqssharqisociety.org/thedance.html

http://www.cinemanova.com.au/catalogue/events/metaida

http://www.faculty.umb.edu/gary_zabel/Courses/Phil%20281b/Philosophy%20of%20Magic/Arcana/Neoplatonism/theatre.htm

Literature and Oral Narrative Performance in Egypt

Naguib Mahfouz:

Naguib Mahfouz was an Egyptian writer who lived from 1911-2006. In 1988 he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature. Although he was known for his writing skills the majority of his life was spent in a variety of governmental jobs that eventually allowed him to request to work in the Ghuri Library. His first novel was published in 1939 and he would publish 35 more novels and numerous short stories and articles. 

Yusuf Idris:

Yusuf Idris  was the same generation writer as Naguib Mahfouz and lived from 1927-1991. He graduated college in Cairo with a degree in medicine and was a physician when he started to write. His first anthology of stories was published in 1954 and there were many more soon after. He was well known for his style of mixing classical Arabic narration with colloquial dialect that told realistic stories about ordinary people. 

Taha Hussein:

Taha Hussein was in 1889 and as a young boy of three, lost his sight due to the unskilled care that was given to him for his simple eye infection. Although he was blind and from the lower middle class, he dedicated himself to getting into a newly established secular University of Cairo. Once accepted into the college he excelled and in 1914 was the first to receive a PH.D from the university. Later in his life he would return to the University of Cairo to become a professor of Arabic literature and was frequently criticized for his modern methods. His literary career contained a plethora of writings that ranged from Novels to social and political essays. 

Omar Sharif:

 

Omar Sharif was born in Alexandria Egypt in 1932. He studied mathematics and physics at the Victory College in Cairo and went on to work in the family lumber business. Only spending a few years working at the families business, Omar decided to pursue his acting career. He quickly became a well known local actor but became internationally famous after his performance in Lawrence of Arabia in 1962. He continued to do many other movies but in the 70’s started to put his acting career to the side and was now focusing more time on his passion of bridge. 

 sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/movies/person/64847/Omar-Sharif/biography

http://theculturetrip.com/africa/egypt/articles/tales-from-the-nile-the-best-egyptian-writers-/
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/580368/Taha-Husayn
http://www.aucpress.com/t-aboutnm.aspx?template=template_naguibmahfouz
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/282069/Yusuf-Idris