The wall of Hajj

Todays film is directed by Mohamed Orabi, who is the Dean of the Faculty of Fine Arts here in Luxor.

This is his first film. I imagined it to be about the boundary walls of the Hajj (The pilgrimage that Muslims are obligated to make to Mecca, at least once in their lifetime) Indirectly it was. It was about a man called Kamal, who painted folkloric, Hajj murals on the walls of houses, something that is still carried out today.
It showed him 30 years previous, painting a scene on a house. The colours were vibrant, the drawings bold and alive, the accompanying music was soothing. Kamal smiled as he mixed the colours and began to paint the scenes from the Holy journey.

30 years later, he revisited the same home, where his mural was still very much alive. 'A testament to him and his work' as the lady of the house exclaimed. The film, mixed with wonderful atmospheric photographs of Kamal at work, made me sit up and smile. It was a privilege to see this talented man and his surviving work, to this day, so colourful, vibrant, but showing the effects of time.

Walking back through Luxor to see the next film at a different venue, I was drawn to a shop window, selling ship ship (Flip Flops) The colours were also intense and vibrant....yes, I am now the proud owner of a lovely new pair of sandals :-)