A Spot of Sufism

A Barn Owl that had been captured and physically abused by a child for 3 days, thankfully found it's way to our front gates.
A delivery truck arrived at the villa, which had the said child sitting in the front seat. He got out of the truck and began hitting the already traumatised owl around the head. To cut a long story short the owl was taken from this child, rushed to the ACE hospital and returned to the villa, to have a few days rest.
We had called England for advice on the bird, sourced the correct food and let it rest in a dark, cool room. We called him Horus, the God of Protection here.

Meanwhile, I had arranged to meet a friend at a local restaurant and was a little wary of very large speakers arriving in the street - Another party! Egyptians love their parties!

Each sound sytem is checked with a very loud and very 'Echo-y' 'Allah, Allah, Allah'
But this time, a small gathering of men in Gallabeyahs began to arrive and a small group of French people took up their seats opposite the already laid out mats? It seemed to be a a show of some sort.
Ship ship (Flip flops) were removed as the gentleman gathered onto the mats, a row either side and opposite each other.

The Shayk, began to recite verses from the Qoran and Hadith texts and the names of God. This is also known as Zikr. Whilst doing this, the men sway, swing and move in time to the words and eventually seem to be in a meditative state. Motions become faster, stronger and more precise. It reaches a crescendo and then slows down.

'It is good for the man to be close to his God' one man said to me as I watched...I nodded, not taking my eyes of the men.

The whole process takes about 2 hours and is quite an amazing thing to watch. I hear it frequently but have only seen it twice, which is why I chose to stay and watch.

Sadly, when I got home, Horus had died, 3 days of being handled badly, was just too much for him. Being named after the God of Protection, we buried him outside the gates.

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