Mesmerised

What a hilariously entertaining evening!
I was all ready for a quiet night in at the pc, when an invitation for pre wedding entertainment at a friends came through. A small gathering with a rababa band on a roof top, overlooking the Nile.

Joan, a most amazing lady I met a few years ago here, is over for a holiday and to attend a wedding, not hers I hasten to add!

The band warmed up and the wind section began to play (Whilst smoking!)

Something else meanwhile was smoking - the bin! Someone had put a cigarette in the bin! We all sat round sniffing the air, looking at each other, as if to say, I recognise that smell? Ali, a Welsh, Iraqi on holiday here in Luxor, quickly and calmly extinguished the fire, as it lapped at the newly painted walls!

We then made a short car journey to a nearby village and ate dinner. Wonderful homemade Egyptian fayre is unbeatable.

The music began, the children and women danced and the people descended. One friend provided the entertainment, which reduced me to tears, I haven't laughed so much in a very long while. He danced evocatively infront of the ladies and men sitting in their separate corners, a shash tied around his hips to accentuate the movements. He then proceeded to stick dance and commanded the audience with his swift movements of said stick.

There was so much to see, watch and look at, but I kept my eye on this man. He sat in the corner all night smoking and looked like a King. Isn't he beautiful? MORE