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Religious festivals and weddings
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Though few foreign visitors frequent them, Cairo's
religious festivals
are quite accessible to outsiders - and a lot of fun. Many begin with a
zaffa
(parade) of Sufis carrying banners, drums and tambourines, who later perform marathon
zikrs,
chanting and swaying themselves into the trance-like state known as
jazb.
Meanwhile, the crowd is entertained by acrobats, stick dancers, dancing horses, fortune-tellers and other side shows - Cairenes see nothing incongruous in combining piety with revelry.
Whereas most festivals are specifically Muslim or Christian, people of both faiths attend the birthday or name-day celebrations of holy persons with
baraka
(the power of blessing) - known as
moulids
. Aside from the crowds (don't bring valuables, or come alone if you're a woman), the only problem is ascertaining festival
dates
. Different events are related to the Islamic, Coptic or secular calendar, and sometimes to a particular day rather than a certain date, so details below should be double-checked with Egyptian friends or the tourist office. As a rule, all the longer moulids climax in a
leyla kebira
(literally "big night") on the last evening or the eve of the last day - the most spectacular and crowded phase. Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
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Egypt,
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