Laylet el Eid (the Night of Eid) by Umm Khoultum

The diva does it again. Festive song for a festive season.

Umm Khultum as a Cultural Bridge?

As I was writing my previous blog post, I came across the following fantastic article about Umm Khultum on the Huffington post, wherein the author describes the richness of Umm Kulthum's contribution to Arab (and world) culture. The "Nightingale of the East", Umm Kulthum gave the world "magic", "ecstasy", "feminine consciousness", and was a paradigmatic example of "the central artistic reality that has animated the Arab world for many centuries".

The author argues that her music can serve as a launchpad for dialogue between Arabs and Israelis - with emphasis on the common cultural traditions of Sephardic Jewry who originated from the Arab world. He goes so far as to suggest that anyone seriously interested in the middle east peace process is not seeing the full picture unless they familiarize themselves better with the rich cultural landscape of which Umm Khultum was invariably a magical and magnificent ingredient.

Read the article here:
Huffington Post: The Voice of Um Kulthum: A Place to Start the Dialogue

Enta Omri performed by Umm Khultum

There is too much to say about Umm Khultum to limit her to a single post in the Fabulous things about Egypt, so I will just start here with Enta Omri, one of her most famous songs and the first she performed written by Abdel Wahab.

There is something so emotional that just resonates so deeply with the listener, as if a piece of your own heart is being unfolded in front of you. But enough talk... let's listen,