Last year, I heard there would be a protest on January 25, 2011.   This is an annual holiday in Egypt, commemorating the police forces.  Egyptians wanted to send a clear message to the government and decided on this day to protest the death of Khaled Saeed.  Khaled was a young man who was brutally beaten by police in an internet café in Alexandria in June, 2010.  According to Wikipedia “the police reported that Saeed suffocated in an attempt to swallow a packet of hashish, a claim supported by two autopsy reports made by Forensic Authorities. The police further stated that Saeed was “wanted for theft and weapons possession and that he resisted arrest.”   This outraged all of Egypt and a Facebook page was erected by Wael Ghoneim of Google, who at the time was working in Dubai.

On January 25 I heard many people chanting in my neighborhood and I wondered what it was.  My flat mate and I decided to investigate and ran out to Mohie el Din Abu el Ezz street in Dokki and saw a mass of people protesting.  I was kind of shocked because I knew that protesting is illegal in Egypt and there is an “Emergency Law” that basically states that anyone can be arrested at any time for any reason and jailed indefinitely with no trial.  I couldn’t believe how brave the people were marching through the streets.   I took photos and went home and basically forgot about the incident.

Later on in the evening my internet was sporadic and I couldn’t figure out why.  I now know they were preparing to shut off internet in the whole country, including cell phones and landlines.  At this point I was kind of wondering what would happen but I never thought there would be a full-fledged revolution.  The following day we started to hear reports of looting and fires and I actually went out that night not knowing the enormity of the situation.  I went to a club on the Nile and across the Nile saw fires starting.  At this point I still did not believe what was happening. I thought surely everything would end and all would be calm by the following day, but I did hear people were intending to go to Tahrir Square to protest.  My flat mate was an aspiring journalist and asked if we should go on Friday January 27 out to Tahrir Square .  She wanted to go early before the call to prayer, but I don’t like waking up early so I called an American friend of mine and fellow dancer to ask her if she wanted to go with me the next day to Tahrir.  She knew I loved taking photos and she agreed we should take photos, as this will be a big day in Cairo.  Friday I woke up and there was no television media coverage, no cell phone service and no internet service.  We had effectively been cut off from communication with the whole entire world.  My flat mate left about 11am and I told her I would try to find her in Tahrir.  The afternoon prayer rang at 12pm and I lazily lounged around the house and went to Starbucks for coffee but it was closed.  Actually everything was closed and boarded up on the street.   I was concerned but still had no idea what was happening.  I was more intrigued at what might be happening in Tahrir because I am curious by nature.  I had breakfast, got ready to go, and headed out around 3pm as I knew my friend who was supposed to go with me kept the same late hours as I do.  She lived next to Tahrir Street in an area called Midan el Mesaha next to Pyramisa hotel.  When I took a taxi it was eerily quiet.  It was Friday, and Fridays in Cairo are usually quiet but I had never seen anything quite like this kind of quiet in Cairo.  EVER.  There was hardly anyone in the street.  As I drove down Tahrir Street toward the Sheraton HoteI I  started to get a bit worried but figured nothing was happening since my friend had not arrived back, and surely if she was in danger she would have come back home.

The taxi dropped me off close to my friend’s house and I walked to her building.  Her doorman greeted me and told me she left half an hour earlier. I was kind of shocked because I couldn’t imagine where she would be going as nothing was open and she knew we were supposed to meet.  At that point I had to decide what to do.  Still not knowing the severity of the situation and being that I was 5 minutes walking distance from Kasr al Aini bridge I decided to make my way over to Tahrir Square.  That day I wore a hat and a jacket and jeans and sneakers.  I didn’t want to look like I was trying to get attention, since I was sure there would be many men.  I kind of look like a tomboy with my army fatigue baseball cap.  I also had to put eye make up on because I wanted to look Egyptian and not foreign so I would be less harassed.

The first thing I encountered while coming up to Sheraton was the horrid smell of tear gas.  I have never smelled tear gas before and it is powerful.  It creeps into your lungs and makes you cough and sneeze and your eyes water, it also burns ferociously.  I had to run and buy tissue to hold over my face because I could not breathe. I came back armed with my tissue I surveyed the scene.  There were two army trucks that hold military men for transport which the protestors had captured and burnt.  There was another truck with the whole front cab burnt out.  People were standing on a ledge around Sheraton checking out the scene but high above the danger.  There were police standing next to their truck just milling about not doing much.  People were in gas masks and doctor masks. Windows were broken and glass was all over the street.   Whatever happened, apparently I had missed it.  It looked like a big battle was waged and the protestors won and now they were taking a break.

A man started to follow me and I thought “great, just what I need sexual harassment”.  He said his name was Mohamed and asked me my name and I just said “shokran, mish aiza”  which means thank you I don’t want any, because I didn’t know how to say I don’t need anything.  I was taking pictures of the truck and other things and as I walked around he still followed me.  He asked me if I was a journalist and I said no, but he didn’t believe me.  I was trying to walk around more and he still followed me and I said
“Mish aiza” again but he would not leave.  I tried to take the best pictures I could without offending people and being in the way.  Meanwhile his following me seemed to help me getting my shots because people would move when he told them I wanted to take a photo.   I wished I spoke fluent Arabic as I would have loved to find out what happened and how the trucks ended up overtaken and burnt. I wanted to talk to people but I couldn’t.   Mohamed would not take no for an answer and continued to follow me which really made me uneasy and was kind of pissing me off. He was super persistent and I was was getting upset but he did help me to take pics since he told everyone to move aside.

Mohamed then asked me if I wanted to take better pictures and he would take me down the bridge toward Tahrir Square.  At first I said no thank you, but then I thought better of it since I was alone and even if he didn’t speak English and I barely speak Arabic I still know words and can kind of communicate speaking very broken Arabic.  We started walking down the bridge and it was full of people. Not crowded but there were lots of people walking toward Tahrir Square.

We came upon a crowd of people to the left.  I said “eh dah?” whats that?  He said he didn’t know and let’s go see.  He told everyone I was a journalist and to step aside.  They opened up the circle and I almost started crying and I think I stood in shock for a second.  Lying on the floor ahead of me was a young boy of about 20 years old full of marks all over his body.  It looked like he had been hit by pellets all over his skin which I later found out was rubber bullets that can and do kill at close range.   I quickly snapped a few pictures, as he told everyone I was a journalist and left as fast as I could.  There was only one other time I saw a dead person before and it was my father’s funeral during his open casket viewing. I vowed from that day never to go to an open casket viewing again.  I’m still traumatized by it over 10 years later.  After we left I asked Mohamed if he was dead by slashing my finger across my throat in a gesture of death, and he said yes he was.  I was horrified.

It was pretty quiet and we continued walking along the bridge.  We came upon a group of men at the late afternoon prayer and I snapped some pictures. I have always loved the ritual of the Muslim prayer.  It looks calming and peaceful.  There was a small boy of 7-8 years of age in the prayer at the end of the line and I tried to take his picture but someone on a motorcycle came in between and blocked my view.  I think it’s not considered polite to take pictures while people are praying.  Well honestly it’s not considered polite to take pictures almost everywhere in Egypt.   They usually detest it, but one year later they are kind of used to it now and welcome it most of the time.

We continued to walk towards the end of the bridge and stopped by the lions that stand as the overseers of the entrance. Mohamed told me we should not go into Tahrir Square because it was “mish qwayess” (bad) and I said ok.  We stood there for about 5 minutes and I took pictures of the Nile.  It was quiet and peaceful.

In the next instant literally, chaos ensued.  I turned to look toward Tahrir and I saw a wall of people running towards us on the bridge.  I screamed then grabbed Mohamed’s hand and said “yallaaaaaaa Mohamed” we started running away from the bridge toward Semiramis hotel to get out of the crowd that was about to trample us.  Loud burst like bombs started coming at a dizzying pace.  I thought they were throwing real bombs but later found out it was tear gas.  We found refuge by the iron fence next to Semiramis Hotel.  I saw people running in the alley way between Semiramis and the trees, running from Tahrir Square.  I was trying to capture video but by this time it was pretty dark as it was about 5:15 pm or so.  We hung out there for about 5 minutes and my heart was racing.

After about 5 minutes we really didn’t know what was happening and after seeing the dead boy, I felt like the army and the police had guns and they were trying to kill people and I could possibly die.  The tear gas bombs started coming from the other side of Semiramis Hotel and the wall of people that ran out of Tahrir and also ran to the Nile in front of Semiramis were now coming our way.  I was going to be trapped and I knew it.  I screamed to Mohamed again “Yallaaaaaa Mohamed” grabbed his hand and started running back to the bridge as that was the only way to escape away from Tahrir Square.  We ran until we could run no more.  We got stuck by the lions and could not move.  I was trapped in the middle of hundreds of men and holding onto my cameras for dear life so they would not fall out of my hands.  The next thing I knew was that hands were on my butt and breasts!! I couldn’t believe it.  Loooll! I thought “you are all going to die and here you are grabbing my breasts and butt”.  Egyptians will be Egyptians that’s all I can say. J   Thankfully Mohamed, my angel and protector for the day, had a very  loud voice and he told everyone to step aside, that I was a journalist and I needed to get through.  I felt like a sardine in a can but we managed to push through somehow.  Meanwhile the bomb noises were continuing and everyone was in a panic and frenzy but not running away.  We got out of the crowd as fast as possible and at one point Mohamed put his arm around my shoulder to shove me to the ground because he saw something flying towards us.  I told him “laa, laa” and I would not kneel on the bridge. I wanted him to run.  We ran through people and water puddles (l later found out was from water tanks being used on protestors) and went to take a rest in the middle of the bridge.  Mohamed handed me a piece of onion to smell and that was how many people alleviated the symptoms of the tear gas.  I don’t think my heart stopped pounding for a while.  While I was in the middle of everything all I could think of was how brave journalists are to do this kind of work. I have a good friend who is a journalist and a woman and I don’t think I could do that work for a living. She has lived in war zones for months at a time.  It’s frightening and on a daily basis I don’t think I could deal with that.

Mohamed took me walking along the route of the Cairo Opera House to take me back to Sheraton.  He said it was safer but I think he just wanted to try to talk to me.  Of course he asked me to marry him and told me I was gamilla (beautiful).  Lool! I swear that the men never cease to amaze me.  They are always looking for a wife or a second wife and sometimes wife number 8!   Even in a time of war and strife.

Mohamed was really sweet and he did save me that day.  He walked me back to Sheraton and I gave him some water, cigarettes and 50 LE.  He said if I came back tomorrow he would be there, and would be there until the end.  The brave Egyptians, it broke my heart.  I took a taxi home and collapsed in front of the TV.  My flat mate still had not arrived and other friends of mine who lived in the neighborhood came over and were in a state of panic. They had boyfriends who were out in Tahrir and were crying and not doing too well.  I gave them a drink to calm their nerves and we chatted until they left at about midnight.

The days that followed were confusing and sad and upsetting but I tried to take it all in stride.  The very next day my flat mate had to register at the Embassy of Spain and I went to Zamalek with her.  We took a taxi through Gamat el Dowal street in Mohandessin.  I started crying when we entered the street.  It looked like we had a war in Cairo.  Stores were completely looted and everything was torn up or boarded up.  Some stores were completely destroyed beyond recognition.  There were tanks on the street with soldiers.  It was so sad and I felt scared for the country and what was about to happen.

When we entered Zamalek it was like we entered another world.  People were on the street, the sushi restaurant was open as well as other businesses and people were walking around.  In my area you could not find one business open and we had already run out of phone cards and water and cigarettes in my area.  What an amazing contrast it was.  Zamalek is a very upper class area on an island and seems to never get affected by other things that are going on in the city.  We finally registered her at the embassy and went home to do food shopping before curfew ended which I believe was at 3pm.  If you were in the street after 3pm you were subject to arrest.  We went to a supermarket in our area to stock up on supplies and it was empty.  The only things left were very expensive foreign items.  It was crazy.  I felt like I was in a movie but it was real life.

We then tried another store close to our area, and they were fully supplied thank God.  We bought cans of food and dry goods and stocked up on water and other essentials to last us two weeks at least.  We had no idea what the future would bring but we wanted to be a little prepared just in case.

It was a scary time but also exciting to be part of history that I know was being made.  One year later we still have yet to see what changes this revolution will have brought but I was glad to be able to experience firsthand the courage and power of the Egyptian people. 

Many of us complain of not being happy in our lives for various reasons.  Maybe we don’t like our weight (too fat, too skinny) or our looks, or maybe we don’t have enough money, or you feel like your life is joyless and pointless.  You might feel like you are stupid or not good enough or you feel like you are lazy and non-productive and you can’t get out of your slump.  You might not like your job but feel stuck, or you don’t have a job and feel like you are not enough.

Whatever the case may be I want to let you know that you are the only one in control of your life and destiny.  Just as the Egyptian people finally decided that enough is enough and they were not willing to tolerate injustice anymore, you must decide in your life that whatever makes you unhappy about yourself or your life you will no longer tolerate.  We alone are the masters of our own destinies no matter what external forces are around.  We can’t control how things happen to us but we can control how we deal with them.

Right now many people in Egypt don’t have work because the tourists have all but disappeared.  There is not much we can do about this.  A revolution happened and things are changing and will change.  The easy way out is to say, “oh well the economy is bad, there are no tourists and nothing can be done. I will sit here until things get better”.  In retrospect the whole world is going through changes right now and many country’s economies have failed.  In these cases you must expand your mind more.  These are big opportunities for personal growth.  Do not discount all the hardships in your life as bad luck.  Maybe you can look in a different direction for work or find something else you like to do in addition to your present job,  you may even consider an entirely new path for a career.  In any case you need to think outside the box.  Write down your goals, make your vision boards, dare to dream.  You can have anything you want with patience and persistence you can live the life of your dreams.

Take your cue from the Egyptian people.  Change won’t happen overnight.  You just need to take one step at a time.  The journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step.  Stop saying you can’t, and think YOU CAN.  As Nike famously says, “Just DO it”. 

Happy New Year and One year anniversary of the Egyptian Revolution.  I hope you have a wonderful year, full of light, love, happiness and discovery. 

Header image by Ramy Salem

It was Mamdouh Salama’s birthday and Kay Taylor from the UK had brought a group of belly dancers on a dance tour.  If you come to Cairo you must experience this nightlife in a cabaret.  It’s one of the most interesting and fascinating things about Cairo you will encounter.

We arrived at about 1:45am and met the group there.  The place was pretty empty.  It starts to get really crowded around 3am.  You can see kids sitting with their families and men and women sitting at tables together, but mostly big groups of men at tables, smoking shisha and whatever else they desire to smoke, drinking and eating from big tin foil animals shaped like swans, with finger food like fresh fruit and cheeses and nuts.  Last night was particularly interesting as we saw an Iraqi man with his wife full dressed in full niqab (only eyes showing) sitting with their son who was about 7 years old.  The man was smoking hooka and he had a stack of cash on the end of the table.  It looked to be about 1 or 2 thousand USD.  The man at the next table had an even bigger stack of cash, maybe around 3-4 thousand USD.  At one point, instead of showering the belly dancer or singer with money, as is customary, the man just started throwing the stacks one by one on the stage until he depleted his whole stack.  It was insane!

The money in these nightclubs flow like you have never seen!  At any given time there can be hundreds or thousands of dollars on the floor (Egyptian dollars which are thrown in 5LE increments equal to about .90 USD) not quite a dollar but almost.  Last night there was so much money they had to stuff it in garbage bags and carry it off the stage.  Usually there is a big wooden box and all the “money boys” who pick up the cash, stack it and give it to the guy who is presiding over the box.

The belly dancers in these nightclubs are not usually very good.  The good dancers in Cairo work at 5 star hotels and tourist boats where tips aren’t allowed.  It is considered haram (bad) to shower the belly dancer with money in more prestigious venues.  As an American belly dancer I am used to being showered with money, it’s part of the belly dance culture in America, but not in Cairo.  I have to say I really don’t understand why, since this is how the audience shows appreciation for you in most places around the world.

Getting back to the belly dancers, most dancers in these places aren’t trained artists.  Often times you will find dancers who barely even dance.  They enter the stage, walk around and shake the audience’s hand and shimmy around the stage for 45 minutes with a singer and leave.  These dancers don’t do costume changes either.  These girls work in 2-5 places a night with the same costume, 7 nights a week, no day off.  I’ve talked to some of the more famous cabaret dancers who said that their only time off was during Ramadan (the Muslim Holy month) where dancing is forbidden in all places in Egypt.  A nice break for the dancers because working 7 nights a week is hard work. They start at about 12am and finish from 5-6am every night.

Consequently I rarely go to these clubs with the expectation that I will see good dancing.  Mostly you go for the live music and people watching.  Last night was an exception.

The first belly dancers who performed were 3 girls who did exactly as I expected.  About 2:30 a dancer named Raghd came to the stage.  I was pleasantly surprised with her.  She must be new to the scene as I had never seen her dancer.  Her show started good as she was performing her opening number.  I thought she had a fantastic shimmy and she was beautiful.  She wore a Mamdouh Salama costume with flowers ( one of his current fascination’s).  The rest of the dance numbers she just played with the audience which is typical.  I would have liked to see her perform more but I guess when you do 4 shows a night you don’t perform full out all the time.

Aziza who we intended to see, came to stage about 4:30am.  She is another belly dancer who really dances with her heart and soul and is a fantastic artist.  Kaye and her group were exhausted waiting for her to arrive and left before she started.  I almost left too, as she was scheduled to show up at 4am but luckily her band started to arrive about 4:20 so we stayed.  She wore an orange, sexy Sahar costume with lace up sides and big stones on the bra and around the hips.  The first thing I noticed about her was the she changed her hair color.  It is a light brown/blond and she used to have black hair.  This totally changed her look and now she looks a bit like a bigger version of Soraya.  Her dancing is fantastic, and unlike almost all cabaret dancers, she really puts on a show.  In this particular cabaret, it’s really difficult to put on a good show because often times the audience wants to get on the stage and dance.  Previously when Aziza danced at El Leil or Semiramis or Parisianna (Lucy’s old club) it was more of a show atmosphere.  I was disappointed at the girls who came up to the stage.  One young girl in particular was dancing very suggestively and had a super short polka dot skirt on.  Earlier in the evening she was a distraction just because of how she was dancing as she would periodically shimmy full force and turn her head down to the back and look at her butt as if to say “see how sexy my backside is”.  Later when she came on stage she as Aziza was dancing, she had rolled her skirt down her hips and it seemed as if she had a black bodysuit on.  In actuality, she had pulled her tank down and rolled it under her underwear, exposing flesh on her hips, and when she turned around all of her pink heart cotton underwear were exposed (like the Dina underwear costume).  It was absolutely ridiculous.  I have seen crazy things in these nightclubs but never anything like that.  I was so embarrassed for her I could hardly watch.  (I took some pics, see pics  lool

Anyways, Aziza did dance with the audience but also the the best show she could with all of the distractions.  She has amazing shimmies, tucks, and turns.  When she turns, she whips her head around as she does a series of really fast turns, which is impressive and makes me go “ouch” every time I watch.  She’s also a fantastic performer and warm with the audience.   One of her 3 singers was a blind woman who wore black glasses on stage and sang Om Kolthum’s “Alf Leyla Wa Leyla”, the audience loved her and it was fantastic.

I arrived home at 6am exhausted and my lungs full of smoke (these places are completely smoky), but I was happy that I stayed and saw Aziza dance.   Enjoy the pics and vids.

I had read recently somewhere that they were denying 6 month extensions to tourists, but when I went to renew mine there was no problem in getting the six month extension.  If you are a student, you can also get up to a one year visa.  (NOTE: I renewed my visa July, 2011)

As an American, when you come to Cairo to visit, you can get a tourist visa directly at the airport.  (Look up your country’s rules).  There is a money exchange window where you can buy the visa.  I believe its about $15 usd.  You should bring money to exchange at the window and pay for your visa.  The visa is good for 30 days.  If you plan to stay longer, you need to go to a place called the “Mogamma”, which unfortunately, is in Tahrir Square.  The last two times I had to renew, the revolution had started.  When I finally ended up getting there my visa was expired for more than two weeks and I had to pay 3 times the price of the 6 month extension.  LOL!  Don’t wait till the last minute like I do, to get your renewal.

The Mogamma is a massive building and no one window functions as place to do all that you need to do.  First you have to find the paperwork to fill out.  You also need to bring two passport photos with you, which you can also get in the building but downstairs at a kiosk.  If you don’t shove and push to get to the front to take a picture, no one will ever see you so you must be persistent.  J After you fill out the paperwork, you have to take it to the window where foreigners go, then the woman will tell you to go get your visa stickers from another window down at the other end of the corridor.  Again you kind of have to be persistent and shove and push to get your stickers.  After that, you have to go to another window to pay the visa fees.  THEN…..you have to go back to the foreigner’s window and the lady will say to come to another window in two hours to pick up the passport.  If you started the process after about 10am, it will be too late and she will tell you to bring your passport tomorrow to complete the process.  In which case you would go back to her the next day, and she would submit your paperwork for processing.  This last trip, this took two days because we went back about 10:30 am and by 1:30 the passport still was not ready.  It’s not fun waiting in a line where people are shoving and pushing.  There is no order, you do not take a number.  You just wait until your name is called.  And it could be a few minutes or a few hours.  One lady was so frustrated she was screaming and yelling and told them to give her back her passport, she wants it NOW!! And they gave it to her.  I tried that tactic but it didn’t work for me.  Lol  so we ended up getting so frustrated, and it was hot and no air conditioning, we decided to come back the next day and we came earlier.  We arrived at 9am instead of 10am and waited the two hours, but we went shopping at Wikalet el Balah  (big marketplace in Cairo) so I could buy some fabric to make costumes and when we came back the passport was done.

The funny thing about all of this is that nothing is computerized.  They have these big, gigantic books where they hand record everything.  I don’t understand how they keep track.  Egypt has 85 million people, 25 million that live in Cairo alone.  Also, many of the people that work at the windows for the foreigners don’t speak English.  I have been there to renew my friend’s visa with her, but I think I will never go by myself because what should take me a few hours might take me 6 hours if I go by myself!

Side note: Egypt is safe!  If you come to Egypt and you don’t pass through Tahrir Square you would never know that there is a revolution.  Egypt lost 1M tourists during the revolution.  Egypt needs you to come back!  Actually, I love going to Tahrir Square and have been there more times than I can count. I have never had any problems.   So come back to this city I love, and you will enjoy it as you always have. 

As we were leaving the Mogamma I snapped pictures of the tents and the protesters that were camping out in Tahrir Square.  I also had never seen the graffiti that was written on the walls outside of the Mogamma so I took pictures to share.   I also took pictures of the tent city that was also built in front of the State TV building, as we were driving to Wikalat el Balah,  and of the beautiful Nile.  Enjoy the photos. 

I was fashionably Egyptian late. Which means I missed all the light to take good pictures (without flash).   We arrived about 7pm and when we drove on Kasr El Nil bridge toward Tahrir Square, it was really weird.  We saw lots of buses parked on the side of the bridge,  and men with full beards and long white galabeyas, obviously very Muslim.  I have lived in Cairo almost 3 years and have never seen so many people with beards and galabeya’s congregated in one place.   I had heard on the news that many of the usual protesters had left because they were supposed to be showing unity between all the groups and it turned into a very Muslim protest.  They were also apparently shouting Muslim slogans and took over all of the stages at the same time.  At one point my friend even said Muslim Brotherhood people were carrying pro-Mubarak protesters on their shoulders and came into the center of the square which is not a good sign because they were assuming they were trying to incite riot.

When we entered the square we were kind of shocked because we thought it would be jam packed as we heard on the news.  Apparently, droves of people had already left on the buses and I assumed that lots of the regulars in Tahrir Square also left.  We met our friend at his tent,  and because we were carrying big cameras people told us to leave the tent.  Ramy  and I are very often mistaken for journalists and we are somewhat used to this treatment, but somehow it seemed worse today.  It was a bit scary but thank God nothing happened.  I didn’t take so many pictures because I didn’t feel very comfortable.  I got a few shots and then we left about 45 minutes later because the atmosphere wasn’t very welcoming.  Here’s just a few snippets of what we saw while we were there.  Enjoy

Today was called “Last Warning Friday”, and I was apprehensive about going but I decided to get over my fears and just do it.    I’m glad I did because it was really wonderful to be there again and I enjoyed it so much.  I miss the days of the revolution.  They were so amazing and fantastic and you never knew what would happen next.

Volunteer citizens check ID’s and passports of everyone entering, and men and women go in at different points in case they want to do a body search.  Not realizing that I had the camera bag with my professional camera in it, I went to the women’s line and then I started to get a bit worried.  Thankfully the woman spoke English so I didn’t have to make a fool of myself with my broken Arabic.   I showed her my passport, she looked at it quickly, then she asked me to open my bag.  She apologized 3 times for having to do it and said “Oh! Camera’s” It was very sweet of her to apologize to me and I was kind of shocked.  I thought they were going to ban me from taking pictures since I have an American passport but she just said, “Have a nice time.”  Whew, that was a relief.

It was about 5:30pm when we went inside the square.  It had maybe 5,000 to 6,000 people.  In contrast to the tens of thousands of people I had seen before, during the revolution.  There were big tents in the center of the square, previously they were on the right and the left and the center of the square was usually open.  The people are now living in these tents in Tahrir Square.  They have fans, and televisions, and generators and I saw on the news today they also have internet and tables set up for meetings.   It was strangely quiet but I enjoyed it more because you can walk around in peace.  Sometimes it’s just so crowded and hectic you just want to leave as soon as you enter.

We entered and saw the Muslim Brotherhood on a platform on the right speaking to a crowd of people.  We snapped some photos and Ramy told me not to speak too much, lool so I stayed quiet, just in case anyone wanted to start something.  When we went to the tents and started to take pictures, we caused a bit of commotion and about 7 men came up to ask us what paper we were from.  They thought we were journalists and they don’t really want journalists taking pictures sometimes.  It all depends on who you are working for I think, but Ramy said we were just taking pictures as freelancers for our blogs and we gave them the blog address.   The next major thing we saw was a young man not more than 25 years old being taken away by ambulance on a stretcher.  Some activists have been fasting for two weeks and we overheard that’s why he was being taken away.  I hope he’s ok.  It’s really hot lately in Cairo and I’m sure no food or water is horribly taxing to the body and dehydration is very dangerous.  During prayers at 7pm some people were praying in the square and I started to get a bit worried because I saw all of this commotion behind the people praying, which is unusual because many people usually protect the men who are praying.  So I said to Ramy we should be careful because the commotion was coming towards us, and it turned out to be the singer Ali Haggar.  Egyptians love theirs artists so this is why there was so much commotion.

All in all it was a great day.  Enjoy the pics!!

Photo credits:  Ramy Salem and Aleya

NOTE:  As a side note if you like our photos,  Ramy Salem and I have just published our first book called, “18 Days, Memories of the Egyptian Revolution”  you can view it here. It’s available for purchase in hard cover or soft cover.  We hope you enjoy sharing our memories of this historical revolution. 

18 Days by Ramy Salem & Allegra Pena | Make Your Own Book

July 7, we went to Khan el Khalili to do some work, and spoke to our friends there.  They said they also heard there would be lots of drama in Tahrir Square.  Another friend said, “I don’t pay attention anymore.  I don’t care.”  I think he is so tired and frustrated and just wants to get back to work, as business has been slow to non-existent for the last six months.  A sentiment that is felt by many Egyptians all over Cairo.

I really wanted to go out and see what was happening today. I know it’s none of my business and this is not my fight, but I live in Cairo and care for it as much as the next person.  I am also an intensely curious person, much to my mom’s dismay but this is how I am.  By the time we watched the news and saw a few reports and decided to go, it was getting dark.  My boyfriend told me he would take me to the bridge (overlooking Tahrir Square) but not inside the square, because we had a dinner to go to and we didn’t have time.  I really wished to have been there earlier but it just didn’t happen.  He drove me on 6^th of October bridge but I couldn’t get a good view and I was upset so he said, “Don’t worry, we will get closer.”  As we drove along the bridge to exit, I looked down and saw all businesses open as usual and lots of people milling about the street.  This was in large contrast to when the revolution was in full swing, because lots of businesses downtown were closed. When we exited, I saw many more places open.  It was as if nothing was going on in Tahrir Square.  That was kind of a relief,  because it means that the shop owners  are not afraid that  things will be escalating out of control,  which is a good sign.

The police and military have left Tahrir Square and the city again, it seems.  News reports today stated that the citizens were once again responsible for checking ID’s and securing Tahrir Square.  Also, when we were downtown, regular everyday people were directing traffic.  There is no police presence anywhere.    It is kind of daunting when you think about it, but most Egyptians would help you in a second if you were in trouble on the street. I’m not worried about it.

It’s 2:15 am, July 9th  and all is well in Cairo.  I am so happy nothing happened today and it was calm, peaceful and non-violent.   Yay!   As we would say in Cairo,   “Il hamdoullilah”  (Thank God).

I am sharing a few pictures we took today of beautiful Cairo, from the 6^th of October bridge and of my cat Zack who was sitting in the windowsill before we left, dreaming of jumping in trees again and chasing birds. 

I asked my boyfriend to deal with the situation.  I actually have not had anyone, boyfriend or otherwise, to deal with people who called me for work since I have come to Cairo.  What is amazing to me is that it seems they respect you more (the impresarios), when you have a husband or boyfriend.    I thought it would hinder my finding work in Cairo, but it seems to have the opposite effect.  It’s really interesting and strange. When you sit back and think about it, I guess since it’s a male dominated society, it would seem to work better that way but I really never thought it would help.  I have seen it with my own eyes, but I didn’t think it would be like that for me.  What a relief it is though, to know that I can hand the phone over to my man and he can deal with the situation.   Most of the time he doesn’t get upset because it’s what men in Cairo do, they are taught to take care of their women.  I appreciate it immensely, and I’m really lucky that he respects me and my work and I can call on him to help me out.

Getting back to the story, I called impresario number 2 back and said, “Please speak to my husband”.  He said “Sure, no problem”, so I handed the phone over.  Impresario number 2 begged and pleaded and told him he would lose the contract if I did not come to work tomorrow.   So he told him “Well, impresario number 1 introduced you to Aleya so it wouldn’t be right for her to go to work with you behind his back, just as if she went to the hotel behind your back you would not appreciate that”.  He said “Please!! I tried to call her impresario but he is not answering me because we had a fight.  I want him to take her but he won’t answer me.”  I thought this was kind of funny being that we are in Cairo, there are many dancers here, and I never thought anyone would beg me to work.  Unfortunately, because I know this guy and have worked for him before, I felt a kind of satisfaction that he was begging.

I know other belly dancers would take the work,  because I have also seen that,  but I just didn’t feel right going behind my impresario’s back.  If he says the guy is no good then I have to listen to him.  He has brought me the majority of my work in Cairo and if I lose him, I might gain more or less but I have to be honest and put myself in his shoes.  If it was reversed would I feel ok about the situation?    I can say honestly that I would not like it.   So impresario number 2 relentlessly called me and I never picked up any of his calls after that.  Somehow this tactic also works in Cairo, as well.  They respect you more when you ignore them.  I have never been like that and in America I would never do that but here in Cairo, don’t ask me why, it works when you are a Bi—!   Loool.  I have also seen that with my own eyes and it’s very difficult for me to do in business since I have always been very professional,  but I am getting the hang of it.  I think I’m finally learning. 

The first part of the show was long with many dancers.  Each dancer did a song and sometimes a drum solo.  It almost felt like a dance party.  The show started with Magda who is from Argentina.  She is living and working in Cairo.  She has the balletic way of the Argentinian style of belly dance with beautiful long hair and great back extensions.  Next up was Simona of Italy who was fun and Yael Zarca from France who has a beautiful fluid style and is gorgeous.  Aziza of Italy performed next and ended with a great drum solo.  Then came Dariya Mitskevich from Russia,  who has previously won the competition.  She is always beautiful and gorgeous and she has amazing hips and shimmies and spins to knock you off your seat.  Munique Neith from Spain followed who also has beautiful, fluid dancing.  Then came Nagy from Hungary and Nelly from Greece who is now dancing in Dubai.  She is a powerful belly dancer, full of energy.  Amir Thaleb from Argentina came next in a white jewel encrusted pants costume and is the consummate showman.  I have never seen him dance live so it was a pleasure to watch him.  His style is very different from Tito who I really love so much.  He is much more balletic and fluid whereas Tito is completely Egyptian style (which of course I love, being that I live in Egypt). The last dancer was from Hungary.  She is about 13 years old.  It was her first time dancing with live band. (sorry I had her name wrong and don’t know it  in case anyone does).

Dinner was served, buffet style in another room across the hall.   The food was good as any buffet in Egypt.  I enjoyed it but as always with every buffet, I ate too much!   My eyes are always bigger than my stomach.

After dinner Leila from Cairo came to the stage.  I love her style.  In my opinion she was the most Egyptian style dancer.  Of course she is gorgeous and always reminds me of a model belly dancing.  She is lovely to look at.  She had a great saidi costume that was too die for.  The color was so brilliant.  It was turquoise with a dark rhinestone hip belt and edging around the bra.  She really got the crowd going and she is so earthy in her movements.  I really enjoyed her show.  I didn’t get a chance to video much,  as I ran out of battery with all the other dancers before her.  I was really upset about that but I don’t have a spare battery, and since Jillina was also coming on I had to save some for her as well.

Jillina came to the stage and she reminded me of the black swan in Swan Lake.  She wore a black corset with wings attached to it.  She is also a great show woman and always thinking of things to make the show interesting. The wings came off along with the corset and she had a gorgeous black and white costume underneath.  Her second song was Baid Anak,  which is beautiful and great.  They changed the lighting on the stage and it was darker and my pictures weren’t as good as I wanted them to be which was really upsetting but I got a few shots.  Her second set started with the shabby song “Morgheha”.  She had contacted me to ask me what shabby song to use and I suggested this and a few others.  I am glad she chose this, another dancer said it was her favorite piece that Jillina did.    It was great and everyone in Cairo loves this song.  It’s especially good when it’s played with a live band.  She ended with a Tahitian style drum solo complete with the Tahitian grass skirt over her costume.  It was really exciting.  Jillina always does amazing drum solos, she has been on the stage her whole life and a show by Jillina is always fantastic.

Ahmed Elkhtip ended the night accompanied by his own band.  He came out covered in a sleeveless jacket with a hood which kind of made him look like a veiled woman. lol At the end of his first song he took off his jacket to reveal his hair which he recently shed for the show.   This was a surprise for most everyone who knows him so it was exciting and lots of oohs and ahhhs were heard.  He has been growing his hair for a long time and had braids that suited him nicely, and now he’s almost shaved but handsome as always.   His set mostly consisted of Egyptian shabby music which is my favorite music lately so I loved it. He has become an amazing entertainer and  everyone came up on the dance floor.  It was a total party atmosphere.  Good times were had by all and next year I’m sure it will be even bigger and better!    Enjoy the photos.

This year I decided that I just didn’t want to bop around on stage so at the first dance party I danced to CD to Alf Leyla wa Leyla.  I had just taught a few workshops in California and the choreography was fresh in my mind, I also really like the choreography.  I wore one of my new favorite costumes, a hot pink number from Mamdouh Salama that I think is stunning.  I thought the performance was really good and I was hoping the organizers were watching, as of course being a teacher, I would love to teach at the festival.  I have not had the opportunity although I have attended every festival for the last two and a half years.

To make a long story short, I decided just a few hours before the competition to enter.  I have done many competitions before and have won awards and I have said I was done with competition, but as I would like to teach I thought I should join since my style is very Egyptian and I could possibly get the attention of the festival to teach.  I have also been told by some very high profile stars of Cairo that I am a great dancer and they love my Egyptian style more than so and so dancer who won the competition before.  As we all know, sometimes competitions are political and I figured if I at least place it would be good.

I have been dancing a long time.  I have taken class with every teacher imaginable.  I can’t say my style is very distinct like Randa Kamel or Dina for example, but I know I’m a good dancer and I’m also a very good teacher.

I asked a few people I know whose opinion I value,  what they thought and they all said yes I should enter.  As I was talking to a very good friend of mine to ask his opinion, a teacher came up to me and told me how much she enjoyed my performance two nights previous and said it was so great just to see someone dance relaxed.  She said she was happy when she saw me because she felt like she could breathe and just enjoy it and I was not over doing my dancing as is the general style lately in her opinion.  I said thank you and my friend said “you see, you should enter”.  So that kind of sealed the deal for me and I came home to practice a bit before the competition.

As I was practicing, I started having doubts.  “Why should I do this?  I don’t have to prove anything. -I have been dancing too long to enter competition and I shouldn’t do it.  I already dance in Cairo and I don’t need to say to anyone I am good enough.” All the little voices in my head were rolling around and around.

I called my boyfriend to tell him how I was feeling and he said, “Enter.  I saw you dance, and you are great.  Go have fun and don’t worry about it.” I said, “ok you’re right”, and I told the little voices to shut up! 

I arrived at the competition, took my number and went to change.  As I was changing, a contestant asked me, “Oh will you be dancing with the band?  Are you going to do a show?”  I said, “No, I’m in the competition”.  She look at me with a perplexed look on her face and said, “But, but you’re a professional.  I’ve seen you dance.  You’re great”.  THEN- I felt like an idiot and that I was making a really big mistake, but it was too late to back out.  I was in and that was that.  So I said to her “Yes, but I would love to teach  so maybe if I can win something then they will ask me to teach.”  Then she said, “Oh, I thought you were already teaching here, well you’re right maybe this will be the way.”

Cut to…end of the night.  We all finished performing.  There were about 28 contestants which was quite a lot considering the turn out of girls at the festival.  I thought at least I would place, but I did not.  I was crushed.  I’m not one to let things like that crush me and I didn’t cry or get crazy, but I felt bad inside.  All I could think of was that I made a very big mistake and why am I trying to prove myself?  Also, to be beaten by girls who have maybe been dancing less than half the time I have, also made me upset.  In almost every competition I’ve been in I have placed in the top 3 at least.  It was a crushing blow to my ego.

The next day I was still upset about it.  What made matters worse was that I was upset BECAUSE I was upset.  LOL.  If that makes any sense to you.   My boyfriend said he needed to call my mom for the manual on me to answer that statement.    What I mean is that with all that is going on in the world, really, should I be upset because I lost in a belly dance competition?  People are getting killed everyday in the Middle East.  There are wars and revolutions right now at this very moment, and I’m upset because I lost a belly dance competition?  So what did I do?  I went SHOPPING!!    Food shopping to be exact,  because one of my new creative passions is cooking.  I love to shop and look for interesting items at the supermarket.  That night I came home, cooked a beautiful dinner and felt better.  As I always say, sometimes you don’t get what you want the way you want it, but I live in Cairo, I dance here and I’ve danced at the Pyramids, the Nile Maxim Boat, the Nile Pharoah Boat and Camelia has asked me to cover for her at the Grand Hyatt Boat.  I’ve danced at a palace in Qatar for the royal family.   I teach, I have students who adore me and people who really love the way I dance.  After I put it all into perspective, I don’t need an award to tell me I’m good.  I dance in Cairo and that’s good enough. 

Update:  So I went to Ahlan wa Sahlan to hang out with Jillina and Princess Farhana.  When I went to say hi to Raqia Hassan we said our hi’s and she asked where I have been.  Then she told me “Aleya, you will teach here at the festival next year.”  I answered “Inshallah”.  So I will see you in class next year at Ahlan wa Sahlan!  

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