Whirling Sufi Dancers

Wikalet al-Ghouri: The Wikalet al-Ghouri in Islamic Cairo was built in the 16th Century by Qansuh al-Ghouri, a Mamluk sultan. A wikala was a warehouse and merchants hostel. Functionally it provided shelter for traveling merchants coming from all countries to trade in Cairo. Carefully restored, it is now a cultural center. There is a marble fountain in the middle of the courtyard. The combination of dark mashrabiyya windows overlooking the courtyard from the top floor, and the striped marble building materials, makes it an impressive structure.

Al-Tonoura Troupe: This group performs Sufi folkloric dances, which I attended October 17, Wednesday evening, at Wikalet al-Ghouri. The dancers spin in place, whipping their brightly coloured skirts into a mesmeriaing kaleidoscope of patterns. At the end of the dance, they simply walk off without a waver, as if they haven’t just been spinning around in a circle for ages. It’s dizzying just watching them! Wikalet al-Ghouri is just behind al-Azhar Mosque, approximately opposite Khan al-Khalili and short walk away from the Market of the Tanners and other sites of Old Cairo. Walking around the 1,000-yr. old Al-Azhar university-mosque and visiting the shops in Old Cairo (not the ones for tourists in Khan al-Khalili) at night was captivating.

Sufis: Sufism is defined by its followers as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. It's the name for the internal, esoteric aspect of the religion, as opposed to its more formal, ritualistic practices. The whirling dance or Sufi whirling that is associated with dervishes is best known in the West by practices (performances) of the Mevlevi (associated with the Persian poet, Rumi) order in Turkey. The formal ceremony is only one of many Sufi ceremonies performed to try to reach religious ecstasy. The name Mevlevi comes from the Persian poet, Rumi who was a dervish himself. This practice, though not intended as entertainment, has become a tourist attraction–which it seemed primarily to be in this case. The photo to the left displays a hand-sewn covering I bought in the market near Al-Azhar.

Mashrabiya is a type of projecting bay window, enclosed with carved wood latticework located on the second story or higher of a building. One of the major features of the mashrabiya is for privacy, an essential aspect of Arabic culture. A good view of the street (especially by women) can be obtained without being seen.

A Sufi cymbal clapper.