Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum continuous to be an icon, almost 100 years after she published her first record. But what about the other famous women of the 1920s? In his new book, historian Raphael Cormack tracks down the female founding figures of Egypt’s modern entertainment industry. Interview by Anna-Theresa Bachmann
Singing, dancing, drinking: back in the 1920s, Azbakeya – a
district in downtown Cairo – was the centre of Egypt’s entertainment
industry. In the introduction to your recent book "Midnight in Cairo –
the Divas of Egypt’s roaring 20s" you even write that "in its heyday, the nightlife of Cairo could rival that in London, Paris or Berlin". What made Cairo and the Azbakeya district of the 1920s so special?
Raphael Cormack: The centre of Azbakeya and the Azbakeya Gardens were laid out during the first half of the 19th century under Mohammed Ali’s reign. But it was during the second half of the 19th century, that Ali’s grandson "Ismail the Magnificent" turned Azbakeya into Egypt’s modern nightlife and entertainment district, opening Egypt’s first opera house there in 1869, as well as other theatres and a circus. At the same time hotels, theatres, and dancehalls sprung up. By the 1920s, Cairo was a boom town, full of new investment, new development and one of the most cosmopolitan places in the world. You could almost call it "the Dubai of the 20s". This was one of the great cities of the world. But places like Cairo are not often written into the history of the 1920s. This book is an attempt to correct that.
What traces of the period can travellers and locals discover, when walking the streets of Azbakeya?
Cormack: The opera house famously burned down in 1971 and has been replaced by a big carpark. But if you walk around Azbakeya today, you will find many traces and the shells of former buildings. For example, an old door from one of the theatres is now being used as the entrance to a post office and the old Alhambra Casino, once run by artist Naima al-Misriyya is now a shop selling car parts. The old Egyptian Theatre on Abd al-Aziz Street has become a cinema, while its shell is now used as storage for many of the shops around.
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