Subscribe to The Culturist
Search
Official Honoree of the 2012 Webby Awards

The Culturist was selected as an Official Honoree of the 16th Annual Webby Awards in the Blog - Cultural category. List of all the honorees.

The 2011 Bloggies

The Culturist won Best Asian Weblog in this year's Bloggies. Thanks to everyone that voted. List of all the winners.

Archive-Category
Archive-Monthly

Entries in Ramadan 29 (8)

Thursday
Sep092010

Ramadan Morning in Cairo by Karim Shaaban

This episode of Ramadan 29 shows us a quiet and empty Cairo, shot after the Fajr prayers between 6am and 9am. Cairo is such a congested city, so it's nice to see it first thing in the morning before the daily rush sets in.

 

 

www.vimeo.com/channels/ramadan29

Thursday
Sep092010

Nass Makan by Karim Shaaban

Nass Makan (People of Makan) is a project by the Egyptian Centre for Culture and Arts that brings together musicians of Egypt and Sudan to keep alive the rich history of folkloric music and also exploring new directions with their music. Gypsy Music from the Delta joins hands with Zar songs and Sudanese music styles, traditional instruments join contemporary ones.

For this episode of Ramadan 29, Karim Shaaban recorded this song when he attended a concert at Makan. I really like the music, it does have a mellow start, but the tempo changes gradually.

I really want to learn more about the Nass Makan project, so expect more posts and videos in the near future.

www.vimeo.com/channels/ramadan29
www.egyptmusic.org/nassmakan

Thursday
Sep092010

Sheikh Ahmed Al Tuni by Karim Shaaban

 

Sheikh Ahmed Al Tuni is known as one of Egypt's great Sufi singers, but I must confess I didn't know about him till I saw this video by Karim Shaaban filmed in Alexandria, Egypt for the Ramadan 29 series.

Al Tuni has quite a following and has performed across Europe and even appeared in and contributed to the soundtrack of Vengo. I've always been very intrigued by Sufism and the relationship between music and spirituality.

Enjoy!

www.vimeo.com/ramadan29

Thursday
Sep022010

Ramadan in Alexandria by Karim Shaaban

 

I like this episode of Ramadan 29 shot in Alexandria. I've never been to Alexandria, but I suspect it's more relaxed than Cairo.

Set to a jazzy version of Fayrouz's Habaytak Bil Sayf, enjoy the colourful sights of the this city. 


www.vimeo.com/channels/ramadan29

Friday
Aug202010

Ramadan Lights by Karim Shaaban

Today's episode from the Ramadan 29 series is dedicated to the Ramadan decorations that can be seen on the streets, shops, restaurants, outside homes and mosques.

But it looks like this year, there's a Chinese influence on the streets of Cairo. It is bizarre to see Chinese lamp shades in the midst of the traditional looking Ramadan lights. Could this be the quirky side effects of globalisation?

 

Click to read more ...

Monday
Aug162010

Kiosk in Ramadan by Karim Shaaban


One of the things I miss seeing on the streets of Dubai are kiosks and newstands. They always add some colour to a street and I'm glad Karim Shaaban's Ramadan 29 series dedicated this episode to kiosk vendors in Cairo. 

Click to read more ...

Sunday
Aug152010

Ramadan in Al Hussein by Karim Shaaban


This episode of the Ramadan 29 series is set around Al Hussein in Cairo. It's a bustling area and even busier during Ramadan. Shaaban speaks to some of the people that work in this area, who share why they find this place to special.

The video doesn't include any subtitles, but I but together a translation below the clip (to the best of my abilities) so that non-Arabic speakers can enjoy it as well.

Click to read more ...

Wednesday
Aug112010

The First Fajr Prayer in Ramadan by Karim Shabaan

Karim Shabaan is a young film maker from Egypt. I first came across his work last Ramadan when he started his Ramadan 29 series, a daily series of short films documenting the different traditions of Ramadan across Egypt. I thought it was a great series, but unfortunately, I can't find any of them online now.

But the good news is that Karim Shabaan is back again this year with a new season and since this is The Culturist's first Ramadan, I will share some of his new short films here.

Click to read more ...