Tanoura Show at Wekalet El Ghouri
Do you want to see a very particular place in Cairo? Do you want to enjoy a musical and dancing show in Cairo? There is a very traditional dance and music that is more a spiritual art, which is the Darwishi dance. Also famous is the Tanoura dance, which is a spiritual heritage performance of music and dance. Enjoy Tanoura Show at Wekalet El Ghouri.
Wekalet El Ghouri is located in the center of Cairo very close to Al Azhar street and near Khan El Khalili; It is about 25 minutes from the Egyptian Museum and 20 minutes from the Citadel, and just a few minutes from Al Azhar.
The Egyptian Whirling Dervishes and Wekalet el Ghouri
In an ecstatically captivating trance, colourful skirts twirl against the backdrop of a caravanserai from the 16th century. This dates back to Jalal ad-Dumi, a famous Sufi poet, who lived in the 1200s. Sui whirling, which is more meditation than dance, is a dervish practise that helps practitioners become closer to God and let go of their ego. Additionally, it is a tradition that has persisted for centuries, been preserved by many Sufi organisations, and is performed in important historical and cultural sites around the region, including Cairo.
Even now, being a dervish demands a tremendous amount of effort and devotion. Additionally, in order to appeal to visitors, the practise has been greatly watered down. You can now find dervishes performing in hotels, on boats and many other venues around the country. While training is definitely not easy these performers are not members of any Sufi order. They are considered to be folk dancers.
One of the few locations left where genuine Sufi whirling can still be found is Wekalet El Ghouri.
Wekalet El Ghoury: Our most recommended tours and activities
Cairo: Egyptian Heritage Tanoura Dancing Troupe Show: Discover traditional dancing and music at the Wekalet El Ghoury Arts Center with this tour that offers pickup from Giza or Cairo. You can enjoy local culture and the spectacular spining skirts during the whirling dervish. The Wekalet El Ghoury Arts Center is a architechurally significant building that was built during the reign of Mamelukes. Local talented musicians play traditional music . Additionally, the dancers appear and begin to move to the Egyptian folk music.
Wekalet el Ghouri’s Private Islamic Cairo and Tannoura Sufi Dance Performance
Get to dive into the old Islamic Cairo on a fully private day visit, including dinner and a tannoura whirling dervish show. Visit the Ottoman-style Muhammad Ali Mosque at salandin’s Citadel and see the Sultan Hassan, Ibu Tulun and other mosques. Stroll through the markets to three of Cairo’s medieval gates, and enjoy an Egyptian dinner and hypnotic evening courtyard tannoura show at the Wekalet el Ghouri center.
Al Tannoura Egyptian Dance Troupe
Al Tanoura Egytian Dance Troupe is an architecturally stunning arts center in El Azhar area in Central Cairo, operating under the ministry of Culture and the Cultural Development Fund since finalizing restorations to the Wekalet in October 2005. It has become a hot spot for organizing cultural events. The most popular being the bi weekly El Tannoura dance performance. The performance is similar to the more commonly known whirling dervishes, however, this version of the indigenous dance incorporate instruments and other additional elements.
History of the Area
El Azhar area hoses three other cultural centers , which are all worth a visit. They are Beit El Harrawy, Beit El Sehaimy, and El Ghouri palace. Each brigs a variety of cultural activities and events to the area.
The original center was built in 1504 A.D. by sultan Qunsuwah El Gouri. The wekalet Sultan El Ghouri served as one of many trading hubs throughout the Mamluk dynasty. Known as wekala during the time, it served as a meeting place for traders as well as a home for the traders’ families.
In august 2005, plans on how to develop the building into a cultural center were being considered. At that time there were already three other art centers in the same zone of historic Cairo. The establishment’s director then sought to find a means to balance the region’s heritage with its residents. The performance by El Tannoura was a wise option for the venue. The Wekala hosts a variety of other activities, including international folk art performances and guest Arab singers and musicians.
El Tannoura Performance
The center is easily recognizable by its’ beautiful architecture, as well as the queues of people awaiting the start of the show. The show is free of charge. this is the policy of the Cultural Development Fund. The funding comes from renting out the venue for special events, or from the gift shop. For the El Tannoura shows, 60 percent of the audience is tourists. The performers come out with an array of instruments such as tamborines to flutes. They also have solo singers that perform. Another part of the performance is the dancing known as Sufi Tannoura Dance. This is part of the Sufi ritual. One more part of the dance incorporates a more spectacular dance more bsed on the showing of skills and costume design.
