Between April 15th and May 9th, I traveled with Sahra Kent, a dance ethnologist, with her tour JtE 3&4 (Journey through Egypt). This was my 5th trip to Egypt, two were with tour groups, 3 were on my own. JtE and Sahra introduced me to several folk styles I had not previously seen or studied in addition to several tourist sites I had visited in the past. The first 12 days were spent in Cairo. Next we took the sleeper train to Luxor where we spent 5 days. From there we took a bus long the Nile to Aswan where we spent 4 days before returning to Cairo via the sleeper train.
Before the tour officially started, I had a few days to wander and re-familiarize myself with Cairo and my skills at crossing the street! I visited a few of the fair trade shops and the famous souk, Khan el-Khalili. I also got a jump start on my fitting for my Nubian dress that I would wear at our graduation ceremony in Aswan.
Here I am in Mahmoud El Gafar's shop with Sahra, Maggie, and our seamstress for our first fitting, in Khan El Khalili with an Erk Sous seller (a liquorice juice), and a view of the Nile from our hotel on Zamalek.
I will feature highlights from this study tour in posts to follow...