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Egyptian Music Goes Waaaay Back

Egyptian music is ancient…as Sheikh Ahmed Al Tuni of Egypt will show us in this Islamic (Sufi) ritual.

When historians of music say Egypt has always been at the musical forefront in the Middle East, they may as well mean always–according to ancient Egyptians, the god Thoth invented music and the god Osiris used it as a tool to help him civilize the world. Egyptian music may not have originated at the dawn of time, but it certainly did begin a long while ago–fifteen hundred years or more–as we know from the remnants of ancient Egyptian rhythms and melodies still present in ancient Sufi Muslim dhikr rituals. Dhirk rituals take place at Muslim and Coptic traditional celebrations called mulids, which are held to celebrate particular saints.  Watch this video of Sheikh Ahmed Al Tuni, one of Upper Egypt’s most accomplished ritual singers.

Turkish Plot Twist

Turkish whirling dervishes turn us ’round and and ’round….
We end our week of music from Turkey, this nation that historically has held public secularism so dear, with a religious twist. The Melevia Order of Muslims was founded in Turkey by folloers of 13th century Perisan poet Jalāl ad-Dīn Muhammad Rūmī, also known as “Mevlana Celaleddin-i Rumi.” The Mevlevi are “Sufis” — those who practice a “mystical” Islam. They are more publicly known for their spinning dances, as we see in this video, which they do while engaged in the devotional “dhikr.” The term “whirling dervish” can be used to refer to a member of the Sufi movement, or, more broadly, those who have chosen to devote themselves to spiritual service. In this video we meet the “whirling dervishes” of the Galata Mevlevi House in Istanbul.