The Egyptian coastal port of El-Quseir serves as a vital center for safeguarding the simsimiyya, a traditional five- or six-stringed triangular lyre shaped like a horned gazelle. Community groups such as Bahar collect historical sea ballads and host live gatherings known as Hazz nights to keep the art form alive. During these events, musicians perform acoustic chants honoring coastal life, seafaring history, and regional ports inside an 1888 repurposed bungalow. This musical tradition also serves as a shared heritage connecting Egypt to other Red Sea nations, including Yemen.
Key points
The simsimiyya historically accompanied sailors on wooden dhows traveling long distances…: The simsimiyya historically accompanied sailors on wooden dhows traveling long distances between Arabia and East Africa.
Traditional acoustic sessions focus on preserving rhythmic maritime chants rather than st…: Traditional acoustic sessions focus on preserving rhythmic maritime chants rather than staging modern commercialized music shows.
Preserving lyre music maintains an important cultural link shared between Egypt and other…: Preserving lyre music maintains an important cultural link shared between Egypt and other Red Sea neighbors like Yemen.
Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1
El-Quseir is pitch black at night. The only light inside this decaying labyrinth of a port comes when a battered Bajaj motorcycle purrs down the odd alley, casting a headlight on one of the town’s many stray dogs, or a passerby flashes a phone, lighting up a decaying wooden balcony.
The old mayor’s house is easy to find in the darkness. It emits a warm, golden light. When I arrive, a crowd is already gathered on the colonnaded veranda; some men in djellabas, others in the uniform skinny jeans of the Middle East.
I spot the odd Cairo hipster among them. The women attendees are especially radiant in make-up. Why shouldn’t they be.
Tonight is a Hazz night, the name, which in Arabic means luck, given to soirees down Egypt’s Red Sea coast, where the simsimiyya, a triangular lyre, is played to ballads about old ports, friendships and legendary seafarers.
The simsimiyya looms large over El-Quseir.
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