Music, echoing from the far corners of Fustat, under the wholesome sun as well as the star-studded night sky, is the perfect accompaniment to the vibes of good humour that wraps all attendees for three days straight. Some are vaguely recognizable melodies, others are totally unfamiliar, yet all share the power to unite, in one language everyone understands.
Although Nubia’s flaring rhythms left an indelible imprint on the Characters of Egypt Festival in 2008, luring as it did children and adults alike into the ensnaring web of its festive songs, it was none other than Nubian Awad Abdel-Hafez Awad who expressed being “stunned by the music of Siwa and Farafra,” stating that hearing their singing and seeing their instruments were the highlights of the festival as far as he was concerned. Such mutual admiration and cultural exchange is precisely what Characters of Egypt aimed, and succeeded, to accomplish since its first round.
By setting itself as a focal point for tribal cultural interaction, the festival will again, in 2009, host musicians from each tribe to perform their distinctive traditional music on handcrafted instruments - mainly string, wind, and percussions. This year, the setting of each tribe’s dwelling tents was given special planning for the sake of music. After each action-packed day, guests will be able to walk from tent to tent and hang out with each tribe around its private fire, sipping its own version of coffee and tea, while imbibing its unique understanding of musical harmony.

In 2008, the men of Siwans enthralled the crowds with their fascinating dances on long wooden poles and those of Farafra displayed the unrivalled synchronisation of their bodies to the beat of tabla. Drawing participants from every tribe and guests from all nationalities within their circle, the Nubians’ pulsing cadence turned the main tent into a hive bursting with swaying energy. Al-Bashariya, on the other hand, captivated the crowds with their African-leaning dances, assisted by leather shields and long swords as they leaped in the air.
In addition to the various tribes’ specific dances, each symbolizing a different story, Characters of Egypt 2009 will host a grand finale where all these various desert men follow the same rhythms in unison – an oscillating explosion of movement, verve and spirit.

Many of the tribes' languages are unwritten languages, and oral traditions are the vessel on which the tribes' history and lore is carried from one generation to the next.

In 2008, storytellers from Sinai, Farafra and Siwa attracted avid listeners who grouped around the expiring embers of the fire late into the night, the suspense of their tales palpable in the crisp air of Fustat. This year, a storyteller from each of the teams participating at the festival will captivate guests with the stories relating to his very own oral heritage, evoking the heroes, perilous journeys, and otherworldly presences that have fed the imagination of his tribe’s children and adults alike for hundreds of years.
Bedouins will once again attest to their dexterity with words in Characters of Egypt 2009 through the scheduled poetry recitals and competitions. In accordance with the honourable prominence that leading poets hold in desert communities, tribesmen will sharpen their skills even beyond the excellence of the previous year’s creations, each team vying for the much-coveted title of Best Poet.
Wordsmiths of the various tribes mesmerised the assembly in 2008 with the proverbial brilliance of their poetry. “She'r Nabaty (poetry which is directly inspired by the surroundings), can prove complex for urban ears, yet it is easily comprehended by the Badou [Bedouins] across the Arab world,” explains the most prominent poet in Sinai and winner of the 2008 Characters of Egypt Poetry Award, Haj Hussein Eid, whose poem is transcribed and translated below:

Abdeit bism elli ala al alam rageeb
Ya khaleg al ensan min teenen rateeb
Wi khaleg al jannat l'eshhab al habib
Wi khalagt elli wogoudha nass wi hajar
Al khatawi elli megassemha al kareem
Wel hagawi besaheb al arsh al azeem
Wi a'oudhou berrahman min sharr al rajeem
Westakhert Allah wi naweit al safar
Min ard Sina elli biha esht wi radeit
Wi shebe't fiha min al maaani wertaweit
Wi katabt beit al she'r yom enni naweit
Ajabel wojouh al nashama wabtesher
Ehna doyouf Allah fi Marsa Alam
Fiha rajal, fiha hayaa, fiha karam
Wi fiha osoud yeshhad lahom hebr al galam
Wi yeshhad lahom seif al maragel fil khatar
Wi magsoum li fi rehleti aaref naas
Min sobou' al badeya khayr al jenas
Yengedou koll el maani bel ehsas
Wakhoss nasen tefham bebo'd al nazar
Wi taheyya lel sho'aar fi yom al sebag

I begin, in the name of He who watches over the pen,
O Creator of man from damp clay
And Creator of Heaven for the Prophet's companions
And Creator of that the men of which are fuel.
Steps are divined by the Provider,
And supplications are raised to the God of the Throne,
The Merciful is my shield against the Devil's evil.
I prayed for Allah's guidance intending on travel
From the land of Sinai whence my content living,
Where I have wandered and quenched my thirst.
I wrote these verses the day I sought
To meet the faces of brave men and rejoice.
We are Allah's guests in Marsa Alam
Where we found manhood, grace and generosity,
Lions, to which attest the ink of our pens
And the chances of valor in menace;
I am destined to encounter on my travel
Lions among the Bedouins, finest of races,
Safeguarding values with their passion.
To the foresighted I dedicate my words,
And salute the poets on this day of match.

Each tribe, as guest of the event, is provided with enough supplies to engage in its customary hospitality and invite guests to share its culinary traditions. Tribal fare is simple but delicious, using a variety of unusual cooking techniques such as burial in embers and hot sand, as well as fascinating combinations of ingredients unlikely to be heard of in urban kitchens.

In 2008, weika (a relative of okra), madida (a sweet dish based on flour, milk and bean sprouts) and magly (a mix of puréed dates with cardamom and tamarind) delighted any guest who dipped a spoon into the tasting plate. The Second Annual Characters of Egypt Festival promises delicate palates a real challenge as each tribe will cook a number of sweet and savoury dishes under the watchful eye of food lovers.
Following the food tasting exploration, guests can admire the mountain range stretching over the horizon while sipping rounds of gabana – the answer to every coffee-lover’s dream: roasted on the spot over fire, the coffee beans turn from their original green to a rich dark brown and are then manually ground in a wooden container before being mixed with ginger, brewed and served sweetened in espresso-sized shots. Should you sip your gabana as a storyteller’s enchanting account captures your imagination, you can be sure to experience a moment of true bliss.