A pity

Few days ago I went to a concert by a lovely Sudanese "Rasha" at the Amir Taz Palace , it is always a treat to go there either through the citadel or through Sayeda Zeinab to probably the best restored Mamluk house in Cairo.



Having gone the day before to the Citadel , I picked the Sayeda Zeinab path this time around, and while going there I felt a profound loss for this amazing art nouveau architectural gem that consisted of a twin villa and was although derelict still standing a few month ago. I dreamt of schemes involving big companies or banks buying and renovating it for their pretigious head quarters .





Alas it will not Happen. This time when I went through there was only rubble. A few years ago, I had more or less the same feeling when I saw the Matatia bldg brought down.



Just for the record, I really believe that those who can bring down historical artifacts are the same brand as the Talebans whatever their religious tendencies, their political ideologies or their main line of business.






Arriving at Amir Taz palace , i was a bit less square with life. I had gone there a few times, The inauguration exhibition was held a year ago with a retrospective of Adam Henein's works. Again I was in awe by the magnificence of that ancestor of condominii, and descendant of antique villages.



In spite of a few problems with the sound system at least the sound was not as bad as the day before at the Citadel for the Souad Massi concert, who had an enormous attendance, packing the esplanade with an impressively sized audience and where strangely enough the two preparing acts before Souad had a decent sound . As soon as she started singing though, the quality of the sound system kind of collapsed. A pity because all who heard her recordings said she is quite amazing.




As everybody was in a "Festive" (Fete de la Musique) mood, nobody really minded and people did enjoy themselves , the site being as amazing as it is. A few of the people who attended though woke up with a headache the next morning.