(DNE Photo)
Numerous events are taking place in Moez Street in Islamic Cairo and many other historical and non-historical areas during Ramadan. The events celebrate the holy month and encourage visitors to spend time in a special way, offering a special kind of tourism for the holy month, often referred to as Ramadani tourism.
This kind of tourism usually consists of showing the people the historic mosques and the Islamic cultural sites. The events’ programmes also include enjoying an “Iftar” meal or breaking fast and watching several tanoura (whirling dervishes) or religious chanting shows.
An event named “Breaking fast in Moez”, organised by the Al-Mahata Initiative, will take place in Moez Street. The event was expected on Wednesday, but due to the assassination of Prosecutor General Hisham Barakat on Monday, and the three days of mourning, the event was postponed to Thursday.
The event costs EGP 55 and starts from 5:00pm until 10:30pm. The event’s programme includes a tour with a trained tour guide showing the people the monuments of the street, an Iftar meal, a photo session with a special photographer, a puppet show and a tanoura show, according to one of the Al-Mahata Initiative’s founders, Ahmed Raafat.
Regarding the demand on these kinds of events, Raafat added that once they post the event on their Facebook page, tickets are sold out in two hours, adding that the event can serve between 60 and 100 persons.
“Al-Mahata was founded three years ago by myself and Nourhan Samir. We were a group of students from Cairo University organising cultural events across the country to inform people of the touristic sites available in their country, and then it turned into an initiative last September,” said Raafat. “Our target is to reach the largest number of people and inform them of their history and the touristic sites through trained and certified tour guides.”
Moreover, the Moez Street Ramadani Carnival is another event that will be held in Moez Street by Unusual Egypt Event Planner on 4 July. The event costs EGP 75, with a similar programme to Al-Mahata’s event.
Meanwhile, other places near Moez Street are renowned for their special sohour meals, such as Zeinab Khatoun Cafe, a historical open air cafe where people can have a meal to the sound of live oriental music and a tanoura show between the tables.
However, it is not only historic places that offer special programmes in Ramadan – many restaurants have also changed their style in Ramadan, such as The District.
“The District serves a special sohour evening on its rooftop with live oriental music and live religious chanting by the famous chanter, Zein Mahmoud and other numerous bands and singers every night,” said The District’s CEO, Mazen Helmy.
He added that “at The District we care about creating a safe place for people to enjoy their time and networking”.
