Historic Photos from the Golden Era

The caption at the bottom of this photo says (in English):

"Almâs, a distinguished Arab singer."

Her career was slightly before that of Shafiqa el-Koptiyya and Bamba Kashar. Almaz died in 1891.

Bamba Kashar was the very first Egyptian dancer to appear in a film. It was a silent movie called Leyla made in 1926, released in 1927, and it was in fact the first feature-length Egyptian movie ever made. Bamba played the role of a dancer named Salma.

The role of the nurse in the film Leyla was played by Mary Mansour. Mary was the owner of a popular sala on Emad El Din street and was one of Badia Masabni's fiercest rivals in the early days when Badia opened the first of her five nightclubs.

Bamba Kashar was one of the dancers known for performing with a shamadan (candelabrum) balanced on her head. Today, a number of the albums of music for Oriental dance include a song titled "Bamba Kashar" for use with shamadan. Some say this song was originally composed for her.

In 1974, a biopic titled Bamba Kashar was made about her life, directed by Hassan al-Imam.

This photo of Bamba Kashar is from the 1800's. Several photos of 19th century dancers feature the unibrow, so it appears to have been a fashion among women of the time.

I have a picture of Abou El Hamouli's wife Almaz with a really thick sort of unibrow from right around the same time period. Bamba Kashar does have very dark eyebrows in all her photos, but in the others they looked even and were the same size. In this photo, her eyebrows appear to be a different shape from each other, making me wonder whether someone painted them in after the photo was developed.

This 1937 photo shows Beba Ezz El Din reclining on an assuit shawl. Beba Ezz El Din was the dancer who purchased two of Badia Masabni's nightclubs.

She purchased Casino Badia on Emad el-Din street in 1936 through devious means. Years later, in 1950, she purchased the Casino Opera when Badia sold it to retire to Lebanon.

Beba Ezz el-Din died less than a year later in 1951 in a tragic car accident.

Farid El Atrache sits outside Badia Masabni's club on Emad El Din Street with his oud.

Katcouta appears in this photo with Farid al-Atrache. She was an Egyptian dancer who appeared in over 20 films. She began her career in Alexandria. Her cousin ReeRee (or Riri) was also a dancer as well as an actress. She appeared in one movie scene dancing to Farid's song "Laila".

This photo was taken when they were at dinner with Lebanese actor Abdel Salam el Nabulsy. El Nabulsy was a familiar face in Golden Era Egyptian films. He appeared in over 30 films and played the part of Farid's rival Mimi Bey in Afrita Hanem.

Badia Masabni (near the left of this photo) sits with her musicians. In front of her, wearing Arab garb, is Farid al-Atrache.

I think the musician to the right of Farid holding the oud is Farid Ghosn.

In this photo, Layla el-Ghaziriya poses for a playful photo with Farid al-Atrache. Farid had written some songs for her to use. She danced to his song "Layla" in the 1952 movie Ayza Atgawez.

Layla el-Ghaziriya was also romantically involved with Farid el-Atrache for a time. He asked her to marry him and she refused. Layla acted and danced alongside Farid in a few movies in the 50s before she left the spotlight.

Another way to transliterate her name is Laila al-Jazairia, or Leila el-Ghaziriya.

These are photos of Hekmet Fahmy, one of the most famous dancers in Egypt during the 1930s, when she was known as Sultanet el Gharam (The Sultana of Romance). Hekmet worked at several popular salas including those run by Badia Masabni and Mary Mansour, and she was said to have danced for Hitler and Mussolini.

In this photo, Hekmet Fahmy shows off her sense of style.

Spying for the Germans

Hekmet Fahmy sits at a table in this photo with two military officers. I don't know whether they are German or British, because I'm not very familiar with military uniforms.

Although Hekmet Fahmy had become very popular as the leading dancer in the Egyptian nightclubs of her era, her fame became almost legendary after she was caught spying for the Germans and was sent to prison for several years. Fahmy's boyfriend, Johannes Eppler, entangled her in his spying ring, knowing that she despised the British. According to an interview that Eppler gave to People Magazine in 1980, "Fahmy would ply British officers with liquor, invite them to her houseboat on the Nile, and then take them to bed. Meanwhile, Eppler went through their papers and wallets in another room."

Fahmy and Eppler had been childhood friends. He was the stepson of a wealthy Egyptian and had been raised in Alexandria and Cairo where he went by his stepfather's name, Hussein Gaffar.

Movies Inspired by Hekmet Fahmy's Story

Several movies were inspired by the story of Hekmet Fahmy and Johannes (John) Eppler.

Foxhole in Cairo

A 1960 British film called Foxhole in Cairo Gloria Mestre, a Mexican actress in the role of the dancer / spy. A link to the film appears online, with the dance scene beginning at 28:35.

The Key to Rebecca

This 1985 made-for-television mini-series starred Cliff Robertson and David Soul (of Starsky and Hutch fame). The belly dancer spy, Sonja el Aram, was played by Lina Raymond.

This link leads to a video clip of the movie. The dance scene begins at about 27:50.

Al Gasusah Hekmet Fahmy

Nadia el Guindy stars in a 1994 Egyptian film based on Hekmet Fahmy's exploits called Al-Gasusah Hekmet Fahmy (Hekmet Fahmy, the Spy). This image shows the poster for the movie.

Hind Rostum wears a folkloric costume.

Katcouta appears in this photo with Farid al-Atrache. She was an Egyptian dancer who appeared in over 20 films. She began her career in Alexandria. Her cousin ReeRee (or Riri) was also a dancer as well as an actress. She appeared in one movie scene dancing to Farid's song "Laila".

This photo was taken when they were at dinner with Lebanese actor Abdel Salam el Nabulsy. El Nabulsy was a familiar face in Golden Era Egyptian films. He appeared in over 30 films and played the part of Farid's rival Mimi Bey in Afrita Hanem.

Layla el-Chakraa was the stage name of Badia Masabni's adopted daughter Juliette. It means "the blonde Layla". She also sometimes used the name Layla Al 3amriya.

This photo of Taheya Carioca and Layla el-Chakraa appeared as part of a 1939 ad for Casino Badia when Badia's club was functioning at the Majestic Theater. It was a year before Badia opened the Casino Opera.

In this photo, Layla el-Ghaziriya poses for a playful photo with Farid al-Atrache. Farid had written some songs for her to use. She danced to his song "Layla" in the 1952 movie Ayza Atgawez.

Layla el-Ghaziriya was also romantically involved with Farid el-Atrache for a time. He asked her to marry him and she refused. Layla acted and danced alongside Farid in a few movies in the 50s before she left the spotlight.

Another way to transliterate her name is Laila al-Jazairia, or Leila el-Ghaziriya.

This photo of Mary Yousef was taken in 1937. She was a dancer at Badia Masabni's club.

This photo of Nabaweya Moustafa and her new husband Mokhtar Hussein appeared in the magazine Al Aroussa. The text congratulates the newlyweds on their wedding and notes that it was a large event.

The couple went on to have three children, one of them a journalist.

Nabaweya was born in 1919, and died in 2001.

This picture shows Naima Akef celebrating her 25th birthday and holding her birthday cake.

The people helping her celebrate are, from the left:

• Singer Mohamed Fawzy
• Singer Kouka
• Naima's husband, director Hussein Fawzy
• Madiha Yousry who was the wife of Mohamed Fawzy and Zozo Maadi

Naima Akef was married to Hussein Fawzy for several years before they divorced. Naima then remarried and gave birth to a son.

This photo of Oum Kalthoum is from 1925.

Oum Kalthoum's birth name was Fatma Ibrahim El Beltagi. Her father used to call her Oum Kalthoum as a nickname, in reference to the Prophet Mohamed's daughter Oum Kalthoum, through his wife Khadijah.

In old Arabic the name Oum Kalthoum means "one with full cheeks", and in this context does not mean the mother of anybody. There are many Arab women with Oum Kalthoum as their first name — it's not an uncommon name, and it would not be shortened to just "Oum". Her last name is not "Kalthoum", it's "El Beltagi".

Why did Oum Kulthoum always wear dark glasses? These diamond studded glasses that belonged to the legendary singer can be seen on display at the Oum Kulthoum museum in Cairo.

Oum Kulthoum always wore dark glasses because she had a thyroid condition that caused her to develop exophthalmus, which is a bulging of the eyes. It's not uncommon for thyroid patients to suffer from exophthalmus. This in turn may also cause dryness of the cornea and sensitivity to light.

When Oum Kulthoum developed the condition in the 1940's, surgery on the thyroid was very risky because it could have damaged her vocal cords, with the possibility that she could completely lose her voice. She underwent treatment for her thyroid condition both in Egypt and in the United States over the span of several years.

According to an Egyptian friend of Priscilla's, the effect on Oum Kulthoum's eyes caused by the thyroid disease was also the primary reason that she ended her career in cinema. Her final film was in 1948. When she sang concerts in theaters, the television camera operators were instructed to not focus on her face or zoom in for close-ups of her.

Oum Kalthoum (in the dark glasses) and Badia Masabni enjoy a moment together as old friends reunited. This photo is the center of a collage displayed at the Oum Kalthoum Museum on Rhoda Island at Cairo, Egypt.

News of Oum Kalthoum's death on February 3, 1975 was announced to the Egyptian people by the Egyptian Minister of Culture himself. President Anwar el Sadat sent a representative to the funeral. It is estimated that millions of people turned out to bid her farewell. Time Magazine lists Oum Kulthoum's funeral as one of the ten largest celebrity funerals in history.

This photo shows the Lebanese singer and actress Sabah with her groom, famous actor Rushdie Abaza, on their wedding day. They married in Lebanon while he was there filming a movie.

Unfortunately, at the time Rushdie Abaza was still married to Samia Gamal, who awaited him patiently in Egypt. Until the day she died, Sabah maintained that he lied to her and told her that he had already divorced Samia. Sabah divorced him less than a week after the wedding because, as she said in an interview, he thought much too highly of himself and figured that he was the greatest star on earth — something that irked her to no end.

After the divorce, Abaza returned to Egypt and to his wife Samia Gamal, who had heard about the marriage on the news. She never reproached him, not even when he insisted on listening to Sabah's records for hours on end.

Years earlier Rushdie Abaza had been married to Taheya Carioca as well.

This is a 1962 photo of Suzy Khairy taken by Garo Varjabedian. She was a lovely golden era style dancer whose dance style evolved over the years as her more modern dance clips show.

Suzy was born in Alexandria. Her real name was Khaeriya Mohamed Khaery. Her mother was a well educated journalist who worked for a newspaper. Suzy followed in her footsteps by obtaining a degree in journalism.

Suzy Khairy was one of the dancers who along with Samia Gamal, Nagwa Fouad, and Suheir Zaki supported dancer Zeinat Olwi in her unsuccessful attempts to form a dancer's syndicate in Egypt (nekaba) in 1965.

Suzy married actor Mumtaz Abaza, the cousin of Rushdie Abaza. She made one final film in 1974 and then retired in the 70's to care for her family.

Some movies she appeared in include:

• 1958. Al Malema. With Yehia Shaheen.
• 1959. Qateia Tariq. With singer Hoda Sultan.
• 1959. Hassan and Marika. Starred Ismail Yassin and Maha Sabry.
• 1961. Al Safirah Aziza (The Ambassador Aziza). Starred Wedad Hamdi and Soad Hosni.
• 1962. Al Haqeeba al Sawda (The Black Suitcase). Spelled in imdb as El Hakiba el Saouda. The cast included Nama Akef and Estafan Rosti.
• 1966. Gharam fi Aghostos (Love in August). The cast included Fouad el-Mohandes, his wife Shouweikar, Mimi Shakib, and Nadia el-Gendy.

This photo shows Badia Masabni showing a young Taheya Carioca how to crochet.

Source and date of photo not known, but was may have been taken shortly after Taheya went to work at Sala Badia in 1933.

A group of friends has a good time together at the famous El Fishawy Café, a landmark inside Khan al-Khalili in Cairo, Egypt. Sitting against the mirrored wall is Samia Gamal, who is holding a small coffee cup in her hand. Next to her is Farid El Atrash.

On the other side of Samia is singer Shadia, who would become Farid's fianceé many years later. However, they would never marry due to his love of partying. Next to Shadia is actor Hassan Faik.

On the other side, to the right of Farid is actor Kamal El Shenawy wearing a suit and smoking shisha. And in the foreground is Taheya Carioca looking bored out of her mind!

This photo shows Badia Masabni, Samia Gamal and Taheya Carioca in their later years. This historic snapshot was taken long after Badia had sold her Opera Casino and had retired to Lebanon. Witness the joy of three old friends reunited.

Zizi Mustapha performs in 1974 for Aristotle Onassis and Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis.

The only information I have about this photo is that it was taken in 1920 at a wedding celebration in a village in Egypt, and the dancer is standing next to the bridegroom.

From what I can see, she is wearing a fringed hip scarf, black shoes, and a head scarf edged in coins. She seems to be wearing sagat (finger cymbals) on her hands. In one hand, she's holding a scarf or cloth.

• Historic Photos of Badia Masabni. Her career and her personal life.
• Van Leo: Photographer to the Stars. Photos by the legendary photographer featuring many Golden Era celebrities.

• Historic Photos of Samia Gamal. Photos of Samia, who was named "National Dancer of Egypt" by King Farouk in 1949.
• Gabriel Lekegian: Capturing Memories of Egypt. Features photos taken between 1870 and 1890.