Quick answer
Egypt has been the capital of Arab music for a century, home to Umm Kulthum, Abdel Halim Hafez and Mohammed Abdel Wahab, whose songs still play in every taxi and café. Alongside that classical tradition you will hear Saidi folk music, Nubian rhythms in Aswan, Sufi chant, street-born shaabi and its electronic offspring, mahraganat. The best places to hear it live are the Cairo Opera House, small heritage venues in Islamic Cairo and Aswan's Nubian bands.
Why is Egypt the heart of Arab music?
In the 20th century Cairo had the Arab world's recording studios, radio, film industry and greatest singers all in one city, so Egyptian songs and the Egyptian dialect spread from Morocco to Iraq.
Records were being cut in Cairo before the First World War, Egyptian State Radio began broadcasting in 1934, and from the 1930s the film studios made musicals that toured the region. In 1932 Cairo hosted the Congress of Arab Music, bringing musicians and scholars from across the Arab world and Europe to debate the future of the tradition. The result is that the classic Egyptian repertoire is shared across the region much as the Great American Songbook is in the West. For Australian travellers, the easiest way in is to ask your guide or driver for their favourite song: everyone has one, and most will sing it.
Who are the great Egyptian singers?
Five names define the golden age: Sayed Darwish, Umm Kulthum, Mohammed Abdel Wahab, Abdel Halim Hafez and Farid al-Atrash.
- Sayed Darwish (1892–1923): the Alexandrian composer who brought everyday Egyptian speech and street rhythms into song. His "Biladi, Biladi" became the national anthem.
- Umm Kulthum (died 1975): a village sheikh's daughter from the Delta who became Kawkab al-Sharq, the Star of the East. Her live concerts, broadcast on the first Thursday of the month, emptied the streets; a single song such as "Enta Omri" (1964) or "Al-Atlal" (1966) could last an hour as she repeated and varied lines at the audience's demand. Millions followed her funeral through Cairo.
- Mohammed Abdel Wahab (died 1991): singer, film star and the most influential composer of the century, who brought Western instruments and harmonies into Arabic music.
- Abdel Halim Hafez (1929–1977): the romantic voice of the Nasser era, nicknamed the Dark Nightingale, star of many films.
- Farid al-Atrash (died 1974): a Syrian-born oud virtuoso and film idol who made his career in Cairo.
The Umm Kulthum Museum, in the grounds of the Monastirli Palace on Roda Island beside the Roda Nilometer, displays her famous sunglasses, scarves and recordings. Check opening hours before you go.
What instruments will you hear?
The classical Egyptian ensemble, the takht, is built around the oud, qanun, nay and percussion, later joined by violins; regional music adds the mizmar, rababa and frame drums.
- Oud: the fretless, pear-shaped lute at the centre of Arabic music. Its lack of frets allows the quarter-tones of the maqam scales.
- Qanun: a trapezoid zither laid on the player's lap and plucked with picks on the index fingers, with small levers to retune notes mid-song.
- Nay: an end-blown reed flute with a breathy, haunting tone, central to Sufi music.
- Tabla and riq: the goblet drum (also called darbuka) and a tambourine with heavy brass jingles, which keep the rhythm.
- Mizmar and rababa: the loud double-reed pipe of Upper Egypt, heard at weddings and with tahtib stick dancing, and the two-string spike fiddle used by the poets who sing the Hilali epic, the Sirat Bani Hilal. Both tahtib and the Hilali epic are on UNESCO's intangible heritage lists.
What are Egypt's regional and religious traditions?
Beyond Cairo's classics, Egypt has strong regional sounds: Saidi music in Upper Egypt, Nubian song in Aswan, the simsimiyya lyre of the Suez Canal cities, and the Sufi chant and zar rituals of religious life.
- Nubian music: call-and-response singing over frame drums and clapping, sometimes with a lyre. Ali Hassan Kuban, Hamza El Din and the Aswan-born pop star Mohamed Mounir took it to the world; our guide to Nubian culture explains its place in village life.
- Simsimiyya: a small lyre played in Port Said, Ismailia and Suez, with songs of the canal and its wars.
- Sufi inshad: devotional singing at saints' festivals, led by famous munshidin; see moulids in Egypt.
- Zar: a drumming and chanting ritual historically led by women, now also presented on stage in Cairo.
What is shaabi and mahraganat?
Shaabi ("popular") is the brash, witty music of Cairo's working-class districts, and mahraganat ("festivals") is its 21st-century electronic descendant, made on laptops and blasted at street weddings and from tuk-tuks.
Ahmed Adaweyah made shaabi a national sensation in the 1970s, to the horror of the classical establishment; later singers such as Hakim brought it into the mainstream. Mahraganat grew up in Cairo's informal neighbourhoods around the late 2000s, with heavily Auto-Tuned vocals over fast electronic beats, and Hassan Shakosh's "Bint el-Geran" became one of the most streamed Arabic songs around 2020. Egypt's Musicians' Syndicate has repeatedly tried to restrict mahraganat performers, which has only added to its appeal for the young. Mainstream Egyptian pop is led by Amr Diab, whose 1996 hit "Habibi Ya Nour el-Ein" is still played everywhere.
Where can you hear live Egyptian music?
In Cairo, look to the Cairo Opera House for classical Arabic music, the heritage venues of Islamic Cairo for oud, tanoura and zar, and El Sawy Culturewheel for contemporary bands; in Aswan, Nubian groups play in restaurants and on dahabiyas.
- Cairo Opera House: the Arab Music Ensemble performs the classic repertoire, and the annual Arab Music Festival, usually held in November, brings singers from across the region. Check the programme for your dates.
- Beit al-Oud: an oud school in the restored Ottoman house of Bayt al-Harrawi, near Al-Azhar, which has hosted small concerts.
- Arab Music Institute: a 1920s building on Ramses Street with a small museum to Mohammed Abdel Wahab, and occasional concerts.
- Al-Ghuri and Makan: the tanoura troupe at al-Ghuri and the Mazaher zar ensemble at Makan; our tanoura guide has details.
- Contemporary: El Sawy Culturewheel in Zamalek and Cairo's music bars; see Cairo after dark.
Venues and schedules change often, so treat these as starting points and check at the time of your visit.
Can you buy instruments in Egypt?
Yes: Muhammad Ali Street, Cairo's historic street of musicians, still has oud and qanun workshops, and Khan el-Khalili sells decorated tablas and tambourines. A handmade oud from a workshop costs far more than a tourist-shop piece but plays properly; ask a musician friend or your guide to help you choose. Drums with goat or fish-skin heads and instruments with untreated wood or bone inlay may need to be declared to Australian or New Zealand biosecurity on arrival, so keep the receipt and read our guide to bringing souvenirs home.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the most famous Egyptian singer?
Umm Kulthum, the Star of the East, who died in 1975, is still the most revered singer in the Arab world. Abdel Halim Hafez and Amr Diab are close behind in popularity.
What is the main instrument in Egyptian music?
The oud, a fretless lute, is at the heart of Egyptian and Arabic music, alongside the qanun zither, the nay flute and the tabla drum.
What is mahraganat?
Mahraganat is an Egyptian electronic street music that grew out of Cairo's working-class neighbourhoods from the late 2000s, combining shaabi singing with fast electronic beats.
Where can I hear traditional music in Cairo?
The Cairo Opera House, the al-Ghuri tanoura show, zar at Makan and small concerts in Islamic Cairo's historic houses. Check programmes when you arrive.
Can I bring a drum home to Australia?
Usually, but skin drumheads and untreated wood may need to be declared to biosecurity on arrival. Declare it and keep the receipt.
