Egyptians unite for Dromedary Days Festival.
Posted by The Comedy Guy at 2/7/2011 9:21 AM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Egypt Hosni Mubarak Hosni Mubarak camel dromedary civil unrest Fox news John Waldron Thecomedyguy
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Egypt Hosni Mubarak Hosni Mubarak camel dromedary civil unrest Fox news John Waldron Thecomedyguy
By AHMAD SEDKI-TALIB, Associated Press
CAIRO - Balloons. Street vendors. The smell of falafel in the air. Despite weeks of murder, looting, and civil unrest, thousands of both supporters and opponents of embattled president Hosni Mubarak threw down their swords and took to the streets today to celebrate Cairo's annual Dromedary Days festival. The fete, rivaled in attendance only by Rio de Janeiro's Carnaval, draws an estimated quarter million visitors during the first week of February. "We we're a bit worried due to the political uprising over the last few weeks", said event organizer Gamal Hassan Mohieddin, "but we've endured these types of distractions for almost four thousand years, and rarely have to cancel the celebration".
A stalwart of the Mesopotamian region, the Dromedary Days Festival continues to attract thousands of visitors each year. But it hasn't always been that way. Attendance during the latter half of the nineteenth-century waned, and the festival was on the brink of ending its forty-century record of success. Fueled by the Dinshaway Incident of 1906, the annual celebration of the large, even-toed ungulate seemed to be nearing it's end. Amazingly, the festival enjoyed a resurgence, due once again to American intervention. In 1913, a fledgling U.S. tobacco company, R.J. Reynolds, adopted the animal as it's mascot, and the nicotine-fueled populous who enjoyed a Turkish/Virginia blend responded. Sales soared, and the festival has maintained record-setting attendance ever since.
While tensions in the region run high, most of the citizens are able to dispense with their political viewpoints and enjoy the celebration's storied history. "Tomorrow, if I sees (sic) these men on the street, I will kill them", offered participant Atef al-Ganzouri, "but today, we stand side-by-side in the tug-of -war contest". The festival runs through this weekend, and tickets are available through Ticketmaster. The event concludes with an open-air musical concert featuring local favorite Lady Gaza, followed by perennial favorite The Bangles, an 80's American pop group who continue to mesmerize Egyptian aficionados with their gyrating, on-stage performance and regionally relevant lyrics.
AHMAD SEDKI-TALIB is founder and senior fellow of the American Cultural Studies Foundation. He is a part of a group of foreign policy experts that the White House has consulted with in recent days concerning the situation in Egypt. He also publishes TheComedyGuy.com, and writes under the pseudonym John Waldron.
CAIRO - Balloons. Street vendors. The smell of falafel in the air. Despite weeks of murder, looting, and civil unrest, thousands of both supporters and opponents of embattled president Hosni Mubarak threw down their swords and took to the streets today to celebrate Cairo's annual Dromedary Days festival. The fete, rivaled in attendance only by Rio de Janeiro's Carnaval, draws an estimated quarter million visitors during the first week of February. "We we're a bit worried due to the political uprising over the last few weeks", said event organizer Gamal Hassan Mohieddin, "but we've endured these types of distractions for almost four thousand years, and rarely have to cancel the celebration".
The event, which has been held annually since 1475 BC, celebrates the regions most revered and disdained animal. Originally conceived by Pharoh Hatshepsut, the first festival was little more than an excuse for the Pharoh to display her ostentatious collection of handbags and designer footwear. Subsequent festivals were restructured to celebrate activities more suited to every-day Egyptians, and the festival enjoyed a resurgence that lasted almost three thousand years. Due to the political unrest which has historically plagued this region of the world, organizers have had to resort to creative efforts to maintain public enthusiasm for the yearly festivals. This year's events include a Molotov cocktail toss, an AK-47 shooting gallery, and American-built tank rides, funded in part by the $1.3 billion in military aid provided by the United States in 2010. Ironically, anti-American sentiment runs deep in this country, yet U.S. dollars continue to pour in despite worsening economic conditions from Egypt's donor country. In spite of this sobering news, the festival continues to thrive, a tribute to the enduring allure of the ubiquitous two-humped sultan of the sand .
A stalwart of the Mesopotamian region, the Dromedary Days Festival continues to attract thousands of visitors each year. But it hasn't always been that way. Attendance during the latter half of the nineteenth-century waned, and the festival was on the brink of ending its forty-century record of success. Fueled by the Dinshaway Incident of 1906, the annual celebration of the large, even-toed ungulate seemed to be nearing it's end. Amazingly, the festival enjoyed a resurgence, due once again to American intervention. In 1913, a fledgling U.S. tobacco company, R.J. Reynolds, adopted the animal as it's mascot, and the nicotine-fueled populous who enjoyed a Turkish/Virginia blend responded. Sales soared, and the festival has maintained record-setting attendance ever since.
While tensions in the region run high, most of the citizens are able to dispense with their political viewpoints and enjoy the celebration's storied history. "Tomorrow, if I sees (sic) these men on the street, I will kill them", offered participant Atef al-Ganzouri, "but today, we stand side-by-side in the tug-of -war contest". The festival runs through this weekend, and tickets are available through Ticketmaster. The event concludes with an open-air musical concert featuring local favorite Lady Gaza, followed by perennial favorite The Bangles, an 80's American pop group who continue to mesmerize Egyptian aficionados with their gyrating, on-stage performance and regionally relevant lyrics.AHMAD SEDKI-TALIB is founder and senior fellow of the American Cultural Studies Foundation. He is a part of a group of foreign policy experts that the White House has consulted with in recent days concerning the situation in Egypt. He also publishes TheComedyGuy.com, and writes under the pseudonym John Waldron.
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