WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN LATELY?

Egypt

Margaret Cho

Comedian/Actress/Author

*

I went to Cairo to study belly dance because I’m a belly dancer. The Ahlan Wa Sahlan festival happens once a year. Dancers come from all over the world. I’d never been to the Middle East before. I spent the days taking classes. I stayed right underneath the Pyramids and didn’t go once, which is terrible. The hotel, the Mena House Oberoi in Giza, is really beautiful. It’s really old. One day we went to the Khan al Khalili, the big marketplace in Cairo. I bought, like, 10 belly dance costumes.

Discovery: There’s a great whirling dervish show, a Sufi show, Wednesday and Saturday nights in the Citadel. Dervishes spin for 45 minutes or an hour. It defies logic and things like equilibrium.--Compiled by Leslee Komaiko