Characters of Egypt was the first of its kind festival for 3 days in the South of Egypt (near Marsa Allam) celebrating the many indigenous tribes of Egypt through the sharing of music, dance, poetry, food and sports. It was an incredible experience and I felt truly honoured to be able to be a part of such a unique and fascinating experience. For many of the tribes, it was their first time to meet and over the short time, much more than just music and dance were exchanged. (Some of the images have been taken by other people, some of which are credited but not all. Some great shots by Nabil Naim & Ahmed Hayman)
Wadi El Gemal, the natural protectorate host to the festival.
The tribes came from across Egypt and set up camp.
Ahmed making coffee (the real thick and spicy kind) in the morning.
Chillin in the main tent with some of the other volunteers before all the work began.
One of the stalls of bedouin craft we set up.
Local transport.
The main camp in Wadi El Gamel.
Our camp...
... which was tormented by the strong winds, like the rest of the festival on the second day.
The sharing of music, dance and poetry in the evenings was like nothing I have seen before.
A sprint through the desert - one of the games held each day.
The police made themselves very comfortable during the festival.
One of the most incredible things to watch - barefooted high jump in the sand clearing a rope at shoulder height!
Volunteers hard at work with the kebabs.
One of the managers of the centre hosting the festival (WESC), and a good friend, Sarah.
With friends Maha & Heba.
Hazem!
I unfortunately left before the last day to join the course in Cairo, but all the tribes went into the wadi on the last day to join the local Bashary tribe to pray for rain which hadn't fallen in 12 years. It rained 4 days later.
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