One day. One day the Bellydance Museum will become physical, with all its treasures, open to dancers and lovers of Egyptian culture. Hopefully, it will look exactly how it does in my dreams - the first thing that will strike you would be the 4.5 m wide billboard with Samia Gamal on the main wall. At first glance, you would see vintage costumes and tons of items, such as engravings, postcards, press photos, and lobby cards in glass vitrines. There would be a few interactive corners. One would be devoted to 19th-century 3D stereoviews. You would be able to look through a vintage stereoscope and see 3D ghawazee dancers directly from 1890' stereoviews. Another corner would be a reading corner. With all books and magazines protected in vitrines, one would have a chance to digitally browse through the magazines or listen to readings of some of the main articles through headphones. There would be an old gramophone playing some of the vintage LP records. Well, I could go on, but I have to stop myself right here. This dream will take some time. Until then, I will continue with my collection and sharing the items with you.
During Kan Zaman Festival, I managed to make a virtual tour through my museum collection, featuring several unique items. And the video is now online!
Make yourself some tea or lemonade, and watch the recording of the tour. Enjoy the collection!
If you would like to support the Raqs Sharqi Museum, in searching for antique & vintage items, buying them, archiving them, preparing scans & translations, and publishing them online so everybody can see them for free, you can become museum's PATRON. Thank you for your help!