Monday, April 14, 2008

Marcel, keteer 7elwe

Recent comedy breaks in the misery:

1. While in Mahalla we had to keep an extremely low profile because of the habit of the Mahalla police station to suck journalists into its bowels. Foreign-looking journalists were prevented from entering Mahalla on Friday in any case, at police checkpoints. It didn’t help that 1. I look and sound foreign and 2. Wael Abbas, high profile blogger and jailer of torturers was in our party.

Even Jennifer Rush, the 80s singer we endured on the way to Mahalla on Sharshar’s “Old is Gold” hits tape seemed to know something we didn’t when she bellowed out I’m heading for somethingggggggggg.

Luck was on our side that day. We thought it was game over at the police checkpoint when a policeman asked for our IDs. We were sure that he would notice the foreigner and Mr Abbas in the back. In a moment of pure cinema, just as he was about to look at my ID his superior came bounding over and admonished him for checking IDs without an officer being present. The officer politely told us that we could proceed.

The many activists and journalists who were detained – illegally - at checkpoints outside Mahalla for hours were not so lucky.

Once in Mahalla we consumed beverages in a coffee shop and then walked at high-speed back to the car. Rounding a corner, we went past a police car full of plain-clothes policeman just as two youths walked past, one of whom shouted out at top volume “DAH WAEL ABBAS!” [IT’S WAEL ABBAS!]

2. Being an aficionado of all things Lebanese, Sharshar was particularly excited when it was announced that bearded Beiruty crooner and Oud maestro Marcel Khalife is coming to Cairo. He proceeded immediately to the Tagamoa party headquarters to buy tickets, and found that they had all sold out.

Not to be defeated he searched, assiduously, for tickets, and found that he could get some from a friend of his, Nagy. Nagy told him that he had got the tickets from the black market. The ticket tout had wanted 250 le for them, to which Nagy said “mesh keteer schwaya, 250 geneeh?” [isn’t 250 le a bit much?] to which the tout responded “ya basha deih Marcel Khalifa, deih gamda geddan! Mozza!” [mate, you’re talking about Marcel Khalifa, she’s really fit].

14 comments:

Q said...

hamdella 3asalama!

fully_polynomial said...

Why on earth are tickets being sold at 7ezb Al-Taggamo3?

Anonymous said...

Marcel Khalifa, Mozza Extraordinaire.
Hee hee. Hee hee hee.

Scarr said...

Ramy: Allah yesalemak.

Fully P: As I understood it, Marcel has come at the invitation of el Tagammo3. During a press conference day before yesterday he announced that he was a lifelong socialist.

El Tagammo3 are allegedly paying 250,000 LE for him and his crew to stay at the Nile Hilton. Not sure if this is true or even credible.

Seneferu said...

lol, I hope that isn't true (the 250,000).

Q said...

could it be both untrue and credible?

Anonymous said...

Am I mistaken or is it true that #2 is loaded with sarcasm?

Scarr said...

Ramy: Yes, and true and incredible.

Iman: Explain please.

Anonymous said...

Hi Amnesiac,
Never mind ...I guess you're just quoting someone...However, as far as I know 'mozza' is not a reference made to men ...and when addressing men you don't say 'deih' you say 'deh' ... anyway, where you able to confirm the Nile Hilton stay? One of the many things I wish people would stay away from is spreading claims they cannot prove. I don't know what point you were trying to make by mentioning the Nile Hilton stay for 'him and his crew.'

Scarr said...

Hi Iman - re. use of mozza and not used for men. That's the point.

Forsoothsayer said...

i think, iman, that she's saying that the ticket seller thought marcel khalifa was a female artist.

Anonymous said...

amnesiac, I'm not THAT slow,heheh, bas bardo lissa mesh fahmeh what you mean. Are you saying that Marcel is not man enough or something along those lines?! :S

Also, I really find it very hard to believe that so much was spent on a hotel stay. I believe artists like Marcel would reject such stay!

fully_polynomial said...

Iman, no disrespect meant, but you might be slower than you think. There is nothing more to what was said other than what Forsooth explained above.

Anonymous said...

that must have been quite supenseful, having to keep a low profile as to avoid any problems. I bet it was exciting though and worth it!
~Kadir