Umm Kulthum stands in her dressing room busy selecting a dress to wear for her concert. She takes a lavender-colour dress and puts a diamond crescent on it. She arranges her hair and puts on her shoes. Now she is ready for the audience.
This scene formed into my mind for a moment once I entered her museum. The gleaming, shining dresses are the first thing to see there that helps me imagine that scene.
“Those on display are not all the dresses she had. Those remained 22 years after her death once the government thought of establishing a museum for her,” Hatem el-Bialy, director of Umm Kulthum Museum told Egyptian Mail.
The museum showcases Umm Kulthum’s personal possessions, such as her dresses, accessories, shoes, handbags, scarves, handwritten notes, her trademark sunglasses, photographs, recordings and awards.
Dubbed ‘Star of the Orient, Fourth Pyramid and Voice of Egypt’, Umm Kulthum (1908-1975) was one of the greatest singers in the history of Arab music who was active between the 1920s and 1970s.
When she held her monthly concert on Thursdays, the streets were empty, as people rushed home to listen to her on the radio. For those who attended her live concerts live, their experience was deeper with the enjoyment of her romantic, patriotic and religious songs with their well-composed unmatched melodies.
Opened in 2001, the museum is in the grounds of the Manasterly Palace, Manial district of Cairo on Roda Island in the Nile. It is affiliated to the Culture Ministry’s Cultural Development Fund led by Fathy Abdel Wahab.
“The idea of establishing a museum for her goes back to 1997. The Ministry of Culture contacted the singer’s heirs to collect what remained of her belongings to put in the museum,” el-Bialy said.
Despite the low lighting and the dark colour of the walls, the gleaming dresses on your right makes the hall shine.
The light colours of most of her dresses can tell you about her personality — she loved life. The dresses also are long with long sleeves, reflecting her conservative family with a religious background. At an early age, her father helped her to recite the Quran and she committed the holy book to memory.
Listening to her songs which are played in the museum at low volume makes you forget the outside world.
You can read pages of her diary, which is a clear as if she had written them yesterday, thanks to periodic restoration by the Egyptian National Library and Archives.
One entry reads: “On Jan 3, 1952, I will sing Raq El-Habeeb at the request of Queen Nariman (King Farouk’s wife).” This was six months before the July 23 Revolution which toppled the monarchy.
Photos of her at different stages of life are on display in a collage — with her family, while acting and performing in concerts in and out Egypt, highlighting her patriotic role.
“Visitors of different nationalities are astonished when they know about her patriotic and charitable role. They told me that they thought she was just a mega-star,” el-Bialy said.
On display are photos and thank-you letters to Umm Kulthum for her support for the Egyptian military by holding fundraising concerts in many Arab countries. She also supported organisations that cared for the wounded following the 1973 Egypt-Israel war.
On display also medals and certificates of appreciation from Egyptian and Arab leaders, including an award for merit presented to her by King Farouk in the 1940s. She was the only person to receive this award reserved for the royal family and politicians.
In one hall visitors can listen to Umm Kulthum reciting the Quran in addition to all her eternal songs. Another hall shows a 27-minute film with English and French subtitles about her life.
Spending time by the Nile next to the museum is a pleasant experience during the visit. The calmness of the place helps you relive the good old days of the diva and her concerts.
Umm Kulthum Museum is open daily from 9:30am to 4:00pm. Tickets for foreigners cost LE20 and foreign students LE10.