Community

I saw this on Sandra's site (www.raks-sharki.com) and thought it was a great idea. I find myself, for various reasons, including that I've chosen an isolated place to live, a little isolated. Go figure.

So one way to share ideas and experience is to post them. Here are some things that I think are interesting or important or might you save you some of the hassle or heartache I went through.

We are all different. That's what makes this dance form so great. So I certainly can't guarantee that my tastes will be the same as yours,...

 

Organizers

We have all had great organizers and not so great organizers. The latter are not worth mentioning but the former deserve our praises! Here are some great organizers I have worked with:
Stania Muzikova Czech Republic www.saffrontribe.cz
Sabuha Shahnaz, Germany www.sabuha.de

 

Music  Costume resources  Travel

 

 Music

Music  I can't live without:

Nour Eddine- Music of Morocco in the Riff Berber Tradition. (Warning Track #2 is a  religious song and some Moslems may become angry if you perform to it.)

Helm

Sirocco CD I

Armando Mafufo - Uncle Mafufo's  Drum Song for dancers

  

Music I enjoy and  perform to:

Smadj - Take it and Ride

Hossam Ramzy - The Best of Baladi and Saaidi, Secrets of the Eye, Best Of Om Kolthoum

Cheb Mami    (Algerian modern and traditional, some rap)

Clotaire K    (Lebanese modern, some rap)

The rough guide to Morocco, the Sahara, Turkey, Rai  (these are good mixes with some dance music and some just great for listening)

Al Yaman - Hurriya (www.Al-Yaman.cz   electronic, singer has an amazing voice)

Selim Sesler (Turkish Rom)

Reda Darwish (great drum solos)

Rachid Taha

Khaled

Tarkan  (Turkish pop)

Musa Eroglu (traditional Turkish)

Ziad Rahbani (his music goes from traditional, to cheesy, to dark modern, to jazz)

Niyaz - Niyaz (persian/modern, singer has a beautiful voice)

Aynur Dogan (amazing singing from Kurdish woman)

 

Music that isn't the best for belly dance but I love it anyway

Gokhan Birben - Asa Sevdam (Black Sea Turkish)

Kardes Turkuler

  

Costume resources:                                 

If you want great beads that are bigger than seed beads, this company makes beautiful faceted, clear and A/B finished beads. 

www.drda-glass.cz  email: info@drda-glass.cz

 A/B stands for aurora borealis and it's also sometimes called fire polished. My favorite are the 4mm, in faceted or diamond faceted. The people at this company are very nice! They have allowed me to buy smaller quantities than they usually sell.

1 mass = 1,000 beads. I usually buy 2 mass for one costume.

The English part of the site is not working but if you email them they speak English. Check out "Brousené perle" (4^th choice down in the katalog) and MC perle' (5th down).

 Costuming goes much faster with the bigger beads

For great Tribal jewelry, specializing in Persian pieces...
www.persepolis-orient.com I've only bought from them at events (not their site) but they are very nice people.

 www.costumegoddess.com   is a great site for costume makers.

Shira www.shira.net also has some of Dina's (the costume goddess) patterns on her site as well as lots of other interesting things.

 

Travel

 ISTANBUL

 

For those traveling on a budget to Istanbul, I recommend the Istanbul Hostel, Kutlugun Sokak 35, Cankurtaran (near Aya Sofia)  +90 212 516 9380    info@valide.com
Or if you want to be closer to local Turkish night life, Istiklal near Taksim. Contact me for further info.

A great coffee house with nargile (water pipes) in Taksim is near the Galatasarai Lycee on a short ally off of Istiklal. Olivya Sokak is the street, it's on the right go up the few steps. My favorite was the window seat. (a landmark is the Barcelona Patisserie on the corner of Istiklal).

The Victoria Restaurant at the end of the same street (Olivya Sokak) on the left has great mezes and traditional Turkish music on the weekends.

A good place to see live Turkish Roman music and the locals who dance to it, is Badehane. This tiny club is just off Tunel square. General Yazgan Sokak 5.

Nearby is a pleasant restaurant with very good food, Meshur Halk Koftecisi. It's just off Tunel at the beginning of the very narrow street lined with music/musical instrument shops.

In the Grand Bazar, if you are looking for Afghani, Turkmeni or Uzbeki jewelry, there are lots of places. They have a lot of the same stuff but also each one is a little different. 

Tell them I sent you!! (I don't get any 'kickback' but it is nice for them to know and you can get better prices.)

My favorite shop is AK-GUMUS, run by Muhammad Rahimoglu. Gani Celebi Sokak #8. Tel: +90 212 526 0987, email: ak_gumus@hotmail.com. He is easy to find: enter by the Beyazit gate (Bus station). Cross the Gold street, walk in/down pass the Sark ("shark") Cafe. Look for the WC sign on the Left and turn up that narrow street. Go past the WC and on the courner is a tiny shop overflowing with treasures. www.ak-gumus.com

Another grood one is Terlikciler Sokak no. 57,  Tel: +90 212 512 1794  on the right side if your going down hill. The keeper's name is Haryettin Abdulrahim or his brother Yusuf will be there. They are very nice and no pressure. They were talking about moving across the street.

Also great is: Nasip on Yorgancilar Caddesi no.31  Tel: +90 212 512 3408 (They are just around the courner from Muhammad) email: ahmetnazari@hotmail.com  they were also very nice, no pressure and good prices.

A good bus company in Istanbul for travel within Turkey is Özkaymak Büyük st. Otogar No:78 bayrampasa
Tel: 658 04 75 - 658 04 76 (0212) 65804 77 - 658 04 78

Also Kamil Koc tel:444 0 562, +90 212 658 2010, www.kamilkoc.com.tr They also have an office off of Taksim Sq. near the Marmara Hotel.

If you want further Istanbul recommendation email me  bjhurley@hotmail.com

 

 KONYA

For those of you who might go to Konya while in Turkey to see Rumi's Center, mosque and burial place (Mevlana) or to Catal Huyuk, a good clean, quiet hotel is Hotel Ulusan. The owner is very helpful, if a bit straight-laced. If you want a cheaper, definitely more questionable hotel but less conservative, there is one on the same small street behind the post office PTT off  Mevlana Cad.

If you want to go to Catal Huyuk and you are one traveler or two, I suggest haggling for a taxi. It's possible to go by public transit but not all the way. They wouldn't rent a motorcycle to a foreigner when I was there (insurance problems). The "tour" places were expensive, over 125 Lira. I got the taxi down to 50 Lira with the help of a Turkish friend.

I enjoyed my time in Konya. The people were friendly, the Mevlana was spectacular and the bazars good. They had nice, very inexpensive rhinestone jewelry in the market behind Mevlana Cad.

 

 

 

BODRUM

for a holiday at the seaside, I recommend Bodrum. If you want a smaller place that isn't so crowded. There is not alot to see but it is beautiful and very relaxing. Here the Islamic dress codes do not apply. Bring your bathing suit and swim in the very salty sea.

A small, nice hotel, near the beach is the Pasha Hotel. Even thought it is close to the biggest disco in Bodrum (Halikarnas) it is quiet at night. www.otelpasha.com, e: adali-099@hotmail.com
address: Zeki Muren Caddesi No: 5