El Tanbura - Friends of Bambouty

El Tanbura are a collective of veteran Egyptian master musicians, singers, fishermen and philosophers. For the past 20 years they've been custodians to some of Egypt's oldest folk melodies at their home in Port Said, the Mediterranean gateway to the Suez Canal. Band members dress in an eclectic mix of gallibiyas and Levis with Gucci sunglasses, fez and Nike caps. Their music is driven by the seductive call of the Simsimiyya - an ancient lyre dating back to the times of the Pharaohs.