A journey down Egypt’s Red Sea coast to find Sufi saints and a mystical lyre

A journey along Egypt’s Red Sea coast explores the simsimiyya, a five- or six-stringed lyre linked to the region’s seafaring heritage. In El-Quseir, a community gathering shows how music and local history remain intertwined, while efforts to preserve the songs help maintain a cultural connection shared across the Red Sea.

The article describes a Hazz night hosted by Bahar, a local organisation working to protect El-Quseir’s heritage and marine environment, in the town’s former mayoral house, built in 1888. Founder Aly El-Sayed says sailors on long voyages reserved space on their dhows for simsimiyya players; the author also recalls explorer Alan Villiers’s account of crews singing and dancing aboard ship. The journey began with a debate in Cairo over whether Egypt is more Mediterranean or Red Sea, settled at the table by the instrument’s cultural ties across the region.