Meeting along the borders: Reflections on Egyptian secular music and dance in travel accounts

This article explores the notion of Egyptian secular music and female solo improvised dance in travel accounts of the European and American travellers in the 19th century. Its goal is to reflect on the encounters of travellers with the “new” and “exotic” bodies of Egyptian musicians and female dancers. This will be done by presenting literary as well as iconographic sources from that period, mostly paintings and sketches made by the travellers themselves. Furthermore, the article will explore the dynamics of this newly established cultural relationship between two seemingly different sides, the West and the East, as we know them today.