A Sudani Wedding in Cairo – YSL

Many moons back, ‘Young Sudan Lad’ (aka YSL) featured in many of MB’s posts, from his days in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. People move on in life and a lot of Nile water may have passed under the bridge since back then, but MB and YSL have kept in occasional contact since both moved their separate ways some ten years back. YSL moved from Saudi to France where he somehow wrangled a French Passport, and a few years ago moved to his present home in London.

Back in those same Saudi days, MB even got an invitation to the wedding in Khartoum of the cousin of YSL who was also known to MB. On that occasion, MB stayed in the Khartoum family home of YSL. Today, as a result of the war, that same family home is ransacked by one side or the other and a lifetime of memories and treasures have disappeared. The very kindly mom of YSL treated MB like one of her own during that trip but sadly passed away in the intervening years. She was on the minds of many during the YSL wedding event, especially on the mind of MB.

Anyway, out of the blue a few weeks back, MB receives a WhatsApp message from YSL as follows:

“Might get married end of this month in Egypt if everything works out. Would you be able to come?”

The message intrigued MB much. The word “might” and the “if everything works out” were pregnant with intrigue and wonderment, and even for easy-going YSL, this message of imminent nuptials was on the ‘extremely’ end of laid back.

Also-laid-back-MB replied immediately:

“Sure. What date and where in Egypt?”

And that is how MB and partner BR came to attend the Sudani wedding of YSL in Cairo to fellow-Sudani bride Monia on 27 June 2024.

And what a wedding it turned out to be!

There is a large Sudan diaspora scattered around the world for almost as long as there is an Irish one. Many of that group have fled the country in very recent years as a result of the ongoing civil war, which is killing many and causing hunger that may develop into a larger famine, if it hasn’t already. So if you happen to be one of that diaspora and you happen to be planning a wedding, then a home venue is out of the question. Many Sudanis have fled to neighbouring Egypt, so Cairo offers a sort of temporary home from home for many, and an eminently suitable venue for a wedding party to lift spirits in presently dark Sudani days.

The wedding venue was a ‘wedding resort’ in Cairo called Al Masa Hotel that has no equal in Ireland in terms of scale. It is owned by the Egyptian army, stands next to the Ministry of Defense, and is a stunning 5-Star complex. It has some 5 wedding halls, so multiple weddings can be celebrated on any given day. The gardens and surrounding complex woodlands are manicured to ‘Augusta GC’ standards and many restaurants are hidden amongst the trees to be discovered as one wanders about the extensive lavish grounds.

MB and BR had a full day to kill before the evening wedding service, so decided on breakfast aboard a Nile Riverboat. A hearty Arabic breakfast was wolfed back as the fast-moving current dragged tree branches and other foliage from upstream along the river surface, maybe even from neighbouring Sudan where the Blue & White Niles meet to form a single river. For a little while, in the bright morning sunshine, it looked like the shimmering river surface was brimful of Crocodiles, but driver/guide Suliman assured his first-time Cairo visitors that one needs to travel some distance upstream, 25km or so, to find any Nile crocks. Thank God & St Patrick, muttered MB to himself!

The old city centre area of Cairo is know as the City of 1,000 Mosques, and from any elevated location one can see multiple minarets stretching out into the vast city distance. Former US President Barak Obama (one of the quieter former Presidents!) visited two historic mosques during a visit to the city in years past, and MB followed in the same footsteps, both mosques being over 1,000 years old. There are also a number of vast graveyards in that same city area, which are big tourist attractions, something similar (but not as ornate) as the Cimeriere du Pere-Lachaise in Paris.

Mosque Nr 2, the Muhammad Ali Mosque, sits atop Cairo’s Citadel and offers great views out over the vast cityscape.

Cairo, the city more generally, is run down and old and decrepit for the most part and badly needs a lick or two of paint. The city, including the neighbouring city/suburbs of Giza and Al Nasr and others, comprise a total population of some 22M+, so MB obviously only saw a minuscule portion of the whole, but the city was mostly underwhelming from the evidence that came before the eyes of MB. Maybe another future MB visit is required to do the city more justice.

So that more or less wrapped up Day 1 of the Cairo visit, before the evening wedding party.

To be continued………………