Arab Music

This was a concert at the Jerusalem Center--the first or second week we were there, as I recall (you can see the Old City stretched out before you through the windows...it is probably the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life, but this movie doesn't do it justice!). I think it might have actually been Turkish music, but I can't find the program and I don't remember. But in any case, you get the point.

Dil, in part of our "culture shock" lecture last week, told us about Arabic music. And how they don't have the same kind of meter or rhythm as Western music, and how instead of harmony they focus on single lines of music--melody more than harmony. He said that he was leading a tour group from Dartmouth in the Middle East and was giving them a lecture about Arab music on the bus. He explained about the different rhythms and meters, and then had the bus driver turn on the Arabic radio station. He said after about 3 minutes they shouted at him to turn it off--they couldn't take it anymore!

Personally, I think this is beautiful, and every time I hear it, I can smell the streets of Jerusalem and I feel like I am walking in Damascus Gate. It is a sound full of history and emotion, and I love it.

Naturally, I just laughed when I heard Dil's story.

I am curious to know what any of your first thoughts are when you hear this!