Mystical marriage of St. Catherine with the Child Jesus

Public Domain Photo: Mystical marriage of St. Catherine with the Child Jesus, lime wood sculpture with gold coloring and gilding, Master of Morlin-Epitaphs, Augsburg (1510), Bavarian National Museum, Munich

According to tradition, Saint Catherine of Alexandria (also known as ‘The Great Martyr Saint Catherine’ and ‘Saint Catherine of the Wheel’) became a martyr when she was beheaded on the orders of the Roman Emperor Maxentius.

Born in Alexandria, Egypt, in 282 AD as the daughter of Queen Sabinella and King Costus who governed Alexandria, she was of extraordinary intelligence and a reputed scholar well-versed in sciences, arts, philosophy, etc. Though born a pagan princess, she became a Christian in her teens, and vowed to remain a virgin throughout life. Catherine had a vision of Jesus Christ and Virgin Mary who gave her to Jesus in mystical marriage.

On reaching adulthood, Catherine visited the Roman Emperor Maxentius and tried to convince him of his moral errors in persecuting Christians who refused to worship pagan gods. In response, the emperor asked his best pagan orators and philosophers to debate on the issue with Catherine. She defeated them in the debate and converted them to Christianity. But, enraged at this, Maxentius executed all the converted philosophers and orators and tortured Catherine by imprisoning her.

During her imprisonment, over two hundred people, reportedly, visited her, including Empress Valeria Maximilla (wife of Maxentius) and all of them too converted to Christianity. The emperor responded to the conversions by executing all of the converted people.

Convinced that imprisonment and torture did not change Catherine’s views, the emperor tried to win over her by proposing to marry her. But she told him that she had consecrated her virginity to Jesus Christ. Upon this, the emperor sentenced her to death on the breaking wheel (also known as the Catherine wheel), a torture device used for capital punishment. But, miraculously, the wheel was destroyed and Maxentius had to order her beheading in 305 AD.

According to some traditions, angels carried her body to Mount Sinai where, Emperor Justinian (483-565, the Byzantine Emperor from 527 to 565) built the Saint Catherine's Monastery on the Sinai Peninsula at the foot of Mount Sinai (now in the city of Saint Catherine in Egypt). In fact, it was dedicated to the Transfiguration of Jesus Christ, an event in which Jesus is transfigured and becomes radiant atop a mountain.

Over the years, the monastery has become an important pilgrimage center and repository of early Christian architecture and art that is open to visiting scholars and tourists.

Bellydancers on a Nile Cruise ship

PD Photo: A version of the original Arab dance, Raqs Sharqi, performed by two female bellydancers on a Nile Cruise ship.

The photo features two dancers performing what the western world initially (and later the rest of the world) called Belly Dance (or Bellydance). It is actually the traditional ‘Middle Eastern’ dance, Raqs Sharqi, which is also known as Arabic dance or known as çiftetelli, the Greco-Turkish name. Unlike the name belly dance suggests, the dancer has to involve all parts of the body for the true performance of this dance, not merely belly, though the most visible movement can be seen around the hips.

Belly dance can have various styles, costumes, etc., depending on the region or country where it is performed or where such varied forms of dance evolved. As with every branch of performing arts, and dance, new styles, improvements and innovations keep on changing this form of dance too.

Raqs sharqi, in Arabic language literally means ‘Dance of the Near East’ and it is the dance form usually identified as belly dance by westerners. And new styles have evolved in the West as its popularity has spread globally. And it is the style that is usually performed on stage, cabarets and in restaurants. Though mostly female performers are seen performing is such places, originally the dance form was meant for both the sexes, and it is performed even now by male dancers. Also, though it is often seen as a solo dance performance, the dance form is meant for also groups of men and women and can be choreographed for more than one dancer.

Te folk dance form, performed by the common people in the Middle East countries and in North Africa, usually at festive, or social occasions such as weddings, is called Raqs baladi, which in Arabic means ‘dance of the country’ or ‘folk dance’.

The dance form is believed to have evolved in Egypt among Arab tribes who initially settled there. However, belly dancers are not well regarded as many Egyptians do not treat it as a respectable profession. So, most belly dancers performing for tourists in Cruise ships (as in the photo), or at restaurants in present times are non-Egyptians. This fact can be evident from the fact that the traditional Egyptian Sharqi costumes are designed to cover most of the body.

Dhows traversing the Nile River

PD Photo: A dhow in the Nile River, Zamalek, a district of Cairo encompassing an island on the Nile River.

PD Photo: A dhow (boat) traverses the Nile River near Aswan (or Aswanl, formerly spelled Assuan), the capital of the Aswan Governorate, in the south of Egypt.

The River Nile, view from Cairo Tower