Amal Chourchi Catta discovers the magic of Anatolia The fire of Anatolia; dance performances; general art director Mustafa Erdogan, Cairo Opera House Main Hall, 15-17 May They descended from their holy mountain, bearing the flames of Prometheus, a Titan who, as legend has it, stole the fire from Olympus to give to mankind and, in punishment, was chained to a rock, where an eagle tore at his liver until Hercules freed him. They descended from Nimrod, covering 8,000 years of history, to perform their stupendous show at Cairo Opera's Main Hall on three unforgettable nights, 55 of them dancing to the accompaniment of a fabulous Turkish ensemble playing the original tunes of their very own composers Taner Demirlap, Fuat Saka, Murat Uygun and Mustafa Erdogan (also choreographer and general art director of the troupe). As the curtain rose on a somewhat mysterious backdrop, Prometheus, superbly interpreted by Oktai Keresteci, started lighting his torch at the wheel of the sun -- bringing fire to humanity. Displeased and angered by the theft, the great Zeus- Ahura-Mazda decided to punish humanity: he ordered Hephaestus to fashion clay and water into a body, to give it vital force and human voice, and to make therefrom a virgin whose dazzling beauty would equal that of the immortal goddesses. All the divinities heaped their special gifts on this new creature, named Pandora. Hermes, however, put perfidity into Pandora's heart and lies into her mouth. But when Zeus thought she was ready, he sent her as a gift to Epimetheus. Although his brother Prometheus had warned him against accepting any gift from the ruler of Olympus, the impudent Epimetheus was enchanted by Pandora's beauty: he welcomed her and made a place for her among men. He did not know, however, that the evil woman had brought along a huge vase, out of which escaped terrible afflictions that started spreading all over the earth. Only hope did not fly away. With the arrival of the first beautiful woman, misery made its appearance on earth. However, on Cairo's stage, Pandora, beautifully performed by Sinem Akyol, had her own clashes with Prometheus, leaping from grands ecarts onto ravishing pirouettes sur pointes while he put on a heroic battle for humanity -- only to be punished by Zeus-Ahura-Mazda, who had an Army of Darkness marching onto the dimly-lit stage. The war was on, but Prometheus would not be easily vanquished: though in chains, he succeeded in taking the world out of darkness, in bringing light to humanity and hope to people. Filled with joy and gratitude, the latter danced in stupendous formations to loud ovations by the enthralled audience. Fire of Anatolia are not limited to dance performances: their spectacular show is based on Anatolia's history, which goes back to time immemorial. Historically known as Asia Minor, Anatolia is the Asian part of today's Turkey, and occupies the peninsula connectiung the Black Sea to the Mediterranean and the Aegean. This ancient Hittite Empire consists of a largely mountainous plateau with interior salt lakes, and is said to have been an agricultural land over 8,000 years ago, while the inhabitants -- of Indo-European origin -- formed mutually hostile tribes and small nations. Between BC 6500 and BC 5500 Lycaonia, an important village in ancient Catal Huyuk, already counted over 6,000 inhabitants, while 4,000 years ago a number of fortresses and citadels in central Anatolia, Cappadoce, Cilicia were turned into smaller kingdoms, among them the Hattusas, near present-day Boghazkoy, in the great land of the Halys river. According to legend, it is this river that Croesus hesitated about crossing before consulting the oracle at Delphi: if he made the crossing, a great empire would be destroyed. That was when Croesus lost his own empire. The great Hittite Empire finally emerged in Anatolia: they vanquished the Hurrite or Mitanni empire and are today considered by historians, as important as Babylon's Hammurabi or Egypt's Ramses II. Wars continued in the region, though: around BC 1191 Anatolia was occupied by the Phoenicians, Peoples of the Sea and, at a later date, by the Assyrians, the Lydians, the Medians, the Persians and the Greeks. While Anatolian lands were suffering from wars and immigrants were travelling along their endless roads, widows in white garments mourned their dead on Cairo's stage and a hazy backdrop reminded audiences of Dante's Inferno. Ghosts in white danced into the nether world and the Armies of Darkness were chased away by the mirthful Armies of Light. Having discarded his chains, the legendary Prometheus, admitted into Olympus, suddenly turned into a modern Prometheus, re-creating and renewing the world with the help of the Shaman. Times had undergone drastic changes, while colourful drummers came marching onto the stage, jovially beating their way through the modern rhythms of history as dieties of goodness chased the wicked into oblivion. In the meantime Anatolia became a part of Turkey: its people live in peace and its magnificent dances are as influenced bythe Shaman Turks of Central Asia and Zoroastrian Yezidi Kurds, as by Balkan, Aegean and Black Sea folklore. Costumes were lavish and magnificent, and thedances were perfectly executed: everyone admired the extraordinary discipline, the sublime harmony of the dancers, as well as Mustafa Erdogan's excellent choreography. Born in Hakkari in 1956, he studied philosophy at Hacettepe university and public management at Gazi University. However, during his years of study, he never gave up his interest in folklore: with the different ensembles he has formed, he won many awards at festivals in Turkey and around the world. Erdogan studied musicology and established a folk dance troupe while training many others. In 1997 he created the Sultans of Dance and is now writing articles for a magazine in Ankara. His Fire of Anatolia is a unique project, based on Anatolia's ancient mythology and cultural history. Originally constituted of 120 dancers who performed on the world's super-stages, Fire of Anatolia started its tour around the world in 2002, travelling from Europe to China and Japan. In the meantime this mega-show was applauded by over three billion people. At the Cairo Opera House, the 55 dancers filled the stage with their animation and buoyancy, their vivacious merriment, constantly surprising and fascinating their audiences. They gave us folklore and ballet, tap-dance, modern dance and amazing sequences of the entire corps de ballet. Scenography, lighting and costumes were out of this world. As for the belly-dancing, performed simultaneously by the entire group, it had class and elegance and was, in itself, a rare sensation: Egypt's belly- dancers should have come to watch what real belly-dancing was all about. Fire of Anatolia was one of the most ravishing performances we have seen in years: it was perfection perfected.
