People with means did rent a hall. It could be in a hotel, restaurant, club, theater, or any large place that fitted the bill.

A well-to-do friend of Nisso, Leon, invited us to the Bar Mitzvah of his son. The affair was held in a “Garden Terrace” (the expression used in Egypt and it is usually the upper level of a restaurant or hotel, the garden angle could be an actual garden, large or small, or simply a few planters strategically placed).

The buffet was sumptuous, and suffragis (waiters) brought the food and drinks to you if you so desired. Hors-d’oeuvres, meats, vegetables, salads, tarachis (pickled items), and a great variety of other delicacies were available. There was an incredible array of sweets; if you even sampled half of them, you could start the night as a healthy individual, and leave as a diabetic!

For tarab (good time), a well-known comedian, Elias Moadab, who doubled as a singer (he also acted in movies) entertained us for part of the night. He came with his orchestra and a choir. Thereafter, two belly dancers came on the stage; they were superb. I was just entering my adolescence, and these two provocative and voluptuous females just blew me away!

Later, the orchestra of Elias played dance tunes; Fola and Nisso, who were good dancers, danced the night away.

It was already dawn when we went back home. It was the latest I had ever stayed up.

I still have a lot of memories from both (Leon’s son and mine) Bar Mitzvahs, and each in its own way held a special magic.

Site Search Tags:
none