In Photos: Cairo Steps warmly welcomed in Kuwait at their first concert in the Gulf
Eslam Omar in Kuwait, Friday 26 Oct 2018
The Sufi-jazz ensemble played at Kuwait's Peace Festival, organised by the Loyac Academy of Performing Arts


German-Egyptian musical ensemble Cairo Steps were greatly appreciated by attendees of the third Peace Festival held at Kuwait's Al-Sahaeed Park on Thursday evening.

The German Jazz Award winners, who mix classical music with jazz and oriental tunes, were warmly received during their first concert in the Gulf, which was attended by the ambassadors of Egypt and Germany and covered by local and international media outlets.

"Our music is a message of peace to the whole world. We are very happy to be here. We always dreamed of playing in the great city of Kuwait and here we are. Now we have a third home after Egypt and Germany," oud player Basem Darwish said at the event, which was organised by Kuwait’s Loyac Academy of Performing Arts (LAPA).

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"Thanks a lot for Loyac for their great organising and fulfilling all what we wanted. And a very special thanks to the great founder of the Academy, Fareah Al-Saqqaf, for the effort she does for arts and artists in Kuwait," Darwish added.

The Festival of Arts and Dance is LAPA's initiative to bring together culture, youth and art education with a hint (a lot) of fun.

Sudanese outfit Alsarah and Nubatones opened the performances on Tuesday, while Syrian singer Faia Younan is performing on Saturday.

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Founded in 2002 by Darwish, Cairo Steps, conducted by Sebastian Müller-Schrobsdorff, also feature Islamic chanter Ihab Yunis, who received applause many times during his skilful performance.

The band received the German Jazz Award at an event in Berlin in April alongside German band Quadro Nuevo for their joint album Flying Carpet, which saw a contribution from flautist Inas Abdel-Dayem, who is currently Egypt's minister of culture.

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