Sayed Darwish Day

Sayed Darwish (Egyptian Arabic: سيد درويش‎, IPA: [ˈsæjjed dæɾˈwiːʃ]; 17 March 1892 – 15 September 1923) was an Egyptian singer and composer who was considered the father of Egyptian popular music and one of Egypt’s greatest musicians and its single greatest composer. Darwish died of a heart attack in Alexandria on 15 September 1923, aged 31. He is still regarded as a noble and adored figure in Egyptian history.

Sayed Darwish was born in Kôm el-Dikka Alexandria on 17 March 1892. During his childhood his family could not afford to pay for his education, so he was sent to a religious school where he mastered the recitation of the Quran. After graduating from the religious school and gaining the title Sheikh Sayyed Darwish, he studied for two years at al-Azhar, one of the most renowned religious universities in the world. He left his studies to devote his life to music composition and singing, then entered a music school where his music teacher, Sami Efendi, admired his talents and encouraged Darwish to press onward in the music field.

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