Muhammed Ali | Agabi Alayk Ya Zaman (1971)
Muhammed Ali Street, 1958 Historians refer to Muhammed Ali Street as the "school" where Ahmed learned his trade, with some accounts placing the singer in Al-Alalia Café in 1969, where he reputedly sharpened his mawwal chops. Others claim he was a plumber, a waiter, a busboy, and/or earned extra cash helping musicians carry their instruments. When in 1964, American boxer Cassius Clay denounced his birthname as an artifact of slavery, it is unclear whether he knew that Muhammed Ali, bestowed upon him by Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad, might refer to the Ottoman military commander who established a political dynasty in Nineteenth-Century Egypt after inviting scores of rival Mamaluks to a party and then slaughtering them, "Red Wedding"-style. Cairo's Muhammed Ali Street runs North & South for perhaps a mile-and-a-half; it would take 15-20 minutes to leisurely stroll its full length. Even today, online maps show it dotted by several musical instrument sto