GEORGES LAMMAM Arab Violinist
By Jeanette Cool Photos provided by Jeanette Cool and Carl F . Sermon
Many from the raks sharqi community are familiar with the music and creativity of violinist , Georges Lammam . As with many artists , it is always interesting to hear the stories of how art became the center of one ’ s life .
Georges ’ parents , Sobhi Aziz Lammam and Helena Amorfia Kasapoglous , were born during the 1920 / 30s in Haifa , Palestine . In 1948 , leaving their home in Palestine for their honeymoon in Lebanon , the great nakba ( The Catastrophe ) prevented their return . Over 750,000 Palestinians became refugees . As a result , Sobhi and Helena ’ s children were born in Beirut , Lebanon , and lived the uncertain life of a refugee family moving through camps and other domiciles until their mother , an activist in the PLO , opened the door for their emigration .
Sobhi Lammam spent many years working between Beirut , Lebanon and Cairo , Egypt , during the time of King Farouk , working in movie production and meeting many notable artists during the Golden Age of film in Egypt . Abdel Halim Hafez , singer / actress , Shadia and musicians from the orchestra of Fairouz , actors , Salah Kabil and Imad Hamdi , and composers Kamal el Tawil and Baligh Hamdi , among others . After 1952 and the overthrow of the monarchy by Gamal Abdel Nasser , foreigners who worked in Egypt had to leave when all business was nationalized .
January 2021 � The Belly Dance Chronicles 21