Statues in the Heat: a Sahel Season odyssey

Statues in the Heat follows a Sultan of the Scene through the glamorous chaos of an Egyptian elite summer — Cairo’s neon Corniche, white-sand coastlines, engines idling outside parties that never quite end.

Zeenat plays the contrasts he was raised between: “The Saint of Zamalek” and “The Prophet in the Mercedes” in one playlist, “Judas and the Oud” carrying centuries of Tarab straight into a convertible. “Ballad of the Evil Eye” keeps the old protections close; “Talking Maqsoum Blues” lets the rhythm gossip.

Modern indulgence, ancient wisdom, one fleeting season. The statues melt. The songs don’t.