Today marks 51st death anniversary of ‘Planet of the East’ Umm Kulthum

CAIRO – 3 February 2021: February 3, 2021 marks the 51st death anniversary of the legendary singer Umm Kulthum; she passed away in 1975.

The late legendary singer, dubbed "The Planet of the East", visited many countries around the world. Among those countries is the Kingdom of Morocco, for which Umm Kulthum held immense admiration.

During a videotaped interview during her visit to Morocco in 1968 to perform three concerts, Umm Kulthum praised the Moroccan audience, stressing that their “artistic sense is exceptional.”

She added that the national customs and traditions of the Moroccan people aroused her admiration and interest, stressing that she liked many of those customs and traditions, such as the way of eating, where a bowl is placed for washing hands before eating in addition to eating with only 3 fingers and not with both hands.

Umm Kulthum indicated that among the things she also liked about Morocco was the bridal ceremony, in addition to the shape and design of Moroccan minarets, as they are "square" and not round as the usual minarets.