bellydancers, dwarfs and a strange Egyptian night...

I'm slowly (or maybe quickly!) being introduced to the strange intricacies of Cairo nightlife. On Friday, I began the night at the lovely rooftop Nile Hilton bar, "Mojitos". This is a new bar with an incredible view over Cairo. And there are plenty of Egyptian women there, dancing away in skimpy outfits. Halleluiah!
But the Nile Hilton was not where I was able to discover the truly bizarre, seedy side of Cairo nightlife... That awaited me in full form in a bellydancing club (read whore-house) that we went to after Mojitos. Saying goodbye to the glitz and glamour of the Hilton, we meandered through the streets of Cairo to a small brown door with very few markings. I was expecting a dimly-lit, smokey dive with lots of little booths. Think again. Smokey it was. But it was more like a greasy-spoon cafe, with bright neon lighting and small tables pushed up against the wall. The place (of course!) was crowded with men. As we stepped into the place, hands went to pockets and the mobile phone camera sessions began (see my posting on this Egyptian obsession).
We sat down at a table next to a group that included a sheesha-chain smoker and a dwarf. Yes, dwarf. This small guy was attracting the most attention from the bellydancers and they kept dragging him to his feet so he could shake his booty for the rest of us... very very weird. The women were generally dressed in somewhat boring tight jean/ low top combinations. But the makeup on every single woman's face was fit for a drag queen. Then the drag queen herself emerged (though I think she was female - if not, then I praise the surgeon who managed to construct those breasts and hips and stomach). She wiggled her way, stomach leading, over to our table, allowed us to stuff handfulls of notes into her cleavage, and then strutted her stuff. I was mesmerized. Cristina, my roommate, got up on her feet and did a wonderful dance-off with the queen. But, as the dwarf got in on the action and the bellydancer's bum wiggled in curious treble-beat time... the Egyptians definitely won the night. Multiple photos of my slightly horror-stuck face are probably stored in a number of Egyptian mobile phones around Cairo. I just hope that they haven't made it yet to any seedy porn sites...