Badia Masabni

Badia Masabni
Born	(1892-02-01)1 February 1892 Damascus, Syria
Died	23 July 1974(1974-07-23) (aged 82) Zahle, Lebanon
Other names	Sultana, Sultanat Al-Tarab
Years active	1926–1952
Spouse(s)	Naguib el-Rihani

Badia Masabni (Arabic: بديعة مصابني‎, born Wadiha Masabni (Arabic: وديعة مصابني‎); 1 February 1892 – 23 July 1974), was an entertainer, singer, Night club owner, actress, and businesswoman born to a Lebanese father and a Syrian mother. She was best known for opening a series of influential clubs in Cairo from the 1920s onward. Badia is considered to be the matron of modern belly dance and is credited with launching the careers of many Egyptian artists, especially the belly dance's stars Samia Gamal and Taheyya Kariokka.

Early life[]

Badia was born in 1892 in Damascus, Ottoman Empire, one of seven siblings to a Lebanese father and a Syrian mother. Her father owned a Soapmaking business.^[1] The family's financial condition abruptly worsened when Badia's father died leaving his sons to care for the family business. Soon afterwards,^[when?] the soap factory was consumed by fire and one of Badia's brothers died with fever.

Badia's Cabarets[]

• 1926: Sala Badia Masabni, Emad el Din, Cairo.
• 1928: Sala Badia, Alexandria.
• 1930: Casino Opera, Giza.
• 1931: Cinema Badia, Giza.

Gallery[]

• 

  Badia Masabni in her wedding dress on 11 September 1924

• 

  Advertise the Casino Opera in the French-speaking Egyptian magazine IMAGES (Le Caire-Egypte),N.596, from 10 February 1941.

• 

  Advertise of the Badia's Masabni "Casino Opera" in Cairo-Egypt. from the Egyptian newspaper Progres Egyptien, from 3 September 1941.

• 

  Advertise of the Badia's Masabni "Casino Opera" in the Egyptian magazine IMAGES (Le Caire-Egypt) from 2 December 1940.

References[]

External links[]

• Badia Masabni, interview, Egyptian TV, 1968, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8yBO4TELvqQ