Fit and Healthy Lifestyle

It is commonly believed that classical eastern belly dancing originated as an art form during the Ottoman Empire. Dancing was then an important part of Ottoman culture. The belly dancers or engi, as they were called danced in the Ottoman courts. In a short space of time the engi dancers became popular throughout the whole empire, performing their beautiful dances. Women and children in the Topkapi Palace Harem also embraced belly dancing as a past time. In time the dances performed by the engi and in the Harems developed into the delicate movements of classical belly dance characterized by soft, flowing actions of the arms. Even today this type of dance still popular in modern Istanbul.