The Nightingale of the Nation: the entanglements of 'Abduh al-Hamuli This paper aims to reconstruct the histoire crois?e of Cairo and Istanbul via art: voice and hearing, with the example of an Egyptian singer who became a proto-national icon of Egyptianness. Paradoxically, Abduh al-Hamuli (1836-1901) from the caff-chantants arrives to the Cairo Opera House with significant support from the Ottoman-Egyptian elite including a tour in Istanbul and most importantly, translating Turkish songs into Arabic. His voice however is praised by the Egyptian-Syrian press as it comprises authenticity, originality, and such sweetness that deserves the epithet bulbul - nightingale. Al-Hamuli held single performances and performed also with the theater group of al-Qabbani thus contributing to the history of Arab music theatre too. Especially from the 1880s his presence automatically evoked an Egyptian essence vis-a-vis the French, Italian, Ottoman Armenian visiting troupes and the British colonizer. His singing became a political "voice" due to its sweetness itself. Thus my paper will explore the double interplay of a body and a voice between Istanbul and Cairo, between cafas and the Opera House, between international fame and national iconology.