Half a century after her death, Umm Kulthum’s singular voice still echoes through busy streets in Egypt, across time-worn cafes in Iraq, and in millions of homes from Morocco to Oman. “As long as people listen to music, there will be Umm Kulthum,” said Abu Ahmed, the manager of a Cairo cafe named after the Arab world’s most revered singer.

“She still lives in every song and every note,” he told AFP, adjusting the volume on an antique recorder as visitors to the historic bazaar the cafe is housed in peered in from outside. Sepia-toned photographs of the icon adorn the walls of Abu Ahmed’s cafe, alongside posters from her concerts. As her voice in her most famous ballad, “Enta Omri” (You’re My Life), rose to a crescendo, conversation around a nearby table fell to a hush. “Umm Kulthum is the voice of the nation,” Aya Khamis, 36, whispered as she sipped her tea. On a wooden stall just outside, a vendor laid out tiny figurines of Umm Kulthum and her orchestra.

Each piece was carefully crafted - musicians in sharp suits, miniature renditions of classical instruments the qanun and the oud, and Umm Kulthum herself, with her signature scarf and sunglasses. “These are my bestsellers,” said Shadi Said, 37, holding up a figurine of the singer.

People sit at the Umm Kulthum cafe.

People sit at the Umm Kulthum cafe.

A man sits at the Umm Kulthum cafe.

Statuettes of late Egyptian singer, songwriter and film actress Umm Kulthum are displayed at a bazaar in the Khan Al-Khalili historical area in the heart of the Egyptian capital Cairo.

People sit at the Umm Kulthum cafe.

Statuettes of late Egyptian singer, songwriter and film actress Umm Kulthum are displayed at a bazaar in the Khan Al-Khalili historical area in the heart of the Egyptian capital Cairo.

Statuettes of late Egyptian singer, songwriter and film actress Umm Kulthum are displayed at a bazaar in the Khan Al-Khalili historical area.

People sit at the Umm Kulthum cafe.

A man arranges audio tapes of Umm Kulthum songs at a music shop selling vintage items linked to the late Egyptian singer.

A passport that belonged to the late Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum, is displayed at the biographical museum dedicated to her in Cairo.

Official documents and notebooks that belonged to late Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum, are displayed at the biographical museum dedicated to her in Cairo.

Disguised as a boy

More than 1,000 kilometres (600 miles) away, the same music poured out of Baghdad’s own Umm Kulthum cafe - open since 1970, five years before the singer’s death at 76 plunged the Arab world into mourning. Far away from her state funeral in Cairo, the cafe in Baghdad held its own ceremony for bereaved fans like Iraqi engineer Youssef Hamad. Now 77 and retired, Hamad told AFP he still comes to the same cafe every day to listen to Umm Kulthum’s hours-long concerts.

Another cafe-goer, Khazaal Abu Ali, struggled to put his love for her into words. “She once sang ‘if a day passes without seeing you, it can’t count towards my lifetime’. That is how I feel,” the 83-year-old said, his eyes tearing up. “A day without her voice is a day that is lost.” Born in 1898 in a small Nile Delta village, Umm Kulthum rose from humble beginnings to become the most celebrated voice in the Arab world.

Medals that late Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum received during her caree, are displayed at the biographical museum dedicated to her in Cairo.

A pair of sunglasses that belonged to the late Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum, are displayed at the biographical museum.

A passport that belonged to the late Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum, is displayed at the biographical museum.

Visitors stare at pictures, letters and other documents that belonged to late Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum.

A statue of the late Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum stands in the Zmalek district of Cairo.

Stage dresses that belonged to the late Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum.

Shoes and handbags that belonged to late Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum, are displayed at the biographical museum.

A waiter carries drinks at the Umm Kulthum cafe, named after the late Egyptian singer, songwriter and film actress, in the Tunisian tourist town of Hammamet.

Pictures of the late Egyptian singer, songwriter and film actress Umm Kulthum are displayed at the bar of a caffe named after her in the Tunisian tourist town of Hammamet.

This picture shows the Umm Kulthum cafe, named after the late Egyptian singer, songwriter and film actress, in the Tunisian tourist town of Hammamet.

A waiter serves customers at the Umm Kulthum cafe.

Her father, an imam, recognized her talent early on, but fearing the ire of early 20th-century Egyptian society, disguised her as a boy so she could perform in public. Her full-bodied voice and magnetic presence soon captivated audiences, and in the 1930s, she moved to Cairo. Her music revolutionized Arabic music, as she blended classical poetry with grand orchestral arrangements. But it was her improvisations that made her a legend, feeding off the audience’s energy in a hypnotic exchange, as she stretched and reprised verses.

Western musicians were also mesmerized, with Maria Callas, Robert Plant and Bob Dylan all paying tribute to her. “She is one of my favorite singers of all time,” Dylan once said. More recently, Shakira and Beyonce have sampled her songs.