Thekra

Thekra ذكرى
Thekra in 2003, a few weeks before her death photographed by Miki
Background information
Birth name	Thekra Mohammed Abdullah Al Dali
Born	(1966-09-16)September 16, 1966 Oued Ellil, Tunisia
Died	November 28, 2003(2003-11-28) (aged 37) Cairo, Egypt
Genres	Arab pop music, Arab Tarab, Arabic music, Arabesque music, Middle Eastern music
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	1980s–2003
Labels	Rotana, EMI, Mega Star, Golden Cassette

Thekra Mohammed Abdullah ed Dali (Tunisian Arabic: ذكرى محمد عبدالله الدالي‎‎; September 16, 1966 – November 28, 2003), better known as Thekra (Tunisian Arabic: ذكرى‎ also spelled Thikra, Zekra or Zikra) was a Tunisian singer. The word "Thekra" is Arabic for a memory or memorial.

Thekra started performing at school. In 1980, she performed on the TV show "Fan Wa Mawahib" (Arabic: فن و مواهب), after which she joined the show's chorus. In 1983, her first recording was made, of a song composed by Abdul Hameed Khareef. In the same year, she performed at the Carthage festival.

Later she joined the vocal group section of the Tunisian Radio and TV Establishment's national band. There, she met Abdul Rahman Al Ayyadi, who composed many of her later songs. Thekra became known for her powerful voice and her ability to perform many kinds of Arabic music genres, including Qasa'ed, Muwashshah and Taarab songs.

During the 10 years before moving to Egypt, she released 30 songs in Tunisia. 28 of them were composed by Abdulrahman Al Ayyadi. Some of her successful singles in Tunisia included:

In 1990, she had an argument with Abdulrahman Al Ayyadi, who was her fiancé at the time, because he did not want any other person to compose for her. She left and joined a new group, Zakharif Arabiya (Arabic script: زخارف عربية).