Volume II: Issue 4 - 2009

Vol. II 2009

ISSUE 4

EGYPT’S HERITAGE REVIEW

In Search of the Historical Gardens of Cairo Ismailia... Who Remembers?

Serabit El Khadem - The Place, the People

Live Colors, Nicosia Publisher

EditoriaL

Editor in Chief Moguib Rouchdy

MaNagEMENt Yasmine El dorghamy Najla El Halwagy

Contributors Amr S. Talaat, eva dadrian,

fatma keshk, Iman R. Abdulfattah, jill kamil, Lesley Lababidi, Lisa sabbahy, MennatAllah El Dorry, monica hanna, Nigel Hetherington, sara abou bakr

Translators Shereen Moussad

Nesma Gabr

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pHotograpHY Miriam Benyamein Salma arafa

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G

reen. A color we have almost forgotten in Cairo. Gardens, rose bushes and thousands of trees have vanished as the concrete jungle advanced over the past 50 years. Once a source of pride, Egypt’s historical gardens are now much smaller, scattered and largely forgotten.

In this issue’s cover story, Eva Dadrian remembers Cairo’s historical gardens and finds that some have now vanished, some linger in a grim state, and a few, such as Al Andalus, were found in excellent condition and gave us all a feeling of hope.

Hope, rather than mere nostalgia, is what we strive to find. In this issue; Nigel Hetherington brings Cairo’s vast treasures of Art Deco architecture to our attention. Amr Talaat tells us the forgotten tale of Ismailia Palace, Lesley Lababidi takes us on a walk down one of Cairo’s ancient street bazaars and we visit the restoration project of the remote temple of Serabit el Khadem in Sinai.

As I sit and write this on a bench in the newly transformed Azhar park that was once a monumental garbage heap, I begin to feel an inkling of optimism. I look around me, it must be all the green.

A greener Dokki in the 1940’s, the Pyramids are visible in the horizon

Yasmine El Dorghamy Founder

Cover Photo: Salma Arafa The recently renovated Andalus, a tiny fraction of Khedive Ismail’s Gezira garden that was divided and later redivivded into several allotments. Al Andalus was innagurated as a public park in the 1940’s.

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8 Heritage News What’s New with the Old 20 Visit

Going, Going Gone The Art Deco Heritage of Cairo Page: 38

Taht el Rab’a - A Short History

26 Cover Story

in search of cairo’s historical gardens

38 Going, Going… Gone Heritage at Risk

The Art Deco Heritage of Cairo.

44 I Saw, I Thought, I Wrote: Express yourself 46 Egyptian Chic - Arts & Crafts Women’s Atelier in Tulun

52 Profile - Champions of Heritage

An Ongoing Legacy - The Workmen of Guft

58 Saved - Working to Keep Our Memories Alive

Serabit El Khadem - The Place and the People

62 Unraveling: Trivia, Surprises and Myth Busters 66 How it all Started: Intangible Heritage

What’s in a Name? - Why Egypt is “Egypt” and other Derivations

68 Egyptian Tales

Ismailia... Who Remembers?

74 Read 76 Feature

the cultural river runs on

80 Arabic Section

‫الموضوعات المترجمة للعربية‬

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Amr S. Talaat is a historian specialized in Egypt’s modern history. He has conducted extensive research on many significant events and personalities of that era.

His approach is to always try to take a fresh look on old preconceptions. He has published many articles on the Mohamed Ali Dynasty era and frequently gives lectures on the topic.

Eva Dadrian is a BritishEgyptian independent broadcaster and writer with extensive experience in Africa, the Middle East and Europe. She lives between Cairo and London. Dadrian works as a political risk analyst for Arab Africa Affairs (London and Cape Town) and writes also in The Weekly and Hebdo (Al Ahram, Cairo). As a documentary/ feature reporter with BBC World Service, she covers issues ranging from arts to science and from environment to religion.

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Fatma Keshk has a BA in Egyptology from Cairo University, she currently works as Archaeologist and Researcher in CULTNAT, she participated in the work of many Archaeological Missions excavating in Saqqara, Western Delta and Assouan.

Iman R. Abdulfattah holds an MA in Islamic Art and Architecture from the American University in Cairo (AUC). She currently works for the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) on various museum projects, most important of which is the renovation of the Museum of Islamic Art.

Jill Kamel, well-known for

her many books on Pharaonic and Coptic subjects, and the Heritage Editor of Egypt’s leading English language newspaper Al-Ahram Weekly, has lived in Egypt for most of her life. She is the author of two groundbreaking books which provide an unique perspective on Egypt’s history: “Christianity in the Land of the Pharaohs”, and “The Life and Legacy of Labib Habachi”.

Lesley Lababidi is the author of Cairo’s Street Stories: Exploring the City’s Statues, Squares, Bridges, Gardens, and Sidewalk Cafes; Cairo The Family Guide; and Silent No More: Special Needs People in Egypt; revising and editing two editions of Cairo The Practical Guide. She is a travel writer and photographer in Nigeria, Syria, and Egypt.

Lisa Sabbahy has a Ph.D. in Egyptian Archaeology from the University of Toronto, and is Assistant Professor of Egyptology at the American University in Cairo.She first came to Egypt in the summer of 1973 with an urban

studies program about the history of the city of Cairo, and has been fascinated with it ever since.

CULTNAT. Currently she is the scientific coordinator of the project.

Mennat-Allah El Dorry holds an M.A. in Egyptian Archaeology and is a specialist in Archaeobotany.

She has worked on many archaeological sites throughout Egypt for the last 6 years. Her interests span from social organisation in the Predynastic and Early Dynastic Periods, to food and agricultural traditions in monastic settlements to Pharaonic elements in Egyptian Cinema.

Nigel Hetherington (Heritage News) is a graduate from the Institute of Archaeology at University College London and is a member of the International Association of Egyptologists. He runs his own consultancy company; Past Preservers providing historical and archaeological consultancy and professional support to the media industry. Nigel is also in the process of researching and writing a book on the history of tourism in Luxor.

Monica Hanna is a PhD student at the University of Pisa, department of Archaeology. She has proposed the project of the Documentation of the Cultural Heritage of South Sinai after being inspired by Serabit el-Khadim in 2006 while working in

Sara Abou Bakr, a photojournalist/ researcher; wrote for al-Ahram Weekly, The Daily News, Community Times and Cairo Times. She is currently a Graduate student at AUC, majoring in journalism and works as social mapper/ researcher for CULTNAT.

Judging by the announcements in the last few months, the old adage that only 10% of Egypt’s heritage has been uncovered from below the ground would appear to be true; it seems not a day has gone by without news of a significant discovery somewhere in the country. Fascinating and revealing excavations have become worldwide headlines only to be surpassed a few days later by the next amazing find.

We will try to provide you here with a brief summary in case you missed any of these major stories.

In addition as in previous issues we will also look at Egypt’s continuing influence around the world.

preme Council of Antiquities (SCA), said that Amenhotep’s tomb contains a classical T-shaped chapel with a transverse hall oriented north – south, divided by a row of six pillars. The southern half of the transverse hall appears to have collapsed in antiquity and the space is entirely filled with debris.

The Re-Discovery of a Lost Tomb Dr. Laurent Bavay, head of the Belgian mission, stated that the majority of the paintings on the walls of the hall are totally destroyed. They show cutting marks indicating that the space was probably robbed long ago, possibly in the early 19th century. The paintings on the ceiling are remarkably well preserved, featuring geometric motifs typical of the 18th dynasty, with bands of hieroglyphic texts revealing the name, title, and genealogy of the tomb’s owner.

The tomb’s walls have been destroyed by robbers, only the ceiling remains in good shape

The archaeological mission of the University of Brussels has identified a lost tomb known as C.3 as that of Amenhotep, deputy and son-in-law to Senneferi, the overseer of seal-bearers during the reign of Tuthmosis III (1504-1452 BC).

The tomb was found on the southern part of the Sheikh Abd el-Qurna hill on the west bank of Luxor.

The Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni, announced that the tomb had previously been discovered in 1880 by archaeologist Karl Piehl, but had become re-buried over time by sand. Archaeologists searched for it several times, but had no luck rediscovering it until the Belgian mission found it last month.

Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Su-

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KV 63 Update

The re-assembled mummification bed

The Supreme Council of Antiquities has announced that after weeks of restoration work, an

assemblage of pieces of wood found inside a jar discovered in KV63 in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor, have proven to be the remains of a mummification bed. When members of the University of Memphis archaeological mission working in the tomb found the pieces, they did not know what they were or what their function might have been. With the help of Egyptian conservator Amani Nashed, the team was finally able to reassemble the pieces to form a bed of the type used in the ancient Egyptian mummification process.

The University of Memphis mission, led by Dr. Otto Schaden, discovered the tomb now known as KV63 in 2005. It contained 28 clay jars and seven coffins, along with mummification materials including linen and resin. KV63 is not believed to have been a tomb for an individual, but a storeroom for materials and objects used in the mummification process.

Ramesses II on the northern side of the central valley; in the area to the south of the tomb of Tutankhamun; and in the Western Valley, where the tombs of Amenhotep III and Ay are located.

Each of these excavations has revealed important information.

The area between the tombs of Merenptah and Ramsses II revealed a man-made drainage channel that probably helped prevent the flooding of the royal tombs in the vicinity during antiquity at the area in the cliffs. A small, sheltered area off to the side of the channel, where the team found a stone basin that may have held food and water, probably served as a resting place for the workmen.

The area to the south of the tomb of Tutankhamen uncovered the remains of some small structures made of stone. These buildings could have been used for storage, perhaps of food and other items intended for offerings or, of embalming material. The team also uncovered a num- The drainage channel near the tomb of Merenptah ber of workmen’s huts, which were identified but never excavated by Howard Carter, and a cave cut into the rock to the south of the tomb.

More news from the Valley of the King Dr Zahi Hawass, announced recently the Egyptian team of archaeologists, accompanied by himself, have made numerous important and exciting discoveries which are revolutionizing the understanding of one of the most mysterious and fascinating places in Egypt; the Valley of the Kings. Although the area has been widely excavated through the years, the resting places of Ramesses VIII, Thutmose II, and the queens and princes of the 18th Dynasty are still unknown.

Many treasures are yet to be discovered.

The team is currently working in three different areas: between the tombs of Merenptah and

Faience amulet found in the tunnel at the tomb of Seti I

The cave was probably used as a shelter by the workmen. The team has also been working in the area north and east of the tomb of Seti I

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where many additional discoveries were made.

Finally, the team is working in the Western Valley, known in Arabic as the “wadi el-quroud,” or “valley of the monkeys.” The tombs of Amenhotep III and Ay are both located in this area.

Queen Tiye, the mother of Akhenaten, was the wife of Amenhotep III and possibly the sister of Ay. If she was buried in the Valley of the Kings, her tomb might have been near that of her husband, and if Ay were in fact her brother, it would be all the more appropriate for her tomb to be near his as well. It will be interesting to see what future excavations in this area will reveal.

simple burial chambers. Inside these tombs, the team has found a total of ten mummies, two of them gilded. The discovery of this cemetery indicates that an elite person, likely of royal status, could be buried inside the temple. It was common for officials and other high-status individuals in Egypt to construct their tombs close to those of their rulers throughout the Pharaonic period. The style of the newly discovered tombs indicates that they were constructed during the Greco-Roman period.

Anthony and Cleopatra

A radar survey of the temple of Taposiris Magna, west of Alexandria, was completed last month as part of the search for the tomb of Cleopatra and Mark Anthony.

The SCA expedition excavating the temple and its surrounding area is headed by Dr Zahi Hawass and Dr. Fragment of a mask of Mark Kathleen Martinez, a Anthony scholar from the Dominican Republic.

After three years of cooperation, the recent radar survey is the most significant step taken by the team to date. It was carried out by an Egyptian radar team, with an American expert, Dr. Roger Vickers serving as a consultant. The radar revealed 3 possible spots of interest where a tomb may be located. The expedition has received the results of the survey, and will begin excavating each of these three spots in the near future.

The most important development at Taposiris Magna to date has been the discovery of a large, previously unknown cemetery outside the temple enclosure. The expedition has found 27 tombs, 20 of them shaped like vaulted sarcophagi, partly underground and partly aboveground. The remaining seven consist of staircases leading to

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General View of the Temple

Dr. Martinez stated that the expedition has excavated a temple at Taposiris Magna dedicated to the goddess Isis, and discovered coins depicting the face of Alexander the Great. They have found a number of deep shafts inside the temple, three of which seem to have been used for burials. It is possible that these shafts were the tombs of important people, and the team’s leaders believe that Cleopatra and Mark Anthony could have been buried in a deep shaft similar to those already discovered inside the temple.

Dr. Hawass said that the expedition has so far found a beautiful head of Cleopatra, along with 22 coins bearing her image. The statue and coins show her as a beauty, contradicting some recent theories that the queen was no beauty, however as with any image, the potential audience must be considered before accepting the image as an accurate depiction. In addition, the features of the sculpted head show no sign of African ancestry, also contradicting a recently proposed theory. The team has also found many amulets, along with a beautiful headless statue

dating to the Ptolemaic Period. Among the most interesting finds is a unique funerary mask depicting a man with a cleft chin. The face bears some similarity to known portraits of Mark Anthony himself.

Fayoum Tombs

Texts from the book of the dead painted on the tomb’s walls.

Preliminary studies revealed that the chapel was reused in subsequent periods, perhaps as late as the Roman era (30 BC-337 AD). Clay coffins and bronze and copper jewellery dating to the Roman era, as well as a collection of wellpreserved faience amulets, were also recovered.

A necropolis consisting of 53 rock-cut tombs dating to the Middle (ca. 2061-1786 BC) and New Kingdoms (ca. 1569-1081 BC) and the 22nd Dynasty (ca. 931-725 BC) has been discovered by an Egyptian archaeological mission sponsored

by SCA. The necropolis lies in the southeastern part of the pyramid field of Illahun in Egypt’s Fayoum region.

The newly discovered tombs vary in their designs. Some have a single burial shaft, while others have a shaft leading to an upper chamber, from which an additional shaft leads to a second lower chamber. Excavations inside these tombs revealed wooden coffins containing linen-wrapped mummies covered in cartonnage.

The decoration and inscriptions on the mummy wrappings are well preserved.

Dr. Hawass added that the charred remains of a number of coffins were also recovered. They were probably burned during the Coptic Period.

Among these coffins, the team found 15 painted masks, along with amulets and clay pots.

Dr. Abdel-Rahman El-Ayedi, Supervisor of Antiquities for Middle Egypt, and the head of the mission said that a Middle Kingdom funerary chapel with an offering table was also found.

The Tomb of Djehuty at Dra Abu El-Naga, in Luxor

Texts from the book of the dead painted on the tomb’s walls.

A Spanish mission working at Dra Abu El-Naga on the West Bank at Luxor has discovered a second painted burial chamber in the tomb of Djehuty (TT11).

The Spanish team, led by Dr. José Galán of the National Research Center, Madrid, has been working at the site since 2002. At the end of their 2008 season, the mission came across a 3-meter deep shaft inside the burial chamber of Djehuty, an overseer of the treasury and overseer of

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works during the reign of Queen Hatshepsut (ca.

1479-1458 BC). At the beginning of 2009, they discovered a second burial chamber at the bottom of this shaft. The chamber is decorated on two of its walls, mostly with texts from the Book of the Dead. An image of the goddess Nut adorns the ceiling. The discovery is remarkable, as only four other decorated burial chambers dating to this period are known. Although the names of Djehuty, his father, and his mother were intentionally erased in the upper part of the monument, they are intact in the newly discovered lower burial chamber.

At the entrance to the lower chamber, the Spanish team found five gold earrings and two gold rings, which date to the early- to mid-18th Dynasty and probably belonged to Djehuty or to a member of his family. Galán added that the discovery of this decorated chamber adds to our understanding of the religious and funerary beliefs of the mid-15th century BC, and of the elite of Queen Hatshepsut’s court.

mummy in great condition, dating to the 26th Dynasty (ca. 500 BC). Also found inside the chamber were four complete mummies, fronted by the mummy of a dog.

Also found was the coffin of a small child.

Due to the fact that thirty mummies were found inside just one chamber, this discovery could prove that Saqqara still has a lot to tell us. This completely new cemetery and burial chamber were found next to the Old Kingdom tomb of Sennedjem. Dr. Hawass believes that the mummy found inside the limestone sarcophagus could be of a nobleman.

Egypt to open the ‘bent’ pyramid

Thirty Mummies discovered in Saqqara

Photo Nigel Hetherington The bent pyramid, will it be protected against the dangers of masstourism?

Dr Zahi Hawass, Director General of the SCA, recently opened a limestone sarcophagus at Saqqara that had been sealed by the ancient Egyptians for 2600 years. This sarcophagus was found inside a burial chamber, cut eleven meters into the ground. The room contained another 30 mummies, wooden coffins, and limestone sarcophagi.

It took one and a half hours for the workmen to move the first part of the lid. When opened, the sarcophagus revealed a completely preserved

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Egyptians and visitors to Egypt will soon be able to explore the inner chambers of the 4,500-yearold “bent” pyramid at Dahshur, known for its oddly shaped profile, and other nearby ancient tombs. The increased access to the pyramids south of Cairo is part of a new sustainable development campaign that Egypt hopes will attract more visitors but also avoid some of the problems of the urban sprawl that have plagued the world famous pyramids of Giza.

The chambers of the 330-foot-pyramid outside

the village of Dahshur, 50 miles south of Cairo, will be opened for the first time to tourists sometime in May or June 2009.

Dahshur’s bent pyramid is famous for its crooked profile. The massive tomb’s sides rise at a steep angle but then abruptly taper off at a more shallow approach to the pyramid’s apex.

Archaeologists believe the pyramid-builders changed their minds while constructing it, out of fear that the whole structure might collapse because the sides were too steep. The pyramid is entered through a cramped 260-foot-long tunnel that opens into an immense vaulted chamber.

From there, passageways lead to other rooms including one that has cedar wood beams believed to have been imported from ancient Lebanon.

Archaeologists believe the 4th dynasty founder Pharaoh Sneferu’s burial chamber lies undiscovered inside the pyramid. The inner chambers of the nearby Red pyramid, also built by Sneferu, are already accessible to visitors. Dr Hawass added that several other nearby pyramids, including one with an underground labyrinth from the Middle Kingdom, would also be opened in the coming year. Only 5 percent of tourists coming to Egypt visit the three pyramids of Dahshur, Hawass said.

Dr. Hawass hoped increasing access to the monuments would bring more visitors. But he also cautioned that the Western fast food restaurants and hundreds of hawkers selling kitschy souvenirs near the Giza pyramids would not be allowed at Dahshur, which is currently surrounded by agricultural fields on one side and open desert on the other.

As part of an effort announced by Dr. Hawass and the United Nations, villagers near Dahshur will be given economic opportunities to increase local development including microfinance loans for small businesses. The SCA did not release specifics, but said they hoped to create a master plan for Dahshur and its surrounding villages by the end of the year.

Two Statues of Amenhotep III unveiled The Minister of Culture, Farouk Hosni, said an Egyptian-European archeological team working

in the temple of Amenhotep III in Luxor has discovered two large statues belonging to the Pharaoh King Amenhotep III.

One of the discovered statues, made of black granite

The first statute is made of granite while the other one is made of quartzite.

Russian archeologists discover goldenmasked mummies in Egypt Russian archaeologists working in Egypt’s Fayoum Oasis have uncovered a number of mummies bearing golden masks, as well as other artifacts of historical value, a Russian Egyptologist announced recently.

The team had been working in the Fayoum province, some 80 kms southwest of Cairo, since 2003. It has been carrying out excavations at the Deir Al-Banat necropolis for the past two years.

“It is a huge necropolis,” said Alexei Krol, deputy chief of the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Egyptology center. “Despite the fact that the site was badly robbed in the early Christian period and the Coptic era and in the 1960’s-1970’s, we are still managing to find mummies with golden masks,” he said.

The Deir Al-Banat necropolis contains burial sites from three periods of Egyptian history - Ancient Egypt, Roman Egypt and Christian Egypt.

Apart from traditional Egyptian mummies, scientists have also found several so-called Fayoum mummy portraits from the Roman Egyptian period, realistic portraits of a deceased person made on a piece of wood and attached to a mummy.

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The scientist added that several findings made at the necropolis challenged the existing theory, based on early Christian literature, that pagans and Christians in Egypt had a long and bitter feud at the dawn of the religion.

“They could live in the same city and pray to different gods,” Krol said.

The Ancient Egyptians may have drank mulled wine Tests on one of 700 jars buried with Scorpion I in his tomb at Abydos about 3100 B.C. confirmed that the vessels contained wine, according to a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The tests also detected tree resin, which was used as a preservative and for medical purposes, and other chemicals that make up various herbs. “There were a lot of additives in this wine, and it fits very well with the later Egyptian pharmacology texts, the medical papyri that describe similar kinds of alcoholic beverages with herbs in them,” said Pat-

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rick McGovern [of the University of Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology].

Herbs from the eastern Mediterranean that fit the chemicals found in the wine are coriander, balm, mint, sage, senna, germander, savory and thyme, said McGovern. The researchers cannot positively identify herb or herb combinations found because unique biomarkers for them have not been identified. Robert K. Ritner, Professor of Egyptology at the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago, said herbs and spices were also added for taste as well as health. “I would not limit it specifically to medicinal uses; it certainly could have that, but there’s no reason these wouldn’t be spiced for flavour, like modern mulled wine,” Ritner said.

Egypt Celebrates the Nubian Rescue Campaign Some 150 officials and scientific experts, many of whom had participated in the 1960’s salvage campaign, gathered last month at the Nubia Museum in Aswan to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Nubian Monuments Salvage Campaign.

Once the decision to build the high dam was made, a slow realization dawned of the dramatic effect this would have on the heritage of Nubia. Following their own attempts at attracting a global understanding of the impending threat and the scale of the rescue operation required, the governments of Egypt and the Sudan independently applied for worldwide assistance through the United Nations organization, UNESCO. This was the first such request the organization had received since its inception in 1945, however, within three months, the executive board of UNESCO had authorized the then Director-General, Dr. Vittorino Veronese to start preparations for the campaign.

For UNESCO the campaign was hailed as an outright success, and was to herald a new era in the organization’s history, it has been claimed as a turning point in the emerging world heritage movement. Significantly, the operation would influence future generations of scholars and public alike and provide the impetus for the

formation of the world heritage organization and ultimately the world heritage list.

LINK Development in association with Microsoft Egypt, launches Luxor web portal

Photo Nigel Hetherington A peaceful Luxor, now undergoing radical change

The first official city portal in Egypt (www.luxoregypt.org) was endorsed recently by the Egyptian government and offers Egyptian, Arab and international visitors to Luxor an array of benefits.

Link Development states, “At a click of a button, Luxor lovers will be able to read about the history of this historic Egyptian city, which sits on the banks of the River Nile. They can also explore the many official directories available which will guide them through sites, monuments, temples and valleys, helping them plan their trip and to experience the marvels of the world’s first and largest open air museum.”

What is more interesting for the heritage and archaeological community is that buried on the site’s investment pages (under “about Luxor”) are the long term plans for the city of Luxor, which makes sobering reading. These include• An IMAX theatre is currently under construction as well as other entertainment venues.

• Currently there are 50 tourist hotels, 35 local hotels, 41 restaurants, 177 travel agencies and 180 floating hotels. 18 more hotels are under construction as well as five resorts.

• Looking to the future, the ultimate goal is increasing the hotel capacity in Luxor such that

within twenty years from today there will be enough rooms to accommodate 4 million tourists a year.

• A new marina is under construction that will alleviate many of the problems of the existing system for docking the floating hotels.

• There are several new areas being developed around Luxor to increase the number of hotel rooms dramatically. One area is south of the Tod Plateau, this lies on 1500 feddans and will have 10,000 rooms upon completion. Another area is east of the railway station that lies on 500 feddans and will have 2000 rooms. A third area being developed is North Zinia and it is 145 feddans.

• Several areas are planned for development on the West Bank, close to Hassan Fathy and Modira villages.

• Another area being developed close to the Avenue of the Sphynx will house 1000 rooms, and this is a joint project between Ain Shams University and Clemson University.

Four Temples Found in Qantara

Ramsis II, right and Geb, God of the Earth

Archaeologists have found four ancient Egyptian temples on an old military path in Sinai four kilometers (2.5 miles) to the east of the Suez Canal. The temples, ordained with colorful drawings of ancient Egyptian deities date back to the 18th and 19th dynasties. Among the findings are the largest fortified mud-brick temples in Sinai, as announced by the SCA.

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Tutmoses II and the God Raa Hor Akhti

Inscriptions for kings Thutmosis II and Ramses II (1304- 1237 B.C.) also graced the walls of the temple.. The large temple was found within a fort that had 15 defensive towers. Among the discoveries was the largest mud brick temple found in the Sinai with an area of 70 by 80 meters and fortified with mud walls 3 meters thick.

Archaeologist Mohammed Abdel-Maqsoud, chief of the excavation team, said the large brick temple could potentially rewrite the historical and military significance of the Sinai for the ancient Egyptians.

Launch of a new project at the Coptic Museum

Angeles, approved to a proposal submitted by the Friends of the Coptic Museum to have qualified experts undertake this challenging task.

American conservators from Michigan, Harvard University and the Morgan Library & Museum in New York surveyed the entire manuscript collection to identify its current condition and assess the archive’s environmental situation. The survey was carried out in close cooperation with a local conservation team. Coptologists from Münster University, Germany, made an inventory of the manuscripts, identifying their language and contents. All data was gathered in an electronic database to easily track down and facilitate future work with the manuscripts.

It is hardly known among the public that the Coptic Museum keeps a precious collection of handwritten documents dating from the 4th to the 19th Centuries. The famous Nag’ Hammadi Library forms a major part of the manuscript archive and has attracted scholars from all over the world. Given the exceptional value of the manuscript collection, it is all the more sad that it had been neglected for many decades and kept in wooden cabinets hugely infested with insects and exposed to extreme environmental conditions.

The Getty condition survey and cataloguing project is a first step towards a thorough treatment of the manuscripts and a repair of the museum’s archive according to modern standards.

A Celebration in Cairo for 120 Years of Spanish Archaeology in Egypt

A peaceful Luxor, now undergoing radical change

In January 2009, the Coptic Museum in Old Cairo launched a long anticipated condition survey and cataloguing project of several thousands of priceless manuscripts housed in the museum’s archive. The J. Paul Getty Foundation, Los

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On Monday, April 6th, in a gala evening at the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, Dr Zahi Hawass was presented, during a ceremony to celebrate 120 years of Egyptian-Spanish cooperation in archaeology, with the medal of the Order of Arts and Culture of Spain.

The evening included speeches celebrating the history of Spanish archaeology in Egypt, which included their role in the excavation of TT1, the tomb of Sennedjem, which was discovered in 1886, the UNESCO salvage campaign between 1961 and 1964 under the direction of Martin Almagro Basch, the study of two prehistoric deposits, three Christian settlements, 300 groups of rock art, and twenty necropolis from different

eras, including a total of some 1,500 tombs.

Paintings stolen, destroyed and returned

Painting of Viceroy Abbas Hilmi I before its theft from Shurba Palace

Nine paintings were stolen from the 19th Century Shubra palace where Viceroy Mohamed Ali, who ruled Egypt from 1805 to 1848, resided. The palace overlooks the Nile in the northern Cairo suburb of Shubra Al-Kheima. Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni said the paintings were smuggled out after being removed from their frames.

The stolen paintings, which date back to the era of Mohamed Ali and his family, were on loan from the Supreme Council of Antiquities to decorate the palace after the completion of its renovation a few years ago.

The paintings were found on the corner of a street nine days after the theft. An anonymous caller (believed to be the thief) tipped off the authorities to the location of the canvases that were left in a deplorable condition. The paintings are now being restored, but no mention has been made as to whether security will be tightened in the museum yet. Public outcry has called for security cameras to be installed in the museum as a minimal measure. We will wait and see.

And Abroad

nal, accidentally unearthed during a research into a groundbreaking historical expedition, was written by a Siena-born doctor, draughtsman and explorer named Alessandro Ricci, who set out for Egypt in 1817.

Ricci’s journal covered a five-year period until 1822, describing his adventures and experiences in detail. The document is particularly important, as Ricci was a key figure in a later Franco-Tuscan expedition, led jointly by the French philologist who deciphered hieroglyphs, Jean-Francois Champollion, and a leading Italian Egyptologist Ippolito Rosellini.

Although the fact Ricci had written a diary was no secret, its whereabouts have been a mystery for decades. Ricci gave his journal to Champollion in 1827, prior to the Franco-Tuscan expedition, apparently believing the French expert would publish it. Champollion died in 1832, followed by Ricci two years later. Although Rosellini asked French authorities to return the journal in 1836, it remained in France. The diary then vanished for several decades until resurfacing in 1928, when an Italian architect working for King Fuad I of Egypt discovered the manuscript by accident in an ancient Cairo bookshop. He immediately bought it and showed it to the Italian Egyptologist Angelo Sammarco, who recognized its value and was keen to organize its publication. Sammarco published a synopsis of the diary in 1930 but never took the project any further. After he died in 1948, all trace of the journal vanished until it was rediscovered in Pisa University by researcher Daniele Salvoldi. ‘’Now, two centuries after it was written, our goal is to get this book published,’’ said Betro.

Betro and Salvoldi’s determination, combined with Italy’s commitment to Egyptology, with the world’s largest collection of artifacts outside Egypt stored in Turin, mean that Ricci’s dream could finally come true.

Diary Discovered

Egyptian Beauty Nefertiti Will Move to New Berlin Home

The 200-year-old travel diary of an Italian adventurer who explored Egypt and later guided the founders of Egyptology to key sites has been uncovered in the Tuscan city of Pisa. The jour-

After 11 years of planning and restoration, the Neues Museum was handed over to curators on March 5 and will reopen on Oct. 16 2009, filled with Berlin’s Egyptology and prehistory collec-

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tions, including the 14th century B.C. bust of Queen Nefertiti.

Instead of recreating the original design brick for brick, British architect David Chipperfield’s team treated the 150-year-old museum (that had been left in ruins for 70 years) like an ancient site, carefully unearthing fragments of frescos, tiles and columns from the rubble. It’s hard to imagine a more fitting way to restore an archaeological museum or a more appropriate tribute to great German archaeologists such as Heinrich Schliemann, excavator of the Trojan gold treasure.

What was missing, the team didn’t rebuild: The many gaps are filled with modern materials used in a sparse, discreet style. The northwest wing, completely destroyed in the war, has been fully rebuilt, and the bombed-out stairwell at the center of the museum replaced with a sleek concrete-and-marble model. Chipperfield’s approach may set new standards for such projects and prompt soul searching about historical reproductions, such as that planned for the nearby Baroque royal palace.

More on Nefertiti…

Photo courtesy of Radiological Society of North America

Did Nefertiti get some “work” done? It may very well be… Researchers in Germany have used a modern medical procedure to uncover a secret within one of ancient Egypt’s most treasured artworks; the bust of Nefertiti which appears to have two faces. The differences between the faces, though slight (creases at the corners of the

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mouth, a bump on the nose of the stone version) suggest to Dr. Alexander Huppertz, director of the Imaging Science Institute at Berlin’s Charite hospital and medical school, that someone specifically ordered the adjustments between stone and stucco when royal sculptors immortalized the wife of Pharaoh Akhenaten 3,300 years ago.

Latest trend in scents: 3,400-year-old Pharaoh’s perfume The latest thing in scents next year could be the oldest perfume in the world, made especially for an Ancient Egyptian female pharaoh, according to German scientists who are analyzing residue found in a 3,400-year-old perfume flacon.

The German researchers at the Bonn University Egyptian Museum say they will use the analysis to recreate the original perfume that was buried in an exquisite alabaster vessel bearing the royal insignia of Queen Hatshepsut.

The intact perfume jar has remained sealed since it was interred in the Valley of the Kings some 1,400 years before Cleopatra. On a hunch, the Bonn Egyptologists recently ran a CAT scan which revealed 3-D images of a residue at the bottom.

“No one had ever done that before,” says museum curator Michael Hoeveler-Mueller. “We were frankly overjoyed at the findings. And now we are conducting a chemical analysis of the residue in hopes of being able to recreate the exact original perfume.”

The analysis and possible recreation of the scent is expected to be finalized later this year, he said.

“We think it probable that one constituent was frankincense - the scent of the gods,” he added.

That theory is based on the fact that Hatshepsut sent an expedition to the Land of Punt, modernday Eritrea, which returned with gold, ivory, ebony and living specimens of frankincense trees.

The frankincense trees were planted in a vast, irrigated garden which spread out in front of her cliff-side mortuary temple directly across the Nile from the Karnak Temple of Amon, the god she said had been her heavenly father.

Of her monumental construction work, only two great obelisks at Karnak and the mortuary temple at Deir al-Bahari remain.

And a flacon of perfume with her name on it as “King” of Egypt.

Taht elA Short Rab’a History W  P  L L

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n a cool April morning in the center of the metropolis along the southwestern wall of Bab Zuwayla in the middle of a long row of shops, stands a little fiteer shop on Ahmed Maher Street. Its façade, only ten feet wide, does not impress itself upon the passerby. Small pots of pink geraniums arranged geometrically along the curb draw attention to the plastic chairs that are pushed against two window panes. Large white bowls filled with raisins, boiled eggs, bright red tomatoes, green and black olives and ghee glisten in the morning sun; neatly stacked canned tuna occupy the window sill. Just below the ceiling, a sign reads: Blessings from Allah. A handwritten religious verse sprawls across the window pane: “Let my business go well, let my tongue be fluent.” There is no door.

“Salaam Alakum, Kull sina entum tiybeen: Peace Be Upon You. May your new year be pleasant,” the old man’s voice greets us like a gentle breeze on this first day of spring – Shamm el-Nassim. Hardly have these words been spoken when Hagg Mahmoud pulls from beneath a pyramid of dough-shaped balls, one pastry. With quick wrist motions, he begins to flatten and flip it – twirl, stretch, fold – until the dough is paper-thin and translucent. A breeze drifts through the doorway mixing with the heat of the roaring oven. “We are open twentyfour hours a day, everyday of the year. Why should I have a door? I gave it away years ago,” said Hagg, drizzling ghee over the thin dough.

“This shop has been in my family for 120 years. My grandfather taught my father. For sixty years, I have been making fiteer.” He looks down the street and points toward the twin minarets of Bab Zuwayla.

His hand waves into the air as he counts the shops– saddles, fertilizers, bird cages, barbecue grills and wire baskets, butcher blocks and stools, wooden ‘kobkab’ sandals, herbs, shisha café, coffee bean shop, marble, alabaster and Ramadan lantern (fanous) workshops. “Down the street my brother makes kunafa. We bake kunafa pastry on a flat, iron griddle in the back of the shop. Our street has never changed except the name. It was called Taht al-Rab’a (meaning beneath the apartments).”

Today, it is the older generation that might recall the street of Taht al-Rab’a, but in official documents, it is now a name assigned to a page in history books. The street named ran southwest from Bab Zuwayla to Bab Khalq. The name change came after the 1952 coup d’etat. In honor of the Egyptian Prime Minister, Ahmad Ma-

her, who was assassinated in 1945, the new regime broke with ten century-old names: Taht al-Rab’a and Bab Khalq became Ahmad Maher Street and Ahmad Maher Square, respectively.

What exactly is a Rab’a?

Rab’a is a type of Cairene apartment building that was built above shops. During the Mamluk dynasty, one of the most prominent Mamluk sultans, al-Zaher Baybars built a religious school, madrasa, near Bab Zuwayla in 1263. The sultan established a large apartment complex, which was named after its benefactor, al-Rab’a al-Zahiri. The street beneath the apartment complex became known as Taht al-Rab’a. Bab al Khalq (formerly Bab el Karq) was one of the sixty gates of the Fatimid walled, royal city, al-Qahira.

Bab al Khalq stood near the Khalij al-Misri. Though the actual gate does not exist today, it got its name from the Arabic word, kharq, which means ‘hole’, because people dug a hole through the wall to pass. From Bab al Khalq, the street of Taht al-Rab’a followed an eastern direction and ran parallel to the southern wall of al-Qahira. It joined the street of Darb al-Ahmar at Bab Zuwayla that lead to the Citadel.

Bab Zuwayla, which is the most wellknown landmark of the area, extends over the main route, the qasaba, which ran north-south through the city. From Bab Zuwayla to the northern gate of Bab alFutuh, the main thoroughfare – the qasaba (literally translated as ‘trachea’) bisected the city, which to this day, is still named after the Fatimid ruler, al-Mu’izz li-Din Allah. The significance of this area began in the tenth century when the Fatimids, a Shiite religious movement from Ifriqiya (present-day Tunisia), conquered Egypt in 969.

Under the command of General Jawhar the Sicilian, plans for a new city were laid 1 out. By the year 971, the Shiite caliph alMu’izz li-Din Allah entered the new capital, al-Qahira, in the month of Ramadan. The ruler’s passageway was illuminated with thousands of lanterns (fawanees), the lantern is still a beloved symbol of Ramadan observance today.

In 1092, an Armenian, Badr al-Din alGamali, completed construction of a gate in the southern wall, and it was named, Bab Zuwayla, after Fatimid soldiers of Berber

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Left- Tah’t el-Rab’a (below the apartment) Street toward Bab Zuwayla 1-Hagg Mahmoud making fiteer 2- smoking his water pipe at his fiteer shop

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origins from the Zawila tribe quartered near the construction of the new city. (Recent restoration of Bab Zuwayla revealed that the original base of the gate was three meters below the ground and pieces of pharaonic material had been used to construct the gate.) The Mosque of Saleh Tala’i (1160), adjacent to Bab Zuwayla, was named for the Fatimid wazir who built it. The mosque was intended as a monument for the head of Husayn, but Hussein’s head was placed in a Fatimid palace or shrine on the site of where the Hussein’s Mosque stands today. Saleh Tala’i Mosque is one of two surviving “hanging” mosques. The mosque was suspended above a row of shops. The rent paid was for the mosque and any additional construction and employment.

During the Mamluk period, Sultan al-Mu’ayyad Shaykh built two minarets on the gate’s base. Over the centuries, princes and dignitaries watched from the top of Bab Zuwayla as coronation and victory parades stretched from the Bab al-Nasr along the qasaba. The sultan would parade his guards through the city from the northern gate to Bab Zuwayla and advance along the Darb al-Ahmar to the Citadel. This platform was the place to watch the holy shrine and caravans that marked the pilgrimage to Mecca.

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Bab Zuwayla was also the place for public executions, and it was here that the last Mamluk Sultan, Tuman Bey was hanged.

Just outside and opposite Bab Zuwayla is the continuation of al-Mu’izz li-Din Allah Street that leads to the area developed by Radwan Bey in the seventeenth century. The urban development consisted of palaces and a suuq for shoemaking. The shops along the extension of the qasaba were covered by a wooden ceiling, pierced for lighting, which is one of the best preserved examples of a covered market in Cairo. Today, the area is popularly known as alKhiyamiya, the Tentmakers Street.

It was at this junction of Bab Zuwayla, Darb al-Ahmar 1-Fresh roasted coffee beans 2- Herbs sold for medicinal purposes 3- Workshops are tiny so work is done on the side walk. This carpenter makes ladders. In the Description de l’Egypte, it is mentioned that woodworkers carved fragrant woods under a covered street, Taht el-Rab’a 4- Marble and stone carver, oymagi, engraves plaques for advertising and tombstones with a10 centimeter nail 5- Egyptian-made scale in herbal and medicinal shop 6- Wooden ‘kobkab’ slippers use in the hammam

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Al-Khiyamiya, the Tentmakers Street is an example of a well-preserved covered bazaar built

by Radwan Bey in the 17th century

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Street to the east, Radwan Bey Bazaar to the south and Taht el Rab’a Street to the west, where great caravanserais were built, along the main axis to the Citadel. The Persian word, caravanserai, comes from the root “to protect.” The caravanserais in the area of Bab Zuwayla were constructed to provide security for the travelers and merchants, their goods and animals. Anyone passing through Cairo had to pass through this area.

The markets through the center of the Fatimid city and its surrounding area teemed with merchants, craftsmen and artisans. The main thoroughfare or qasaba, was the market zone that extended from Bab al-Futuh to Bab Zuwayla supplemented by various trades and specializations east to west of the main artery. In the fourteenth century, Egyptian historian, Al-Maqrizi noted that along the qasaba and beyond Bab Zuwayla there were “58 wakalas (a micro-khan housed within a multi-storied building, a type only found in Cairo), 87 markets with more than 12,000 stalls.”

In 1176, Salah al-Din built the Citadel of Cairo, a fortress on Muqattam ridge. From the Fatimid royal city, alQahira, the ruling class and their soldiers along with political power transferred to the Citadel. The area around the Citadel attracted development and important markets sprung up west of the Citadel. Palaces, luxurious houses and markets built up around the hippodrome, a large space reserved for military exercises, polo games, and horsemanship. For example, around a wealthy merchant’s house, individuals who produced and distributed goods lived nearby. Within the same vicinity were shops that sold the goods, their humble dwellings and traders providing services for the needs of the residence. A coffee shop, public bath, mosque with Quranic school, inn for travelers, all formed a small nucleus of the larger city.

In this southern section, specialized workshops produced armor, accessories for horses and special uniforms for the Mamluk guards and soldiers. Along the narrow Taht al-Rab’a street, there were once workshops of ironmongers who specialized in equipment and paraphernalia to adorn themselves and their horses. Today on Ahmed Maher Street, the small workshops of metal works remain, although the goods have changed – bird cages, tools, knives, rat traps and Ramadan lanterns.

Moving along, almost a thousand years later…

Taht el Rab’a is unusually quiet for this time of the morning. On any other day the street would bustle with energy, but today Egyptians ‘sniff the spring breeze’ on Shamm el-Nassim, a pharaonic tradition in which Egyptians celebrate the arrival of spring by eating salty fish – fiseeskh – green onions, and boiled eggs. Another man takes over the

fiteer baking and the Hagg pulls up a chair; his daughter places his shisha (water pipe) in front of him and arranges three hot coals over a ball of wet tobacco. For some minutes, the Hagg inhales through the long red pipe causing water to bubble loudly as he draws the smoke through the water and into the pipe. We look upon the curb-side potted plants as if an expansive green lawn unfolds before us.

“Soon we will be very busy. People have to eat something sweet after all that salty fish. When I was a child, we used to spend the day under trees, but now, most of the time, I am here: all holidays, Ramadan, feasts, Shamm el-Nassim, I am here.” The hagg explains that fiteer has been made in Egypt for hundreds of years with samna baladi (traditional Egyptian ghee), but recently, meat and vegetables or sweet ingredients are added to the paper-thin pastry. “It is an Egyptian tradition for the bride’s mother-in-law to buy a wedding fiteer to serve the morning after the wedding at the couple’s house; sometimes I make a twelve-layer fiteer for rich families.” Hagg explains. “One time a poor girl came to me, and said she was getting married, and wanted the wedding fiteer, so she asked for a six-layered fiteer. I told her that since her husband’s family and her family were not rich, two-layers would be enough. I could have made a six-layered fiteer, and got paid more for it, but why should I do that?” From the shop, a dark haired girl about four years old, races under the table and sits at the Hagg’s feet. “This is my granddaughter, Habeeba, one day she will be making fiteer. ‘Habeeba means beloved.” Our street has never changed since I was small, like Habeeba, but it won’t be so for her. The government is going to tear down all those shops across the street to widen the road for parking.” Habeeba climbs onto her grandfather’s lap and lays her head on his chest. “But every year I go to Mecca for fifteen days, this is my vacation.”

“Purr-Purr. Purr-Purr” the water gurgles as the Hagg sucks smoke through the pipe. The white smoke drifts from the side of his mouth and around his head. Two veiled women stop to purchase several kinds of fiteer. The Hagg makes them laugh. “Sometimes foreigners come and pay much more than they should, but I only take the price of the fiteer and return the rest. I don’t like to cheat people; I want them to come back.” Two demitasse cups of dark, sweet, cardamom-laced coffee appear. “Money brings problems… lots of problems, what is most important is to love people.”

The fiteer baker rolls his next circle of dough, pats it, lifts it, stretches it and twirls it. The oven fire glows and until the government removes it, the little garden at the curb grows; and all through the day and night, seekers and dreamers, workers and wanderers walk by this little fiteer shop under the apartments, or Taht el Rab’a…

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By Eva Dadrian

In Ancient Egypt, private gardens were much cherished. Blending pleasure and utility, ancient Egyptians not only kept gardens for growing vegetables and foodstuff, but also flowers, ornamental trees and shrubs. Many of these gardens were also cultivated with special fragrant herbs, medicinal plants and plants, regarded as sacred, that were used during rituals and offerings to the deities

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rchaeologists have provided us with wide evidence that beautiful gardens also surrounded mortuary temples, such as the one by the temple of Ramses II in Abydos “He planted many gardens, set with every kind of tree, all sweet and fragrant woods, the plants of Punt”. Furthermore, in numerous funerary texts the deceased talks about “walking under the trees of his garden and drinking the water of its lake” Gardens were not the privilege of the high and mighty of those days and Egyptologists mention funerary gardens of small size that have been grown in the courtyard of certain Theban private tombs, probably imitating the larger gardens of the pharaohs.

Despite centuries of invasions, wars and conquests, the tradition was never broken and Egyptians continued to nurture their love for private gardens and public parks.

It is believed that in Al-Fustat, well-off people built houses with internal courtyards, gardens and even fountains, perpetrating the centuries-old tradition. Chronicles of that time mention the parks, gardens and promenades located outside the built-up area. They specifically talk about the profusion of rose gardens, as rose water was a popular medicinal potion then.

The trend to cultivate ornamental gardens to procure satisfaction and pleasure continued with Ahmed Ibn Tulun, the founder of the short-lived Tulunid dynasty (868-905 A.D.) Al Qatai, the new city built by Ibn Tulun, was modelled on Samaria, the eastern city where he grew up, and it did not only have magnificent buildings, but also “large parks, open spaces for horse-riding and tournaments” and gardens ornamented with “flower beds and pots of flowering plants in the Samarian fashion.” Encouraged by Ibn Tulun - a great patron of art and architecture - landscapers and gardeners excelled in embellishing these gardens by planting dwarf palm trees and aromatic plants and shrubs. Imagination as well as creativity had no limits.

Gardeners pruned trees in various shapes while landscapers introduced different ornamental accessories, the most innovative one being the first artificial fountain trees. This was not an easy operation, as tree trunks were inserted with hidden leaden pipes from which water was thrown upward, producing a breathtaking effect.

Today, nothing remains either from Al Qatai or from its gardens. With the exception of the famous Ibn Tulun mosque that survives to this day, Al Qatai was destroyed by the Abbassid troops who were sent to re-conquer Egypt in the name of Al Khalif Al Muktafi in 905 (292 AH).

Despite assassinations and rebellions that marked their reign, the Mamluk sultans of Turco-Circassian origin who ruled Egypt from 1260 to 1517, built magnificent palaces and gardens and by the mid fourteenth century, Cairo

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Previous page: Detail showing a pharanoic garden, from a scene in the tomb of Nebamun (1350 BC), found in Karnak. Š British Museum Above: Egypt’s finest botanical garden at the newly restored Manial Palace Opposite: The Andalus Garden in El-Gezira once again regained its predominant place in the region.

Much later, the centuries-old love-affair between Egyptians and their gardens was revived with the advent of Khedive Ismail, a visionary city planner and a lover of beauty and splendour by excellence.

Known as Ismail the Magnificent, Khedive Ismail is the grandson of Mohamed Ali Pasha, the founder of Modern Egypt. As soon as he became Wali in 1863, Ismail launched vast projects to reform the country and modernize it on the same scale of his grandfather. Reforming the Egyptian administration was not enough for the ambitious Ismail. During one of his many visits to France, he had fallen in love with French culture and was so impressed by the transformation of Paris by Baron Haussmann that he de-

cided to remodel Cairo on the French capital. The task was Herculean and sparing neither effort nor monies to fulfill his ambition - Ismail hired French architects, engineers, urban planners and landscapers to build the Khedivial Cairo of his dream under the supervision of his minister of public works, Ali Mubarak.

In less than fifteen years, large avenues were opened, magnificent palaces were built, and six major botanic gardens established: the Zohreiya, the Aquarium, the Ezbekiya Garden, the Zoo, the botanical garden of Orman and the Horreya garden. These gardens were to be the Khedive’s answer to the Bois de Boulogne and Les Buttes Chaumont, two magnificent botanical gardens, whose creation he had witnessed in Paris. Like Mohamed Ali his grand-father, as

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The sad remains of the Zohreiya garden

Ezbekiya Garden, a far cry from its former glory

well as his father Ibrahim (who also had a special penchant for gardens) Khedive Ismail was extremely eager in promoting education, and he encouraged the introduction of numerous new plants, trees and flowers from Europe and from the Americas, thus expanding the horticultural knowledge of the Egyptians. These new arrivals were further enhanced by an influx of new plants and seeds from the Indian sub-continent and from the Far East landing on the Egyptian shores thanks to the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.

When he returned from Paris in 1868, the Khedive had in his baggage not only his ambitious dreams of transforming Cairo, but also a French landscape gardener: Barillet Dechamps who was to rebuild the Ezbekiya garden on the very style of the Parisian parks that Ismail admired so much. The Ezbekiya Lake, which was dug in the 15th century by Emir Azbak, had already been changed into a park under Mohamed Ali. Now his grandson was to transform

the park into a botanical garden with collections of plants and trees from all over the world. In The floristic composition of some historical botanical gardens in the metropolitan of Cairo, Egypt, published in the African Journal of Agricultural Research Vol. 2 (11) November 2007, the authors give a comprehensive and detailed description of the Ezbekiya garden at the time of its reconstruction. Stretching on 20 feddans (1 feddan = 1.038 acre) Ezbekiya had four gates and its landmarks included an artificial grotto with waterfalls, a small mountain cultivated with cacti, and a marble fountain decorated with botanical motifs.

As for the horticultural species, the article says that the garden contained 27 families of trees, plants and shrubs and next to some thirteen species of palm trees, succulents, perennial herbs and climbers were also represented,

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Part of the marble fountain of the Andalus garden

The beautifully preserved Andalus tile work

thus making the Ezbekiya, the first ever botanical garden in Egypt. On its northern side, the garden was bordered by the newly redesigned Sharia El Geneina,, while on its southern wing stood a theatre. Almost in the middle of the garden, water pumps were installed to irrigate the profusion of greenery.

Since it was established in 1868, Ezbekiya has gone through many transformations, but not all successful.

Its manicured lawns, the original features and landmarks and many species of rare trees have disappeared. Today, Ezbekiya houses the Puppet theatre, Al Talia’a theatre and the ill-fated National Theatre that was recently partly destroyed by fire. Not far away from the place where the swimming pool stood, stands a dilapidated but still used building: the former Egyptian Royal Society of Fencing.

The transformation is so dramatic that few Egyptians today would still remember that, not long ago, the Ezbekiya Garden was the jewel of all Khedivial gardens in Cairo.

The inauguration of the Suez Canal was to give the Khedive more opportunities to fulfil more of his ambitious and extremely expensive aspirations. Eager to show the best of his capital to his imperial and royal guests, in terms of infrastructure and splendours, he instructed Gustave Delchevalerie - the Belgian landscape architect who had collaborated with Baron Haussmann in re-designing Paris - to develop the gardens around the Gezira Palace. Situated on the island of Zamalek and Ismail’s favoured palace, the Gezira Palace was composed of three sumptuous buildings: one especially built for receptions and big events, further away stood the magnificent Salamlek and tucked away from mortal eyes was the Haramlek, built especially for the Khedive’s harem. What remains from the palace where Empress Eugenie of France was once entertained, is the central building of what is today the Marriott Hotel.

While it is needless to mention here the splendid decorations, the exquisite furniture, the priceless artefacts and

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Above: The Japanese garden Opposite: The breathtaking stairs of Andalus garden the sumptuous tapestries adorning the Gezira Palace, it should be said that the gardens of the Gezira Palace were as magnificent as its interiors. Having at his disposal, 600 acres, a huge budget and blessed with grandiose ideas as much as those of his employer whose password could be resumed to “splendour inside and more splendour outside”, in the space of one year (1868-69) Delchevalerie transformed a dream – his as much as the Khedive’s - into reality. He oversaw “the planting of a million exotic plants in a 600 acre garden” including royal palm trees, Acacia Lebbeck from Upper Egypt, Vanilla trees from Madagascar, Latania from Reunion Island, Juniper, Tamarind and Rubber Fig trees from India, White Mulberry from Turkey and the legendary sycamore, the tree of the pharaohs. Flower beds of daisy-like orange gaillardia, snow-white sweet al-

yssum, dark purple pansies, red and white petunias, pink mirabilis and many other flowers rivalled with cacti, Yuccas and other succulents. In the middle of this vast profusion of trees, plants, shrubs and flowers, Delchevalerie built a white marble fountain (which still exists), a grotto with water cascades and an artificial lake. It was also in the western part of the garden that some forty greenhouses were built to grow orchids, pineapple, banana and other tropical fruit and flowers. But this was still not enough and more magic was needed to make the gardens a real “paradise on earth”. Redirecting water from the artificial lake to the western parts of the garden, Delchevalerie built a pond and hidden in the aquatic foliage, a small island to house rare black swans, African pelicans and wild geese and ducks. The southern parts of the garden were not ne-

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The vast gardens of Shoubra Palace glected and Delchevalerie established a zoological garden with lions, tigers, leopards, giraffes, gazelles, ostriches and other wild and exotic animals.

Much later, after the demise of the Khedive, the Gezira Garden was divided into different allotments. Known today by its former name, Al Zohreya is home to nurseries and greenhouses, and the area where the artificial lake and grotto stood was redesigned in 1871 by two Italian specialists: De Combaz and Dumilieu to become the Aquarium. According to the authors of “The floristic composition of some historical botanical gardens in the metropolitan of Cairo, Egypt” a certain Captain Stanley Flower re-constructed the garden. Adding aquariums in the old grotto to house a “rare collection of African fishes and reptiles”. Ismail’s Aquarium is today our Hadiqat Al Asmak (the fish garden).

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While the southern parts of the 600 acre garden underwent various transformations to become the large Al Horreya Gardens, a smaller area near the eastern banks of the river was transformed into the magnificent Hadiqat Al Andalous, currently undergoing its fourth renovation, thanks to an injection of 6 million Egyptian pounds from the Egyptian Fund for the Restoration of Special Gardens.

At one point in time, Al Andalous was a skating rink for the younger members of the royal family, but since the mid 1940s, Al Andalous has been turned to a public park, with mosaics, artefacts and water fountains in the very style of the gardens of Alhambra in Granada. Of all the splendours of Ismail’s Al Geriza Gardens, Al Zohreya is the one that has suffered most. When Borg Al Kahira (The Cairo Tower) was built, Al Zohreya was cut in its middle to allow entry to the tower. Most of the exotic trees from India and Africa have been neglected and Al Zohreya, like an old lady, survives with the few features of her beautiful past.

A general view of the Orman garden On main land Giza, on the other side of the island of Zamalek and Al Zohreya garden, stands Hadikat Al Orman (Al Orman Garden) one more botanical legacy of the Khedive proving his passion for gardens and horticulture. Part of the much larger gardens of the Giza Palace, built by Said Pasha, Al Orman houses until today a variety of exotic and rare plants and trees. Struggling to survive on a very small budget, the garden has lost some of its former lush vegetation, but it is still home to rare trees planted there at the time of the Khedive. In terms of botanical wonders, Al Orman had nothing to envy to Al Zohreya of Delchevalerie.

Spreading on more than 90 acres it supplied all the Khedivial palaces with vegetables and fruits. Known in the past as Hadiqat Al Leymoon (The Lemon Garden) because of the 10,000 citrus cultivated there, Al Orman was reduced to 50 acres and then to 25 acres, giving half of its surface to the Zoo, next door. Despite the cropping and the reshaping of Al Orman, many of its former landmarks still

survive to this day: the rocky garden with its 200 species of cactus and succulents, the rose garden, the water pond, the magnificent forest of bamboos and the alley of Royal Palm trees..

Khedive Ismail may have inherited his love for innovations and his dreams of modernizing Egypt from his grandfather, but while Ismail surpassed by far his grand-father’s ostentatious taste, it could not be said that Mohamed Ali’s love for gardens was lesser than that of his grandson.

Among the many palaces built by Al Wali for his personal usage, Qasr Shoubra, the Shoubra Palace was the one where the Wali spent most of his time as he grew older. According to Gustave Delchevalerie, the Belgian landscaper who worked for his grandson Ismail, the gardens of Shoubra Palace were the most “renowned in the Middle East” .

Mosaic or pebble-paved alleys were bordered by hedges of myrtle, jasmine and narcissus and the fragrance of roses that much loved flower of the Orient - mingled with that of

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The garden of Manial Palace lemon and orange blossoms and the perfume of pomegranates with the sweet scent of plums. At sunset, Mohamed Ali loved to sit lazily on one of the hand-carved divans by the large bay windows of one of the two richly decorated pavilions and listen to the crystalline sound of water gliding through the marble fountains and echoing the twittering of birds in the trees. He may have walked to the baths through the colonnade of marble and white stone pillars and dipped his fingers in the rippling water of the large basin adorned with sculpted figures of crocodiles.

By reviving the old love affair between Egyptians and horticulture, the Khedive had set a trend, and even after his forced abdication, gardens continued to live and flourish in Egypt. The Japanese Garden which was established in 1917 by Zulfikar Pasha in Helwan, a southern suburb of Cairo, is landscaped in Japanese style and has a collection of Buddha statues overlooking a pond with a wooden

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Japanese style bridge crossing over the crystalline water.

Here and there among the trees stand pagodas decorated with the mythical Japanese dragons. Although it was built as a present to Sultan Hussein Kamel, Ismail’s son, the garden has little to offer in terms of botanical features.

Establishing gardens and parks was not to end with Khedive Ismail’s abdication and Prince Mohamed-Ali Tewfick, his grandson, took over and continued the tradition. But, whereas Ismail had given carte-blanche to landscapers and gardeners and was mainly concerned with “the effect”, Prince Mohamed-Ali had a more “scientific” approach, and combining this with his passion for splendour, he oversaw every single plant, tree or shrub that went into the gardens of his Manial Palace on the island of Roda.

Ismail was dazzled by the richness and splendours of European royal and imperial courts which he wanted to surpass, but Prince Mohamed-Ali, a much travelled and

A rare photo, taken circa 1880 of the Shoubra Palace garden highly educated man, was a sophisticated connoisseur of art and a refined collector. He had the eye for what was not only beautiful, but also unique. Collecting the Banyan trees, the Cedars, the Royal Palm trees and the Indian rubber trees, all remnants of Al Bostan Al Kebir, of his great uncle Ibrahim Pasha, Prince Mohamed-Ali, established a “garden of thousand delights.” Taking with him his head gardener, he travelled to the four corners of the globe in search of rare saplings, unique floral species, luxuriant tropical and desert plants and a matchless collection of several cacti.

With the fall of the Mohamed Ali dynasty, all the palaces and gardens became part of Egypt’s national heritage, and the various attempts made to transform Manial palace into a hotel for tourists ended up in disasters, damaging the magnificent trees and rare plants brought from far away horizons by the Prince. Actually the palace and the gar-

dens are undergoing a major face-lift that would hopefully restore some of the horticultural marvels of the past.

Today, the grandiose Al Azhar Park built by the Aga Khan Foundation in 2005, is the largest and latest addition to gardens and parks built more than 150 years ago by Khedive Ismail. From the first day of its inception, Al Azhar was designed as a public garden, yet it has kept with the long Egyptian tradition of horticulture and botany. With its eighty-nine varieties of trees, fifty-one of shrubs, five sorts of different grass, climbers of all sorts, ground covering plants as well as twenty-six varieties of succulents, Al Azhar Park may be today’s answer to the Khedive’s horticultural dreams.

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Going, Going ... Gone

Heritage at risk

By Nigel Hetherington

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W

hen you ask the majority of people to think of Egypt, they normally summon up images of the Pyramids of Giza, the royal mummies laying in state in the Cairo Museum or the fabulous treasures of Tutankhamun from his tomb in the Valley of the Kings in Luxor. Yet Egypt is so much more than this undoubtedly rich pharaonic heritage. In fact, it has been stated by many that its riches are almost impossible to count and that their breadth and scale are simply overwhelming. However, that should not stop us trying to uncover as much of Egypt’s heritage as we can.

Many of us are aware of the splendours of Islamic Cairo, the stunning corals of the Red Sea and the star lit nights that can be spent in the White Desert; but how many of us are aware that Egypt has some of the best preserved dinosaur fields in the world, a flourishing eco-tourism sector and one of the largest collections of Art-Deco buildings in the world, right in the heart of Cairo? In fact, every epoch of history is represented somewhere in Egypt if you take the time to discover it.

However, it is the rich twentieth century architectural heritage of Downtown Cairo that I wish to introduce you

to, before it is too late. Due to many factors, this almost forgotten area and its magnificent buildings are disappearing before our eyes. If we do not take action soon, these amazing edifices could be completely lost for future generations.

First, an explanation of what is meant when one uses such terms as modern or Art-Deco to describe architecture or fashion: The phrase Art-Deco comes from a design fair named the Exposition Internationale des Arts Decoratifs industriels et Modernes held in Paris in 1925 which, many years later, was to become synonymous with the modern movement. However, the term would eventually be used to describe all things modern of that era, including architecture, fashion, interior design and even automobiles. Recognised instantly by its sleek geometric designs and shapes, the Art-Deco movement would spread across the world and derive much of its inspiration from the 1922 discovery of Tutankhamun’s tomb in the Valley of the Kings by Howard Carter. This was to place Ancient Egyptian art and design 1- A defaced Art deco entrance in Heliopolis. Photo: Miral Ramzy 2-Air conditioner openings hacked into this downtown Cairo building

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firmly at the centre of the Art-Deco movement.

The question of how much influence the discovery of Tutankhamun’s treasures had on the modern movement has been debated for generations, however what can be definitely said is that in the 1920’s the world went Tutankhamun crazy, in fact it has been labelled by some as ‘Tut Mania’. Not only was the world able to read of the new tomb discoveries in their newspapers each morning but in a foreshadowing of the mass communications of today, footage was shot of the excavation in the Valley of the Kings and played to cinema audiences around the globe by newsreel companies. It seemed everyone wanted a piece of Tut: fashions mimicked ancient Egypt, jewelry carried ancient Egyptian motifs and cinemas and office buildings began to appear in the Art-Deco style with sphinxes adorning their facades.

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“ I     D,         ” Many of you will have seen buildings of this style throughout the world but I would like to show you where you can find classic examples of Art-Deco in Egypt today.

Just a few bustling streets away from the Cairo Museum lies an area that has been christened by many as ‘Paris on the Nile’ due to its rich architectural heritage. The district known as Downtown Cairo or in Arabic Wust al-Balad, is a relatively small quarter of Cairo that forms a triangle on the map with its three points being Tahrir Square, Bab Alhadid and Abdeen.

The dream of a Cairo modelled on European cities really began with the Viceroy Mohamed Ali, referred to by many as the founder of Modern Egypt. During Mohamed Ali’s rule from 1805-1849, Egypt flourished economically and culturally. Links with Europe were established which would eventually result in architects, planners and designers from England, France, Germany and Italy descending on the country. The result of this trade and contact with Europe was a booming economy and with it came a massive building spree. Public works were commissioned as well as grand homes and palaces for the growing upper classes.

However, the development of Cairo’s “downtown” area would only take off from around 1863, led by of Mohamed Ali’s grandson, the Khedive Ismail who ruled Egypt from 1863-1879. It was he who would carry the vision of a Paris on the Nile through to its construction. In fact, the downtown area was known as Ismailyia until the 1950’s in recognition of the man who carried through the plan of reshaping this part of Cairo in the style of a European

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city. The construction work would however take decades to complete, and even through there was a spurt of building around 1871, development would continue right through to the 1930’s.

By that time Art-Deco had become all the rage in Europe and North America and quickly caught on in Egypt too.

It could be said that Art-Deco was coming home at last.

Many techniques of construction and styles of architecture were imported from Europe. The Downtown area would see not just buildings in the Art-Deco style but many from the schools of Art Nouveau, Baroque and Neo-Islamic architecture. Art-Deco also found its way into many other areas of Cairo including Zamalek, Maadi, Heliopolis and Shubra and in other cities in Egypt particularly Alexandria.

Ismailia became famous for its European residents and the architects they commissioned reflected this, coming from all over Europe to build elegant apartment blocks and office complexes. However, with the coming of the suburbs such as Maadi, Heliopolis and Dokki many rich Egyptians and Europeans had villas built away from the city center to escape the noise and pollution and this was, alas, the beginning of the eventual decline of the area. Nevertheless, Ismailia, until the 1950’s was an elegant commercial centre only with fewer affluent families remaining. The shops were the toast of Europe and Egypt and professional services such as lawyers, accountants, dentists and doctors opened fashionable offices there.

So how do you identify an Art-Deco building in Cairo or anywhere else for that matter? First, look at the materials and the colours; Art-Deco architecture frequently makes use of aluminium to top buildings or as decorative detail.

The style is also known for its use of pastel colours, particularly in warmer climates.

Second, identify the lines; Art Deco design is noted for its stair-step, pyramid-style structures and use of zigzag lines, as seen in New York City’s Rockefeller Centre complex or Cairo’s Ades building on Emmadedin street. The design style is also identified with its use of fluid curves and arches, such as those found on Union Station in Cincinnati and many of the Art Deco building in Miami’s South Beach neighbourhood.

Third, notice the tell-tale design elements. Art Deco buildings often include nautical elements, such as porthole windows, or elements from classic Egyptian and Aztec design, such as stair-step lines and medallions.

Key buildings in Cairo’s Ismailia built in the Art-Deco style include Cinema Metro, El-Sharq Insurance Co. Build-

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1, 2 & 3- Shawarby building on 26th of July street. Built by Habib Ayrout in the 1920’s, currently being repainted 4- Ades building on Mohamed Bek el Alfi street. Built in the 1930’s

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ing at 15 Qasr El-Nil Street, which was Built around 1940, The Sednaoui Department Store at 17 Qasr El-Nil Street, which was built in 1925 and the building at 22 Qasr El-Nil Street, built in 1934. But there are many more examples, including apartment buildings, offices, government buildings and shops, some are completely Art-Deco in style, some just contain elements or combine with features from the modern movement, or the belle époque and art nouveau approaches to architecture.

So what now for this once fashionable area? Well, after a long period of apathy, many in Cairo are beginning to take an interest in the downtown area and recognise its rich architectural heritage; in fact, there are now even architectural tours of the area. A developer has even suggested building a new Downtown in the desert margins of Cairo.

Hopefully this is an indication that people are becoming interested again in the styles of this period. But instead of building a new Downtown, why not renovate and revitalise the existing one? Numerous groups and individuals have now called for better preservation and recognition of this period of Egypt’s modern history, such as the Center for Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage (CULTNAT) which is affiliated with the Bibliotheca Alexandrina and supported by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. They are undertaking an ambitious plan to document the 19th and 20th century heritage of the Downtown area utilizing Geographical Information Systems (GIS) mapping and building an extensive database of photographs and historical information about the area.

The English archaeologist William Flinders Petrie famously said back in 1879 that “Egypt was a like house on fire”, when faced with such a choice, what do you save first? With Egypt’s huge legacy of cultural heritage and its rich natural heritage under threat from the demands of a growing population and increasing urbanization it might seem petty to say we should try to save the Art-Deco buildings of Cairo. However, they are an important part of Cairo’s rich heritage that deserves to be recognised.

In many cities in the world, the move to the suburbs was followed a generation later by a migration back to the urban centre lead by artists, writers, and creative individuals which lead to an urban renaissance in the city centres of many major cities. I myself live in a turn of the century apartment building, built in 1903 by a Belgian architect for a Cairo based match factory to house their managerial staff and I can vouch for the apartment’s grand scale and unrivalled design features, something that is sadly lacking in many modern buildings.

Let us hope that the regeneration of Downtown Cairo becomes a reality.

1- Art Deco in Heliopolis- Photo: Miral Ramzy 2- A Garden City Building- Photo: Miral Ramzy.

3- Pharaonic motif in Cairo’s Ismailia district (off Emmadedin Street)- Photo: Miral Ramzy 4- Light fixture designed to match the Garden City building 5-An ecclectic style building with classic Art Deco porthole windows Art Deco motifs: Ahmed El-Bindari

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Many of us walk through the streets of Egypt and find ourselves captivated by the most incredible sights. People from all backgrounds and professions have taken up photography either as amateurs or as professionals in order to document the many scenes of Egypt.

Here, we invite you, our reader, to submit your photographs of Egyptian heritage and your thoughts. Tell us what you want to say with your photograph, tell us of the story behind the shot: simply express yourself.

Get in touch with us by emailing: editor@turath-egypt.com

Miral Ramzy, Interior designer

“The stairs and the elevator shaft of one of the buildings in Alexandria, on Fouad Street.�

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Ragai Karas, Painter and Photographer

“This shot was taken from the inside of El-Azhar Mosque. I liked the repetition of the columns and arches. I also wanted to include human figures to add some life to the shot.”

“This shot was taken from the Azhar park, depicting Mohamed Ali’s Citadel, I wanted to include the high rise building in my shot for contrast between the beauty of the old building and the ugliness of a new structure.”

Mohamed Hussein, Interior designer

“A camera can’t record the moment’s feelings, but it leaves a memory to remember them by. I took these photos during sunrise as I heard that this time is the closest atmosphere to heaven.”

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Women’s Atelier in

Tulun B I R. A P B M B

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n the recent past, the historic center of Cairo was synonymous with the production of quality handicrafts. However, it can be quite frustrating finding such unique and beautiful products today, especially in the wave of cheaper imitations that flood the market from China. Unfortunately, this increasing void is a reflection of current tastes and demands.

What I have hoped to achieve with the “Egyptian Chic” column is to report on Egyptians who have turned their backs on recent trends with the aim of preserving Cairo’s own craft industry, particularly workshops and guilds that have chosen not to abandon the old city.

In this issue, I would like to introduce you to the Women’s Atelier in Tulun, which was created approximately a year and a half ago by Suzanne el-Masry, the well-known contemporary jewelry designer and partner in the craft revival shop Al Khatoun, located behind the Mosque of alAzhar. I learned about the Atelier several months back when I was admiring a silk shawl for sale at Al Khatoun and inquired about the maker.

To my pleasant surprise, I was told the shawl, and many other beautifully embellished textiles, were made right there in Historic Cairo, in the Khalifa area near the ninth century mosque of Ahmad ibn Tulun. So, in pursuit of a new find, I took myself to the Mosque of ibn Tulun in search of the workshop.

The Women’s Atelier in Tulun started out as a pilot training project at the end of 2007. It was financed by an Italian fund for a five-month period. Suzanne had previously worked with the Italian donors on a jewelry project; and, when she was approached last year to suggest a second project, she proposed the idea of establishing a textile training program and workshop.

She also stipulated that each trainee receive her own sewing machine, so that they could continue working from home after the course ended.

According to Suzanne, the Khalifa area was chosen for one main reason: she wanted to work out of a popular neighborhood with women who had less employment opportunities; the Khalifa area fits the criteria but is distinguished from other neighborhoods due to its rich history and important monuments. The project began with 15 women being trained in basic sewing skills.

After the course ended, Suzanne chose to keep

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Suzanne el-Masry brainstorming with her staff

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the Atelier open at the request of the women.

Her instinct and experience with Al Khatoun cautioned her to start small, so she selected the five most suitable women and continued the workshop. The goal was for these five women to develop into well-trained artisans that are then able to train and teach others, starting a domino effect and a gradual expansion of the concept.

The modest, yet attractive, Atelier is located at the end of a small alley off Khalifa Street. When I arrived early one afternoon, I found Suzanne and four young women busily running around the workshop adding the finishing touches to colorful bed covers, curtains and bags. In their early 20’s, this is the first time any of these women have worked, and none of them had ever handled textiles before, prior to the training. Although Suzanne trains them, they work together to come up with elaborate designs by using a framework from which further developments can be made.

There are several techniques that the women have learned, including the Aghabani-style of embroidery (using the chain-stitch), painting on fabric, appliqué, printing, stamping and finally, heat transferring images directly onto fabrics.

All of these techniques, with the exception of heat transference, have been known and used in the Middle East and Central Asia for some time.

Since other similar workshops tend to specialize in one technique for mass production, the women at the Atelier distinguish themselves from others on the market by creating a signature style that combines at least two of these methods. What is especially uncommon is the inclusion of painted and heat transferred images in a combined effect. Ultimately, the women improvise within a design and idea, but combine the different ideas and techniques to create something new and unique.

Although the women are able to handle all techniques perfectly, they currently each specialize in two to ensure the quality of the product, as well as develop their own skills and artistic abilities. I sat down with the women and asked them how they benefited from the initial training and what they like most about their work at the Atelier. Hoda Mustafa, who hails from the Sayyida Zaynab area, specializes in painting on fabric and finishing. She joined the training because

she wanted to learn how to sew, and particularly enjoys painting because the process allows her to be imaginative. Shayma Mustafa, Hoda’s sister, specializes in embroidery and has learned how to embroider her own clothes, turning a simple dress into something unique and beautiful. Hind Muhammad is from Dar al-Salam; she especially likes to embroider, but can also paint and sew quite well. Samar Alaa’ mainly does the appliqué designs but embroiders too. Of the five, she lives in the immediate vicinity on Khalifa Street. Iman Hamdy is from Giza and works out of the Atelier for half of the week, mainly assisting Suzanne in the training. All of them shared similar sentiments when I asked them what they have learned and enjoy most about their work.

Unanimously, they all feel they have acquired skills that are useful on both a professional and personal level. Whereas before they used to solely buy their clothes, now they can sew, alter and embroider for themselves, as well as their family and friends. They also like the idea of exercising their creative side to make something that is special and personal, so it comes as no surprise that a source of inspiration is beautiful architecture that forms their surroundings.

Their main goal, Suzanne emphasized, is to improve the quality of the items, so they can sell more; and like all entrepreneurs, their dream is to come up with a constant stream of new designs. For example, when they first began to work independently last year, the curtains had simple, embroidered designs on a cream background – now they use textiles in other colors and add more elaborate embroidery. The principle that they abide by is simple: they have a basic idea that they always try to develop and improve upon.

A social by-product of the Atelier is the social skills that they have learned. In addition to the creative aspect and honing useful skills, they have learned how to be team players and learn from each other. There is a true sense of camaraderie. And what they tend to do before they market one of their new designs is to first test their ideas, like the beautiful wine-colored clutch bag I saw during my visit with printed and embroidered designs. I have already placed my order for one!

In addition to embroidered curtains, painted

and embroidered bed covers and bags, the women of the Atelier also make painted tapestries that are inspired by manuscripts, dresses and galabiyas, tablecloths, cushion covers, lampshades, frames with heat transferred images of classical Egyptian film stars, as well as countless other items that can be specially ordered. Everything is made using local cotton and linen, with wool, cotton and gilded thread that is sold in the Muski, Khiyamiya and Azhar areas.

All products can be purchased directly from the Atelier or from Al Khatoun, their primary distributor.

Women’s Atelier Tulun

Open from Saturday – Thursday from 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM At the intersection of Khalifa and Saliba Streets, continue south onto Khalifa Street walking away from the Sabil of Umm Abbas. Take the second left off Khalifa Street onto a small alley. The Atelier is located at the very end of this small alley.

For further information, please contact Al Khatoun at 2514-7164

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An Ongoing Legacy

The Workmen of Guft

By Mennat-Allah El Dorry

The practice of passing down a profession, or a skill, from one generation to the next is becoming a dying tradition in our modern world. Today’s youth are rarely obligated to follow in the footsteps of their parents, a positive sign of more people finding their own place in life. Sadly, this is also a cause for countless traditional skills to die out, worldwide. However, one skill that has thankfully survived from one generation to the next in Egypt, is archaeology. This may sound surprising, but is true. For over 100 years, the men of Guft (Quft, Koptos) have stood the test of time, playing a vital role in some of the most prominent archaeological projects in Egypt such as the pre-high dam excavations in Nubia.

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Men at work: The Raiis standing on top of a debris mound, overseeing the workers on the Island of Elephantine in Aswan (Courtesy of and copyrighted to Heiner Thaler)

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uftis were first introduced to fieldwork and excavations in 1893 by the godfather of Egyptology, the British W. M. Flinders Petrie. While recording and excavating temple remains in this small town north of Luxor, Petrie handpicked his workmen, training them well in the most advanced archaeological methods of his time. They were paid relatively well, and rewarded for each find they made based on a set pricing system for different categories of finds. Petrie took his men as overseers on his other excavations in Egypt, and soon the reputation of the locals of Guft spread around the country as the best diggers. They started being hired on different sites under different directors, such as in Saqqara under Egyptian Egyptologist Selim Hassan. With each new site they gained new knowledge and experience which they transferred onto their sons, nephews and successors. Guftis also trained many outside their native city of Guft, such as the men of Gurna, on the West Bank of Luxor.

Guftis have a very strict hierarchy. There is the Raiis meaning the chief of the workmen, as well as the technicians, and labourers. The Raiis is responsible for all the work, choosing the workmen who come with him from Guft, assigning the tasks on the field, organising labour, dealing with logistics of accommodation and health, and of course keeping track of attendance so his men can get paid. The Raiis usually comes from a long line of chief workmen which means he does not work as a heavy labourer, but still starts at the bottom of the hierarchy. Raiis Amir Kamel Seddiq who heads the workmen of the German and Swiss missions in Aswan

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started out as a 12 year old working in prehigh dam Nubia as a guard for the tents used by the team. Over time he trained in digging and was prepared to fill his father’s position as chief. After a long and fruitful life, his father Raiis Kamel Seddiq passed on to him the title, and responsibility of being a Raiis. Ideally, Raiises do not do much manual labour themselves, as they have to oversee and supervise many different aspects of the work.

Yet, so many Raiises itch to get down into the trenches of sand and dust. One often finds them digging away as they show the younger generation what to do. Since ancient times, overseers were depicted on Egyptian tomb walls leaning on a long stick, and till now a Raiis is often seen holding a stick, a mark of status more than a practical tool.

After the Raiis comes the technicians: the archaeologists and specialists, and these most often function in small groups, with one technician supervising the younger labourers. This technician is usually an older and well respected individual who is often referred to as Raiis as well. When needed, several technicians can join their peers and work under them if the work demands. Gufti archaeologists can be specialised in digging in mud and urban contents, or in the desert and sandy dunes. Specialists can be ceramicGuftis who identify and sort potsherds, and glue matching pieces when possible. Some are trained in conservation, surveying or core drilling‌.however what is most important is Guftis usually have had a hand at doing several archaeological tasks before they settle into one, or more specialties. The way people settle into a speciality is often based on the demand at any time. While work related injuries and poor health have caused some of the men to move to the less physically demanding parts of the work, most will

tell you they were doing one thing, when one day the Raiiss or the foreign head of the mission sent them to do a certain task that they showed an interest in and continued with the job. Often a father will take his son along into whatever he is specialised in, and the son will carry on. Despite this, nepotism seems unheard of, and Guftis always stress they ALL start their archaeological work in the dust and no one starts higher, except of course the Raiis’ direct blood line, who start at the bottom, but not too far down.

Finally down the end of the hierarchy come the labourers, those who carry the baskets of dust and sieve them to retrieve the tiniest archaeological material. On their same level are the pot-washers, who wash the sherds to be sorted by the ceramic-Guftis and analysed by members of the archaeological mission.

Rookies with little or no previous archaeological experience first join the Gufti archaeological workforce as pot-washers, basket carriers or sievers. Some archaeological missions have rules regarding how young boys can be when they join as labourers, therefore most Guftis will only join after having finished their schooling in their late teens. After several years of observing and training when there is an opportunity, some of the labourers move up the hierarchy and become fullyfledge diggers or specialists. Every two to four labourers are supervised closely by one of the superior technicians who would be responsible for teaching them and closely looking for those who show promise. With this hierarchy, the men still have a very strong camaraderie. They are always encouraging each other saying “Allah Yinawwar” (may God shed light upon you) and “Allah yi3afeek” (may God give you strength). They often discuss how to do things together, benefiting from each other’s experience on

the field.

Some 500 workmen are mobilised every year when the excavation season starts around autumn. On one site there can be as many as 50 Guftis working during the peak season, and this number can decrease to 15 during the end of the excavation season. Out of several thousand inhabitants in Guft and its villages, only this small amount is involved with archaeology.

The older men are a mine of knowledge; their memories are like a sponge absorbing all their experiences without being covered with the fine dusts of time and of archaeology. Abdel Aziz Abd Allah, one of the older technicians who has been working with the German Archaeological Institute’s missions

in Egypt since 1967, recalls his days of working in Nubia before the building of the high dam, and nonchalantly recounts his memories and experiences working in areas later flooded by Lake Nasser. In March, several Opposite - Top to bottom: Raiis Amir, Abdel Aziz Abd Allah, Fawzy Ali, Ahmed Ali, Eid Abdul Hamid, Attiyya Daba, Salman Mohamed Ali, the late Hajj AwadAllah Abouzeid, Desouqi Abbas, Saied Fikri - Photos 1-4 courtesy of and copyrighted to Heiner Thaler Above - L-R Mohmed AwadAllah, Saber el-Khom, and Ayman Gamal exacavting a burial in Gharb Aswan (photo copyright to the Aswan-Kom Ombo Project)

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Guftis were honoured at the 50th Anniversary of the appeal launched by Egypt and Sudan to UNESCO for an international campaign to save the monuments of Nubia held at the Nubia Museum in Aswan, including Abdel Aziz and Raiis Amir.

The history of the work is not the only item Guftis have engraved in their minds, but the history of Egyptology. Guftis working for the German Archaeological Institute remember all the Institute’s directors and

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project leaders whom have come to position in their lifetimes. The older men will also remember some of today’s great archaeologists when they were still young students, many of which were trained by the Guftis themselves.

When I first started working with Guftis, we had to remove some blocks. As on other excavations I have been on, I started thinking of how to clear a passageway for the men carrying the blocks to move. The mission director stopped me, and

told me to never interfere with La Methode Guftwoise. After a century of work, the men have mastered their methods, and are completely autonomous. Guftis are admired and respected by whoever works with them, and their opinions are always held in high regard. After all, they do come from a long line of archaeologists, and digging runs in their blood.

Thanks are due to Caroline Vormelker for providing the photographs of Heiner Thale

Serabit el-Khadim, the place and the people B F K, M H  S A B

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“It is my home, the place where I grew up and where my children are growing up,” said Ismail Barakat describing Serabit el-Khadim, the area surrounding the well-hidden ancient Egyptian temple in South Sinai.

“Serabit” lies 45 minutes off Abu Zeneima Port and about 100 km south of Ras Sedr. The area can only be reached via rough terrain cutting through the Sinai Desert, which explains why this area remains relatively unknown to the lay tourist.

The journey to reach Serabit elKhadim has to be experienced twice; once in daylight and the other at night. As commonly known by desert travelers, the desert’s topography varies widely from day to night, however this still does not explain the enchanting experience of first seeing Serabit.

In daylight, one is first struck by the magnificent valley preceeding the area.

Beautiful multicolored stones merge with the sandy background providing a sort of serenity concealing the treacherous nature of the desert. At night, one is in awe by the silent darkness, which rather than stifling the soul, provides a cool, welcome feeling to weary travelers.

The origin of the name of Serabit el-Khadim remains a disputed topic among archeologists; a common belief is that “Serabit” is the Arabic plural of the word “Sarbout” which is a local Bedouin expression referring to the stelae scattered all over the archaeological area. The history of the site started in the Middle Kingdom Period (ca. 2055-1759 BC) where archaeological evidence shows the first mining expeditions dating to the reign of Senuseret I. Such Egyptian expeditions in South Sinai had exploited other mining spots like Wadi Maghara and Wadi Kharig, since the Old Kingdom Period (ca.2687-2181 BC).

As was common among the ancient Egyptians, religion remained a high

priority leading to the construction of the Temple of Hathor on a mountain peak of altitude 800 m. Reaching the temple is a climb not for the faint of heart; the main route consists of a series of hundreds of steps which will surely test the endurance of one’s knees. However, a good place for resting is offered by the site of Rod el-‘Air where ancient Egyptians carved graffiti, mostly during the Middle Kingdom Period, illustrating the miners, animals, and more commonly, boats and axes. The boats likely referred to the transportation used to cross the Red Sea to reach the ancient port of el-Merkha, then further into the valley to the mining area. The axes, on the other hand, are examples of the common tools they used to mine. Rod el-‘Air was used as a resting point by the weary miners. This represents an insight into their lives, with the graffiti telling us the stories of their expeditions. As for the back route to climb to the temple, the path is shorter, much steeper, and requires a firm footing. The Egyptians had to cut this hard route in order to get the copper and the blue-green turquoise, to which the region of South Sinai owes the ancient Egyptian name “the terraces of turquoise” (Khetyou Mefkat).

Reaching the upper plateau, is reaching the domain of “Hathor”, the main goddess of the temple. Hathor, whose name means “the shelter of Horus”, is one of the most important figures of the ancient Egyptian deities, with a presence traced to the Pre-dynastic Period. Hathor was the goddess of beauty and motherhood, love and music, while also being the goddess of foreign lands and their wealth.

In Southern Sinai, she became synonymous with turquoise and has also been known as “the Lady of Turquoise”. This association led to the creation of the temple of Hathor where ancient Egyptians paid homage to a

goddess who has blessed them with the fine wealth of the mines of Serabit.

These mines appear today as caves where traces of blue veins show the remnants of the old mining activities.

There are numerous mines around the temple with inscriptions reporting all the details of the expedition’s work such as the date (according to the year of reign of the king who sent the expedition), the number of the miners, the duration of work, and the results of the work (the opening of a new mining gallery for example). All were usually written by the chief of the expedition.

In Serabit el-Khadim, the Egyptian Miners left hundreds of texts commemorating their work either on rock inscriptions near the mines, on freestanding stelae, or around the temple of Hathor, where we can frequently read sentences such as: “Gallery (mine) named “Admiring the Beauty of Hathor”, which was opened by the chief, director of Lower Egypt, Sanofret,….”. Part of rock inscription no.56 at Serabit el-Khadim.

The temple itself is unique in many

ways, not only for being the largest ancient Egyptian temple in Sinai. The structure also represents the largest temple of a worshipped deity throughout Egypt left by a group of miners; and is additionally exceptional for being the oldest Egyptian partially rockcut temple.

Today’s visitor to the Hathor temple at Serabit el-Khadim follows a series of small rooms forming the temple; from the entrance at the very beginning, to the chapel of Hathor at the end where the shrine of offerings lies. These rooms bear a huge number of stelae as well as many different monuments: parts of statues, offering tables, and some blocks of the original decoration of the temple added during the Middle Kingdom (ca. 2055-1759 BC) and the New Kingdom (c.1569-1081 BC) Periods.

Opposite - One of the inscriptions carved nearby the mines by the expeditions’ members Above: A head of Hathor on top of an architectural element of the temple

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The People of today’s Serabit el-Khadim

Leading the visitors throughout the climb and the tour is usually a Bedouin guide, a descendant of the nomadic tribes who roamed the place hundreds of years ago and who belonged to either the Ulaygat or the Muzzeina clans.

The Bedouins of Serabit el-Khadim are believed to have migrated from the Arabian Gulf; some claim from Saudi Arabia, while others speculate their origins to be Yemen. Whether one or the other, the Bedouins still proudly bear the resemblance of their ancestors with the dark tanned leathery skin, the wiry build, the jet-black hair, and their amazing adaptability to the desert and hard living conditions, especially the lack of water. “The nearest water rig is almost 20 kilometers away”, explains Ahmed Barakat. “We need trucks to bring loads of water and that costs us a lot. Ironically enough, there is water underneath the unyielding desert, but of course no funds to drill it.” The scarcity of rain over the past decade adds to the enormous water problem the nearly 300 inhabitants of the area have to face.

The Barakats are the leading fam-

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ily in the area; they are of the Ulaygat clan and are well-known in South Sinai. Barakat camp, is the only working visitors lodge in the area and is strategically built on the bed of the surrounding mountains, ten minutes away from the temple, to provide picturesque scenery making the hand itch for a camera. Simple and basic, the camp is run by young Bedouin men who tend to the needs of the visitors. The Bedouin women are responsible for the baking which they do in their homes; they do not come to the camp or mingle with the tourists. Only young girls are allowed to roam free in the area, some selling the traditional

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Sinai embroidery and beadwork made by their mothers and aunts.

Female tourists are sometimes allowed into the houses of the Bedouin women where they swap stories and buy weaves and beads. However, the Bedouin women’s lives have witnessed a drastic change in the last two decades; with the presence of a school, many women are becoming a part of the traditional educational system, with a tiny group of them continuing into higher education. Sa’eydya Barakat, however, may not have been granted the gift of schooling, but she is well known in the area for being the only female tour guide, “I used to guide the tourists up the mountains when I was still a girl,” she explains proudly, “my father never minded”.

One look at Sa’eydya shows the raw strength of Bedouin women, unlike their usual meek stereotypical representation. Still, the Bedouins have re1- Engraving (graffito) of a boat from Rod el’Air. Such boats were the transportation used

by Egyptians to reach Serabit el’Khadim 2- A general view of the temple of Hathor 3- Bedouin children attending a session of the training organized by the CULTNAT team at Serabit el-Khadim 4- The Stele of the chief “Horroure” (ca. 1840 B.C. )

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tained many of their traditions, women are still covered from head to toe in mixed company, for instance. While polygamy has decreased significantly, the practice still does exist; and while girls still marry quite young, at the ages of 17 and 18, they are rarely forced into a marriage. “This is why divorce is easier nowadays,” explains Um Ismail. The changes in Bedouin community life can be seen especially when compared to descriptions of their lives in old journals and books.

In spite of their seclusion, Bedouins are being pitted against the different means of modernization; they have been entertaining tourists well since the 1960’s and nowadays satellite dishes can be seen strewn over the relatively small brick houses.

In spite of their gradual transition into a new, more sedentary lifestyle, the Bedouins of Serabit el Khadem have a firm hold over their traditions, which led to the imminent question; Is it possible to help develop the area (socio-economically), while respecting and protecting the intangible heritage?

Answering this question provides development professionals with a constant challenge. While one cannot help the external effects of modernization on a relatively secluded group, devel-

opment projects, on the other hand, should be designed to respect local customs and traditions; said groups must always be consulted with, during planning and implementation, always holding the keys to their own development in their hands. Thus, development of the area should depend on empowering the Bedouins through methods found in their own environment. The project of “Documentation of the Cultural Heritage of South Sinai” was initiated by CULTNAT to study and document the region’s tangible and intangible features which have not been adequately researched in the past. This has inspired the theme of the project, which began in August 2008, focusing on the area of Serabit el-Khadim as a pilot study. The studies are carried out in a multidisciplinary approach where community participation is taken into account through all ac-

tivities. The project has four main targets: a thorough documentation of the archaeology of the area, a social profile for the Bedouins, making the site tourist-friendly, and building the capacity of the Bedouins, enabling them to handle the tourism hoped to develop in the area. The project is a twoway learning experience for the CULTNAT team, as well as for the Bedouins, where both groups in a communitybased development approach make every decision together. “…The Mountains produce that which is in them, they bring to light the hidden things in them; the mountains and the deserts bring their offerings” Sebek-khereb Inscription “from the mines inscriptions at Serabit elKhadim”(lines 10-11).

Photographs by Monica Hanna

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Lady Liberty... A Fellaha?

By Yasmine El Dorghamy

As Frederic Bartholdi toured Egypt’s ancient sites accounts agree that the Khedive encouraged Bartholon his vacation in 1856, the French sculptor became di to continue developing his project over the next two utterly awed by the colossal sizes of the temples and years. It is even said that the artist submitted various monuments that surrounded him. He had never seen designs of the statue to which the Khedive added his anything so massive, so grand, and the effect of these own touch, suggesting that the light not be carried in the torch, but atop the head, native style. The statman-made, larger-than-life monuments possessed ue was to serve mainly as a lighthouse (inspired him for the rest of his by the pharaonic lighthouse in Alexandria). life.

Over the course of these two years, Bartholdi Failing to make his covisited Egypt to study pharaonic monuments, lossal dreams a reality and met with Ferdinand De Lesseps who upon returning to his native was responsible for the construcFrance, the young sculptor tion of the Suez Canal. The man saw potential in the original who was later to become his lifelong country of his inspiration: friend warned him that the Khedive Egypt. Consumed with the might not be able to finance the statue idea of grandiose sculptures, once the project was ready, judging by Bartholdi began to translate the extravagant ruler’s spendhis pharaonic inspiration ing habits. into his own artistic vision, a And this was exactly what sketch, and then a clay modhappened. In 1869 Bartholdi el of a statue of a tall woman got his final answer from the standing proud, representing Khedive, and it wasn’t the one Egypt. Seizing the opportuhe was hoping for. Egypt was nity to make his dream a resoon to be drowning in debts ality, Bartholdi approached and grand oeuvres were no Khedive Ismail of Egypt who more an option. was visiting Paris to attend Disappointed, but not brothe Universal Exposition ken, he went back to France, in 1867. The artist proposed and headed straight for Plan B: erecting a statue twice the size Not many years before, while of the Sphinx at the entrance attending a dinner party, Barof the Suez Canal, which was tholdi discussed an interesting due to be inaugurated in idea with Edouard de Laboutwo years. The statue laye, a leading figure among would be of a fellaha (a the circles of French liberals. peasant woman) holding a torch towards the sky, Bartholdi’s original Egyptian clay model and a miniature of the An admirer of American resymbolizing the country’s Statue of Liberty. Both can be found at the Bartholdi Museum in publicanism, Laboulaye sugColmar, France gested that the French people progress. The statue was present a monument to the Americans to commemoto be called “Egypt Carrying the Light into Asia. ” Did Bartholdi’s fellaha inspire Mahmoud Mokhtar’s rate the centennial of their nation’s independence in “Egypt’s Awakening” sixty years later? Maybe, but 1876. Bartholdi was interested from the very beginning, but it was after his hopes in Egypt had been we’ll save that speculation for another article.

Back to our original story: Now, most contemporary dashed that he returned to Laboulaye to “talk busi-

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ness” and bring the old idea back into light.

Bartholdi went back to his studio, dusted off the old clay model of “Egypt,” switched the arm carrying the torch, changed the robes, added a headdress, made some minor alterations, and presented a model of “Lady Liberty” to Laboulaye. Luckily for him, circumstances were kinder this time around. Laboulaye soon became Chairman of the Union FrancoAmericaine, which launched a fundraising campaign to finance the design and building of the statue. The campaign raised some $400,000 from French cities, private citizens and French corporations doing business with the United States. Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, the designer A sketch of “Egypt Carrying the Light into Asia.”

of the Eiffel Tower, engineered the internal structure. Bartholdi had also been awarded a design patent in 1879 for the Statue of Liberty covering the sale of small copies of the largely anticipated statue. Proceeds from these sales, along with the other fundraising efforts, helped raise money and eventually the funds needed for the full statue were collected. The sculptor’s grand opus was built in France and shipped to the United States for assembly. It was finally unveiled to the public on October 28th, 1886 in its final location on Ellis Island.

And that was how “Liberty,” which was originally modeled after the goddess Isis, changed from a dream the east could not afford, to a beacon of the west.

Street Stories 1- Kasr El Nil St. (Nile Palace): Gets its name from the palace originally built by Mohamed Ali Pacha for his daughter Nazli. The Palace was rebuilt in 1854 during the reign of Viceroy Saiid Pacha. It was later turned into Barracks for the occupying British army and eventually replaced with the Nile Hilton and Arab league buildings in the 1950’s.

2- Kasr El-Aini St.: Gets its name from the palace built by El-Mokerr el Shehabi Ahmed Ibn El-Aini, a powerful man during the reign of Sultan Khoshqdain in 15th century Egypt. The school of medicine, originally situated in Abu Zaabal, moved to Kasr el Aini out of need for expansion, in 1837.

Kasr el Nil Palace- Illustration circa 1858 (courtesy of www.egyptedantan.com)

Military hospital of Kasr el Aini, organized in 1837 after the evacuation of the hospital of Abu Zaabal

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3- El Ataba El Khadra sq. (Green Porch Square): Was originally named Ataba el Zarqaa (blue porch square), referring to Ahmed Taher Pacha’s palace with a blue porch (Taher was a wealthy noble who governed upper Egypt during the reign of Mohamed Ali). Khedive Ismail later bought the palace and the Ezbekkeyyeh gardens were planted in the surrounding area, giving it its new nickname, El Ataba el Khadra.

An undated photo of the Ataba el Khadra square. The Tiring and Stein department stores had not been built yet, which implies that the photo is most probably pre 1900

A bus passing through Ataba el Khadra square. The building behind the bus still exists today

4- Boulaq el Dakrour (originally “el Takrour”): Although the origin of the name “Takrour” is still quite vague, several sources have documented that a colony of Sudanese, or Takrouri students (Takrour being the ancient name of the area where Sudan lies today) studied at the Azhar University and settled in Boulaq during the Fatimid era, eventually giving their name to their new home. This story debunks an old myth that the name Boulaq is derived from the French “Beau Lac”. It is quite unlikely that a French nickname was bestowed on the area before the Fatimid era. Is it an Egyptian word, then? Boulaq still remains a mystery.

5- The Ever-Changing Square: : Bab el Bahr (Gate of the Sea) became Bab el Hadid (the Iron Gate), Bab el Hadid became Abbas then el Malika (the Queen), followed by ElNahda (the Awakening) and finally settling on Midan Ramsis in 1954. Now that the colossal statue is gone, a new name is being sought for this vital spot of Cairo. Perhaps we can go back to Bab el Hadid? It is the original historical name and the area that is still commonly referred to as Bab el Hadid. This would be a logical street name change (for once).

Why was it called Bab el Hadid?

It wasn’t the train station… Find out in our next issue of Turath.

A donkey looks straight at the camera in front of the Railway station at Bab el Hadid circa 1911

Mahmoud Mokhtar’s Nahdet Masr in front of the Railway station circa 1940

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What’s in a Name?

Why Egypt is “Egypt” and other Derivations

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B D. L S

hroughout the entire history of pharaonic Egypt, and even into the Ptolemaic, or Greek Period, the city of Memphis was the capital and administrative center of the country, as well as where the king lived. Memphis had been founded at the very beginning of the First Dynasty of ancient Egypt, about 3100 B.C. The city’s name in ancient Egyptian was “Inbw Hedj”, which means “The White Walls”, and referred to the beautiful white limestone walls that surrounded the king’s palace. The ancient city covered an extensive area, and its center was roughly where the

modern village of Mit Rahineh is located today.

The god of Memphis was Ptah, the patron of craftsmen, who seemed to have been a local god at the time of the founding of Memphis, and so became the god of the city. By the time of the New Kingdom, from about 1500-1100 B.C., an enormous temple complex for Ptah lay south of the king’s palace. It is said to have been as large, or larger,

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than the Karnak Temple complex in Luxor. The name of the temple was “Hw(t)-ka-Ptah”, the “Temple of the Soul of the God Ptah”.

The “Hw-ka-Ptah” (final t’s were not pronounced in later pharaonic times) was obviously a very large and important part of the city. At the beginning of 332 B.C., when Alexander the Great took Egypt from the Persian Empire, large numbers of Greeks came to Egypt, not only as tourists, but to settle and live there as well. The name the Egyptians used for Ptah’s temple, became the name the Greeks used for the city, and with a Greek pronunciation became “Aigyptus”, in English, “Egypt”.

It is thought that the Arabic shortening of the name Aigyptus to “Gypt” is the origin of the word, “Copt”.

Now, where did the word Memphis come from, if the ancient name of the city was Inbw-Hedj? King Pepy I of the Sixth Dynasty (about 2300 B.C.) built his pyramid and pyramid town in Southern Sakkara, just to the southwest of Memphis. The name of his pyramid was “The Pyramid of Pepy I, Established and Beautiful”. Later, the pyramid town itself became a suburb of Memphis, and its name, a shortened version of the pyramid’s name, “Established and Beautiful”, or “Men-nefer”.

The Greeks apparently heard this name, and to them became ‘Memphis”.

Another very odd origin for a name, is why the two colossal statues of Amenhotep III who ruled in the Eighteenth Dynasty, roughly around the year of 1375 B.C., are called The Colossi of Memnon? These two statues are of King Amenhotep III, and they flanked the entrance into his mortuary temple on the West Bank of Luxor. The temple was badly damaged, with most of its stone blocks removed and reused in ancient times. In 27 B.C., apparently an earthquake damaged and cracked the northern colossus. From that time on, early in the morning, a strange wailing kind of sound came from the colossus. Greek and Roman tourists were fascinated by this, and would stay on the East Bank, crossing over to the West right at dawn to hear the noise. In Greek myth and legend, the mother of the hero Memnon, who was killed at the Battle of Troy, was Aurora, the goddess of dawn. These tourists equated the sound coming from the Colossus at dawn as the crying of Aurora over her dead son. Thus the statues of an ancient Egyptian king became the Colossi of Memnon.

Sometimes the noise occurred at dawn, and sometimes it didn’t. The Roman Emperor Hadrian, and his wife the Empress Sabina, visited the colossi the mornings of November 20 and 21 in 130 A.D. before they finally

heard the sound on the second morning. The Roman Emperor Septimus Severus later visited Luxor in 199 A.D. and ordered the cracks in the northern colossus repaired. Aurora has never wailed again since then. It is thought that moisture gathered in the cracks, and when the sun heated the statues, it caused this sound. The bottom of the northern colossus is covered with graffiti from these tourists, given their name and whether or not they heard the crying of Aurora; some of the graffiti take the form of poems about the goddess.

An important word that entered the modern vocabulary from ancient Egypt is “pharaoh”. It comes from the ancient Egyptian phrase “per a’a”, or “Great House” which was the name of the king’s palace. By the time of the New Kingdom, which began around 1500 B.C., “per a’a” became used to refer to the king himself, much the way that the Kremlin or the White House is used to refer to the president not the place. Pharaoh was used in the Bible, and from that passed into more modern vocabulary.

Another word we use which may be connected to the word for pharaoh, is the word papyrus. During the Ptolemaic times in the third century B.C., there was a royal monopoly on papyrus, and papyrus may have been referred to as “pa per a’a”, “that of the pharaoh”. This, however, is not certain.

Left - Graffiti left by ancient tourists, most of them writing their name and whether or not they heard the crying of Aurora 1-By the time of Ramses II, the king could be referred to by the ancient Egyptian phrase meaning “The Great House”, which is what the word pharaoh comes from 2- The two colossal statues of Amenhotep III who ruled in the Eighteenth Dynasty, popularly known as The Colossi of Memnon 3- The water-damaged sphinx of an Egyptian pharaoh, probably Hatshepsut, gazes over the remains of ancient Memphis

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Ismailia...

Who Remembers?

By Amr S. Talaat

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Translated By Shereen Mosaad

othballs, matches, stockings, light bulbs (mostly burnt) and many more extraordinary things block your path, as you try to make your way through the obstacle course of broken pavements, crowds of people, enthusiastic vendors and shoe-shiners. In the end, you find yourself in a mingy, dimly lit hall, searching for a staircase that has seen better years and definitely not had a sweep for decades.

“There used to be a palace in place of this building”, I told my companion, who answered me with a bland smile, which spoke for itself, “Is this really the time for reminiscing”! He gave my arm a violent tug to save me from colliding with a tea tray, laden with glasses of blackish tea, swaying in the hands of a barely 10 year-old boy.

And so it was, that we entered the oversized, gloomy building, whose distorted proportions and ugly design, weigh upon my heart, whenever I happen to pass by. The building, known to the frustrated dwellers of Cairo as “Mogama’ Al Tahrir”.

Badr’s Mother

In 1901 a grand banquet was held, the guests did not have a clue as to the occasion of the party beforehand – but they still showed up in all their finery, the light from the diamonds glittering off the ladies, clashing with the light from the brilliant chandeliers, and shining on the medals worn by the men. After a sumptuous feast, the host proposed a toast, and it was then that the bomb fell on the guests: he proposed a toast to his son! It was well known to the elite society at the time, that Alghazy Ahmed Mokhtar Pacha, the most faithful of husbands, did not have a son to his name. His wife Zahra Hanem suffered from ill health, but it seems that after exercising his patience to its limits, he had taken a beautiful blue-eyed concubine as wife, to bear him a son. Not wishing to hurt his good wife’s feelOpposite - Khedive Tawfik and his family who used the palace as their private residence

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ings, the news remained a secret, until she died, sick and blind and ignorant to her calamity, four years later.

The drama of the Scepter

A son inheriting his father’s wealth and power after his death is a natural occurrence, and history has told many stories of Ismail Pacha in particular planning and plotting to ensure that his sons inherited his full fortune, excluding all other members of the family and how he schemed to convince the Sultan towards granting him hereditary rule over Egypt.

But I often wonder what it would feel like for a father to be forcefully stripped of his power, to be given to his son during his lifetime. Would he feel oppression and sorrow for his loss? Would he feel envy at hearing his son congratulated and applauded? Would he feel satisfaction that his plan had worked and his son had inherited the authority and fortune? Or would he feel a mixed concoction of contradictory emotions?

On the morning of June 26th 1879, a telegram arrived at Abdeen Palace addressed to the “Former Khedive”, and another arrived at Ismailia addressed to the “Khedive of Egypt”. Sherif Pacha, the Prime Minister, made his way from Abdeen to Ismailia to escort Mohamed Tawfik Pacha to meet Ismail Pacha, and go to the Citadel to take the oath and meet the crowds of well-wishers. On the evening of the same day, the former Khedive, keeping his emotions to himself, went to congratulate the new Khedive, his son.

From the marble staircase of the palace, the son descends to meet his father in the garden. In a dramatic scene, two hands are gripped, from one the scepter was forcefully taken to be coincidentally put in the other!

Battle in the Palace

On the morning of September 27th 1886, passers-by (although few at the time) witnessed a strange event. Monsieur Lavison (a Jewish Russian by birth, his family converted to Christianity and lived in Egypt till the mid 20th century, the family is best known for Countess Lavison) a

faithful follower of Khedive Ismail, even after his dethronement, had put together a force of Albanian armed soldiers and laid siege to Ismailia Palace and later stormed it.

The issue was complex; the palace was considered to be the residence of the representative of the Ottoman Sultan, and laying siege to it, in the heart of Cairo, a stone’s throw away from the British Embassy was no easy matter. Khedive Tawfik was in an embarrassing situation; the siege was instigated by his father, who wanted to arrest the attention of the government and highlight his claim to the palace. Maybe this is why he did not appear on the scene, the matter was handled by the British Ambassador Sir Henry Drummond, who hastened back to Cairo to solve the problem.

Ismailia palace is shrouded in mystery, the scenes above are some of the drama that it witnessed, but very little information is available to researchers on its history, or who built it, or its owners, and I was unable to find a single picture of the palace.

When and where?

Khedive Ismail returned to Paris in 1867 after an absence of nearly 20 years, the grandeur of the city, and how it had progressed and developed duly impressed him. He was adamant about creating a replica in Cairo, and from here the idea of the Ismailia District was born, the area that modern Cairiennes call “Downtown”. He also decided to build a palace in the area carrying his name and from hence came Ismailia Palace.

I have with me a document dated August 8th 1869 from Khedive Ismail to Riad Pacha ordering the building of a palace to be named” Ismailia”. It seems that the process was hindered for a couple of years, because another formal decree in August 1871 states that the land on which the palace is “to be built” was to be granted to the Khedive’s third wife Jeshm Affat. This document is of great importance. First, it describes in detail the size and location of the palace (in modern-day Cairo from Kasr Al Ainy Street to the Nile, and from Kasr Al Nil Bridge to the Shepards

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Hamid in 1876, and so we understand that by then the palace existed.

The two Sister Palaces

Augusto Cezare was a 29 year-old Italian engineer who came to Cairo in 1873, to build his fortune in one of the most active and progressive cities of the time. Before two months had passed, the young man had made his name, and was given the duty of renovating the Palace of Mohamed Ali Pacha in Shoubra. After that he was given the task of designing Al Giza Palace, the Court-House in Alexandria, Bulak Museum and last but not least the building and designing of the “Small Ismailia Palace”.

It was known as the “Small Ismailia Palace” because the Khedive had the intention of building at a later stage the “Grand Ismailia Palace”. The walls of the palace alone cost 38,820 Egyptian Pounds, but Egypt fell under the constraints of economic depression and all construction was ceased, and not destined to resume. The small palace became known as” Ismailia Palace”, until it also was demolished, so the square became known as “Ismailia Square” for a time, until it was changed to “Tahrir Square”, and the name of Ismail was forever lost to his beloved Cairo!

The Silly Sheikh!

Hotel). Second, it documents the Khedive’s decision to actually build the palace, and third, it shows his wish at the time (although later changed) to bequeath the palace to his wife.

There are letters dated 1873 from the Khedive to his Head of Works, in which he thanks him for the progress made on the palaces of Ismailia and Abdeen. From various documents we conclude that construction on the palace began in 1871 and finished in 1874. There was no mention of the palace during the celebration of the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, or during the famous weddings held in 1873, so we conclude that it was not yet built at that time. It is however mentioned as one of the buildings decorated in celebration of the coronation of Sultan Abdel Above- Ahmed Mukhtar ell Ghazi Pacha, Ismailia Palace’s longest resident Opposite- Zahra Hanem who died without knowing her husband took on another wife

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The palace lies at 42 Misr Al Attika Street. This was the palace where Tawfik received his summons as the Khedive of Egypt. Its walls encompassed a garden famous for its palm trees and banana trees, as well as a mosque in its south west corner known as the “Sheikh Al Abit” mosque and mausoleum (Al Abit meaning “Silly” in Arabic). After the palace was knocked down, the mosque remained for a time until it was replaced by the current Omar Makram mosque. We learn from Ali Pacha Mubarak that the mosque was funded by the palace, but no information on whose mosque it was, or how this person was paradoxically both Al Abit and Al Sheikh!

The palace only had one building – the Haramlek, and was small in comparison to buildings of its time (maybe because its owner intended originally on building a larger one to replace it). It had a large marble staircase leading to a terrace and onto the garden, and was furnished in European style, the most prominent of its features being a large dining room with a round dining table.

The main eye witness to this palace is Amina Hanem Tugay, the grand-daughter of Khedive Ismail, who draws a very warm picture with her memories of life at the palace in the late 19th and early 20th century, where she used to spend a week a year on a visit to her grandfather. She claims that the Small Palace was a gift to Nashaa’ del (her grandmother), while the Grand Palace was taken by the government. There is no documentation to support this

information, since all records show that the Grand Palace was not actually built.

Egypt’s First Telephone Call

Maybe Ismail had every intention of granting the palace to his concubine, or of living in it himself, but there is no evidence of his ever having lived there. All documents support that the resident of the palace was Tawfik, even while Ismail was still in power. We might not know how Ismailia Palace was given to Tawfik, but we definitely know that he was there when he received the telegram announcing his rise to Khedive in June 1879.

June 16th 1880 was an important date in the contemporary history of the royal palaces; on that day Khedive Tawfik issued a decree making all royal palaces the property of the government, the most important of which were The Grand Palace, Gezira, Abdeen, Ismailia and Giza. He ran his official duties out of Abdeen Palace, and chose Ismailia Palace as his personal residence. March 3rd 1883, Al Ahram newspaper wrote that Khedive Ismail was resting at Ismailia Palace due to having a cold, and that he would conduct his Friday prayers at the Palace mosque (probably at Sheikh Al Abit mosque). A few days later the paper wrote that the Khedive would not be leaving the palace due to the bad weather, dust and storms, which all leads us to believe that it was his personal residence.

In October 1882, the first telephone in line in Egypt was installed between Abdeen Palace and Ismailia Palace. The first call was from the Khedive to his wife Princess Amina Elhamy, it leaves us wondering what they talked about!

A Sad Celebration

in February 1882 that he had the historical meeting with members of the Egyptian Shoura Assembly demanding the resignation of the government of Sherif Pacha during the well known budget assessment crisis. It was also at Ismailia that the Khedive received Sherif Pacha in January 1884, when he wanted to resign in protest of Egypt withdrawing from Sudan – which he considered was more vital to Egypt than Alexandria.

The British army quells the Oraby rebellion and the Khedive returns to Cairo on September 25th 1882 in a procession armed on both sides by British guards. He went on to Al Guzeira Palace, while his family went straight to Ismailia Palace. Shafik Pacha tells us that the next day; the Khedive left Gezira Palace to go back to Ismailia “with a sorrowful face at reclaiming his capital with British arms”!

The Ottoman Envoy

In 1885, after three years of British occupation, relations between Britain and Russia were severely strained, to the extent that war seemed imminent. Britain wanting to appease the Ottoman Empire (and the French), and smooth the creases caused by its occupation of Egypt, came to an agreement with Istanbul on a speedy evacuation of Egypt. A high ranking officer was sent to Egypt to supervise the process of the British evacuation; Alghazy Ahmed Mokhtar Pacha.

The Egyptian government nominated many great houses and palaces to be the residence of Alghazy Pacha, but in November 1885 Khedive Tawfik surprised everyone by decreeing that Ismailia Palace would be given to the honorable officer, who entered it for the first time on December 27th 1885. The splendor and grandeur of the palace was

Although Khedive Ismail built the palace in his name, it only became famous in the reign of Tawfik. The first of the interesting events at the palace was the visit of Tawfik’s two brothers who had accompanied their father on his exile. On their return to Egypt, he gave them a warm welcome and ordered two cows to be slain in their honor.

In 1881, the wedding procession of the Khedive’s sister, Princess Gamila, went from Ismailia Palace to Gezira Palace, along brightly adorned roads. Ismailia Palace witnessed many such happy events, such as the official relocation of the Khedive and his government every summer to Alexandria; the roads from the palace to the train station would be decorated, and the public would gather to see the Khedive passing by.

The documents of the time show Khedive Tawfik’s strong inclination towards the palace at Ismailia. Once after attending a banquet at Abdeen, which finished past midnight, he insisted on leaving and returning to Ismailia Palace. He also had suitable buildings erected along its walls for some of his formal and official meetings. It was there

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graph of the palace to whet our imagination, we do however know the name of the “bawwab” (porter), it seems Abdel Karim Fadl Allah wrote a letter in 1899 asking to be reinstated in his position – we do not know why he was fired in the first place!

Alghazy Pacha left in 1906, but documents show that up to 1908 there was still interest in the palace and its upkeep. In 1909, Khedive Abbass granted the palace to the Ministry of Finance, which remained there for three months, but left due to its derelict condition. In November 1909 the palace furnishings were auctioned (the most valuable pieces moved to Abdeen) and in 1910 the palace was demolished. Although there are contradicting documents that tell us that the Ottoman and British High Commissioners were to be hosted there in 1909.

greatly enhanced, the fountain alone took 5 months to renovate.

The palace garden reached the Nile; in 1898 a portion was taken for the building of the palace of Princess Ni’mat Allah the daughter of Khedive Tawfik (which was later occupied by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). After the war, Ismailia Road was opened which runs between the two palaces.

We all know that Alghazy Pasha’s task had dismal results; the British did not leave Egypt for another 70 years!

However his role changed to that of the official representative of the Sultan in Egypt and he stayed till 1906. Inspite of his return to Istanbul, Alghazy remained in his position for two more years. In 1908 he became head of the Ottoman Parliament and was later appointed as prime minister (Al Sadr al Aazam in 1912). The important point is that he lived at Ismailia Palace for 21 years, the longest period that any one person used it as a residence. During his time it was even known as the Ottoman Empire Agency!

The Bawwab that was laid off

History is a fickle mistress, there is not a single photoAbove- Princess Gamila who was the first to wed in the palace

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Writing about the final days in the life of these extinct palaces always saddens me, like writing the obituary of an old familiar friend who has departed. By 1913, the palace was gone, only the offices around the palace walls remained, and the wall itself with its great gates. The ministers of Interior and Finance ordered more offices to be built in the large open space to be used for government purposes. The Office of Publication Censorship moved there in 1917, to what was now called “Old Ismailia Palace” – Only the Glory of God Remains!!

In March 1924 the Traffic department moved to the palace where it remained till 1936 when it moved to Darrasa.

Ahmed Shafik Pacha writes that the palace was knocked down in 1934 with only the wall left standing, in 1936 it was ordered that the wall be knocked down as well as all the office buildings, but a quarrel between two government bodies prevented this for a few years. In 1938, the walls and gates were knocked down, the buildings remained and were used by the British during the war. The Egyptian government used the offices again until 1949, and it is from there that the idea of the Mogama’ probably arose. At the time a part of the garden was used to extend the square, when King Farouk decided to build a statue of his grandfather. The granite edifice was built and remained until the late 1980’s.

Ismail Pacha was unlucky in this regard, his statue did not remain (not even the platform) his palace was knocked down, even the sign bearing his name on the square disappeared, and no-one knows that Downtown Cairo was called Ismailia……

As for the current residents of Cairo, our luck is epitomized in the derelict cement structure covered in dust, where moth-balls are sold.

Egyptology in the Land of the Pharaohs J K

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rawing on personal travel to all the Christian sites of Egypt, and conservations with scholars, monks, museum directors, and scores of lay Egyptians, both Copt and Muslim, Jill Kamil weaves together historical research with absorbing stories as she explores such questions as: Why did Christianity spread so rapidly in Egypt? Why did the Coptic Church break away from mainstream Christianity? Why are there so many Egyptian martyrs? She traces change and continuity from the ancient past to the present.

Publisher - Routledge

Recommends The Life and Legacy of Labib Habachi J K

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his is more than an biography of the hurdles overcome in the life of of Egypt’s most perceptive and productive Egyptologist - who was marginalised for most of his career - it is a survey on the development of Egyptology, which is more closely related to politics than is generally realised. This book is a social survey of Egypt’s history as much as a biography of a remarkable man. AUC Press

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Islamic Civilization History and Treasures Text by Francesca Romana Romani

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his full-color chronicle begins with the seventh-century origin of Islam in the desert oasis of Mecca and an account of the Bedouin society in which the Prophet Muhammad was raised. Then it moves on to explore the dynamic development of Islamic culture and society under the first ‘rightly guided’ caliphs and the Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, a golden age in which Islamic philosophy, science and literature flourished to the full. The last chapter explores the main aspects of classical Islamic culture, looking particularly at theology and law, knowledge and science, mysticism and faith, and art and architecture.

Francesca Romana Romani is a specialist in the history of medicine at La Sapienza University, Rome, looking in particular at medieval medical culture and hygiene in the Near East.

Desert Songs Arita Baaijens

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rita Baaijens gave up her job as an environmentalist nearly twenty years ago, and has been exploring the deserts of Egypt and Sudan with her small camel caravan ever since. In Desert Songs she recounts her passion for the desert, the place she loves and fears. On one level, Desert Songs reads as an ode to camels, vistas and horizons, nomads and exploration. On another it is a story about an inward journey, a rite of passage. It is about leaving the world you know to venture into the unknown where you discover your true strength. How strong are you when there’s no backup? Where do your limits lie? Baaijens sets out on a voyage of self-discovery and unrelenting physical trials to find the answers. The experience changes her forever.

Arita Baaijens is an author, a photographer, and a fellow of the Royal Geographical Society. She has published several books on her desert journeys. In between travels she lives in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

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The Cultural River Runs on B J K

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have lived in Egypt for more than half a century, and I have felt myself part of the stream of culture flowing from ancient times to the present. We can see the most obvious cultural details around us every day; for instance amulets such as the Horus eye for protection, most often on a taxi or a horse-drawn cart; or a blue bead to safeguard a child against the evil eye. Religious traditions also survive, the forty days of mourning for a dead relative corresponds to the time for mummification before burial in ancient times; the placing of newborn infants in a sieve to shake out evil spirits, still practised today, is recorded on the wall of the Temple of Hatchepsut which pictured events in the life of the great queen.

Crafts such as weaving, calligraphy and book binding have changed little since the time of the pharaohs. Take mud-brick technology, for example. In ancient times this was a favoured medium for domestic housing and was frequently used in funerary architecture because mud-brick was particularly suitable for the construction of domes and vaults, which have a long

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history in the Nile valley. When British archaeologist Flinders Petrie was excavating in the Saqqara necropolis at the end of the nineteenth century, he found long sloping corridors with an arch of bricks leading to the

tomb chambers of an Old Kingdom nobleman. He observed they were the oldest brick vaults known, dating to between 2686 and 2181 BC. More recently, in 1997, another brick dome was found by Egyptologist Zahi Hawass during excavations of the workmen’s community at Giza. We must, therefore, amend the still-prevailing idea of only in mediaeval times was the dome introduced as an architectural feature. Coptic churches have undergone change over the millennia; however the characteristic dome remains a distinctive feature.

The skills of construction workers, artists and craftsmen have passed unbroken from generation to generation up to the present day. Carpenters have shown remarkable taste and skill in the production of their work as well as a high degree of refinement. Posts and beams for buildings in ancient times came from indigenous species such as sycamore (ficus), acacia, date, and doum palms. For more refined work, carpenters used cedarwood imported from Lebanon, pine and walnut from Europe and western Asia, and teak and ebony from Africa. The mashrabiya

(wooden lattice work) windows in the old wing of the Coptic Museum are some of the oldest. Made of finely-carved segments of contrasting wood fixed together without the use of nails or glue, while allowing room between each piece for expansion or constriction of the wood, they are usually associated with Islamic architecture.

In fact, mashrabiya was a feature of domestic architecture well before Islamic times.

The inlaid wood on sanctuary screens in numerous Coptic churches, especially those in Old Cairo, in the Hanging Church, for example, are made from segments of cedarwood and ivory carved and set into exquisite designs. Even in modest churches, such as the one built in the Delta city of Saha in commemoration of the visit of the Holy Family, local craftsmen set ivory crosses into the carved woodwork.

There has always been a great demand for weavers. Spinning and weaving skills have been major industries since predynastic times.

The earliest evidence of textile workshops is an inscription on a FifthDynasty mummy found at Abu Sir, which identifies the deceased as “assistant, superintendent of the weaving shop”. The textile makers were extremely versatile and had a wide range of motifs and decorations from which to draw. They let their creative imagination have full sway, and the freshness and vigour of their expression gives the fabrics a peculiar and distinctive attraction. The integration of contrasting configurations, classical, Egyptian, Greek-Egyptian, and Persian pagan motifs, as well as Byzantine and Syrian influences, led to a trend in Coptic art which is difficult to define because tracing a unity of style is not possible. What are now known as Coptic textiles reveal a diversity of classical and local themes: lively cupids, dancing girls riding marine monsters, birds, wild and domestic animals, frogs, fish and ducks, often combined with vines and tendrils. It

seems, however, like woodwork, sophisticated textiles were produced by highly-talented weavers at the same time as other pieces which were simple and unsophisticated, yet equally forceful.

Every monastery and every church once stored manuscripts, including prayers, sermons, poetry and biblical literature, just as every ancient temple had a library of sacred texts. The Coptic Museum possesses a wide range of literature from biographies and teachings of the early Church fathers to magical formulae.

Some are written in both Coptic and Arabic. Many are vividly adorned in the margins with figures of birds and animals. There are valuable libraries in the monasteries of Egypt, including those of Wadi Natrun and the Monastery of Saint Catherine in Sinai, the church known as Deir al-Sankoria at Beni Mazar, is also known to store many literary treasures.

1 Christianity was just one religion among a host of religions practiced in Egypt during the first three centuries of the Christian era. Indeed, ancient Egyptian, Greek, and Semitic gods were worshipped side by side, sometimes in the same temple or in neighbouring temples. Consequently, it is not surprising to find shared symbols, or ancient artistic techniques and practices being carried forward from age to age. Take the fragile Fayoum portraits, for instance, so named because a large number survived at Hawara in the Fayoum. These portraits of men, women and children, young and old, are frequently painted on wood of the sycamore fig tree, which was venerated in ancient times and was the medium on which the majority of art work including sarcophagi and mummy masks were painted.

Furthermore, analysis of early Chris-

2

Opposite: Portrait of a bearded man found in the Fayoum. ©Trustees of the British Museum) 1- Isis nursing Horus 2- Icon of Mary nursing baby Jesus

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tian paintings in various monasteries and museums clearly indicates painters used the same media, tempera and encaustic, as well as pigments known since the earliest times in Egypt .

In the sixth century before the birth of Christ, the classical scholar Diodorus wrote a lucid account of what traditionally took place after the body of the deceased was returned to relatives after embalming. He wrote: “Egyptians keep the bodies of their ancestors in costly chambers and gaze face to face upon those who died many generations before their own birth so that, as they look upon the stature and proportions and the features of the countenance of each, experience a strange enjoyment, as though they had lives with those on whom they gaze. Those who have private sepulchres lay the body in a vault reserved for it, but those who possess none construct a new chamber in their own home, and stand the coffin upright against the firmest wall”. A sound argument can surely be presented for a link between portrait-mummies and Christian icons.

A relief in the temple of Hibis in Kharga Oasis shows the king, wearing the Double crown of Upper and Lower Egypt, plunging a spear into body of a mighty serpent. A similar relief in the outer corridor of the temple of Horus at Edfu has the king, as Horus, spearing a hippopotamus.

Anyone who has visited the Louvre must surely have seen the famous stone relief of the hawk-headed god Horus represented as a mounted soldier with his horse tramping a crocodile transfixed with a lance.

Can there be any doubt these pharaonic representations were a prelude to the dragon-slaying soldier saints as depicted on icons in churches all over Egypt? Among such saints are St George (Mar Guirgis), St Mercurius (Abu Seifein), St Theodore (Mar Tadros), and St Victor (Mar Boktar), to mention a few.

The persistence of ancient sym-

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bolism in early Christian art cannot be dismissed because so much falls within the Egyptian tradition, and nowhere more so than the biblical story of the flight of Mary, Jesus and Joseph into Egypt. In this regard, the popular ancient Egyptian myth of Osiris, Isis, and Horus can be taken as an allegory of the Holy family, with Isis easily equating to Mary. The similarities between Isis caring for the infant Horus and taking him to a place of safety, and the Christian motif of mother and child, were obvious to Egyptians.

There are twenty-two places in Egypt associated with the biblical flight into Egypt, and at both archaeological sites, newly restored churches, and monasteries annual festivals are held in remembrance of the visit.

Muslim and Christian alike relate the Holy Family was warmly received at Belbeis, and the inhabitants kept company with the Virgin, played with the child, and talked to Joseph. the carpenter. However, Christians and Muslims are not always in agreement on the route taken by the Holy Family, or on the duration of their stay.

Copts believe that it was for a little over three and a half years, while Muslims who refer to “the family of Amran” in their Holy Qur’an, and hold it was a seven-year sojourn, during which time Jesus went to school in Upper Egypt.

There is a character and identity to Egypt which cannot be rendered in historical sequence because it tran1 scends history. This is transmitted from ancient times to the present in a stream of living culture, from Pharaonic through medieval to modern times, in rural as well as urban society. The character and identity are strong and enduring.

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1- A dragon-slaying soldier saint in the Church of Saint Mercurius 2- Horus (dressed as a Roman soldier) on horseback slaying the crocodile that symbolized the God Setekh, 4th century AD. © Musée du Louvre/C. Larrieu

‫والفاكهة الطازجة وعرفت بحديقة الليمون نظرا‬ ‫لوجود ‪ 10‬اآلف شجرة ليمون بها‪ .‬حديقة األورمان‬ ‫مت تخفيض مساحتها فيما بعد الي ‪ 50‬فدان‪ ،‬ثم الي‬ ‫‪ 25‬فدان عندما ضم نصفها اآلخر الي حديقة احليوان‬ ‫املالصقة لها‪ .‬وعلي الرغم من تقسيمها وإعادة‬ ‫تشكيلها إال أن معظم مالمحها القدمية مازالت باقية‬ ‫حتى اليوم؛ احلديقة الصخرية التي تضم ‪ 200‬نوعا‬ ‫مختلفا من الصبار واألشجار العصارية‪ ،‬حديقة الورد‪،‬‬ ‫بركة املياة‪ ،‬غابة البامبوالرائعة وممر النخل امللكي‪.‬‬ ‫قد يكون اخلديوي إسماعيل قد ورث حبه للتطوير‬ ‫وأحالمه لتحديث مصر من جده محمد على الكبير‪،‬‬ ‫غير أن إسماعيل قد فاق جده كثيراً في حب الفخامة‬ ‫والتفاخر‪ ،‬ولكن ال ميكن ان نقول أن شغف محمد‬ ‫علي باشا باحلدائق كان اقل من حفيده‪ ،‬فمن بني‬ ‫القصور التي بناها إلقامته قصر شبرا الذي قضى به‬ ‫معظم الوقت في مرحلة شيخوخته والذي كانت‬ ‫حدائقة طبق ًا جلوستاف ديشيفالري مصمم احلدائق‬ ‫البلجيكي الذي عمل حلفيده إسماعيل هي أشهر‬ ‫حدئق الشرق األوسط‪.‬‬ ‫وكانت ممراتها التي يكسوها الزلط واملوزايكومحاطة بشجيرات نبات‬ ‫اآلسي العطري والياسمني والنرجس وأريج الورود – تلك الزهرة املعشوقة‬ ‫في الشرق – يختلط بكل هذا رائحة أزهار الليمون والبرتقال والرمان‬ ‫والبرقوق‪ .‬كان محمد علي باشا يعشق اجللوس واالسترخاء عند الغروب‬ ‫بجوار احدى النوافذ الكبيرة املميزة جلناحي قصره الرائع ليستمع الي صوت‬ ‫خرير املياة املتدفقة من النافورات الرخامية والذي يتردد صداه مصاحب ًا‬ ‫بتغريد الطيور فوق أشجار احلديقة‪ .‬وقد يكون محمد علي باشا قد أحب‬ ‫أيض ًا السير الي حمام القصر عبر ردهة األعمدة املصنوعة من الرخام واحلجر‬ ‫األبيض والعبث باملياة الكريستالية التي متأل احلوض الكبير املزين بنحت‬ ‫علي شكل متاسيح‪.‬‬

‫وكان يريد أن يتخطاهم ويتفوق عليهم بينما كان األمير محمد علي‪ ،‬الذي‬ ‫كان غزير العلم والثقافة‪ ،‬كثير السفر والترحال‪ ،‬خبيراً بالفنون وهاوي ًا جلمع‬ ‫املقتنيات الثمينة والنادرة‪ ،‬كان ميتلك عين ًا خبيرة ليس مبا هوجميل فحسب‬ ‫وإمنا مبا هوجميل وفريد في نفس الوقت‪.‬‬ ‫جمع األمير محمد علي أشجار املوز والصنوبر والنخل امللكي واملطاط‬ ‫الهندي وكل ما تبقي من (البستان الكبير) الذي كان ميتلكه جده إبراهيم‬ ‫باشا وأسس ما ميكن أن يطلق عليه «حديقة األلف بهجة»‪ .‬كان يصطحب‬ ‫كبير البستانية العاملني لديه جلميع أنحاء األرض بحث ًا عن كل ما هونادر‬ ‫وغريب في عالم األشجار واألزهار والصبار حتي أصبحت حديقة قصره‬ ‫باملنيل عامرة بأنواع وفصائل من النبات ال مثيل لها‪.‬‬

‫بإحياءه العشق القدمي بني املصريني واحلدائق كان اخلديوي إسماعيل قد بإنتهاء حكم األسرة العلوية‪ ،‬اصبحت جميع القصور واحلدائق تراث ًا قومي ًا‬ ‫أرسي القاعدة وحدد اإلجتاة‪ ،‬فقد إستمرت احلدئق حتيا وتزدهر في مصر حتي ملصر‪ ،‬واحملاوالت العديدة لتحويل قصر منيل باالس لفندق سياحي إنتهت‬ ‫جميعها بنتائج كارثية أتلفت األشجار الرائعة والنباتات النادرة التي أتي بها‬ ‫بعد نفيه اإلجباري عنها‪.‬‬ ‫األمير من أقاصي األرض‪.‬‬ ‫في عام ‪ 1٩1٧‬أنشأ ذوالفقار باشا احلديقة اليابانية في حلوان‪ ،‬وقد مت‬ ‫تصميمها علي الطراز الياباني وبها مجموعة من متاثيل بوذا تطل علي بركة ان قصر املنيل وحدائقة يخضعون حالي ًا لعملية ترميم وجتديد نأمل تنجح‬ ‫للمياة يعلوها كوبري خشبي ياباني الطراز‪ ،‬وينتشر فيها مباني الباجودا في أن تعيد للمكان بعض روعته ومجده القدمي‪.‬‬ ‫اليابانية املزينة بحيوان التنني االسطوري‪ .‬ولكن على الرغم من إنها أنشئت‬ ‫كهدية للسلطان حسني كامل – إبن إسماعيل – إال إنها كانت فقيرة من اليوم‪ ،‬حديقة األزهر التي بنتها مؤسسة أغا خان عام ‪ 2005‬هي أحدي‬ ‫أكبر احلدائق التي أضيفت الي حدائق مصر التاريخية التي يرجع تاريخها‬ ‫ناحية التنوع النباتي والشجري‪.‬‬ ‫الي أكثر من ‪ 150‬عام ًا مضى‪.‬وحديقة األزهر صممت منذ إنشائها لتكون‬ ‫لم ينته إنشاء احلدائق واملتنزهات بنفي اخلديوي إسماعيل فقد إستكمل حديقة عامة غير أنها مع هذا إستمرت في التقليد املصري القدمي الذي يعشق‬ ‫حفيده األمير محمد علي توفيق املسيرة‪ ،‬ولكن بينما أعطي إسماعيل التنوع النباتي والشجري‪ ،‬وهي بالفعل تضم ‪ 8٩‬نوعا مختلفا من االشجار‬ ‫ال في العمل ملصممي احلدائق املتخصصني كان األمير محمد و‪ 51‬نوعا من الشجيرات و‪ 5‬أنواع من النجيل ونباتات متسلقة من جميع‬ ‫تفويض ًا كام ً‬ ‫علي مهتم ًا باجلانب العلمي الي جانب حبه للجمال واألبهه فقد كان يراقب األنواع إضافة الي ‪ 6‬أنواع مختلفة من األشجار العصارية‪.‬‬ ‫ويشرف علي كل نبتة في حدائق قصره باملنيل في جزيرة الروضة‪.‬‬ ‫كان إسماعيل مبهوراً بفخامة وأبهة البالط امللكي واإلمبراطوري في أوروبا ورمبا حديقة األزهر هي محاكاه عصرنا احلديث ألحالم اخلديوي إسماعيل‪.‬‬ ‫‪21‬‬

‫شالالت املياه وتل صغير مزروع بأنواع الصبار املختلفة‪ ،‬ونافورة رخامية حتمل‬ ‫نقوشات لنباتات وزهور‪ .‬وتضم احلديقة ‪ 27‬فصيلة مختلفة من األشجار‬ ‫والشجيرات والنباتات و‪ 13‬فصيلة من النخيل واألشجار املعمرة والعصارية‬ ‫مما جعلها أول حديقة نباتات تعرفها مصر‪ .‬واحلديقة كان يحدّ ها من الشمال‬ ‫شارع اجلنينة الذي كان املصريون قد إنتهوا لتوهم آنذاك من عملية توسيعه‬ ‫وإعادة تخطيطه ويحدّ ها من اجلنوب مسرح‪ ،‬أما في وسط احلديقة تقريب ًا‬ ‫فقد دقت مضخات لتوفير مياة الري الالزمة لها‪.‬‬ ‫منذ إنشائها عام ‪ ،1868‬مرت حديقة األزبكية بتحوالت عديدة لم تكن‬ ‫كلها ناجحة فنجيلها املقصوص بعناية ومعاملها األصلية التي أشتهرت بها‬ ‫والعديد من أنواع األشجار النادرة فيها قد إختفت‪ ،‬واليوم يحتل موقع‬ ‫حديقة األزبكية كل من مسرح العرائس ومسرح الطليعة واملسرح القومي‬ ‫املسكني الذي أتي حريق كبير علي معظمه منذ شهور قليلة‪ .‬وليس بعيداً‬ ‫عن ذلك املكان الذي كانت حتتله يوم ًا ما بركة سباحة يقف مبني متهدم ‪ -‬إال‬ ‫أنه ما زال مستخدم ًا – كان في السابق اجلمعية امللكية املصرية للمبارزة‪.‬إن‬ ‫عملية التحول تلك كانت من الدرامية بحيث أن القليل فقط من املصريني‬ ‫هم الذين مازالوا يتذكرون أنه منذ عهد قريب كانت حدائق األزبكية مبثابة‬ ‫درة احلدائق اخلديوية في القاهرة‪.‬‬

‫وفي وسط تلك الوفرة والغزارة من األشجار والنباتات والشجيرات والزهور‬ ‫بني دلشفالري نافورة رخامية بيضاء (مازالت موجودة الي اآلن) وكهف‬ ‫صخري مزود بشالالت مياة وبحيرة صناعية‪ ،‬وفي اجلزء الغربي من احلديقة مت‬ ‫بناء ‪ 40‬صوبة مشتل لزراعة األوركيد واألناناس واملوز وبعض الفواكه والزهور‬ ‫اإلستوائية األخرى‪ .‬وكل هذا لم يكن كافي ًا لدلشيفالري الذي شعر بأنه مازال‬ ‫بحاجة الي مزيد من السحر جلعل تلك احلديقة قطعة من اجلنه فعالً‪ ،‬فقرر أن‬ ‫يحول جزء من مياه البحيرة الصناعية الي اجلزء الغربي من احلديقة حيث بني‬ ‫بركة صغيرة مت فيها تربية األوز العراقي األسود النادر والبجع األفريقي واألوز‬ ‫الوحشي والبط‪ ،‬كما أنه لم ينسي اجلزء اجلنوبي فأنشأ به حديقة للحيوان‬ ‫بها أسود ومنور وفهود وغزالن وزرافات ونعام وأنواع أخرى من احليوانات‬ ‫املختلفة‪.‬‬ ‫وبعد سنوات من عزل اخلديوي إسماعيل ونفيه‪ ..‬مت تقسيم قصر اجلزيرة‬ ‫ال وصوب ًا للنباتات‪ ..‬واملنطقة‬ ‫الي عدة حصص وأصبحت حديقة الزهرية مشت ً‬ ‫التي كان بها البحيرة الصناعية والكهف الصخري قام اإليطليان دي كومباز‬ ‫ودي ميليوبإعادة تصميمها عام ‪ 1871‬لتصبح حديقة األسماك‪ ،‬وكما جاء‬ ‫في مقال «حدائق القاهرة التاريخية» السابق اإلشارة اليه قامت زهرة تدعى‬ ‫‪ Captain Stanley‬بإعادة تشكيل تلك احلديقة‪ ،‬كما مت أيضا تذويد‬ ‫الكهف الصخري بأحواض تضم مجموعات نادرة من األسماك والزواحف‪.‬‬ ‫أما اجلزء اجلنوبي من حديقة ال ‪ 600‬فدان فقد مر بتحوالت عدة ليصبح في‬ ‫النهاية حدائق احلرية الشاسعة‪ ،‬بينما حتولت مساحة أصغر تقع علي مقربة‬ ‫من الشاطيء الشرقي للنيل الي حديقة األندلس الرائعة اجلمال والتي تخضع‬ ‫حالي ًا لعملية التجديد الرابعة بفضل ضخ ‪ 6‬مليون جنيه مصري كميزانية‬ ‫لهذا الغرض من الصندوق املصري لتجديد احلدائق املميزة‪.‬‬

‫كان إفتتاح قناة السويس للمالحة فرصة عظيمة أتاحت للخديوي‬ ‫إسماعيل حتقيق املزيد من طموحاته وتطلعاته املكلفة للغاية‪ ،‬وألنه كان تواق ًا‬ ‫إلستعراض أروع ما في عاصمته أمام ضيوفه من األباطرة وامللوك واألمراء فقد‬ ‫أوكل الي البلجيكي جوستاف دلشيفالري (املعماري ومنسق احلدائق الذي‬ ‫ساهم مع البارون أوسمان في إعادة تخطيط العاصمة الفرنسية) مهمة تطوير‬ ‫وتنسيق احلدائق احمليطة بقصر اجلزيرة الواقع علي جزيرة الزمالك املقر املفضل‬ ‫إلسماعيل‪ .‬كان قصر اجلزيرة مكون ًا من ثالثة مباني ضخمة‪ ،‬أحدها مخصص في وقت ما من تاريخها كانت حديقة األندلس حلقة تزلج خاصة بشباب‬ ‫حلفالت اإلستقبال واملناسبات الكبيرة واآلخر هوالسالملك ويقع علي مقربة العائلة املالكة املصرية ولكن منذ منتصف األربعينات حتولت الي حديقة عامة‬ ‫من األول‪ ،‬أما املبني األخير فهواحلرملك وكان بعيدا عنها وعن عيون الدخالء يزينها املوزايكوامللون والقطع الفنية ونافورات املياه علي نفس طراز احلدائق‬ ‫واملتطفلني وكان مبني ًا خصيص ًا حلرمي اخلديوي‪ .‬ما تبقي اليوم من قصر اجلزيرة االندلسية في مدينة احلمراء بغرناطة‪.‬‬ ‫الذي شهد يوما ما اإلحتفاء باالمبراطورة الفرنسية أوجيني هوفقط املبني‬ ‫من بني كل تلك احلدائق الرائعة التي ضمتها يوم ًا ما حدائق قصر اجلزيرة‪،‬‬ ‫الرئيسي لفندق ماريوت‪.‬‬ ‫كانت حديقة الزهرية هي األتعس حظاً‪ ..‬فعندما مت إنشاء برج القاهرة مت‬ ‫وبينما ال حاجة لنا هنا أن نذكر الديكورات الرائعة وقطع األثاث املصنوعة قطعها من املنتصف لعمل مدخل للبرج‪ ،‬كما إن معظم أشجارها النادرة التي‬ ‫بفن وإتقان واملختارة بعناية واملفروشات الفخمة الراقية التي كانت متأل وتزين مت جلبها من الهند وأفريقيا قد مت إهمالها متاماً‪ .‬وكأمرأة عجوز تعيش اليوم‬ ‫جنبات قصر اجلزيرة‪ ،‬يجب أن نذكر أن حدائق قصر اجلزيرة لم تكن تقل أبداً حديقة الزهرية علي بعض تلك املعالم التي حتمل مالمح جمالها القدمي‪...‬‬ ‫عن روعة القصر نفسه ومحتوياته‪ ،‬فحدائقة التي إمتدت علي مساحة حوالي‬ ‫‪ 600‬فدان كان مخصص ًا لها ميزانية كبيرة لإلنفاق علي األفكار والطلبات وعلي اجلانب اآلخر من جزيرة الزمالك وحدائق الزهرية – في اجليزة‬ ‫املبالغة لصاحب القصر والتي كانت تتلخص في جملة واحدة «روعة بالداخل بالتحديد – تقع حديقة األورمان التي تعد هي األخرى أحدي حدائق‬ ‫النباتات األسطورية التي تؤكد ولع اخلديوي إسماعيل باحلدائق والنباتات‬ ‫وروعة أكثر باخلارج»‪.‬‬ ‫الغريبة والنادرة‪ ،‬وكانت في األصل مجرد جزء من حدائق أكبر هي حدائق‬ ‫وبالفعل في عام واحد (‪ )1869 – 1868‬حول دلشفالري احللم – قصر اجليزة الذي بناه اخلديوي سعيد‪ .‬مازالت حديقة األورمان حتي اليوم‬ ‫حلمه وحلم اخلديوي إسماعيل – الي حقيقة‪ ،‬حيث متت زراعة احلديقة تضم مجموعة متنوعة من النباتات واألشجار النادرة‪ ،‬إال إنها – نظرا مليزانية‬ ‫ذات ال ‪ 600‬فدان بأكثر من مليون شتلة جديدة ونادرة من جميع أنحاء صيانتها الضئيلة – مازالت تصارع من أجل البقاء‪ ،‬وفقدت بالفعل بعض‬ ‫الدنيا‪ .‬النخل امللكي واألكاسيا من جنوب مصر وشتالت الفانيليا من نباتاتها الوافرة رغم إحتفاظها بعدد من األشجار املعمرة النادرة التي زرعت‬ ‫مدغشقر والالتانيا من جزيرة الريونيون والتمرهندي واملطاط والتني من في زمن اخلديوي‪.‬‬ ‫الهند وشجر التوت األبيض من تركيا وشجر اجلميز األسطوري املعروف‬ ‫بشجرة الفراعنة وغيرها‪ ،‬وكانت زهور الغيردية البرتقالية اللون واأللوسية وميكن القول‪ ،‬أنه من ناحية عجائب النباتات وندرتها‪ ،‬ال تقل حديقة‬ ‫البيضاء والبنفسج وأنواع كثيرة أخرى من الزهور تتنافس مع الصبار واليوكا األورمان عن حديقة الزهرية التي أنشأها دلشيفالري‪ .‬وحديقة األورمان التي‬ ‫إمتدت علي مساحة ‪ 90‬فدان كانت تزود جميع القصور اخلديوية باخلضروات‬ ‫واالشجار العصارية‪.‬‬ ‫‪20‬‬

‫أوروبا واألمريكتني لتوسيع معارف املصريني بعلوم تطعيمها بأنواع مختلفة‬ ‫وإعداد وفيرة من البذور والنباتات املستقدمة من شبه اجلزيرة الهندية والشرق‬ ‫األقصى والتي وصلت من هناك علي منت سفن رست مباشرة علي شواطيء‬ ‫مصر بفضل قناة السويس التي كانت قد إفتتحت عام ‪1869‬م‪.‬‬

‫الذي وقع في غرام الثقافة الفرنسية في أحدي زياراته املتعددة لفرنسا‪ ،‬والذي‬ ‫إنبهر بعملية التحول التي أجراها البارون (أوسمان) علي العاصمة باريس‪،‬‬ ‫فقرر أن يعاد تخطيط القاهرة لتصبح نسخة من باريس‪ ،‬كانت املهمة شاقة‬ ‫جداً ومكلفة جداً ولكن اخلديوي إسماعيل لم يدخر ما ًال وال جهداً لتحقيق‬ ‫حلمه‪ ،‬فإستقدم من فرنسا املعماريني واملهندسني ومخططى املدن ومنسقى‬ ‫احلدائق لبناء القاهرة اخلديوية التي حلم بها حتت إشراف ومراقبة من وزير عندما عاد اخلديوي إسماعيل من باريس لم يحمل معه فقط تلك األحالم‬ ‫ملدينة القاهرة‪ ،‬وإمنا كان بصحبته أيضا مصمم احلدائق الفرنسي بارليه ديشان‬ ‫األشغال العامة حينذاك علي باشا مبارك‪.‬‬ ‫الذي عهد إليه مبهمة إعادة تنسيق حديقة األزبكية لتصبح مطابقة للحدائق‬ ‫وفي خالل ما يقل عن خمسة عشر عام ًا كانت الطرق الواسعة قد شقت الباريسية التي أعجب بها إسماعيل كل األعجاب‪.‬‬ ‫والقصور الفخمة قد شيدت وست حدائق نباتات عامة كبرى قد تأسست‪،‬‬ ‫وهي حدائق الزهرية – األسماك – األزبكية – األورمان – احلرية وحدائق كانت بحيرة األزبكية التي مت حفرها في القرن ‪15‬م بأمر من األمير أزبك‬ ‫احليوان‪ .‬وكانت تلك احلدائق ماهي إال محاكاه اخلديوي إسماعيل حلدائق قد حتولت الي حديقة عامة في عهد محمد علي الكبير قبل أن يأتي حفيده‬ ‫‪ Les Bois de Boulogne , Les Buttes Chaumont‬وحديقتي إسماعيل ليحولها الي حديقة نباتات تضم مجموعات نادرة من األشجار‬ ‫النباتات بباريس وكان قد شهد تأسيسهم جميعا بنفسه أثناء إحدي زياراته والنباتات أتي بها من جميع بقاع األرض‪.‬‬ ‫هناك‪.‬‬ ‫وفي مقال عنوانه «التركيب الزهري لبعض حدائق النباتات التاريخية في‬ ‫ومثل جده محمد علي باشا ووالده إبراهيم باشا – الذي كان لديه ولع ًا مدينة القاهرة – مصر» واملنشور في دورية أبحاث النبات وصف ًا تفصيلي ًا‬ ‫ال حلديقة األزبكية وقت إنشاءها ‪« :‬حديقة األزبكية مقامة علي مساحة‬ ‫خاص ًا باحلدائق – إهتم إسماعيل إهتمام ًا كبيراً بالتعليم فقد شجع علي شام ً‬ ‫إستقدام شتالت عديدة نادرة وجديدة من النباتات واألشجار واألزهار من ‪ 20‬فدان‪ ،‬لها أربعة أبواب ومن أشهر معاملها كهف صخري تتدفق من فوقه‬ ‫‪19‬‬

‫موضوع الغالف‬

‫رحلة البحث عن حدائق مصر التاريخية‬ ‫بقلم إيفا دادريان‬ ‫كانت احلدائق اخلاصة في مصر الفرعونية حتظى مبكانة هامة وعزيزة علي‬ ‫القلوب‪ .‬جمع املصريون القدماء فيها بني املتعة واملنفعة فكانوا يزرعون في‬ ‫حدائقهم اخلاصة الي جانب إحتياجاتهم من اخلضروات واملواد الغذائية‬ ‫أشجاراً للزينة ووروداً وزهوراً مختلفة‪ ،‬وكان العديد من تلك احلدائق يضم‬ ‫الي جانب كل هذا أعشاب ًا عطرية ودوائية ونباتات أخري كانوا يعتبرونها‬ ‫مقدسة ألنها كانت تستخدم في الطقوس الدينية أوتقدم قرابين ًا لآللهة‪ .‬وقد‬ ‫قدم لنا املعماريون دالئل كثيرة تؤكد أن املعابد اجلنائزية أيض ًا كانت محاطة‬ ‫بحدائق غناء‪ ،‬ومثال ذلك تؤكده النقوش علي معبد رمسيس الثاني في‬ ‫أبيدوس والتي تقول «لقد زرع حدائق كثيرة‪ ،‬فيها من كل األشجار‪ ،‬أخشابها‬ ‫جميلة وعطرة‪ ،‬أشجار ونباتات بونت‪».‬‬

‫فجاءت حدائق املدينة اجلديدة واسعة مليئة بأحواض الزهور والشجيرات‬ ‫املزهرة منسقة علي الطريقة السامرية‪ .‬وبتشجيع من إبن طولون – الذي كان‬ ‫راعي ًا كبيراٍ ً للفن والعمارة – برع البستانية ومنسقي احلدائق في تزين احلدائق‬ ‫العامة بنخل الزينة والشجيرات والنباتات العطرية ولم يكن هناك حدوداً‬ ‫للخيال أولإلبتكار‪ .‬كان البستانية يقلمون األشجار بأشكال مختلفة ومتنوعة‬ ‫بينما كان منسقواحلدائق يقدمون دائم ًا كل جديد من كماليات الزينة لتلك‬ ‫احلدائق‪ ،‬وكان أكثر تلك الكماليات إبتكاراً في تلك األيام ما يعرف بالشجرة‬ ‫النافورة وكان إبتكاراً يعرف ألول مرة‪ ،‬ولم يكن بالشيء الهني فقد كانوا‬ ‫يغرسون مواسير املياة ببراعة داخل جذوع األشجار لتتدفق منها املياة الي أعلى‬ ‫علي شكل نافورة مما يعطي أثراً مبهراً يخلب األلباب‪.‬‬

‫هذا الي جانب النصوص اجلنائزية العديدة التي تتحدث عن املتوفى « يسير اليوم لم يتبق شيئ ًا من مدينة القطائع أومن حدائقها‪ ..‬لم يتبق منها سوي‬ ‫حتت أشجار حديقته ويشرب من مياة بحيرته»‪ .‬ولم تكن تلك احلدائق حكراً مسجد إبن طولون الشهير‪ ،‬أما مدينة القطائع فقد دمرتها جيوش العباسيني‬ ‫علي عظماء ووجهاء تلك األيام فقد ذكر علماء املصريات أن حدائق جنائزية الذين جاءوا الستعادة حكم مصر بإسم اخلليفة املكتفي عام ‪905‬م‪.‬‬ ‫صغيرة كانت تزرع في ساحات بعض املقابر اخلاصة في طيبة‪ ،‬تقليداً للحدائق‬ ‫وعلي الرغم من اإلغتياالت والثورات التي ميزت فترة حكم املماليك ملصر‬ ‫الكبيرة التي ميتلكها الفراعنة والطبقة احلاكمة‪.‬‬ ‫وعلي الرغم من مرور قرون طويلة وقعت فيها مصر حتت وطأة الغزوواحلرب (‪1260‬م – ‪1517‬م) إال أن سالطينهم ذوواألصول التركية والشركسية قاموا‬ ‫وإالحتالل إال أن ذلك التقليد لم يتوقف أبداً وظل املصريون محتفظون بحبهم ببناء قصور فخمة وحدائق غناء حتي أنه بحلول القرن الرابع عشر امليالدي‬ ‫كانت القاهرة قد إستعادت مجدها ومكانتها الفريدة في املنطقة‪.‬‬ ‫للطبيعة وإعتزازهم بحدائقهم اخلاصة وباحلدائق العامة أيضاً‪.‬‬ ‫‪ .‬يُعتقد أن أثرياء الفسطاط كانوا يبنون بيوت ًا تضم افنية داخلية وحدائق وفيما بعد‪ ،‬مت إحياء العشق القدمي بني املصريني وحدائقهم مرة أخري في‬ ‫كما هوالتقليد املصري منذ اآلف السنني‪ ،‬بل ونافورات أيضاً‪ ..‬فمؤرخوذلك عهد اخلديوي إسماعيل‪ ،‬عاشق الفخامة والفن واجلمال‪ ،‬وصاحب الرؤية‬ ‫الزمان يذكرون في كتاباتهم أن احلدائق العامة والبساتني واملتنزهات كانت املميزة النشاء مدينة عصرية باهرة‪.‬‬ ‫تقع خارج املناطق السكنية‪ ،‬ويذكرون أيض ًا وفرة وغزارة حدائق الورد حيث‬ ‫واخلديوي إسماعيل – ويعرف بإسماعيل املعظم وهوحفيد محمد علي‬ ‫كان ماء الورد في ذلك الزمن ترياق ًا طبياًمعروفاً‪.‬‬ ‫باشا مؤسس مصر احلديثة – مبجرد أن أصبح والي ًا علي مصر عام ‪ 1862‬بدأ‬ ‫إستمر اإلجتاة الي إنشاء حدائق زينة بغرض املتعة والراحة في عهد أحمد عدداً كبيراً من املشروعات الصالح الدولة وحتديثها علي نفس النهج الذي‬ ‫بن طولون‪ ،‬وجاءت املدينة اجلديدة التي أنشأها – مدينة القطائع – محاكية سلكة جده محمد علي الكبير‪.‬‬ ‫ملدينة السامرة في فلسطني حيث نشـــأ والتي كانت تشتهر باملباني العظيمة‬ ‫واحلدائق الواسعة والساحات الرحبة املخصصة لركوب اخليل واملسابقات‪ .‬كان حتديث اجلهاز االداري املصري وحده ليس كافي ًا إلسماعيل الطموح‬ ‫‪18‬‬

‫وبدأت املنطقة احمليطة بالقلعة جتذب العمار واألسواق التي إمتدت في حبيبة لتجلس علي ركبتي جدها وتلقي برأسها الصغير علي صدره‪.‬‬ ‫غرب القلعة ‪ ،‬كما أنشئت القصور والبيوت الفخمة واألسواق حول املضمار «نسيت أن أذكر لكي أنني أسافر كل عام الي مكة ملدة أسبوعني ألداء‬ ‫العمرة وتلك هي أجازتي‪».‬‬ ‫وهومنطقة فسيحة لتدريب الفرسان واجلنود علي القتال وركوب اخليل‪.‬‬ ‫كان بيت تاجر ثري علي سبيل املثال – يحيط به منتجون وموزعون لبضائع‬ ‫مختلفة ودكاكني لبيع تلك البضائع وكانت الدور والورش والدكاكني البسيطة‬ ‫املنتشرة في املنطقة تقدم اإلحتياجات واخلدمات املختلفة لبيوت التجار‬ ‫األثرياء‪ ،‬فكان هناك احلمام الشعبي والقهوة واملسجد والكتاب والسبيل‬ ‫واخلان للمسافرين‪ ،‬وكانت كلها مع ًا تشكل نواة صغيرة ملدينة أكبر‪.‬‬

‫كررر كررر كرر‪ .‬تندفع فقاقيع املياة في زجاجة الشيشة عندما أخذ احلاج‬ ‫محمد يسحب أنفاس ًا من الدخان الذي أخرجه بعد ذلك من جانب فمه‬ ‫ليحيط برأسه كله‪ .‬ودخلت سيدتان محجبتان لشراء أصناف مختلفة من‬ ‫الفطير‪ ،‬ويضحكني احلاج محمد عندما يخبرني أن األجانب يأتون لشراء‬ ‫الفطير ويدفعون مبلغ ًا أكبر من ثمنه إال أنه يرفض أن يأخذ أكثر من الثمن‬ ‫العادي ويرد لهم الباقي‪« .‬أنا ال أحب أن أغش الناس ‪ ...‬فأنا أريد أن يعودوا‬ ‫للشراء مني‪ ».‬وتأتينا صينية عليها قدحني من القهوة احملوجة باحلبهان‬ ‫يرتشف من أحداها رشفة ليكمل» املال يأتي باملشاكل‪ ..‬مشاكل كثيرة‪..‬‬ ‫واألهم هوحب الناس‪».‬‬

‫وفي اإلجتاة اجلنوبي للقلعة إنتشرت ورش صناعة السيوف واألسلحة‬ ‫وسروج اخليول والزي اخلاص باملماليك واجلنود‪ ،‬بينما شارع حتت الربع الضيق‬ ‫أنتشرت به ورش احلدادة املتخصصة في صناعة املعدات واألدوات الالزمة‬ ‫لزينتهم وزينة خيولهم ‪ ،‬أما اليوم فشارع أحمد ماهر مازالت به بالفعل ورش‬ ‫حدادة إال أن منتجاتها تغيرت كثيراً لتصبح أقفاص طيور وسكاكني وعدد يطوي صانع الفطير قطعة أخري من العجني ثم يفردها ويرققها ثم يرفعها‬ ‫ليطيرها في الهواء لتصبح أكثر رقة ثم يلصق أطرافها علي الطاولة الرخامية‬ ‫ومصائد فئران وفوانيس رمضان‪.‬‬ ‫ويبدأ في وضع احلشوة املطلوبة ثم يطويها ويلقي بها في الفرن املشتعلة‪.‬‬

‫وبعد ألف عــام ‪....‬‬

‫إن الزهور علي حافة النافذة في الدكان ستستمر في النمووالتفتح يوم ًا بعد‬ ‫كان شارع حتت الربع هادئ ًا بشكل غير معتاد في ذلك الصباح الربيعي يوم‪ ،‬الي أن يجيئ اليوم الذي تأتي فيه احلكومة لتزيل الفرن وتهدم الدكان‪..‬‬ ‫اجلميل ‪ ،‬في أي يوم آخر يكون هذا الشارع صاخب ًا باحلركة والضجيج والى أن يجيئ ذلك اليوم سيظل الزبائن والعمال والزائرون ميرون من أمام ذلك‬ ‫واحليوية ‪ ،‬ولكن اليوم هوشم النسيم وهو إحتفال سنوي ميتد تاريخه الي الدكان الصغير في حتت الربع‪ ...‬دكان احلاج محمد الفطاطري ‪.‬‬ ‫مصر الفرعونية وينشغل فيه املصريون باإلحتفاء بقدوم الربيع بأكل السمك‬ ‫اململح (الفسيخ)‪.‬‬ ‫يترك احلاج محمد صنع الفطير ملساعده ويجلس ليستريح علي كرسي‬ ‫أمام شيشة أعدتها له إبنته التي أخذت تضع له بضع قطع من الفحم املشتعل‬ ‫فوق كرة من الدخان املعسل‪ .‬أخذ احلاج محمد يجذب أنفاس ًا من الشيشة‬ ‫مستمتع ًا وقال «قريب ًا ينهال علينا الزبائن ‪ ..‬فالناس متيل الي أكل احللوبعد‬ ‫الفسيخ‪ ..‬عندما كنت صغيراً كنت أقضي شم النسيم في احلدائق أما اآلن‬ ‫فأنا أقضيه هنا في الدكان فأنا أعمل في جميع العطالت ورمضان واألعياد‬ ‫أيضاً‪»...‬‬ ‫ويشرح لي احلاج محمد أن الفطير كان يصنع في مصر منذ مئات السنني‬ ‫بالسمن البلدي فقط ‪ .‬أما اآلن فقد أضيفت اليه حشوات مختلفة كاللحم‬ ‫أواخلضروات أوالكرمية والقشدة ‪...‬‬ ‫«في املاضي كان من ضمن التقاليد أن تقوم حماة العروس بشراء فطيرة‬ ‫الصباحية الهدائها للعروسني صباح ليلة الزفاف وكنت أحيان ًا أصنع فطيرة‬ ‫من ‪ 12‬طبقة للعائالت الثرية‪ ،‬وفي أحد املرات جائتني فتاة فقيرة تطلب‬ ‫فطيرة من ‪ 6‬طبقات ولكني أقنعتها باالكتفاء بطبقتني فقط لعلمي بظروف‬ ‫زوجها وعائلتها املتواضعة‪ .‬كان ميكنني أن أصنع لها فطيرة من ‪ 6‬طبقات‬ ‫ألربح أكثر ولكني لن أفعل ذلك أبداً ‪».‬‬ ‫وهنا دخلت طفلة صغيرة في حوالي الرابعة من عمرها أخذت تتقافز حول‬ ‫املائدة وحتتها وأخيراً جلست عند قدمي احلاج محمد الذي قال ‪« :‬هذه حفيدتي‬ ‫حبيبة ‪ .‬غدا ستكبر وتصنع الفطير‪ ..‬إن شارعنا لم يتغير منذ أن كنت في مثل‬ ‫عمرها‪ ،‬أما بالنسبة لها سيكون األمر مختلف ًا ‪ ،‬فاحلكومة تنوي هدم كل هذه‬ ‫الدكاكني لتوسيع الشارع وتوفير مكان إلنتظار السيارات علي اجلانبني‪ ».‬وتقفز‬ ‫‪17‬‬

‫الفاطميني ذوي األصول البربرية املنحدرة من قبيلة زويلة الذين عسكروا‬ ‫بالقرب من موقع إنشاء املدينة اجلديدة‪ .‬وقد كشفت أعمال الترميم التي‬ ‫جرت منذ وقت قريب في باب زويلة عن أن القاعدة االصلية للباب كانت‬ ‫متتد الي عمق ثالثة أمتار حتت االرض وأنه قد مت إستخدام بعض اخلامات‬ ‫الفرعونية لبنائه‪.‬‬ ‫أما مسجد الصالح طالئع املبني عام ‪1160‬م والقريب من باب زويلة فقد‬ ‫حمل إسم الوزير الفاطمي الذي قام ببناءه‪ ،‬وقد بني هذا املسجد فى األساس‬ ‫ليكون مقام َا لرأس احلسني رضي اهلل عنه‪ ،‬وهوما لم يحدث‪ ،‬حيث مت وضع‬ ‫الرأس الشريف في أحد القصور الفاطمية وكان يحتل نفس املوقع الذي‬ ‫يشغله اليوم مسجد اإلمام احلسني‪.‬‬ ‫ويعد مسجد الصالح طالئع أحد املسجدين املعلقني الباقيني في مصر وكان‬ ‫يعلوصف من احملال التجارية التي كان إيجارها مخصص ًا لعمارة املسجد‬ ‫وصيانته والقائمني عليه‪.‬‬ ‫وفي خالل احلقبة اململوكية قام السلطان املؤيد شيخ ببناء مئذنتني فوق‬ ‫قاعدة الباب‪ .‬وعلي مر القرون كان األمراء وكبار القوم يشاهدون من فوق‬ ‫باب زويلة مواكب التتويج التي كانت متتد علي طول طريق القصبة من باب‬ ‫الفتوح وحتي باب زويلة‪ ،‬وكان السلطان يستعرض حرسه في املدينة بدءا من‬ ‫الباب الشمالي الي باب زويلة ثم يتقدم الي الدرب األحمر وصو َال الي القلعة‪،‬‬ ‫وكان هذا الطريق نفسه هو املكان الذي يشاهد منه الناس موكب احململ قبل‬ ‫سفره الي مكة في موسم احلج من كل عام‪ ،‬كما كان باب زويلة أيض ًا مكان ًا‬ ‫لتنفيذ اإلعدام العلني وهناك شنق آخر سالطني املماليك طومان باي‪.‬‬

‫اخللق كان الشارع املسمي حاليا طلعت حرب يتخذ مساراً نحوالشرق موازي ًا‬ ‫لسور القاهرة القدمية ليلتقي مع شارع الدرب األحمر عند باب زويلة ويؤدي‬ ‫من هناك الي القلعة‪ .‬أما باب زويلة نفسه وهوأهم معالم املنطقة فيقع علي‬ ‫الطريق الرئيسي (القصبة) الذي كان يربط شمال املدينة بجنوبها ‪ .‬فمن باب‬ ‫زويلة الي الباب الشمالي (باب الفتوح) كان طريق القصبة يقسم املدينة –‬ ‫التي مازالت حتمل إسم احلاكم الفاطمي الذي بناها املعز لدين اهلل – طولي ًا ‪.‬‬ ‫وترجع تسمية تلك املنطقة بقاهرة املعز الي القرن العاشر امليالدي عندما‬ ‫أحتل الفاطميون – وهم طائفة شيعية من (أفريقية) املعروفة بتونس حالي ًا‬ ‫– مصر‪.‬‬ ‫وفي عام ‪969‬م أشرف القائد جوهرالصقلي على وضع اخلطط لبناء مدينة‬ ‫جديدة تكون عاصمة لدولتهم‪ .‬وبحلول عام ‪971‬م دخل اخلليفة الفاطمي‬ ‫املعز لدين اهلل العاصمة اجلديدة (القاهرة) في شهر رمضان ‪ ،‬ومت إنارة الطرق‬ ‫التي مر بها احلاكم في ذلك اليوم باآلف من الفوانيس‪ ،‬فال عجب أن يظل‬ ‫الفانوس الي يومنا هذا رمزاً محبب ًا لشهر رمضان املبارك في مصر‪.‬‬

‫خارج باب زويلة‪ ،‬وفي مقابله مباشرة‪ ،‬يقع إمتداد شارع املعز لدين اهلل‬ ‫الذي كان يؤدي الي عمائر رضوان بك (نسبة الي الرجل الذي قام بتعمير‬ ‫تلك املنطقة في القرن ال ‪ 17‬امليالدي)‪ .‬وكانت تضم مجموعة من القصور‬ ‫وسوق لصناعة األحذية‪ ،‬أما الدكاكني التي كانت تقع علي إمتداد طريق‬ ‫القصبة واملغطاة بسقف خشبي يتميز بفتحات صغيرة تسمح بنفاذ أشعة‬ ‫الشمس فمازالت موجودة حتي اليوم وهي تعد واحدة من النماذج القليلة‬ ‫الباقية لألسواق املغطاة في القاهرة وتعرف بسوق اخليامية‪.‬‬ ‫كان هذا املوقع بالتحديد ‪ -‬تقاطع باب زويلة والدرب االحمر من الشرق‬ ‫مع سوق رضوان بك من اجلنوب وشارع حتت الربع من الغرب ‪ -‬هواملكان‬ ‫الذي أنشئ به عدة نزل وخانات علي طول الطريق وحتي القلعة‪ .‬كلمة خان‬ ‫الفارسية تعني احلماية‪ ،‬وكانت اخلانات في منطقة باب زويلة تبني حلماية‬ ‫املسافرين والتجار وبضائعهم ودوابهم‪ ،‬حيث كانت األسواق في وسط القاهرة‬ ‫الفاطمية واملنطقة احمليطة بها صاخبة بالتجار والصناع واحلرفيني‪ ،‬وكان طريق‬ ‫القصبة عبارة عن سوق ممتدة من باب الفتوح الي باب زويلة مليئة بأنواع‬ ‫وتخصصات مختلفة من التجارة واحلرف علي جانبي الطريق‪.‬‬ ‫في القرن الـ ‪ 14‬أشار املقريزي في كتاباته الي أن طريق القصبة بعد باب‬ ‫زويلة كان يضم ‪ 58‬وكالة (الوكالة خان صغير داخل مبني متعدد الطوابق‬ ‫وهومنوذج ال يوجد سوي في القاهرة) و‪ 87‬سوق به أكثر من ‪ 12‬ألف نصبة‬ ‫لعرض املنتجات املختلفة‪.‬‬

‫في عام ‪ 1176‬بني صالح الدين األيوبي القلعة وحتصيناتها علي هضبة‬ ‫في عام ‪1092‬م أكمل األرميني بدر الدين اجلمالي إنشاء باب في الناحية املقطم بالقاهرة لينتقل اليها مقر احلكم والطبقة احلاكمة واجلنود‪ ،‬بعد أن كان‬ ‫اجلنوبية من سور القاهرة مت تسميته حينذاك «باب زويلة» نسبة الي اجلنود مقر احلكم أثناء حكم الفاطميني هومدينتهم امللكية القاهرة ‪.‬‬

‫‪16‬‬

‫صباح أحد أيام فصل الربيع املنعشة ‪ ،‬وأثناء سيري مبحاذاة سور باب زويلة‬ ‫في شارع أحمد ماهر بوسط العاصمة وبني صف طويل من احملال التجارية ‪،‬‬ ‫وقع نظري علي دكان صغير كتب عليه (فطاطري)‪ .‬واجهته التي ال تتعدي‬ ‫األمتار الثالثة لم تكن لتجذب املارين بها لوال تلك األصص الصغيرة من‬ ‫الزهور املرصوصة أمام الدكان لتلفت النظر الي الكراسي البالستيك املوضوعة‬ ‫بجوار النافذة ‪ .‬األواني البيضاء العميقة اململؤة بالزبيب والبيض املسلوق‬ ‫والطماطم الطازجة والزيتون االسود واألخضر والسمن تلمع في ضوء الشمس‬ ‫‪ ،‬وعلب التونة املرصوصة بعناية حتتل عتبة النافذة ‪ ،‬علي احلائط لوحة كتب‬ ‫عليها «احلمد هلل» وفوق النافذة اآلية القرآنية «رب أشرح لي صدري ويسرلي‬ ‫أمري» ولكن أين الباب ؟ الدكان ليس له باب…‬ ‫ويستقبلنا احلاج محمد صاحب الدكان ‪ -‬وهورجل مسن بشوش الوجة‪-‬‬ ‫مرحب ًا «كل سنة وأنتم طيبني» جاذب ًا بيده قطعة مكورة من العجني أخذ‬ ‫يفردها ويطويها ثم يطوحها بيديه في الهواء مبهارة شديدة حتي أصبحت‬ ‫رقيقة وشفافة كالورقة ‪..‬‬ ‫تنساب نسمة رقيقة عبر مدخل الدكان لتختلط باحلرارة املنبعثة من الفرن ‪.‬‬ ‫« الدكان مفتوح ‪ 24‬ساعة جميع أيام السنة ‪ ،‬ملاذا إذن أحتاج الي باب ؟‬ ‫لقد تخلصت منه منذ سنوات » ‪ .‬هكذا أخبرني احلاج محمد وهويقوم برش‬ ‫قطرات السمن علي العجينة الرقيقة ‪« .‬هذا الدكان ملك عائلتي منذ مائة‬ ‫وعشرين عاما‪ ،‬لقد علم جدي الصنعة لوالدي ووالدي علمني الصنعة ‪ ،‬فأنا‬ ‫أصنع الفطير منذ ستني عاماً» ‪ .‬وينظر احلاج محمد الي الشارع ويشير الى‬ ‫مئذنتي باب زويلة ثم يبدأ في عد احملال املوجودة ‪« :‬سروجي‪ ،‬سماد‪ ،‬أقفاص‬ ‫طيور‪ ،‬شوايات‪ ،‬أقفاص معدن‪ ،‬أورمة جزار‪ ،‬ورش لصناعة فوانيس رمضان ‪..‬‬ ‫وهناك في آخر الشارع دكان أخى الذى يبيع الكنافة ‪ ،‬وعجينة الكنافة نخبزها‬ ‫هنا في خلفية الدكان علي صينية حديد مسطحة ‪ ..‬أن شارعنا لم يتغير فيه‬ ‫شيء أبداً فيما عدا إسمه ‪ ..‬زمان كان يسمي حتت الربع‪ ،‬اليوم اجليل األكبر‬ ‫سن ًا هو وحده الذي مازال يطلق على الشارع إسم حتت الربع ولكن من الناحية‬ ‫الرسمية هذا اإلسم مكانه فقط صفحة من صفحات كتب التاريخ‪ ».‬الشارع‬ ‫املسمي حتت الربع والذي كان ميتد من جنوب غرب باب زويلة وحتي باب‬ ‫اخللق تغير إسمه بعد ثورة يوليو‪ 1952‬الي شارع أحمد ماهر تخليداً لذكري‬ ‫رئيس الوزراء املصري الذي أغتيل عام ‪ ،1945‬وهكذا غير النظام املصري‬ ‫اجلديد إسمي شارعيني عمرهما أكثر من خمسمائة عام ليصبح شارع حتت‬ ‫الربع وشارع باب اخللق ‪ :‬شارع وميدان أحمد ماهر‪.‬‬

‫وماذا تعني كلمة «ربع» ؟‬ ‫أن الربع هوذلك النموذج من مساكن القاهرة القدمية التي كانت تبني فوق‬ ‫محال جتارية ‪.‬‬ ‫وفي عام ‪1923‬م خالل احلقبة اململوكية ‪ ،‬قام أحد أهم سالطني املماليك‬ ‫(الظاهر بيبرس) ببناء مدرسة بالقرب من الربع الزهيري (نسبة الي إسم املتبرع‬ ‫ببناءه)‪ ،‬ومن هنا جاءت تسمية الشارع الواقع به ذلك املجمع السكني ‪:‬‬ ‫شارع حتت الربع ‪.‬‬ ‫وباب اخللق سابق ًا كان واحداً من األبواب الستني ألسوار املدينة امللكية‬ ‫للفاطميني – القاهرة – وكان يقع بجوار اخلليج املصري ‪ ،‬وعلي الرغم من‬ ‫أن الباب نفسه ال وجود له اليوم إال أنه قد أستمد إسمه من الكلمة العربية‬ ‫(خرق) ألن الناس قد أحدثوا بجواره فتحة بالسور ليمروا منها ‪ ..‬ومن باب‬ ‫‪15‬‬

‫ﺣﻜﺎﻳﺔ ﺷﺎﺭﻉ‬ ‫ﺑﻘﻠﻢ ﻟﻴﺴﻠﻲ ﻟﺒﺎﺑﻴﺪي‬ ‫‪14‬‬

‫ﻓﻲ ﻓﺼﻞ اﳋﺮﻳﻒ ﻟﻴﻜﻮن ﻋﻠﻰ ﻛﻞ ﻣﻮﻗﻊ أﺛﺮي ﻣﻦ اﳌﻮاﻗﻊ اﻟﺘﻲ ﻳﻌﻤﻞ ﻋﻠﻴﻬﺎ ﻣﺪﻳﺮي اﻟﺒﻌﺜﺎت وﻛﺒﺎر ﻋﻠﻤﺎء اﻵﺛﺎر واﻷﻛﺜﺮ ﺷﻬﺮة‪ ،‬ﺣﻴﻨﻤﺎ ﻛﺎﻧﻮا ﻣﺒﺘﺪﺋﲔ ﻓﻲ‬ ‫اﻟﻘﻔﺎﻃﻮة ﺣﻮاﻟﻲ ﺧﻤﺴﻮن ﻓﻨﻴ ًﺎ وﻋﺎﻣﻼ ً‪ .‬وﻫﺬا اﻟﻌﺪد ﻳﻘﻞ ﺑﺄواﺧﺮ ﻣﻮﺳﻢ اﳊﻔﺎﺋﺮ ﻣﺠﺎل اﳊﻔﺎﺋﺮ ﻳﺘﻌﻠﻤﻮن ﻋﻠﻰ أﻳﺪي اﻟﻘﻔﺎﻃﻮة اﻟﻜﺒﺎر‪.‬‬ ‫ﺑﺎﻟﺮﺑﻴﻊ ﻟﻴﺼﻞ إﻟﻰ ﻋﺸﺮة ﻋﻤﺎل وﻓﻨﻴﲔ ﺑﺒﻌﺾ اﳌﻮاﻗﻊ‪.‬‬ ‫ﻋﻨﺪﻣﺎ ﺑﺪأت اﻟﻌﻤﻞ ﻣﻊ اﻟﻘﻔﺎﻃﻮة ﻷول ﻣﺮة ﻛﻨﺖ ﻣﻜﻠﻔﺔ ﺑﺘﻨﻈﻴﻢ ﻣﺠﻤﻮﻋﺔ‬ ‫اﻟﻘﻔﺎﻃﻮة اﻟﻘﺪاﻣﻰ ﻳﻌﺘﺒﺮوا ﻣﻨﺠﻤ ًﺎ ﻣﻦ اﻟﻌﻠﻢ ﻓﺬﻛﺮﻳﺎﺗﻬﻢ وﺧﺒﺮاﺗﻬﻢ ﻳﺠﺐ ﻣﻦ أﺣﺠﺎر أﺣﺪ اﳌﻌﺎﺑﺪ ﻓﺒﺪأت ﺑﺎﻟﺘﻔﻜﻴﺮ ﻛﻴﻒ ﳝﻜﻦ ﻋﻤﻞ ﻃﺮﻳﻖ ﻟﻴﻤﺮوا ﺑﻪ‬ ‫أن ﺗُﺪرَس وﺗﺪْ ًرّس ﻟﺘﻜﻮن ﻣﺮﺟﻌ ًﺎ ﻟﻜﻞ ﻣﻦ ﻳﺮﻳﺪ ان ﻳﺘﻌﻠﻢ ﻋﻦ اﻵﺛﺎر اﳌﺼﺮﻳﺔ‪ .‬ﺣﺎﻣﻠﲔ اﻷﺣﺠﺎر اﻟﻀﺨﻤﺔ ﻓﺄوﻗﻔﻨﻲ ﻣﺪﻳﺮ اﻟﺒﻌﺜﺔ اﻷﳌﺎﻧﻲ وﻗﺎل ﻟﻲ اﻻ أﺗﺪﺧﻞ‬ ‫ﻼ ﻳﺘﺬﻛﺮ ﻋﻢ ﻋﺒﺪاﻟﻌﺰﻳﺰ ﻋﺒﺪاﷲ ﺣﻴﻨﻤﺎ ﻛﺎن ﻳﻌﻤﻞ ﻋﺎم ‪ ١٩٦٧‬ﺑﺒﻼد اﻟﻨﻮﺑﺔ ﲟﺎ ﺳﻤﺎﻩ »‪ «La Methode Guftwoise‬أو اﻟﻄﺮﻳﻘﺔ اﻟﻘﻔﻄﻴﺔ وأﻛﻤﻞ‬ ‫ﻓﻤﺜ ً‬ ‫ﻼ أن اﻟﻘﻔﺎﻃﻮة ﻋﻠﻰ دراﻳﺔ ﺗﺎﻣﺔ ﺑﻜﻴﻒ ﻳﻌﻤﻠﻮن ﻓﻴﺠﺐ أن أﺗﺮﻛﻬﻢ ﻟﻴﺆدوا‬ ‫ﻗﺒﻞ ﻏﺮﻗﻬﺎ وﻳﺮوي ﻗﺼﺼﻪ ﻋﻦ ﻋﻤﻠﻪ ﻫﻨﺎك وﻟﺬﻟﻚ ﰎ ﺗﻜﺮﱘ ﻋﻢ ﻋﺒﺪاﻟﻌﺰﻳﺰ ﻫﻮ ﻗﺎﺋ ً‬ ‫واﻟﺮﻳﺲ أﻣﻴﺮ ﻣﻊ ﻋﻢ أﺣﻤﺪ ﻋﻠﻰ و ﺑﺨﻴﺖ ﺣﺴﲔ ﻣﺤﺮوس ﺗﻘﺪﻳﺮاً ﻟﻌﻤﻠﻬﻢ ﻋﻤﻠﻬﻢ ﺑﺎﻟﻄﺮﻳﻘﺔ اﻟﺘﻲ ﻳﺮوﻫﺎ ﻣﻨﺎﺳﺒﺔ ﻓﻘﺪ إﻛﺘﺴﺒﻮا ﺧﺒﺮات واﺳﻌﺔ ﺑﻜﻞ ﻣﺠﺎﻻت‬ ‫ﺑﺎﻟﻨﻮﺑﺔ وذﻟﻚ ﺿﻤﻦ ﻓﻌﺎﻟﻴﺎت إﺣﺘﻔﺎﻟﻴﺔ اﻟﺬﻛﺮى اﳋﻤﺴﲔ ﻟﻄﻠﺐ ﻣﺼﺮواﻟﺴﻮدان اﻵﺛﺎر‪ ،‬وﻫﺬا اﻟﻌﻤﻞ ﻟﻴﺲ ﻣﺠﺮد وﻇﻴﻔﺔ وﻟﻜﻦ ﻋﻠﻢ اﳊﻔﺎﺋﺮ ﺑﺪﻣﺎﺋﻬﻢ وﺧﺒﺮاﺗﻪ‬ ‫ﺗﺴﻜﻨﻬﻢ‪.‬‬ ‫اﳌﺴﺎﻋﺪة ﻣﻦ اﻟﻴﻮﻧﺴﻜﻮ ﻹﻧﻘﺎذ اﻵﺛﺎر اﳌﻬﺪدة ﺑﺎﻟﻐﺮق ﻓﻲ ﻣﻨﻄﻘﺔ اﻟﻨﻮﺑﺔ‪.‬‬ ‫وﻟﻴﺲ ﻓﻘﻂ ﺗﺎرﻳﺦ اﻵﺛﺎر واﳊﻔﺎﺋﺮ اﻟﺬي ﻳﺘﺬﻛﺮﻩ اﻟﻘﻔﺎﻃﻮة‪ ،‬و إﳕﺎ ﻳﺘﺬﻛﺮون‬

‫‪12‬‬

‫وبعد عدة سنوات من العمل كعامل يحمل الزمبيل ويغربل التربة أو يغسل فيما بينهم قائلني «اهلل ينور يا رجالة» أو «اهلل يعافيكم» ويتناقشون دائم ًا عن‬ ‫الفخار يكون قد تدرب وتعلم قدراً كافي ًا ليترقى العامل املتميز واملوهوب أفضل الطرق للعمل‪ ،‬مشاركني مع بعضهم ومع أعضاء البعثة من األجانب‬ ‫إلى مستوى الفني ‪ ،‬فيقوم بدوره بتعليم من هم أصغر منه لتستمر دورة هذا خبرتهم التي إكتسبوها عبر أكثر من قرن مضى‪.‬‬ ‫اجليش اآلثاري‪ .‬ويعمل كل فني مشرف ًا على ما بني إثنني وأربعة من العمال‬ ‫ليعلمهم ويدربهم‪ .‬وبالرغم من هذا التدرج الوظيفي الصارم تكون العالقة يسكن مبركز «قفط» ونواحيه عدة آالف مواطن وحوالي خمسمائة منهم‬ ‫بينهم عالقة أخوية تربطهم حياة احلفائر مع ًا فدائم ًا جند كلمات التشجيع يعملون باحلفائر‪ ،‬يتركوا بيوتهم وعائالتهم كل عام في بداية موسم احلفائر‬

‫اعلى ‪ -‬محمد عوض اهلل‪ ،‬صابر اخلم‪ ،‬أمين جمال عاملني بدفنات بعري أسوان (صورة من مشروع حفائر أسوان‪-‬كوم أمبو) ا‬ ‫لصفحة املقابلة من األعلى‪ :‬الريس أمير‪ ،‬عبدالعزيز عبداهلل‪ ،‬فوزي علي‪ ،‬أحمد علي‪ ،‬عيد أبواحلمد‪ ،‬عطية ضبع‪ ،‬سلمان محمد‪ ،‬املرحوم احلج عوض اهلل أبو‬ ‫زيد‪ ،‬دسوقي عباس‪ ،‬سعيد فكري (تصوير هاينر تالر ومنة اهلل الدري)‪.‬‬ ‫‪11‬‬

‫نعيش في عالم تندثر فيه احلرف التقليدية واملهن حضور العمال حتي يستلم العمال والفنيون أجورهم من‬ ‫املتوارثة‪ ،‬وهذا يرجع لرفض األبناء إتباع خطى آبائهم‪ .‬البعثة اآلثارية‪.‬‬ ‫وتشهد مصر‪ ،‬لألسف‪ ،‬حالي ًا إندثاراً للعديد من املهن‬ ‫املتوارثة‪ ،‬إال أن مهنة احلفار اآلثاري التزال تورث‪ .‬يبدأ اجلميع العمل من أسفل التدرج الوظيفي‪ ،‬فالريس‬ ‫فمنذ أكثر من مائة عام إشتهر أهل مدينة «قفط» التي «أمير كامل صديق» وهو ريس العمال والفنيني العاملني‬ ‫تقع شمال األقصر بصعيد مصر مبهارتهم في كل ما بأسوان ضمن بعثات املعهدين األملاني والسويسري‪ ،‬بدأ‬ ‫يتعلق باحلفائر األثرية فقد عملوا بجميع أنحاء مصر العمل في الثانية عشرة من عمره حارس ًا على خيام أحد‬ ‫وعلى أهم املشاريع اآلثارية مثل مشروع إنقاذ آثار بالد البعثات اآلثارية بالنوبة القدمية قبل بناء السد العالي وغرق‬ ‫النوبة ‪ ،‬ومن هنا تعلم مهنة احلفر ‪ ،‬ثم أعده والده الريس‬ ‫النوبة قبل غرقها عند بناء السد العالي‪.‬‬ ‫األسبق كامل صديق رحمه اهلل ليقوم بأعمال الريس‪.‬‬ ‫تعلم القفاطوة «أو القفطيون» علم احلفائر من عالم‬ ‫املصريات فلندرز بتري الذي يعتبر األب الروحي لعلم غالب ًا اليقوم الريس باحلفر بنفسه بسبب مشاغله‬ ‫حفائراآلثار املصرية‪ .‬بدأ بتري العمل مبدينة «قفط» ومسؤلياته الكثيرة ولكن بعشق احلفر في دمائهم احيان ًا‬ ‫ال ليعلم‬ ‫عام ‪ 1883‬حيث عمل على بقايا عدة معابد أثرية‪ .‬ترى الريس داخل منطقة احلفائر راكع ًا عام ً‬ ‫إختار بتري عماله بنفسه ودربهم على أحدث الطرق األجيال اجلديدة كيفية وأصول العمل ‪ .‬بعد الريس يأتي‬ ‫العلمية والعملية للحفائر آنذاك وكافأهم على كل الفنييون وهم حق ًا قادة هذا اجليش‪ ،‬فالفني متخصص‬ ‫إكتشاف وجدوه بناء على قائمة أسعار محددة حتى في مجاله أي ًا كان‪ ،‬سواء كان احلفر في دفنات برمال‬ ‫يشجعهم‪ .‬طلب بتري من بعض عماله مرافقته إلى الصحراء الذهبية أو في طبقات سكنية وسط مدينة‬ ‫مواقعه املتعددة بجميع أنحاء مصر ليقوموا بتدريب صاخبة فيستطيع الفني املتخصص باحلفائر ان يفصل‬ ‫اآلخرين واإلشراف عليهم وعلى األعمال اآلثارية‪ .‬ومن بني طبقة وطبقة من التربة حتى لو كان سمك الطبقة‬ ‫هنا بدأ القفاطوة رحلة كشف األلغاز واألسرار‪ ،‬وعرفوا سنتيمتراً واحداً‪ .‬أما متخصصو ترميم الفخار ذوو الصبر‬ ‫كأحسن الفنيني ال يضارعهم أحد في مجال احلفائر وقوة املالحظة فيعملون على تنظيف وجتميع وتصنيف‬ ‫شقف الفخار األثري‪ .‬ويتعامل من تدرب على املساحة مع‬ ‫والتنقيب عن اآلثار الدفينة‪.‬‬ ‫أجهزة معقدة بسرعة ودقة‪ ،‬اما من تعلم على عمل برمية‬ ‫إلى جانب بتري‪ ،‬عمل القفاطوة مع العديد من أشهر يعمل جاهداً ليخترق طبقات الزمن اجليولوجية ليكشف‬ ‫اآلثاريني مثل األثري املصري الدكتور سليم حسن لنا عن التسلسل التاريخي ألي منطقة‪ .‬ميكن للعامل‬ ‫مبنطقة الهرم‪ ،‬ومع كل موقع جديد تعلم القفاطوة أن يختار التخصص الذي يرغبه ‪ ،‬ولكن غالب ًا ال يكون‬ ‫طرق جديدة للحفر وإكتسبوا خبرات لم يبخلوا بها االختيار بيده ‪ ،‬ألن الريس يسند له القيام مبهمة معينة‬ ‫على أوالدهم وأقاربهم وبالتالي أصبح لهم خبرة واسعة فيظل مستمراً بهذا التخصص وخاص ًة إذا أظهر إهتماما‬ ‫بهذا املجال لدرجة أنهم دربوا أهل «القرنة» بالبرالغربي بهذا التخصص أو أظهر موهبة به ‪ .‬أما من ال يقدر على‬ ‫األعمال الشاقة املرهقة سواء بسبب إصابة عمل أو بسبب‬ ‫باألقصر على أعمال احلفائر‪.‬‬ ‫حالة صحية ضعيفة‪ ،‬فيكلفه الريس بالعمل في مجال ال‬ ‫ال شاق َا ومرهقاً‪ ،‬يستدعي ارهاقا جسديا ‪.‬‬ ‫يعتبر عمل احلفائر بصفة عامة عم ً‬ ‫يعتمد على التخصص فكل عضو من أعضاء فريق‬ ‫القفاطوة يعرف عمله وال يتدخل بعمل غيره إال غالب ًا يأتي الفنيون الكبار بأبنائهم للمواقع األثرية‬ ‫للتشجيع أو إبداء الرأي إذا طلب منه‪ .‬وفريق عمال ليأخذوا املهنة من آبائهم ليتوارثوها ولكن دون إجبار‪،‬‬ ‫احلفائر من القفاطوة لديهم تسلسل وظيفي صارم يلتزم فكل إنسان حر في إختياره ‪ ،‬ولكن على اجلميع بدء‬ ‫اجلميع به فينقسم هذا اجليش إلى كتيبتني يترأسها ريس العمل من أسفل التدرج كعامل‪ ،‬وهو من يعمل على‬ ‫العمال وهو يكون إبن الريس األسبق وحفيد الريس حمل الزمبيل «أو القفة» التي ميألها الفنييون بالرمال‬ ‫وهكذا تورث هذه املهنة؛ الريس هوالكبير يقع على واألتربة التي يستخرجوها من األرض ويعمل العمال‬ ‫كتفيه أعباء كثيرة‪ ،‬فهو مسئول عن إختيار من يرافقه أيض ًا على غربلة هذه التربة أو الرمال ليجدوا فيها أصغر‬ ‫من «قفط» سواء كانوا من الفنيني أو العمال‪ ،‬و عن البقايا اآلثارية‪ .‬من ضمن العمال يكون فريق غسل‬ ‫تلقي املهام من مدير البعثة ثم يقوم بتوزيع املهام على الشقف الفخاري الذي يقوم بفرزه وجتميعه الفنيون‬ ‫العمال والفنيني فى املوقع‪ ،‬وهو مسئول عن تسكني املتخصصون بالفخار ويقوم بدراسته أعضاء البعثة‪.‬‬ ‫رجاله وجتهيز أماكن إعاشتهم‪ ،‬وطبع ًا القيام بتسجيل يأتي الشباب للعمل اول مرة بعد إنتهائهم من دراستهم‬ ‫‪10‬‬

‫الرجال أثناء العمل‪ :‬الريس أمير يقف على كوم من ردمي احلفائر مشرف ًا على حفائر جزيرة إلفنتني بأسوان (تصوير هاينر تالر)‪.‬‬ ‫‪9‬‬

‫جيش الحفائر ‪ ...‬رجال قفط‬ ‫بقلم منة اللة الدري‬

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‫ﻋَ ﻢ ﻓﻀﻞ اﷲ اﻟﺒﻮاب!‬

‫رﺣﻞ اﻟﻐﺎزى ﻣﺨﺘﺎر ﻋﻦ اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ ﺳﻨﺔ ‪ ١٩٠٦‬وﺑﻘﻰ اﻟﻘﺼﺮ ﺧﺎﻟﻴ ًﺎ وإن ﺑﺪا ﻣﻦ‬ ‫اﻷوراق أن اﳊﻜﻮﻣﺔ ﻣﻬﺘﻤﺔ ﺑﺮوﻧﻘﻪ وﻓﺨﺎﻣﺘﻪ ﻓﺘﺠﺪ ﺧﻄﺎﺑ ًﺎ ﺑﺸﺄن اﺧﺘﻴﺎر رﺋﻴﺲ ﺟﻨﺎﻳﻨﻴﺔ ﺳﺮاى‬ ‫اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ ﻓﻰ ‪ ٢١‬ﻳﻮﻧﻴﻮ ‪.١٩٠٨‬‬ ‫ﻓﻰ ﻫﺬﻩ اﳊﻘﺒﺔ ﺗﺘﻀﺎرب اﻟﻮﺛﺎﺋﻖ واﳌﻌﻠﻮﻣﺎت اﻟﺘﻰ ﺑﲔ ﻳﺪﻳﻨﺎ‪ ،‬ﻓﻤﻦ ﻧﺎﺣﻴﺔ ﻧﻘﺮأ ﻓﻰ ﻣﺠﻠﺔ‬ ‫ﺑﺮوﺟﺮﻳﺔ إﻳﺠﻴﺒﺴﻴﺎن أن اﳋﺪﻳﻮ ﻋﺒﺎس أﻋﻄﺎﻩ ﻟﻮزارة اﳌﺎﻟﻴﺔ ﻓﻰ ﻓﺒﺮاﻳﺮ ‪ ١٩٠٩‬وذﻫﺒﺖ ﻣﻜﺎﺗﺐ‬ ‫اﳌﺎﻟﻴﺔ إﻟﻴﻪ ﺣﻴﺚ ﻣﻜﺜﺖ ﺛﻼﺛﺔ ﺷﻬﻮر ﺗﺮﻛﺘﻪ ﺑﻌﺪﻫﺎ ﻟﺘﺪﻫﻮر ﺣﺎﻟﻪ وﻗﺪ رﻓﺾ ﺣﺴﲔ رﺷﺪى‬ ‫ﺑﺎﺷﺎ وزﻳﺮ اﳌﺎﻟﻴﺔ اﻻﺳﺘﻤﺮار ﺑﻪ‪ .‬وﻓﻰ ﻣﺎرس ‪ ١٩٠٩‬ﻗﺮر اﳋﺪﻳﻮ ﺑﻴﻊ أﺛﺎﺛﻪ ﻓﻰ ﻣﺰاد ﻋﻠﻨﻰ ﺑﻌﺪ أن‬ ‫اﺳﺘﺒﻘﻰ اﻟﺜﻤﲔ ﻓﻰ ﻋﺎﺑﺪﻳﻦ وأﺧﻠﻰ اﻟﻘﺼﺮ ﺑﺎﻟﻔﻌﻞ وﻓﻰ ﻧﻮﻓﻤﺒﺮ ‪ ١٩٠٩‬أﻗﻴﻢ اﳌﺰاد وﻓﻰ أواﺋﻞ‬ ‫‪ ١٩١٠‬ﺑﺪأ اﻟﻬﺪم‪ .‬ﻣﻦ ﻧﺎﺣﻴﺔ أﺧﺮى ﺗﻨﺒﺌﻨﺎ وﺛﺎﺋﻖ ﻣﺠﻠﺲ اﻟﻨﻈﺎر أن اﻟﻘﺼﺮ ﻛﺎد أن ﻳﺴﺘﻀﻴﻒ‬ ‫اﳌﻨﺪوب اﻟﺴﺎﻣﻰ اﻟﺒﺮﻳﻄﺎﻧﻰ ﻛﻤﺎ اﺳﺘﻀﺎف ﻧﻈﻴﺮﻩ اﻟﻌﺜﻤﺎﻧﻰ ﻓﻰ ﻧﻔﺲ اﻟﻮﻗﺖ؛ إذ ﲡﺪ ﻓﻰ وﺛﺎﺋﻖ‬ ‫ﻣﺠﻠﺲ اﻟﻨﻈﺎر ﻃﻠﺐ ﻹﻋﺪاد ﻗﺼﺮ اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ ﻟﻴﻘﻴﻢ ﺑﻪ اﳌﻨﺪوب اﻟﺴﺎﻣﻰ اﻟﺒﺮﻳﻄﺎﻧﻰ ﻓﻰ ‪١٠‬‬ ‫ﺳﺒﺘﻤﺒﺮ ‪.١٩٠٩‬‬ ‫ﻏﺮﻳﺐ أﻣﺮ اﻟﺘﺄرﻳﺦ‪ ،‬رﲟﺎ ﻻ ﳒﺪ أﺑﺪاً ﺻﻮرة ﻟﻘﺼﺮ اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ ﺗﺴﺎﻋﺪﻧﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺗﺨﻴﻠﻪ‬ ‫واﺳﺘﺤﻀﺎر ﺗﺎرﻳﺨﻪ ﻓﻰ أذﻫﺎﻧﻨﺎ‪ ،‬وﻻ ﻧﻌﺮف ﲢﺪﻳﺪاً ﻣﺘﻰ ﺑﻨﻰ وﻻ ﻛﻴﻒ ﻫﺪم‪ ،‬وﻟﻜﻦ ﻋﺮﻳﻀﺔ‬ ‫ﻣﻘﺪﻣﺔ ﻟﺪﻳﻮان اﳋﺪﻳﻮ ﺗﻨﺒﺌﻨﺎ ﺑﺎﺳﻢ اﻟﺒﻮاب! ﻓﻔﻰ ‪ ١٤‬ﻣﺎرس ‪ ١٨٩٩‬ﻳﻘﺪم ﻋﺒﺪ اﻟﻜﺮﱘ ﻓﻀﻞ‬ ‫اﷲ اﻟﺬى ﻛﺎن ﺑﻮاب ﺳﺮاى اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ ﻋﺮﻳﻀﺔ ﻳﻄﻠﺐ اﻟﻌﻔﻮ ﻋﻨﻪ وﺗﻌﻴﻴﻨﻪ ﻓﻰ أى وﻇﻴﻔﺔ‪،‬‬ ‫ﺗُﺮى ﳌﺎ ﻓﺼﻞ؟!‬ ‫داﺋﻤ ًﺎ ﻳﺤﺰﻧﻨﻰ ﻓﻰ ﺗﺄرﻳﺦ اﻟﻘﺼﻮر اﳌﻨﺪﺛﺮة ﻣﺮﺣﻠﺔ اﻟﻨﻬﺎﻳﺔ‪ ،‬ﻓﺄﺷﻌﺮ ﻛﺄﻧﻰ أﻛﺘﺐ ﻋﻦ ﻣﻮت‬ ‫ﺻﺪﻳﻖ ﻋﺎﺷﺮﺗﻪ وﻗﻀﻴﺖ ﻣﻌﻪ وﻗﺘ ًﺎ ﺛﻢ اﺧﺘﻔﻰ‪ .‬ﻟﻢ ﺗﺄت ﺳﻨﺔ ‪ ١٩١٣‬إﻻ واﻟﻘﺼﺮ ﻗﺪ د َُّك واﻧﺪﺛﺮ‬ ‫ﻓﻴﻤﺎ ﻋﺪا اﳌﻜﺎﺗﺐ اﳌﺘﺎﺧﻤﺔ ﻟﻠﺴﻮر اﻟﺘﻰ ﻛﺎﻧﺖ ﺗﺴﺘﺨﺪم ﻣﻘﺮاً ﳌﻮﻇﻔﻰ اﻟﺪﻳﻮان ﻓﻰ ﻋﻬﺪ‬ ‫اﳋﺪﻳﻮ ﻓﺒﻘﻴﺖ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺣﺎﻟﻬﺎ ﻛﻤﺎ ﺑﻘﻰ اﻟﺴﻮر ﻧﻔﺴﻪ ﺑﺒﻮاﺑﺘﻪ اﻟﻜﺒﻴﺮة‪ ،‬وﻗﺪ أﻣﺮا وزﻳﺮا اﻟﺪاﺧﻠﻴﺔ‬ ‫واﳌﺎﻟﻴﺔ ﺑﺒﻨﺎء اﳌﺰﻳﺪ ﻣﻦ اﳌﻜﺎﺗﺐ ﻓﻰ اﻟﻔﻨﺎء ﻻﺳﺘﺨﺪاﻣﻬﺎ ﻛﻤﺼﺎﻟﺢ ﺣﻜﻮﻣﻴﺔ‪ ،‬ﻓﺎﻧﺘﻘﻞ ﻣﻜﺘﺐ‬ ‫‪٣‬‬ ‫ﻣﺮاﻗﺒﺔ ﻣﻄﺒﻮﻋﺎت اﳊﻜﻮﻣﺔ إﻟﻴﻪ ﺳﻨﺔ ‪١٩١٧‬م وﻗﺪ ﺻﺎر ﻳﺴﻤﻰ ﻓﻰ اﳌﺮاﺳﻼت »ﺳﺮاى‬ ‫اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ اﻟﻘﺪﳝﺔ«‪ ،‬ﺳﺒﺤﺎن اﷲ ﻣﻦ ﻟﻪ اﻟﺪوام!‬ ‫اﳌﺮاﺟﻊ‪:‬‬ ‫ﻓﻰ ‪ ٢٢‬ﻣﺎرس ‪ ١٩٢٤‬ﻧﻘﻠﺖ إﻟﻴﻪ ﻣﻘﺮ إدارة اﳌﺮور وﻇﻠﺖ ﺑﻬﺎ ﺣﺘﻰ ‪ ٤‬ﻧﻮﻓﻤﺒﺮ ‪ ١٩٣٦‬ﺣﲔ ﻣﺬﻛﺮات أﻣﻴﻨﺔ ﺗﻮﺟﺎى ص‪.٢٩-٢٨‬‬ ‫ﻧﻘﻠﺖ إﻟﻰ ﻣﻘﺮﻫﺎ اﳊﺎﻟﻰ ﺑﺎﻟﺪراﺳﺔ‪ ،‬وﻳﻜﺘﺐ أﺣﻤﺪ ﺷﻔﻴﻖ ﺑﺎﺷﺎ ﺳﻨﺔ ‪ ١٩٣٤‬أن اﻟﻘﺼﺮ ﻫﺪم‬ ‫ﺗﻘﻮﱘ اﻟﻨﻴﻞ ج‪ ٣‬م‪ ٣‬ص‪.١٥٧٣‬‬ ‫وﻟﻢ ﻳﺒﻖ ﻣﻨﻪ إﻻ اﻟﺴﻮر اﳋﺎرﺟﻰ‪ .‬وﻓﻰ ﺳﻨﺔ ‪ ١٩٣٦‬ﺑﺪأ ﻫﺪم اﻟﺴﻮر واﳌﺒﺎﻧﻰ اﻟﺘﻰ ﺑﺪاﺧﻠﻪ‬ ‫‪.١٨٨٦ NewYork Times‬‬ ‫وﻟﻜﻦ ﺧﻼف ﺑﲔ ﻣﺼﻠﺤﺔ اﻟﺪوﻣﲔ وﻣﺼﻠﺤﺔ اﻟﺘﻨﻈﻴﻢ ﻧﺸﺐ ﻓﺘﻮﻗﻒ اﻟﻬﺪم ﻋﺪة ﺳﻨﻮات‪،‬‬ ‫ﺗﻘﻮﱘ اﻟﻨﻴﻞ‪ .‬أﻣﲔ ﺳﺎﻣﻰ ﺑﺎﺷﺎ م‪ ٢‬ج‪ ٣‬ص‪ ،٩٤٠‬وﻗﺪ‬ ‫وﻓﻰ ﺳﻨﺔ ‪ ١٩٣٨‬ﻫﺪم اﻟﺒﺎب اﻟﻜﺒﻴﺮ ﻟﻠﻘﺼﺮ واﻟﺴﻮر وإن ﺑﻘﻴﺖ اﳌﻜﺎﺗﺐ ﺛﻢ ﻗﺎﻣﺖ اﳊﺮب ورد اﻟﺘﺎرﻳﺦ ﺑﺎﻟﺘﻘﻮﱘ اﻟﻬﺠﺮى ‪ ٦‬ﺟﻤﺎدى اﻵﺧﺮ ‪ ١٢٨٨‬ﻫـ‬ ‫اﻟﺜﺎﻧﻴﺔ ﻓﺎﺳﺘﻮﻟﻰ اﻹﳒﻠﻴﺰ ﻋﻠﻰ ﺳﺎﺣﺔ اﻟﻘﺼﺮ ﻟﻘﺮﺑﻪ ﻣﻦ ﻗﺸﻼق ﻗﺼﺮ اﻟﻨﻴﻞ ﺣﺘﻰ ‪ .١٩٤٦‬وﺑﻌﺪ واﺳﺘﻌﻨﺎ ﺑﻜﺘﺎب اﻟﺘﻮﻓﻴﻘﺎت اﻹﻟﻬﺎﻣﻴﺔ ص‪ ٦٤٤‬ﻟﺘﺤﻮﻳﻠﻪ إﻟﻰ‬ ‫اﳊﺮب ﻋﺎدت اﳌﺼﺎﻟﺢ اﳊﻜﻮﻣﻴﺔ إﻟﻰ اﳌﻜﺎﺗﺐ اﳌﻮﺟﻮدة ﺑﺎﻟﺴﺎﺣﺔ ﺣﺘﻰ ﺳﻨﺔ ‪ ١٩٤٩‬ورﲟﺎ ﻣﻦ اﻟﺘﻘﻮﱘ اﳌﻴﻼدى‪.‬‬ ‫ذﻟﻚ ﻧﺸﺄت ﻓﻜﺮة اﳌﺠﻤﻊ‪ ،‬وﻓﻰ ذﻟﻚ اﻟﻮﻗﺖ اﻗﺘﻄﻊ ﺟﺰء ﻣﻦ اﳊﺪﻳﻘﺔ ﻟﺘﻮﺳﻴﻊ اﳌﻴﺪان ﺣﲔ‬ ‫‪www.nationalarchives.gov.eg‬‬ ‫ﻗﺮر اﳌﻠﻚ ﻓﺎروق إﻗﺎﻣﺔ ﲤﺜﺎل ﳉﺪﻩ وﻧﺼﺒﺖ ﻟﺬﻟﻚ اﳌﻨﺼﺔ اﳉﺮاﻧﻴﺘﻴﺔ اﻟﺒﺪﻳﻌﺔ اﻟﺘﻰ اﺧﺘﻔﺖ ﻓﻰ‬ ‫ﺗﻘﻮﱘ اﻟﻨﻴﻞ م‪ ٣‬ج‪ ٣‬ص‪.١٣٨٥‬‬ ‫أواﺧﺮ اﻟﺜﻤﺎﻧﻴﻨﻴﺎت ﻣﻦ اﻟﻘﺮن اﻟﻌﺸﺮﻳﻦ‪.‬‬ ‫ﻋﻠﻰ ﻣﺒﺎرك ج‪ ١‬ص‪.٢١٣‬‬ ‫ﻛﺎن إﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻞ ﺑﺎﺷﺎ ﻋﺎﺛﺮ اﳊﻆ ﻓﻰ ﻫﺬا اﳌﻘﺎم‪ ،‬ﻟﻢ ﻳﻘﻢ ﲤﺜﺎﻟﻪ أﺑﺪاً واﳌﻨﺼﺔ ﻧﻔﺴﻬﺎ ﺗﻼﺷﺖ‬ ‫َﻨﺴﺐ اﳌﻴﺪان إﻟﻴﻪ وﻟﻢ ﻳﻌﺪ‬ ‫وﻣﻦ ﻗﺒﻠﻬﺎ اﻧﺪﺛﺮ اﻟﻘﺼﺮ اﻟﺬى ﺣﻤﻞ اﺳﻤﻪ وﺳﻘﻄﺖ اﻟﻼﻓﺘﺔ اﻟﺘﻰ ﺗ ِ‬ ‫أﺣﺪ ﻳﻌﺮف أن وﺳﻂ اﻟﻘﺎﻫﺮة اﺳﻤﻪ اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ‪ ...‬أﻣﺎ ﺣﻈﻨﺎ ﻧﺤﻦ ﺳﻜﺎن ﻗﺎﻫﺮة اﻟﻴﻮم ﻓﻜﻠﻤﺎ‬ ‫ﺣﺎوﻟﺖ ﺗﻮﺻﻴﻔﻪ ﻳﺮد ﻓﻰ ﺧﺎﻃﺮى أن ﻣﻦ ﻛﻞ اﻟﺬى ﻛﺎن‪ ،‬ﻟﻢ ﻳﺒﻖ ﻟﻨﺎ إﻻ ﻛﻴﺎن أﺳﻤﻨﺘﻰ ﻣﺘﺮﻫﻞ‪،‬‬ ‫ﻋﻠﻴﻪ ﺗﺮاب وأﻣﺎﻣﻪ ﻧﻔﺘﺎﻟﲔ!‬

‫‪-١‬زﻫﺮة ﻫﺎﱎ‪ ،‬ﺗﻮﻓﻴﺖ دون أن ﺗﻌﻠﻢ أن ﻟﻬﺎ ﺿﺮة‬ ‫‪ -٢‬اﻷﻣﻴﺮة ﺟﻤﻴﻠﺔ ﺑﻨﺖ اﳋﺪﻳﻮ إﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻞ‪ ،‬أول ﻣﻦ زﻓﺖ ﻣﻦ ﻗﺼﺮ اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ‬ ‫‪ -٣‬اﻟﻐﺎزى أﺣﻤﺪ ﻣﺨﺘﺎر ﺑﺎﺷﺎ‪ ،‬أﻃﻮل ﻣﻦ ﺳﻜﻦ اﻟﻘﺼﺮ‬

‫ﺷﺎرع ﻗﺼﺮ اﻟﻌﻴﻨﻰ‬ ‫ﻋﻠﻰ ﻣﺒﺎرك ج‪ ٥‬ص‪.١١٣‬‬ ‫أﻣﻴﻨﺔ ﺗﻮﺟﺎى ص ‪.١٣١‬‬ ‫ﻣﺬﻛﺮات أﻣﻴﻨﺔ ﺗﻮﺟﺎى ص‪.١٣٠‬‬ ‫إﻟﻴﺎس اﻷﻳﻮﺑﻰ ج‪ ٢‬ص‪.٥١٥‬‬ ‫دﻳﻮان اﻷﻫﺮام ج‪ ٢‬ص‪.١٢٥-١٢٤‬‬

‫ﺗﺎرﻳﺦ اﻟﻮزارات – ﻳﻮﻧﺎن ﻟﺒﻴﺐ ص‪.٩٧‬‬ ‫دﻳﻮان اﻷﻫﺮام ج‪ ٢‬ص‪.٤٥‬‬ ‫‪ The Graphic pp٣٧٩‬ﻋﺪد ‪ ١٤‬أﻛﺘﻮﺑﺮ ‪.١٨٨٢‬‬ ‫أﺣﻤﺪ ﺷﻔﻴﻖ ج‪ ١‬ص‪.٢١٥-٢١٤‬‬ ‫اﻷﻫﺮام ج‪ ٢‬ص‪.١٥٣-١٥١‬‬ ‫‪www.nationalarchives.gov.eg‬‬ ‫ﻛﺘﺎب ﻻﺷﻴﺎك‬ ‫‪www.nationalarchives.gov‬‬ ‫‪ Les Progress Egyptienne‬ﻋﺪد ‪ ٥‬ﻣﺎرس‬ ‫‪.١٩٠٩‬‬ ‫‪ Les Progress Egyptienne‬ﻋﺪد ‪ ٢٠‬ﻓﺒﺮاﻳﺮ‬ ‫‪ ١٩١٠‬ص‪٤‬‬ ‫‪http://www.nationalarchives.gov‬‬ ‫‪http://www.nationalarchives.gov.‬‬ ‫‪/eg‬‬ ‫ﻓﺘﺤﻰ اﳊﺪﻳﺪى‪ :‬اﻷﺻﻮل اﻟﺘﺎرﻳﺨﻴﺔ ﳌﺆﺳﺴﺎت اﻟﺪوﻟﺔ‬

‫دﻳﻮان اﻷﻫﺮام ج‪ ٢‬ص‪.١٢٥-١٢٤‬‬

‫ص‪.١٢٠‬‬

‫‪ Egyptian Gazette pp٣‬ﻋﺪد ‪ ٢٨‬ﺳﺒﺘﻤﺒﺮ‬

‫ﻣﺬﻛﺮات أﺣﻤﺪ ﺷﻔﻴﻖ ج‪ ١‬ص‪.٢٢‬‬

‫‪.١٨٨٦‬‬

‫اﳌﺼﻮر ‪ ١١‬دﻳﺴﻤﺒﺮ ‪١٩٣٦‬‬

‫دﻳﻮان اﻷﻫﺮام ج‪ ٢‬ص‪.١٢٩‬‬

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‫وﺗﺮﺳﻢ أﻣﻴﻨﺔ ﺗﻮﺟﺎى ﺻﻮرة إﻧﺴﺎﻧﻴﺔ راﺋﻌﺔ ﻟﻠﺤﻴﺎة ﻓﻰ ﺳﺮاى اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ ﻓﻰ أواﺧﺮ اﻟﻘﺮن‬ ‫اﻟﺘﺎﺳﻊ ﻋﺸﺮ وأواﺋﻞ اﻟﻘﺮن اﻟﻌﺸﺮﻳﻦ ﺣﲔ ﻛﺎﻧﺖ ﺗﻘﻀﻰ ﺑﻪ أﺳﺒﻮﻋ ًﺎ ﻛﻞ ﻋﺎم ﺣﲔ ﺗﺄﺗﻰ إﻟﻰ ﻣﺼﺮ‬ ‫ﻓﺘﺰور ﺟﺪﻫﺎ اﻟﺬى ﺳﻜﻦ اﻟﻘﺼﺮ ﻛﻤﺎ ﺳﻨﺮوى‪ ،‬وﲢﻜﻰ ﻛﻴﻒ ﻛﺎﻧﺖ وأﺷﻘﺎﺋﻬﺎ ﻳﻠﻌﺒﻮن ﻓﻰ‬ ‫اﳊﺪﻳﻘﺔ اﳉﻤﻴﻠﺔ ﻣﻊ ﻣﺮﺑﻴﺎﺗﻬﻢ وﻳﺘﺠﻤﻌﻮن ﻓﻰ اﳌﺴﺎء ﻓﻰ اﻟﺼﺎﻟﻮن اﻟﻜﺒﻴﺮ ﺑﺎﻟﺪور اﻷرﺿﻰ‪.‬‬

‫أول ﻣﻜﺎﳌﺔ!‬

‫وﻳﺨﻤﺪ اﳉﻴﺶ اﻹﳒﻠﻴﺰى اﻟﺜﻮرة اﻟﻌﺮاﺑﻴﺔ وﻳﻌﻮد اﳋﺪﻳﻮ ﺗﻮﻓﻴﻖ إﻟﻰ اﻟﻌﺎﺻﻤﺔ ﻳﻮم ‪٢٥‬‬ ‫ﺳﺒﺘﻤﺒﺮ ‪ ١٨٨٢‬ﻓﻴﺴﻴﺮ ﻓﻰ ﻣﻮﻛﺐ ﺣﺎﻓﻞ ﻳﺤﺮﺳﻪ ﻓﺮﺳﺎن ﺟﻴﺶ اﻻﺣﺘﻼل ﻣﻦ ﺑﺎب اﳊﺪﻳﺪ‬ ‫إﻟﻰ ﺳﺮاى اﳉﺰﻳﺮة‪ ،‬ﺑﻴﻨﻤﺎ ﺗﻮﺟﻬﺖ أﺳﺮﺗﻪ إﻟﻰ اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ ﻣﺒﺎﺷﺮة‪ ،‬واﻷﻏﻠﺐ أن اﳋﺪﻳﻮ ﻋﺎد‬ ‫ﺑﻌﺪ اﻧﺘﻬﺎء ﻫﺬا اﻻﺣﺘﻔﺎل اﻟﻜﺌﻴﺐ ﺑﻘﺪوم اﻻﺣﺘﻼل إﻟﻰ اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ؛ إذ ﻳﺮوى ﺷﻔﻴﻖ ﺑﺎﺷﺎ‬ ‫أﻧﻪ رﻛﺐ ﻣﻮﻛﺒ ًﺎ ﻓﻰ اﻟﻴﻮم اﻟﺘﺎﻟﻰ ﻣﺘﻮﺟﻬ ًﺎ إﻟﻰ ﺳﺮاى اﳉﺰﻳﺮة وﻟﻢ ﻳﻔﺘﻪ أن ﻳﺬﻛﺮ أن »اﻷﻟﻢ‬ ‫ﻛﺎن ﺑﺎدﻳ ًﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ وﺟﻪ ﺳﻤﻮﻩ رﻏﻢ ﻛﻞ ﻫﺎﺗﻪ اﳊﻔﺎوة ﻣﻦ رﺟﻮﻋﻪ ﻋﺎﺻﻤﺔ ﻣﻠﻜﻪ ﻓﻰ ﻇﻞ اﻟﺮﻣﺎح‬ ‫اﻟﺒﺮﻳﻄﺎﻧﻴﺔ«!‬

‫رﲟﺎ ﻛﺎن إﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻞ ﻳﻨﺘﻮى إﻫﺪاء اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ إﻟﻰ ﻣﺴﺘﻮﻟﺪﺗﻪ أو ﻳﺴﺘﺨﺪﻣﻬﺎ ﺑﻨﻔﺴﻪ‪ ،‬ﺑﻴﺪ‬ ‫أﻧﻨﺎ ﻟﻢ ﳒﺪ ﻣﺎ ﻳﺸﻴﺮ إﻟﻰ أﻧﻪ ﺣﺘﻰ أﻗﺎم ﺑﻬﺎ ﻣﻨﺬ ﺑﻨﻴﺖ‪ ،‬ﺑﻞ ﳒﺪ ﻛﻞ اﻟﻮﺛﺎﺋﻖ ﺗﺸﻴﺮ إﻟﻰ أﻧﻬﺎ‬ ‫ﻛﺎﻧﺖ ﻣﻨﺬ ﻧﺸﺄﺗﻬﺎ ﻓﻰ ﺣﻮزة ﺗﻮﻓﻴﻖ وﻫﻮ ﻻ ﻳﺰال وﻟﻴ ًﺎ ﻟﻠﻌﻬﺪ‪ .‬ورﻏﻢ أﻧﻨﺎ ﻟﻢ ﳒﺪ ﻓﻴﻤﺎ ﻃﺎﻟﻌﻨﺎ اﻟﻮﻛﺎﻟﺔ اﻹﻣﺒﺮاﻃﻮرﻳﺔ!‬ ‫ﻣﺎ ﻳﻠﻘﻰ اﻟﻀﻮء ﻋﻠﻰ ﻛﻴﻔﻴﺔ اﻧﺘﻘﺎل اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ إﻟﻴﻪ‪ ،‬إﻻ أن اﻟﺜﺎﺑﺖ ﻓﻰ ﻛﻞ اﳌﺮاﺟﻊ أن ﺗﻮﻓﻴﻖ‬ ‫ﺑﻌﺪ ﺛﻼث ﺳﻨﻮات ﻣﻦ اﺣﺘﻼل اﻹﳒﻠﻴﺰ ﳌﺼﺮ‪ ،‬وﲢﺪﻳﺪاً ﻓﻰ ﺳﻨﺔ ‪ ،١٨٨٥‬ﺑﺪا ﻓﻰ اﻷﻓﻖ‬ ‫ﺑﺎﺷﺎ ﻛﺎن ﻳﻘﻄﻦ اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ ﻓﻰ ‪ ٢٦‬ﻳﻮﻧﻴﻮ ‪ ١٨٧٩‬ﺣﲔ اﺳﺘﻘﺒﻞ اﻟﺒﺮﻗﻴﺔ اﻟﺘﻰ َّ‬ ‫ﺑﺸﺮﺗﻪ ﺑﺎﻋﺘﻼء ﺑﺎرﻗﺔ أﻣﻞ ﻓﻰ اﻧﺴﺤﺎب اﳉﻴﺶ اﻟﺒﺮﻳﻄﺎﻧﻰ‪ ،‬ﻓﻘﺪ ﺗﻮﺗﺮت اﻟﻌﻼﻗﺎت ﺑﲔ إﳒﻠﺘﺮا وروﺳﻴﺎ ﺗﻮﺗﺮاً‬ ‫اﻟﻌﺮش‪.‬‬ ‫ﺷﺪﻳﺪاً أﻣﺴﻰ ﻳﻨﺬر ﺑﻨﺸﻮب ﺣﺮب ﺑﻴﻨﻬﻤﺎ ﻓﺄرادت ﻟﻨﺪن ﲢﺴﲔ ﻋﻼﻗﺎﺗﻬﺎ ﻣﻊ اﻟﺒﺎب اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻰ‬ ‫اﻟﺘﻰ ﻛﺎﻧﺖ ﺗﻌﺎﻧﻰ ﻣﻦ ﺿﺮﺑﺔ ﻗﺎﺻﻤﺔ ﻟﻬﺎ ﺑﺴﺒﺐ اﺣﺘﻼل ﻣﺼﺮ‪ ،‬ﻛﺬﻟﻚ رأت ﻟﻨﺪن ﺿﺮورة‬ ‫‪ ١٦‬ﻳﻮﻧﻴﻮ ‪ ١٨٨٠‬ﻋﻼﻣﺔ ﻓﺎرﻗﺔ ﻓﻰ ﺗﺎرﻳﺦ اﻟﺴﺮاﻳﺎت اﳌﻠﻜﻴﺔ ﻓﻰ ﺗﺎرﻳﺨﻨﺎ اﳌﻌﺎﺻﺮ‪ ،‬ﻓﻘﺪ إزاﻟﺔ اﻟﺘﻮﺗﺮ اﻟﻘﺎﺋﻢ ﻟﻨﻔﺲ اﻟﺴﺒﺐ ﻣﻊ ﺣﻜﻮﻣﺔ ﻓﺮﻧﺴﺎ‪ ،‬وﺑﺎﻟﻔﻌﻞ ﺑﺪأ اﺗﺼﺎل ﺑﲔ ﻟﻨﺪن واﺳﻄﻨﺒﻮل‬ ‫أﺻﺪر اﳋﺪﻳﻮ ﺗﻮﻓﻴﻖ ﻓﺮﻣﺎن ﺑﻀﻤﻬﺎ ﺟﻤﻴﻌ ًﺎ إﻟﻰ أﻣﻼك اﻟﺪوﻟﺔ وأﻫﻤﻬﺎ ﻋﺎﺑﺪﻳﻦ واﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ أﺳﻔﺮ ﻋﻦ إﻳﻔﺎد اﻷﺧﻴﺮة ﻣﺒﻌﻮﺛ ًﺎ رﻓﻴﻊ اﳌﺴﺘﻮى ﻟﺘﻨﻈﻴﻢ »اﳒﻼء اﻹﳒﻠﻴﺰ« ﻋﻦ ﻣﺼﺮ ﻓﺎﺧﺘﺎرت‬ ‫واﻟﻘﺼﺮ اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻰ واﳉﺰﻳﺮة واﳉﻴﺰة‪ ،‬وﻣﻦ ﺑﲔ ﻛﻞ ﻫﺬﻩ اﻟﺴﺮاﻳﺎت اﺧﺘﺎر ﺗﻮﻓﻴﻖ ﺑﺎﺷﺎ ﻋﺎﺑﺪﻳﻦ ﻟﻬﺬﻩ اﳌﻬﻤﺔ ﺿﺎﺑﻂ ذو رﺗﺒﺔ رﻓﻴﻌﺔ ﻓﻰ اﳉﻴﺶ اﻟﻌﺜﻤﺎﻧﻰ اﺳﻤﻪ اﻟﻐﺎزى أﺣﻤﺪ ﻣﺨﺘﺎر ﺑﺎﺷﺎ‪.‬‬ ‫ﻟﻴﻤﺎرس ﻓﻴﻪ ﻣﻬﺎم اﳊﻜﻢ و«اﳌﻘﺎﺑﻼت اﻟﺴﻨﻴﺔ« ﺑﻴﻨﻤﺎ اﺧﺘﺎر اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ ﻹﻗﺎﻣﺘﻪ اﳋﺎﺻﺔ‪.‬‬ ‫وﺗﻘﺮأ ﻓﻰ ﺻﺤﻒ ذﻟﻚ اﻟﻮﻗﺖ ﻣﺎ ﻳﻔﻴﺪ ﻫﺬا‪ ،‬ﻓﻘﺪ ﻧﺸﺮت »اﻷﻫﺮام« ﻓﻰ ‪ ٣‬ﻣﺎرس ‪ ١٨٨٣‬أن‬ ‫وﺑﺪأت اﳊﻜﻮﻣﺔ اﳌﺼﺮﻳﺔ ﻓﻰ اﻟﺒﺤﺚ ﻋﻦ ﻣﻘﺮ إﻗﺎﻣﺔ اﻟﻐﺎزى ﺑﺎﺷﺎ اﻟﺘﻰ ﻛﺎن ﻣﺘﻮﻗﻌ ًﺎ أن‬ ‫اﳋﺪﻳﻮ اﻋﺘﻜﻒ ﻓﻰ ﺳﺮاى اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ ﻹﺻﺎﺑﺘﻪ ﺑﺰﻛﺎم ﺣﺎد وﻗﺪ أدى ﺻﻼة اﳉﻤﻌﺔ ﻓﻴﻬﺎ‪ ،‬ﺗﺴﺘﻤﺮ ﻋﺪة أﺷﻬﺮ‪ ،‬ورﺷﺤﺖ ﻋﺪة ﺑﻴﻮت وﻗﺼﻮر ﺣﺘﻰ ﻓﺎﺟﺄ اﳋﺪﻳﻮ ﺗﻮﻓﻴﻖ اﳉﻤﻴﻊ ﻓﻰ ﻧﻮﻓﻤﺒﺮ‬ ‫وﻟﻌﻞ اﳌﻘﺼﻮد أﻧﻪ أداﻫﺎ ﻓﻰ ﺟﺎﻣﻊ اﻟﺸﻴﺦ اﻟﻌﺒﻴﻂ اﻟﺬى ذﻛﺮﻧﺎﻩ‪ ،‬وﺑﻌﺪ أﻳﺎم ذﻛﺮت »اﻷﻫﺮام« ‪ ١٨٨٥‬ﺑﺈﺻﺪار أﻣﺮ ﺑﺈﻋﺪاد ﻣﻘﺮ إﻗﺎﻣﺘﻪ اﻟﺸﺨﺼﻰ ُﻧ ُﺰ ًﻻ ﻟﻠﻐﺎزى ﺑﺎﺷﺎ‪ .‬وﻣﻨﺬ ذﻟﻚ اﻟﺘﺎرﻳﺦ اﻧﺘﻘﻞ‬ ‫أﻧﻪ ﻟﻢ ﻳﺒﺎرح اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ ﺑﺴﺒﺐ اﻟﻌﻮاﺻﻒ واﻟﻐﺒﺎر ﳑﺎ ﻳﺸﻴﺮ إﻟﻰ ﻛﻮﻧﻬﺎ ﻣﺤﻞ إﻗﺎﻣﺘﻪ‪.‬‬ ‫اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ ﳊﻮزة اﻟﻐﺎزى ﺑﺎﺷﺎ اﻟﺬى دﺧﻠﻪ ﻷول ﻣﺮة ﻓﻰ ‪ ٢٧‬دﻳﺴﻤﺒﺮ ‪ .١٨٨٥‬وﻳﺰداد‬ ‫ﺑﻬﺎء اﻟﻘﺼﺮ وروﻧﻘﻪ ﻣﻊ ﺳﺎﻛﻨﻪ اﳉﺪﻳﺪ وﺗﻘﺮأ أوراق ﻋﻦ ﺗﺮﻣﻴﻢ ﻓﺴﻘﻴﺔ اﳊﺪﻳﻘﺔ ﲟﻌﺮﻓﺔ ﻧﻈﺎرة‬ ‫وﻓﻰ أﻛﺘﻮﺑﺮ ﺳﻨﺔ ‪ ١٨٨٢‬ﰎ ﺗﺮﻛﻴﺐ أول ﺧﻂ ﺗﻠﻴﻔﻮﻧﻰ ﻓﻰ ﻣﺼﺮ ﺑﲔ ﺳﺮاﻳﺘﻰ ﻋﺎﺑﺪﻳﻦ اﻷﺷﻐﺎل اﻟﻌﻤﻮﻣﻴﺔ ﻃﻮال ﺧﻤﺴﺔ أﺷﻬﺮ ﻣﻦ ﺳﻨﺔ ‪١٨٨٦‬م‪.‬‬ ‫واﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ وﲢﺪث اﳋﺪﻳﻮ ﻣﻦ ﻋﺎﺑﺪﻳﻦ ﻣﻊ زوﺟﺘﻪ اﻷﻣﻴﺮة أﻣﻴﻨﺔ إﻟﻬﺎﻣﻰ ﻓﻰ اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ‬ ‫أول ﻣﻜﺎﳌﺔ ﻫﺎﺗﻔﻴﺔ‪ُ ،‬ﺗﺮى ﻓﻴﻤﺎ ﲢﺪﺛﺎ!‬ ‫ﻛﺎﻧﺖ ﺣﺪﻳﻘﺔ اﻟﻘﺼﺮ ﺗﺼﻞ إﻟﻰ اﻟﻨﻴﻞ ﺣﲔ ﺑﻨﻰ وﻓﻰ ﺳﻨﺔ ‪ ١٨٩٨‬اﻗﺘﻄﻊ اﳉﺰء اﻟﻐﺮﺑﻰ ﻣﻨﻬﺎ‬ ‫ﺣﻴﺚ ﺑﻨﺖ اﻷﻣﻴﺮة ﻧﻌﻤﺖ اﷲ ﺑﻨﺖ اﳋﺪﻳﻮ ﺗﻮﻓﻴﻖ ﻗﺼﺮﻫﺎ اﳉﻤﻴﻞ اﻟﺬى ﺻﺎر ﻓﻴﻤﺎ ﺑﻌﺪ ﻣﻘﺮاً‬ ‫ﻟﻮزارة اﳋﺎرﺟﻴﺔ وﺑﻌﺪ اﳊﺮب ﻓﺘﺢ ﺷﺎرع اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ اﻟﺬى ﻛﺎن ﻳﻔﺼﻞ ﺑﲔ اﻟﻘﺼﺮﻳﻦ‪.‬‬ ‫اﺣﺘﻔﺎل ﺣﺰﻳﻦ!‬ ‫ﻼ ذرﻳﻌﺎً؛ وﻟﻢ ﻳﺠﻞ اﻹﳒﻠﻴﺰ ﻋﻦ ﻣﺼﺮ‬ ‫وﻧﻌﻠﻢ ﺟﻤﻴﻌ ًﺎ أن ﻣﻬﻤﺔ اﻟﻐﺎزى ﺑﺎﺷﺎ ﻓﺸﻠﺖ ﻓﺸ ً‬ ‫ﺑﻨﻰ اﳋﺪﻳﻮ إﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻞ اﻟﻘﺼﺮ وﻧﺴﺒﻪ إﻟﻴﻪ‪ ،‬ﻟﻜﻦ ﺻﻴﺘﻪ ﻗﺪ ﻋﻼ وﺑﺰغ ﺿﻮءﻩ ﻓﻰ ﻋﻬﺪ اﺑﻨﻪ‬ ‫اﳋﺪﻳﻮ ﺗﻮﻓﻴﻖ‪ ،‬وﻟﻨﺒﺪأ ﺑﺎﳌﻨﺎﺳﺒﺎت اﻟﻌﺎﺋﻠﻴﺔ‪ ،‬ﲡﺪ وﺻﻔ ًﺎ ﻃﺮﻳﻔ ًﺎ ﻓﻰ »اﻷﻫﺮام« ﻻﺳﺘﻘﺒﺎل ﺗﻮﻓﻴﻖ ﻟﺴﺒﻌﲔ ﻋﺎﻣ ًﺎ آﺧﺮﻳﻦ! وﻟﻜﻦ دور اﻟﻐﺎزى ﲢﻮل إﻟﻰ ﻣﻨﺪوب اﻟﺴﻠﻄﺎن ﻓﻰ ﻣﺼﺮ واﻣﺘﺪت‬ ‫ﺑﺎﺷﺎ ﻷﺧﻮﻳﻪ اﻟﻠﺬﻳﻦ ﻛﺎﻧﺎ ﻗﺪ ﺻﺤﺒﺎ أﺑﺎﻫﻤﺎ ﳌﻨﻔﺎﻩ ﺛﻢ ﻋﺎدا إﻟﻰ ﻣﺼﺮ »وﺳﺎرا ﺗﻮاً إﻟﻰ ﺳﺮاى إﻗﺎﻣﺘﻪ ﺑﻬﺎ ﺣﺘﻰ ﺳﻨﺔ ‪ ،١٩٠٦‬ورﻏﻢ ﻋﻮدﺗﻪ إﻟﻰ اﺳﻄﻨﺒﻮل ﻓﻘﺪ اﺳﺘﻤﺮ ﻓﻰ وﻇﻴﻔﺘﻪ ﺣﺘﻰ‬ ‫أﺻﺒﺢ رﺋﻴﺲ اﻟﺒﺮﳌﺎن اﻟﻌﺜﻤﺎﻧﻰ ﺳﻨﺔ ‪ ١٩٠٨‬ﺛﻢ ﺻﺪر أﻋﻈﻢ ﺳﻨﺔ ‪ .١٩١٢‬اﳌﻬﻢ ﻫﻨﺎ أﻧﻪ ﻗﻄﻦ‬ ‫اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ ﻓﺎﺳﺘﻘﺒﻠﻬﻤﺎ اﳉﻨﺎب اﻟﻌﺎﻟﻰ وأﻣﺮ أن ﻳﺬﺑﺢ أﻣﺎم اﻟﻘﺼﺮ ﻓﺤﻼن ﻣﻦ اﳉﺎﻣﻮس«!‬ ‫اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ إﺣﺪى وﻋﺸﺮﻳﻦ ﺳﻨﺔ ﻣﺘﺼﻠﺔ وﺑﺬا ﻳﻜﻮن أﻃﻮل ﻣﻦ اﺳﺘﺨﺪﻣﻬﺎ وﻗﺪ ﺻﺎر اﺳﻤﻬﺎ‬ ‫وﻣﻦ ﺑﻮاﺑﺔ ﻗﺼﺮ اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ اﻟﻜﺒﻴﺮة ﺧﺮج ﻓﻰ ﻣﻄﻠﻊ ﺳﻨﺔ ‪ ١٨٨١‬ﻣﻮﻛﺐ زﻓﺎف أﺧﺖ ﻓﻰ ﻋﻬﺪﻩ اﻟﻮﻛﺎﻟﺔ اﻹﻣﺒﺮاﻃﻮرﻳﺔ اﻟﻌﺜﻤﺎﻧﻴﺔ!‬ ‫اﳋﺪﻳﻮ اﻷﻣﻴﺮة ﺟﻤﻴﻠﺔ ﻓﺎﺿﻠﺔ إﻟﻰ ﺳﺮاى اﳉﺰﻳﺮة وﻗﺪ زﻳﻨﺖ اﻟﺴﺮاﻳﺘﺎن وأﺿﻴﺊ اﻟﻄﺮﻳﻖ ﺑﻴﻨﻬﻤﺎ‬ ‫ﺑﺄﻟﻮان ﺑﺪﻳﻌﺔ‪ ،‬وﻗﺪ اﺳﺘﻤﺮ اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ ﻳﺸﻬﺪ اﻟﻌﺪﻳﺪ ﻣﻦ ﻫﺬﻩ اﳌﻨﺎﺳﺒﺎت‪ ،‬وﻛﺎﻧﺖ اﻟﻌﺎدة‬ ‫ﻗﺪ ﺟﺮت ﻋﻠﻰ اﻻﺣﺘﻔﺎل ﺑﺎﻧﺘﻘﺎل اﳋﺪﻳﻮ واﳊﻜﻮﻣﺔ رﺳﻤﻴ ًﺎ إﻟﻰ ﻣﻘﺮﻫﺎ اﻟﺼﻴﻔﻰ ﺑﺎﻹﺳﻜﻨﺪرﻳﺔ‪،‬‬ ‫ﻓﻴﺰدان اﻟﻄﺮﻳﻖ ﻣﻦ ﺳﺮاى اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ إﻟﻰ ﻣﺤﻄﺔ اﻟﻘﻄﺎر وﻳﺼﻄﻒ اﳌﺼﺮﻳﻮن ﳌﺸﺎﻫﺪة اﳌﻮﻛﺐ‬ ‫أو »اﻟﺘﻴﻤﻦ ﺑﺎﻟﻄﺎﻟﻊ اﻟﺘﻮﻓﻴﻘﻰ« ﻋﻠﻰ وﺻﻒ اﻷﻫﺮام!‬ ‫وﺗﺴﺘﺸﻒ ﻣﻦ أوراق ذﻟﻚ اﻟﻌﻬﺪ أن اﳋﺪﻳﻮ ﺗﻮﻓﻴﻖ ﻛﺎن ﺷﺪﻳﺪ اﳌﻴﻞ اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ ﻓﺘﺼﻒ‬ ‫ﻼ ﻛﺒﻴﺮاً أﻗﺎﻣﻪ ﻓﻰ ﻋﺎﺑﺪﻳﻦ اﻧﺘﻬﻰ ﺑﻌﺪ ﻣﻨﺘﺼﻒ اﻟﻠﻴﻞ ﻋﺎد اﳋﺪﻳﻮ ﺑﻌﺪﻫﺎ إﻟﻰ‬ ‫اﻟﺼﺤﻒ ﺣﻔ ً‬ ‫اﻹﺳﻤﺎﻋﻴﻠﻴﺔ‪ ،‬وﻟﻌﻞ ﺷﻐﻔﻪ ﺑﺎﻹﻗﺎﻣﺔ ﺑﻬﺎ آﻧﺬاك ﻗﺪ ﺣﺪا ﺑﻪ إﻟﻰ إﻗﺎﻣﺔ ﻣﻜﺎﺗﺐ ﻟﻠﺘﺸﺮﻳﻔﺎت‬ ‫واﻟﻴﺎوران ﻣﺘﺎﺧﻤﺔ ﻟﺴﻮر اﳊﺪﻳﻘﺔ ﻟﻴﺘﺴﻨﻰ ﻟﻪ ﻣﻘﺎﺑﻠﺔ اﻟﻮزراء واﳌﺴﺌﻮﻟﲔ ﺑﺎﻟﻘﺼﺮ ﻓﻰ ﺑﻌﺾ‬ ‫اﻷﺣﻴﺎن‪ .‬ﻣﻦ ذﻟﻚ ﻣﻘﺎﺑﻠﺘﻪ اﻟﺘﺎرﻳﺨﻴﺔ ﻷﻋﻀﺎء ﻣﺠﻠﺲ ﺷﻮرى اﻟﻨﻮاب ﻳﻮم ‪ ٢‬ﻓﺒﺮاﻳﺮ ‪١٨٨٢‬‬ ‫ﺣﲔ ﺗﻮﺟﻬﻮا إﻟﻴﻪ ﻣﻄﺎﻟﺒﲔ ﺑﺎﺳﺘﻘﺎﻟﺔ وزارة ﺷﺮﻳﻒ ﺑﺎﺷﺎ ﻓﻰ ﺳﻴﺎق ﻣﺎ ﻳﻌﺮف ﻓﻰ اﻟﺘﺎرﻳﺦ ﺑﺄزﻣﺔ‬ ‫ﺣﻖ اﻟﻨﻈﺮ ﻓﻰ اﳌﻴﺰاﻧﻴﺔ‪ .‬وﻓﻰ ‪ ٩‬ﻳﻨﺎﻳﺮ ‪ ١٨٨٤‬اﺳﺘﻘﺒﻞ اﳋﺪﻳﻮ ﻓﻰ اﻟﻘﺼﺮ ﺷﺮﻳﻒ ﺑﺎﺷﺎ ﻟﻴﻘﺪم‬ ‫اﺳﺘﻘﺎﻟﺘﻪ اﳌﺸﻬﻮرة اﺣﺘﺠﺎﺟ ًﺎ ﻋﻠﻰ اﻻﻧﺴﺤﺎب ﻣﻦ اﻟﺴﻮدان‪ ،‬اﻟﺬى وﺻﻔﻪ آﻧﺬاك ﺑﺄﻧﻪ أﻟﺰم ﳌﺼﺮ‬ ‫ﻣﻦ اﻹﺳﻜﻨﺪرﻳﺔ!‬ ‫‪6‬‬

‫‪١‬‬

‫‪٢‬‬

‫بسحب رجاله وإخالء القصر فى الوقت الذى هرع فيه السفير البريطانى سير هنرى دراموند‬ ‫عائداً إلى القاهرة ليقف على األمر ويحتويه!‬ ‫تلك لقطات سريعة من أهم ما شهد قصر اإلسماعيلية من أحداث وأكثرها إثارة فى‬ ‫تاريخه القصير‪ ،‬واحد من أصعب قصور تلك احلقبة من حيث التأريخ لها وكشف‬ ‫أسرارها‪ .‬قصر غامض تتأرجح وأنت تؤرخ له بني صعوبة الترجيح واستحالة اليقني‪ .‬لم‬ ‫أعثر له على صورة واحدة على كثرة ما قرأت وبحثت‪ ،‬بل لم أجد حتى ما يقطع بتاريخ‬ ‫بنائه ناهيك عن مالكه وسكانه!‬

‫متى؟!‬

‫حني عاد اخلديو إسماعيل إلى باريس سنة ‪ 1867‬بعد غياب قرابة العشرين عام ًا بهره‬ ‫ما حققته املدينة من تقدم وازدهار‪ ،‬ورآها قد أضحت أنيقة منمقة بارعة التنظيم‪ ،‬فصمم‬ ‫على أن ينقل إلى القاهرة بعض ًا مما جذبه وأبهره‪ .‬هكذا ولد حى اإلسماعيلية‪ ،‬أو ما يطلق‬ ‫عليه القاهريون اآلن وسط البلد‪ .‬وعلى مشارف احلى الذى بناه قرر اخلديو أن يشيد قصراً‬ ‫جديداً ينتسب إليه فكان قصر اإلسماعيلية!‬ ‫أمامى وثيقة حتمل أمراً من اخلديو إسماعيل إلى رياض باشا فى ‪ 8‬أغسطس ‪ 1869‬ببناء‬ ‫قصر باسم «اإلسماعيلية»‪ ،‬ويبدو أن أموراً قد أعاقت تنفيذه سنوات‪ ،‬إذ جند أمراً خديوي ًا‬ ‫آخر بكتابة األرض التى سيبنى عليها القصر باسم أوجنجى قادين أو زوجته الثالثة جشم‬ ‫آفت فى ‪ 23‬أغسطس ‪ ،1871‬والوثيقة لها أهمية كبيرة أو ًال ألنها حتدد أبعاد القصر‬ ‫وموقعه بدقة؛ حده البحرى «طريق كوبرى قصر النيل والقبلى حديقة أخينا املرحوم أحمد‬ ‫باشا والشرقى طريق الشيخ يوسف والغربى البحر األعظم»‪ .‬ولنطبق هذا على واقع القاهرة‬ ‫اليوم – بحلوها القليل ومرها الكثير‪ -‬يكون القصر من شارع القصر العينى إلى حافة النيل‬ ‫ومن الشارع املؤدى إلى كوبرى قصر النيل حتى فندق شبرد ووزارة الصناعة‪ .‬النقطة الثانية‬ ‫أنها تؤرخ ولو بشكل تقريبى قرار اخلديو بناء قصر اإلسماعيلية‪ ،‬ثالث ًا تروى لنا الوثيقة أن‬ ‫خديوينا كان ينوى إهداء القصر إلى زوجته الثالثة وسنرى أن نيته قد تغيرت فيما بعد‪.‬‬

‫ال مهني ًا ناجح ًا‬ ‫مسقط رأسه‪ ،‬مهندس شاب له تسعة وعشرين عام ًا من العمر ليبنى مستقب ً‬ ‫فى واحدة من أكثر بالد العالم منواً ونشاط ًا فى ذلك الوقت‪ ،‬ولم ميض غير شهرين حتى‬ ‫كان اسمه قد عرف وأسند إليه ترميم وإصالح قصر محمد على باشا الكبير فى شبرا‪.‬‬ ‫وذاع الصيت الرجل وبرع فأسند إليه روسو باشا كبير مهندسى الدائرة اخلديوية مهام‬ ‫التصميمات اجلديدة لقصر اجليزة واحملكمة املختلطة باإلسكندرية ومتحف بوالق وأخيراً‬ ‫تصميم وبناء قصر اإلسماعيلية الصغير‪.‬‬ ‫فالصغير‪ ،‬أو «سراى اإلسماعيلية الصغرى» كما أسموها؛ جاء ألن إسماعيل باشا كان‬ ‫ينوى بناء سراى أخرى كان سيطلق عليها «سراى اإلسماعيلية الكبرى»‪ ،‬يخبرنا على باشا‬ ‫مبارك أن ما أنفق على جدرانها فقط كان ‪ 38820‬جنيه قبل أن تداهم مصر وخديويها‬ ‫األزمة املالية التى اضطرته إلى إيقاف العمل بها ولم يقدر لها أن تتم أبداً حتى هدمت‬ ‫جدرانها واستأثرت صاحبتنا «الصغرى» باسم اإلسماعيلية حتى هدمت هى اآلخرى‬ ‫فتشبث االسم بامليدان بضع سنني حتى تغير إلى ميدان التحرير وتالشى ذكر إسماعيل‬ ‫من قلب قاهرته!‬

‫أشيخٌ وعبيط؟!‬

‫‪ 42‬شارع مصر العتيقة هو عنوان قصر اإلسماعيلية‪ ،‬وقد عرفنا حدوده وقت بنائه‬ ‫وكانت بوابته الرئيسية تطل على شارع قصر العينى‪ ،‬وعلى هذه البوابة لقى شريف باشا‬ ‫اخلديو توفيق خارج ًا فى عجالة حني وصلته برقية توليه كما روينا فتوجها مع ًا إلى عابدين‪.‬‬ ‫كانت تلك البوابة تتوسط سور كبير مستدير يصل حتى امليدان احلالى ومالصق للسور من‬ ‫الداخل مكاتب إدارية تستخدم للمقابالت وأعمال موظفى الديوان اخلديوى‪ ،‬أما احلديقة‬ ‫فقد اشتهرت بالنخل وأشجار املوز وقد ضمت فى ركنها اجلنوبى الغربى جامع العبيط وبه‬ ‫ضريح الشيخ العبيط وقد بقى زمن ًا بعد هدم القصر حتى حل محله اآلن جامع الشيخ عمر‬ ‫مكرم‪ ،‬وقد أخبرنا على باشا مبارك أن شعائر اجلامع كانت مقامة من وقف القصر وإن لم‬ ‫يذكر من هو صاحب اجلامع وال كيف امتزجت فى شخصيته تلك السمات املتناقضة؛‬ ‫فجمع بني عالمات وقار ومهابة أكسبته لقب شيخ وأخرى جعلت منه عبيطاً!‬

‫وفيما بني مايو ويوليو ‪ 1873‬حتفظ‬ ‫لنا الوثائق مكاتبات من اخلديو إلى‬ ‫ناظر اجلهادية يبلغه امتنانه مبا مت إجنازه‬ ‫من أعمال فى قصرى اإلسماعيلية‬ ‫وعابدين‪ ،‬ومن جملة هذه الوثائق يسوغ‬ ‫لنا استنتاج أن بناء قصر اإلسماعيلية‬ ‫بدأ سنة ‪ 1871‬وانتهى حوالى ‪،1874‬‬ ‫ويعزز هذا االعتقاد أن القصر لم يأت له‬ ‫ذكر فى احتفاالت افتتاح قناة السويس‬ ‫األسطورية سنة ‪ 1869‬وال فى أفراح‬ ‫األجنال سنة ‪ ،1873‬على أن الوقائع‬ ‫املصرية تروى فى عددها الصادر بتاريخ‬ ‫‪ 3‬سبتمبر ‪ 1876‬أن القصر قد ازدان‬ ‫مع غيره من السرايات اخلديوية مبناسبة‬ ‫اعتالء السلطان عبد احلميد العرش‪ ،‬مما‬ ‫يقطع بأن اإلسماعيلية كان موجوداً‬ ‫ومسكون ًا فى ذلك التاريخ‪.‬‬

‫القصر كان مبنى واحد فقط هو‬ ‫احلرملك ولم يكن مبنى كبير مبقياس‬ ‫عصره‪ ،‬رمبا ألن صاحبه كان ينوى‬ ‫إحلاقه بأخ أكبر‪ ،‬تصعد إليه على سلم‬ ‫فخم كسى بالرخام األبيض الفاخر له‬ ‫مطلعان يندمجان فى منتصفه حتى‬ ‫يفضى إلى تراس كبير من نفس الرخام‬ ‫يشرف على احلديقة‪ .‬وقد تأثث القصر‬ ‫على الطراز األوروبى وأهم ما كان به‬ ‫غرفة طعام كبيرة تتوسطها منضدة‬ ‫مستديرة‪.‬‬

‫الشقيقتان‬

‫جاء أوجوستو شيزارى ‪Augusto‬‬ ‫‪ Cezare‬إلى مصر فى ديسمبر ‪1873‬‬ ‫من بلدة أنكونا ‪ Ancona‬اإليطالية‬

‫اخلديو توفيق اتخذ من اإلسماعيلية مقراً للسكنى له وألسرته‬

‫وشاهد العيان الرئيسى لقصرنا هذا‬ ‫هو أمينة هامن توجاى حفيدة اخلديو‬ ‫إسماعيل من كرميته األميرة نعمت‬ ‫مختار التى تروى فى مذكراتها املمتعة‬ ‫أن سراى اإلسماعيلية الصغرى كانت‬ ‫هدية من اخلديو إلى مستولدته ن َْشئَه‬ ‫دُلْ جدة أمينة هامن‪ ،‬بينما ضمت الدولة‬ ‫السراى الكبرى إلى أمالكها‪ .‬بيد أن‬ ‫الوثائق ال تعزز هذا‪ ،‬فالثابت أن السراى‬ ‫الكبرى لم تكتمل أبداً‪.‬‬ ‫‪5‬‬

‫بحث للمهندس ‪ /‬عمرو سميح طلعت‬ ‫نفتالني‪ ،‬كبريت‪ ،‬شرابات حرميى‪ ،‬ملبات (غالب ًا محروقة) وأعجب من ذلك وأكثر‬ ‫تنوع ًا تتعثر فيها وأنت حتاول اجتيازها متحسس ًا طريق وعر بني نقر الرصيف وزحام املارة‬ ‫وصيحات الباعة اجلائلني ومطاردات ماسحى األحذية‪ .‬فى النهاية تدخل إلى بهو فقير‬ ‫اإلضاءة واملساحة مع ًا لتبحث عن سلم تقعرت درجاته املتهالكة التى لم تالمسها مكنسة‬ ‫منذ عقود‪.‬‬

‫شهدته من أحداث درامية وما حوته من مشاعر متضاربة وأحاسيس متباينة‪ .‬أن يرث ابن‬ ‫أباه فأمر طبيعى جترى به سنة احلياة‪ ،‬والتاريخ روى قصص ًا كثيرة عن خطط إسماعيل باشا‬ ‫بالذات وما بذل من جهد ومال حلصر إرث العرش فى ذريته دون باقى أفراد األسرة وكيف‬ ‫حمل السلطان على إصدار فرمان بذلك ليظفر ابنه األكبر توفيق بالعرش‪.‬‬

‫ولكن أن يأتى اإلرث واألب حي ًا وأن يكون قسراً وجبراً يرغم األب عليه فيقصى بقوة‬ ‫قلت ملرافقى «تعرف إن مكان املبنى ده كان فى قصر»‪ ،‬رد بابتسامة باهتة معناها «وده السالح عن عرش استمات فى االحتفاظ به لذريته فأمر يفجر زخم من الدراما املثيرة‪ .‬ترى‬ ‫وقت ذكريات»‪ ،‬وجذبنى من ذراعى بشدة حتى أتفادى صدام ًا دامي ًا مع صينية مزدحمة مباذا شعر وما الذى جال بخاطره وحمله وجدانه وهو يرى عرشه وجاهه ينزع عنه ثم يوضع‬ ‫ال ما على صدر ابنه ؛ حزن وغم وقهر على ما ذهب عنه من سلطة وسلطان‪ ،‬غيرة وحسد أحرقاه‬ ‫بأكواب الشاى األسود يتمايل بها عابث ًا صبى جتاوز العاشرة بالكاد‪ ،‬ثم أردف متجاه ً‬ ‫وقد حملت له الرياح أصوات مدافع البشرى من القلعة إلى عابدين‪ ،‬فرح وبشر أن خطته‬ ‫قلت «نطلع بسرعة أحسن املوظف يزوغ ويبقى مشوارنا على الفاضى»‪.‬‬ ‫فى توريث ابنه قد أفلحت‪ ...‬أم لعلها كانت مزيج ًا من كل هذا!‬ ‫قفزت صاعداً ألحلق صاحبى فوجدت بابني متالصقني يؤديان لنفس الردهة كتب على‬ ‫صباح يوم اخلميس ‪ 26‬يونيو ‪ 1879‬وصلت إلى األب فى عابدين برقية من الباب‬ ‫أحدهما «دخول» واآلخر «خروج» وقد أوقفوا عسكرى على باب اخلروج ليمنع الداخلني‬ ‫بعبارة يرددها بشكل آلى متكرر حتى للسيدات «الباب التانى يا باشا»‪ .‬واستمر على العالى معنونة «اخلديو السابق» وإلى االبن فى اإلسماعيلية برقية موجهة إلى «خديو‬ ‫هذا النسق حتى جاء رجل ضخم اجلثة شديد التجهم ودخل منه زاجراً العسكرى الغلبان مصر»‪ ،‬ويتوجه شريف باشا رئيس الوزراء آنذاك من عابدين إلى اإلسماعيلية ليصحب‬ ‫محمد توفيق باشا ليلقى إسماعيل باشا ثم يتوجهان إلى القلعة ألداء اليمني واستقبال‬ ‫بالعبارة السحرية «شرطة»!‬ ‫وفود املهنئني‪.‬‬ ‫هكذا دخلنا ذلك املبنى الكئيب املتضخم الذى كلما مررت بجانبه جثم على صدرى‬ ‫وفى مشهد مؤثر يتوجه اخلديو الراحل فى منتصف اخلامسة من عصر يوم اجلمعة طاوي ًا‬ ‫قبح تصميمه وتراخى أبعاده وغبار جوانبه؛ ذلك الذى نسميه «مجمع التحرير»‪ ،‬نحن‬ ‫صدره على أحاسيسه‪ ،‬على فيضها وتناقضها‪ ،‬لتهنئة اخلديو اجلديد بعرش أتاه دون سعى‬ ‫سكان مدينة أصبح يروق لى أن أسميها «قاهرة املستفز»!‬ ‫أو اجتهاد‪ .‬وفوق رخام سلم فخم له مطلعان يهبط االبن ليستقبل أباه فى حديقة القصر‪.‬‬

‫أم بدر‬

‫وتتصافح يدان‪ ،‬من واحدة انتزع الصوجلان عنوة ليودع فى راحة األخرى صدفة!‬

‫على صدور النساء تألق األملاس النادر وتكسر ضوء املنبعث من الثريات الكريستال‬ ‫الفخمة فزاد ملعان النياشني الرفيعة على صدور أقرانهن وقد التفوا جميع ًا حول املائدة‬ ‫الفخمة التى أعدّ ها صاحب القصر فى إحدى ليالى سنة ‪ 1901‬ملناسبة لم يشأ أن يعلن معركة فى قصر‬ ‫عنها مسبقاً‪ .‬وبعد أن استمتع املدعوون بالعشاء الفاخر بأصنافه املتعددة الشهية وقف‬ ‫تسمر املارة وال ريب ‪ -‬على قلتهم فى شوارع قاهرة القرن التاسع عشر ‪ -‬حني رأوا هذا‬ ‫مضيفهم ورفع كأسه معلن ًا «سيداتى سادتى‪ ،‬أدعوكم لشرب نخب ابنى»!‬ ‫املشهد الغريب صباح االثنني ‪ 27‬سبتمبر ‪ .1886‬مسيو الفيسون ‪ Lavison‬كان روسى‬ ‫اجلنسية ينتمى إلى عائلة يهودية استوطنت مصر ثم حتولت إلى املسيحية وظلت بها حتى‬ ‫احتبست األنفاس وجتمدت األلسنة وكأن الذى ألقى فى القاعة قنبلة؛ فلم يكن منتصف القرن العشرين‪ ،‬رمبا كان آخر من عرف منها آنئذ الكونتيسة الفيسون‪ .‬مسيو‬ ‫املجتمع يعرف أن الغازى أحمد مختار باشا قد قرر أن يتخذ له محظية غير زوجته زهرة الفيسون كان أحد رجال اخلديو إسماعيل املخلصني له حتى بعد أن أقصى عن العرش‬ ‫هامن‪ ،‬ولكن الزوج الذى قضى حياته مخلص ًا فى زمن كان تعدد الزوجات فيه أمراً اعتيادي ًا وذهب عنه السلطان‪ .‬وفى ذلك الصباح املثير‪ ،‬قام الرجل على رأس قوة من الرجال األلبان‬ ‫قد تاقت نفسه لولد فاتخذ من جارية شركسية جميلة لها شعر ذهبى وعينان زرقاوتان املسلحني وساروا فى شوارع القاهرة على هيئة جيش صغير حتى بلغوا قصر اإلسماعيلية‬ ‫مستولدة أجنبت له «بدر الدين»‪ .‬ولم يشأ الزوج وال أحد من أهل القصر أن يجرح زهرة فحاصروه احتلوه!‬ ‫هامن وقد شحبت صحتها وذهب بصرها‪ ،‬فكتموا عنها النبأ حتى رحلت بعدها بأربع‬ ‫سنوات دون أن تعرف ما لم تكن لتسر به!‬ ‫لم يكن األمر بسيطاً‪ ،‬فالقصر كما ستعرف كان مقر ممثل السلطان العثمانى ومحاصرته‬ ‫بواسطة رجال مسلحني فى قلب القاهرة وعلى مرمى حجر من السفارة البريطانية ليست‬ ‫مسألة هينة‪ .‬والبد أن اخلديو توفيق قد شعر بحرج‪ ،‬فاملسألة من تدبير أبيه الذى كان يريد‬ ‫دراما الصوجلان‬ ‫إرغام احملكمة على سماع دعواه مبلكية القصر الذى صادره ابنه‪ .‬ورمبا كان هذا احلرج‬ ‫كلما قرأت عن وقائع الفترة ما بني ‪ 26‬و‪ 29‬يونيو من سنة ‪ 1879‬سرح خاطرى فيما السبب وراء غياب اخلديو عن اخلبر‪ ،‬فالذى تدخل كان القنصل الروسى الذى أمر الفيسون‬ ‫‪4‬‬