WATANI International
9 May 2010
Stories, jokes, tales and anecdotes from Egypt’s contemporary history are retold in Magallat Thakirat Misr al-Muasira (Egypt’s Contemporary Memory Magazine) which is published by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. In its second issue of March 2010, the magazine includes an amusing story about the toll stations on Qasr al-Nil Bridge before it became a highway.
On 27 February 1872, 17 days after the bridge was opened, an official decree was published in the national newspaper Al-Waqaie al-Misriya stating that the toll revenues collected would be spent on maintenance.
“Loaded camels pay more than unloaded ones,” the article states. “Most of the passengers are cows, buffaloes, donkeys and carriages; each type of passenger pay a different amount. Unloaded men and women pay little in fees, and children below six are exempted”.
The Qasr al-Nil Bridge crosses the River Nile to connect Tahrir Square in Downtown with the Cairo Opera House and the districts of Gezira and Zamalek On either side of the bridge are two eye-catching lion statues, the work of Henri Alfred Jacquemart. The bridge was built in 1872 and originally named after Khedive Ismail, but following the 1952 coup, its name like those of other buildings, was changed. It became Qasr al-Nil—the Palace of the Nile.
Scary tramway
Suzan Abed, the managing editor, writes in Hikayaat Wa Riwayaat min Misr (Stories and Tales from Egypt) that Egyptians expressed such amazement—whereas children were reported as being terrified—when they saw the tramway passing ‘at high speed’ through the city streets, that they dubbed it “the ghost”.
In a section titled Believe it or not the reader learns about the so-called ‘Venice of Cairo’, famous for its tranquil beauty, where one can see the water running between well-planned buildings. The sumptuousness of the area gives the impression that one is in Venice. But the oriental decorations and the Egyptian style of architecture indicate one is in Port Said Street on the outskirts of Fatimid Cairo—today part of the busy bustle of central Cairo, and with not a drop of water channel—not in Venice.
Khaled Azab, editor-in-chief of the magazine presents an informative lecture on “The Future of History”, in which he discusses the future of Egypt, and attempts to address the advantages and disadvantages of books versus the digital press.
Various articles
The magazine also includes a detailed article by the secretary-general of the Supreme Council of Culture, Emad Eddin Abu-Ghazi, on the great works of the sculptor and artist Mahmoud Mukhtar (1891 – 1934), who pioneered the modern school of Egyptian sculpture—following centuries during which sculpture as an art was non-existent in Egypt. He drew heavily on the ancient Egyptian tradition of sculpture, and stood thus as a symbol of Egypt’s culture and art.
Two pages are dedicated to the protocol of dressing for parties and public celebrations attended by famous personages and officials. This covers the correct attire indicated on an invitation card. Other articles are on cultural and historical issues: Abdel-Wahab Shaker has an article on the Alexandria obelisks now in London and New York and known as Cleopatra’s Needles, while Amira Dawood writes on Egypt’s part in the United Nations and Mahmoud Ezzat on Egypt’s role in the Olympics.
Magallat Thakirat Misr al-Muasira is a quarterly magazine published by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina as a part of the Thakirat Misr al-Muasira project, a digital library that houses the contemporary history of Egypt from the Mohamed Ali era which started in 1802 until the end of the Mohamed Anwar al-Sadat rule in 1981. Khaled Azab is the editor-in-chief, Suzan Abed is the managing editor and Hani Saber is the page designer.