WHO'S WHO OF SOME STREET NAMES

Ismail Mohammed Pasha was chief irrigation engineer for Egypt's southern mudireyas--provinces when the important Ibrahimia Canal was dug. In 1899 he was appointed President of Majlis Shoura / Kawanin, a legislative body.

Born in Korashia, Gharbia, Mohammed Thakib Pasha was a 19th century engineer who participated in the Delta Barrage al-Kanater al-Khairia project. He was also chief engineer in Upper Egypt.

Mohammed Fadel, a grandson of Mohammed Thakib Pasha, asserts he was not an irrigation engineer but a survey engineer who had a role in the planning up of Zamalek

Ahmed Heshmat Pasha (1858 - 8 May 1926) was born in Kafr al-Meselha, Monoufia. A graduate of Cairo's Law School, he obtained his Ph.D. from Montpelier, France. Starting off as a public prosecutor (Avocato Oumoumihe was appointed in turn governor of Gerga, Assuit and Dakahlia. He was a member of several government cabinets as minister of Finance, Education, Foreign Affairs and Awkaf. Heshmat Pasha headed the committee that drafted the 1923 Constitution.

Civil engineer Mohammed Mar'ashly Pasha was minister of public works during the reign of Khedive Ismail. Later, he was appointed chief engineer of coastal forts about the time when the British fleet bombarded Alexandria in July 1882. When consulted by Khedive Tewfik regarding an appropriate response to Britain's aggression, Mar'ashly, contrary to all those present, suggested conceding to the British. Sparing innocent lives was the best option in view of the poor state of the military.

http/www.egy.com/zamalek/00-12-15.php

Celebrity Houses in Zamalek

Celebrity Houses in Zamalek

Zamalek is a famous for having celebrities who lived there and still are such as Abdel Halim Hafez, Mohamed Abdel Wahab, Faten Hamama, Farid El Atrash, Om Kalthoum and Sherihan, Fouad El Mohndes, Soad Hosny. Libon Building alone was home to a lot of actors namely Roushdy Abaza, Sherihan, Faten Hamama, Laila Fawzy and Moharam Fouad.

Farid El Atrash lived in Zamalek and called his home “Dar El Hana”. His apartment was chosen by his sister Asmahan. He left Garden City to live in Zamalek. However, he later on built an apartment building in Giza and left his Zamalek apartment to his brother Fouad El Atrash.

Abdel Halim Hafez’s house is being visited every year by his fans and lovers even after the passing of 30 years from his death. It is overlooking El Asmak Garden. Zeinab, his niece is the one currently living in the apartments. She opens it to visitors whenever anyone comes who would like to see it.  Zeinab said in an interview before that the reception area was where he used to have his

Abdel Halim Hafez’s belongings

rehearsals with his band. However, his favorite room was the bedroom. He even kept his piano there. Next to his bed, still lie his radio and cassette player where he used to record his music and listen to different songs on the radio. What was surprising is that his clothes in their places and even his shaving set and perfume are still there in his bathroom. His house is a living memory of him and what he used to have and own.  (http://www.addustour.com)

Om Kalthoum was another celebrity who lived in Zamalek in Abul Feda Street. In place of where she lived, now is a hotel named after her. A big statue also of her is found close to the hotel. The hotel’s entrance has many of her pictures in different stages of life. The hotel rooms and ballrooms are named after her songs. When dialing a number, you would hear one of Om Kalthoums’s songs instead of the ringing tone. And of course when wandering in the hotel, her songs are played in the background.  The hotel also has many of her belongings on display for the guests.

Parking No Parking

One of the things Zamalek is known for is the unavailability of parking spaces. Sometimes, it would be better to go by taxi if you are running an errand there. However, if you live there, it is something else. You will be suffering from the lack of available parking spots. A few times, you would be going round and round in vicious circles until you feel ecstatic that you found a place..and then, your dream won’t come true. You discover that there are chains blocking the space.

Nowadays, people are becoming very creative using different ways to reserve places. In the past, it was just a chain. Recently, they use a big chunk of rock, barrels; even chairs are used to reserve places. Sometimes, you see a car parked in a place that could cater for 3 others. Then, you find out that it is not that the driver doesn’t know how to park well or is inconsiderate to others but it would be done on purpose to reserve places for other cars. The best way to park your car is to be best friends with all the doormen in the area. Your best bet is to double park and leave your key with a doorman or a car attendant.

If you are going out in Zamalek, this is much better. You can then find a car attendant usually outside restaurants such as Mori’s, Abu El Sid, La Bodega or The Crave. There’s also an adequate parking spot under the bridge across from La Bodega, while the area around the Cairo Marriott usually has free parking spots. The most difficult is to park on Merashly Street in front of Café Tabasco. There’s always some policeman hanging there. Since Zamalek is quite small and easy to walk around, park your car wherever you can find a spot and walk the rest of the route. This is a lot better than getting clamped.

The Amazing History of Cairo Marriott Hotel

Marriott Hotel was built by Khedive Ismail Pasha to accommodate Empress Eugenie of France for her visit to Egypt. The Khedive spared no expense in building this hotel to house the wife of Napoleon Bonaparte III and other European dignitaries during the inaugural celebrations of the Suez Canal in 1869.

The architecture and construction of the Palace reflected Khedive’s passion for neoclassical style popularized in Europe. For the design elements, he engaged the services of Austrian Architect Julius Franz (later Franz Bey) and De Curel Del Rosso, who also designed the Abdin Palace.

The German Carl von Diebitsch was contracted as the Palace’s interior designer. He designed the décor, as well as prefabricating the furniture, draperies and other internal fittings.

The modern-day hotel was built around the al Gezira Palace which housed Egypt’s royal family during the 19th century. After the Suez event, the next biggest gala was the wedding of the Khedive’s four children in one massive, lavish celebration. After the signing of the marriage documents, festivities continued for 40 days, and included royal guests from all over the world. The wedding of the daughter of Prime Minister Nahhas Pasha in the 1930s was held there. Also the boat party in front of the Palace was part of H.M King Farouk and H.M Queen Nariman’s wedding celebrations.

When the Khedive eventually went bankrupt, and had to liquidate his assets to cover his debts, the palace was acquired by the Egyptian Hotels Company in 1879, operating as the Gezira Palace Hotel. The tourism industry suffered a downturn after WWI as a result of which the hotel was auctioned off. Habib Lotfallah Pasha, head of a wealthy land-owning family from Syria, bought the Gezirah Palace for LF140,000 in 1919, along with which he acquired the title of prince. For the next 42 years, the palace was the home of Prince Lotfallah’s descendents, who kept most of the original structure, furniture, artifacts and paintings intact. The Saraya Cafe was used as an arabesque dining room by the Lotfallah’s family, in which they hosted a great number of elites during this eventful historical period.

http://www.travelsignposts.com

Zamalek Guardians:

 Zamalek residents take law and order into their own hands

Source: Egypt Independent http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/zamalek-residents-take-law-and-order-their-own-hands
Saturday 1 December 2012

Security, street lighting, traffic control, garbage collection and recycling: all services that typically belong exclusively to the realm of government. Unless you live in the Zamalek neighborhood of Cairo, where a group called the Zamalek Guardians has taken on the task of assisting not only with safety, but also acting as a liaison between the community and the government to deal with quality of life issues.
Inspired by Operation Red Nose in Canada, which provides rides for potential drunken drivers during the holiday season, the Zamalek Guardians are an all-volunteer group of Zamalek residents who have banded together to address community issues. Some of their recent work included providing security for the Egypt Now festival, which Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Fayza Abouelnaga attended without her bodyguard, and offering security, logistical and organizational help at polling sites during the referendum on constitutional amendments in March.
During the 18-day uprising, popular committees were formed in neighborhoods throughout Cairo. Sometimes armed with nothing more than sticks or other blunt weapons, they provided security and kept intruders out after police disappeared from the streets.
“All of a sudden, no one was doing anything,” says Zamalek Guardians member Mohamed Abdel Hady. “We had to do something.”
Many members of these committees have gone back to their normal routines, though the security situation has not yet returned to pre-revolution levels. The Zamalek Guardians, though, are actively trying to expand their role in the community and recruit new members.
The group began with a Facebook page. This allowed the members, all longtime Zamalek residents, to keep in touch easily and also offered community members opportunities to post their concerns.
“The only topics that are not allowed are politics, religion and football,” says Shoukry Boutros, the self-described uncle of the group. “These types of posts are removed by the admins,” he says, because the Guardians do not want their group to be aligned with any particular ideology.
During the uprising, the Guardians started with the basics: standing guard on street corners and directing traffic. “It was amazing,” says Shoukry of the community’s patience, gratefulness, and willingness to take directives from other community members. “We were really surprised.”
Since then, they have started several other security initiatives, including a hotline that residents can call to request help or file a report, and a service that provides car rides to women who have an emergency that requires them to go out late at night or get stuck somewhere and need a ride back to Zamalek. The cars are sent with a male “bodyguard,” as well as a female member of the group, to make the women feel comfortable.
Some members are licensed to be armed and others carry tasers, but Abdel Hady stressed that they only use force defensively, which is a rare occurrence, in accordance with their motto, “Prevention is better than confrontation.”
None of the Guardians have received any professional training in security or law enforcement, but this is something that they hope to do in the future along with providing classes and training in areas such as self-defense to residents.
The Guardians also assist with other non-emergency safety issues such as getting the appropriate government agency to repair broken streetlights. They say that because there is no effective system for reporting such issues directly, the Guardians have formed relationships with officials and to present to them the community's concerns.
Both the police and other government agencies have been receptive to the Guardians’ efforts, something practically unheard of before the revolution. “This spirit is a new phenomenon, that people want to work together,” says Boutros. “The revolution, which was the driving force behind our formation, has taught us to be one hand.”
The Guardians are trying to capitalize on this newfound openness by pushing for other initiatives, such as a recycling program, and have organized themselves into various committees and departments to tackle such initiatives as well as work on public relations and advertising.
“It can’t go back to the way it was before,” says founding member Mohamed Fikry. “The Tahrir people will not let it.”
The Guardians say they have representatives in the tent city in Tahrir Square, who keep them up to date on what is being discussed there.
“We are working on making Zamalek a role model for all of Cairo,” says Fikry.
Many Zamalek residents have spent time abroad and have been exposed to other cultures, where regulations governing concepts like seatbelt use and littering are the norm, the Guardians say. They also tend to be more educated and financially stable, and therefore have more time and energy to dedicate to such efforts. Although the differences between an upscale area like Zamalek and less affluent neighborhoods present numerous challenges, Fikry says the Guardians are up to the task.
“People just need a good example,” says Boutros. “The old regime didn’t give them a chance to learn.”
Plans for an education campaign are in the works and it will include advertising as well as volunteer outreach in schools. While the challenge of changing the culture and the way people live their lives is enormous, it is not insurmountable. The education campaign will include a component aimed at convincing people that laws and regulations are good for them.
Some of the volunteers have faced resistance from school administrations. Boutros likens this resistance and the general criticism of these types of initiatives to the false argument that Egypt is not ready for democracy.
“What have you been doing for the past 50 years to prepare people for democracy? Nothing. You’ve repressed them,” he says of the critics, advocating the notion that, if allowed, people will embrace these types of initiatives instead of reject them as intrusive.
“It’s as though for the last 50 years the people lived in a rented, furnished flat where the government was the owner and they were guests,” he says. “All of that changed overnight and now the people are the owners.”

Saturday 1 December 2012

Garbage in Zamalek Streets

The piles of trash overwhelmed the Streets of Zamalek and Cairo in general and spilled into oncoming traffic - egg shells, rotten eggplants, soiled diapers, bottles, broken furniture, junked TV sets.

To all those, add the rising tide of garbage in Cairo, the world’s largest Arab city. Mursi declared it one of his top five priorities, promising to clean up the streets within 100 days. It looks increasingly certain that 100 days weren’t anywhere near enough.

Cairo’s waste management problem began to get acute a decade ago as the capital’s old system, simple but reliable, became swamped by population growth. A government modernization effort flopped. A swine flu panic prompted the mass slaughter of the pigs that recycled Cairo’s organic garbage; the city’s metal trash bins were easy prey for thieves, especially during the global scrap metal boom.

Mursi is wading into a landfill of interwoven problems. Rival collectors vying for the big business of trash fight over turf that used to be parceled out in an orderly way among a fixed number of garbage-collecting clans. Layers of corrupt and inefficient bureaucracy choke the system. As a result, Cairenes end up dumping much of their daily output of 17,000 tons of garbage on the street.

In late July, Mursi launched a “Clean Homeland” campaign, giving free brooms and plastic bags to volunteers from civic groups and the Muslim Brotherhood to which Mursi belongs. They hit several Cairo districts, helped by local authorities, for two days and then turned it into a weekly campaign. They swarm the streets, removing piles of trash. But the garbage quickly returns.

In Zamalek, the Zamalek Guardians took care of garbage collection and recycling among other services. Inspired by Operation Red Nose in Canada, which provides rides for potential drunken drivers during the holiday season, the Zamalek Guardians are an all-volunteer group of Zamalek residents who have banded together to address community issues. Despite of these efforts, garbage can still be seen in different streets in Zamalek.

Zamalek March

Yesterday, Friday 30 November 2012 History was made in Tahrir, and also from Zamalek & Gezira, two marches have moved at different times, but the one that moved from Sakiat el Sawy had a huge impact especially when entering Tahrir as it had a huge number and was well organized, it was even mentioned on CBC!

The two marches of Gezira Club & Zamalek Sawy combined forces to provide even a ONE UNITED STRONGER MASEERA!

Zamalek Sawy met and moved from Sakiat el Sawy at 1pm right after prayer and marched to the Gezira Club gate in-front of imperial boat and met up with a 1000 other protests there at 1:45 and then moved ONE UNITED group up to Kasr el Nil and entered Tahrir holding high a 50 meter Egyptian flag.

They chanted slogans against President Mohamed Morsy, the Muslim Brotherhood and the Constituent Assembly and went to Tahrir “Martyrs’ Dream” mass demonstration, which many political parties, movements and revolutionary groups had called for to decry the declaration. Many protesters also decried the final constitutional draft, finished by the Islamist-dominated Constituent Assembly early the same morning.

 The Zamalek March consisted of Al Dostour (The Constitution) Party, Al Masreen (Egyptians) party, Al Tayar El Shaaby, Al Masry Al Democraty (Egyptian Democrat) and thousands of Zamalek residents. 

Al-Asmak Garden

Al - Asmak Garden also called Hadiquat Al-Gabalaya is a beautiful place to visit for the whole family. It is situated in the southern part of Zamalek Island, close to the Gezira Sporting Club and not much far away from Cairo Opera house. It was built during Khedive Ismail reign in 1867 to be one of his properties. The Zoo management is running the Asmak Garden since 1902. The design of the garden is a fish like with its gills, mouth and fins with corridors for the visitors. It was intended to have the garden look as reefs at the bottom of the sea.  It is a fishbowl carved out of desert rock.  If you look at one of the ceilings of the hallways, you will feel like it is one of the structures that are caused by the sea waves or as if they are parts of a living creature swimming in the sea. The structure also is done in a way that when the wind passes by, it makes a sound that is similar to water movement sounds.   It has 49 fish tanks to show all different kinds of fish and turtles that live in swamps and rivers. Sharks are also sowed at the entrance of the garden. 

It captures the attention of the visitors. There are also gardens outside the aquarium that are for the kids to play or the family to enjoy. There are also gardens outside the aquarium that are for the kids to play or the family to enjoy.  In addition to all that, is a variety of rare trees and plants from Maldives, Australia and Thailand. 

Though it is supposed to be a beautiful place as it was intended, it is neglected a great deal. It is also not clean at all from the inside. It could have been much better with a little bit of care and attention. If it is given that kind of attention and the sense of beauty, it could return back to how it was before. Lots of black and white movies were shot there. Due to its importance and supposedly beauty, a recent movie was named after it starring Amr Waked and Hend Sabry.  

Zamalek Traffic

Zamalek streets are always very crowded due to the existence of many schools, colleges, institutes, companies, consulates and embassies. In addition to that, once Gamal Mubarak and Khadiga El Gammal decided to live in Zamalek, the traffic and streets have gone under a major change. Zamalek was being prepared to welcome them. Mohamed Mazhar Street specially was being heavily secured and protected. Major streets like Ismail Mohamed, Mohamed Mazhar and Al Merashly became one way forcing cars to go through Aboul Feda Street in order to enter 26 July Street. Traffic and streets directions weren’t the only thing affected. The streets became cleaner.  Also all those who were selling their products on the pavements to serve the workers, doormen or people who are of low income who can’t afford to get their food from well known restaurants or big supermarkets, were evacuated.

However, this remains the case in Zamalek even after Gamal Mubarak is imprisoned and Mohamed Morsy is the President. We are wondering when the streets’ strategy will be modified to better serve the residents.   

History of Zamalek

                                                               Zamalek's History 

Zamalek 1914

Zamalek is an island in the Nile that basically lies between modern downtown Cairo and Giza. It is an upscale, garden area with a number of attractions as well as many embassies, schools popular hotels and some of the better budget hotels. Here, one finds the Cairo Marriott, one of our favorite luxury hotels, the Gezira Sheraton which is a popular stopover for many tours entering Egypt, as well as our favorite budget hotel, the Longchamps. There is also the Gezira Club, a country club originally built by the British, the modern Cairo Opera House and landmarks such as the Cairo Tower. There are a number of fine restaurants, a lot of fast food western outlets and reasonable and interesting shopping. It is often a beautiful area with lush trees overgrowing streets, offering easy access to other important sections of Cairo.

It seems that Khedive Ismail popularized the island when he built his summer palace on there, and a number of royal families followed suite. There are several legend's surrounding Ismail's palace. One is that he built it to house three of his 14 wives, but probably the most popular story is that he built it to accommodate the Empress Eugenie during the inauguration of the Suez Canal. Certainly Eugenie, and other guests of the Suez Inauguration stayed in the palace.. Today, his palace is the Marriott. Other royal residences were also converted for other uses. These include the place of of Price Amr Ibrahim, which is now the Ceramic Museum, the palace of Prince Sa'id Toussoun that is now a branch of the Council of Ministers and the Royal Rest House near the Gezira Sheraton which is now a military establishment.

The island is well known for having a number of fine private schools. The first school we know of that was built on Zamalek was the Catholic Girls College of Bahgat Ali Street and St. Joseph Preparatory School for boys off Gabalaya Street which is today Brazil Street.

The island was also home to Egypt's first modern day fairgrounds that, a half century later, became the new Japanese contributed Opera House. Actually, some of the exhibit building remain. Today, these are the Nile Hall (Saray an-Nil) and Al-Mustadira (Artists' Synicate Building) that shows works by contemporary artists, and Saray an-Nasr, where the Museum of Modern Egyptian Art is located. Other attractions include the Ministry of Culture's Akhenaten Gallery that is housed in a villa on Maahad as-Swissri street, the Italian Cultural Center and a museum housing the works of Mahmud Mukhtar, one of Egypt's internationally known artists.

Prior to World War II, and ever since the construction of the original Gezira Palace in 1866, the island was almost exclusively known as Gezirat Boulaq (Boulaq Island). The name Boulaq came form thriving port by the same name on the Nile's eastern bank. During this time period there was a small bridge linking the island's midsection to Giza, along with the street that intersected the island's middle named Zamalek. This street later became Avenue Fouad, and after 1952 took its present name, 26th of July Avenue.

Actually, the bridge and street borrowed the name, Zamalek from a small village in Giza called Al Zamalek. This village was just southwest of Imbaba Village, and it is thought that the meaning of Zamalek derives from Zomlok, a Kurdish word meaning straw hut.

After World War II, during a time that Egypt remained under British control, the island's population grew rapidly. Soon the area north of 26th of July Avenue was commonly referred to as Zamalek, while the midsection of the island was referred to as Gezira Al Wasta. However, soon, the entire island became known as Zamalek. However, older residents even today sometimes refer to the area south of 26th of July Avenue as Gezira, but this is mostly due to the Gezira Sporting Club located there and established by the British in 1883. The opulence of the 1920 and British rule can be seen in the Amr Ibrahim House, located just opposite the main exit gate of the club.

Even after World War II, the island's northernmost area was marshy and would completely disappear during high floods, therefore being mostly uninhabitable. The area was later built up, and due to the Great Dam at Aswan, no longer suffers this fate.

Today Zamalek is a thriving center for middle and upper class Egyptians, along with foreign dignitaries (there are more embassies in Zamalek than any other district of Cairo) and many tourists. It remains one of the most pleasant areas of Cairo. Indeed, it is Cairo's most fashionable residential district where one will find the BMW's and Mercedes of rich Egyptians, supermarkets that sell sushi or French pastries and always an upbeat take on Egyptian life.

This is the source of the above http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/zamalek.htm

The below link has old stories of Zamalek, newspaper clippings and old pictures of Zamalek. If you see appropriate to include, you can use it

http://www.egy.com/zamalek/00-12-15.php

Traffic in Zamalek

Zamalek streets are always very crowded due to the existence of many schools, colleges, institutes, companies, consulates and embassies. In addition to that, once Gamal Mubarak and Khadiga El Gammal decided to live in Zamalek, the traffic and streets have gone under a major change. Zamalek was being prepared to welcome them. Mohamed Mazhar Street specially was being heavily secured and protected. Major streets like Ismail Mohamed, Mohamed Mazhar and Al Merashly became one way forcing cars to go through Aboul Feda Street in order to enter 26 July Street. Traffic and streets directions weren’t the only thing affected. The streets became cleaner.  Also all those who were selling their products on the pavements to serve the workers, doormen or people who are of low income who can’t afford to get their food from well known restaurants or big supermarkets, were evacuated.

However, this remains the case in Zamalek even after Gamal Mubarak is imprisoned and Mohamed Morsy is the President. We are wondering when the streets’ strategy will be modified to better serve the residents.