Author: Abd Elrahman Alamdidi
The demolition of the “Red Palace,” also known as the “Iskandar Pasha Palace,” in the Egyptian city of Mansoura has caused significant local outrage. Preservationists and residents concerned with the city’s architectural heritage are dismayed by its loss, and images of the demolition sparked intense debate across Egyptian social media. Much of the online discussion, however, has occurred without full awareness of the complex legal and historical background of the case.
The city of Talkha has been known for its pottery industry for decades, especially in the area known today as Al-Fakhura Street, or “Fawakhair Talkha.” This industry is one of the oldest Egyptian industries, dating back to prehistoric times, if not the oldest. During the reign of King Farouk, it moved from the city of Samannoud in the Gharbia governorate to Talkha, brought there by one of the potters who spread the craft in the city, until it became famous and its trade flourished among the people of the governorate and some neighboring governorates, before it was threatened with extinction…
“To you, shining from your tower in the distance, giving and not taking, like all great ones… O poet of Egypt, buried in a world of falsehood, beneath the rubble of oppression… I salute you as you struggle to live, forgetting the bitterness of life in moments of creativity. And to you there… where you live in the shadows, shining the spotlight on others. Awad! O poet of Egypt! One day, literary history in Egypt will awaken and regret every moment it did not appreciate you. Your poems, your verses, and your approach to life will become a playground for…
At the end of Al-Sikka Al-Jadida Street, the Al-Saleh Ayub Mosque stands majestically, despite the ravages of time. Its tall minaret pierces the sky, broadcasting the call to prayer to all creation, its sound mingling with the noise of passers-by and the cries of street vendors. From there begins the street that, as soon as it is mentioned, brings to mind images and stories from the past, quickly intertwining with the present. Between the minarets of Al-Saleh Ayub and Sheikh Hassanein, Mansoura’s most famous markets stretch along Al-Abbasi Street, in a duality that brings together religion and the world, opening…
“Words are not enough… to describe Haifa and its beauty.“ Perhaps these words, from the song ”Noel Kharman” about Haifa, embody the feeling that visitors to the Haifa Gallery experience for the first time, there on Abdel Azim Mahmoud Street, branching off from Al-Jalaa Street, in the Mansoura University district. And even if these words were originally written about the Palestinian city of Haifa, there is no reason why they cannot be applied to the gallery named after it. Visitors to the Haifa Gallery are mostly people escaping the hustle and bustle of life, looking for a place to relax…
I don’t remember how old I was when I received my first gift from one of my elderly relatives. I think it was a toy car or a small tractor, red in color, just like the ones that were and still are common in rural areas. I don’t remember how much candy and chickpeas I ate as a child, but until recently… What I do remember is that all of this was linked to specific days that recurred every year, the days of the birth of Abdullah ibn Salam. The shrine is located in Kafr al-Amir (Abdullah ibn Salam) in…
When I was young, my cousin and I would go to play in a spacious yard near their house with the neighborhood kids in the village of Tami al-Amdid in the Dakahlia Governorate. Next to the yard was an old, dilapidated house, its walls worn away by time. We would jump over the wall to play inside and shelter from the heat of the sun for hours, then return to our homes. None of us knew anything about the owner of the house, nor did it ever occur to us to ask. The days passed, with their ups and downs……