Perhaps the ancient Egyptians succeeded in their obsession with special measures for dwelling in eternal paradise after leaving this world, where the souls of the dead dispensed with the false splendor of life and departed with meager possessions consisting of a few pots, pans, and simple bedding. They declared their certainty that they would not need anything from the transient world, and they adhered to what was required of the soul in joyful solitude, dispelling the desolate loneliness that surrounded their existence.
After many long years, following in the footsteps of her ancestors, she lived in the back streets, in houses that were slightly spacious but crowded with dark alleys and narrow lanes, among crowds of people who knew nothing but joy, happiness, and the will of God. They became concerned with renovating the dilapidated houses and busied themselves with restoring what had been destroyed. as if the corruption of the universe was merely a passing phase for the residents of these neighborhoods, and as if the souls that knew these places believed that life and eternity were intertwined in time. Living in these neighborhoods gave them visions and ideas that crystallized into plans for a brighter and more meaningful future. They took care of their civilization by painting the facades of their houses with drawings of great simplicity, depth, and beauty, and images depicting some of the art of folk storytelling, and walls decorated with writings of such precision and mastery that they were labeled “wall literature.”
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Along the narrow streets, trees and lush plants line the streets, and shopkeepers and stall owners have repaired the worn asphalt streets without the help of the official public works department or the municipal council.
The residents of these neighborhoods are accustomed to seeing nurses visiting the homes of elderly patients, hoping to bring them healing and recovery.
When these areas were crowded with people who had come from other parts of Alexandria to visit their old neighbors, a sense of peace and tranquility prevailed, and all aspects of life underwent vibrant changes. All these feelings brought together those who settled in these neighborhoods, where the values of friendship and tolerance took root, and a system of mutual benefit and exchange was established. Those who left these neighborhoods felt as if they had shed their skin and their spirit had been defeated.
In this context, the social changes and transformations that took place included many phenomena, but they did not obscure the customs and traditions that characterized the popular neighborhoods. Despite the accumulation of signs of urbanization and modernization, the passion for authenticity remained at the forefront. The songs of Badria Al-Sayed (Badara) and Ezzat Awadallah still seep through broken windows at night, tea and shisha stands are scattered on street corners, and women remain a symbol of courage and dignity in the face of the hardships and tribulations that befall the people of these neighborhoods. The sounds of street celebrations and wedding bands fill the air with joy and excitement through dancing and singing, and the noise and bustle are signs of the vitality of the neighborhoods and alleys.
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All these scenes and images confirm that the back streets flourished with simple, ordinary people who sought to build a life for themselves and achieved human triumph.
Our experiences and reflections on the realities of the working-class neighborhoods led us to explore other, more upscale areas inhabited by the upper classes, including the aristocracy and the middle class, such as the Latin Quarter and Fouad Street with its ancient, towering buildings, where the lower floors were occupied by and the upper floors where the laundry rooms were located. These human models left the popular neighborhood of Kom al-Dikka, which is close to those areas, and produced another wave of shadow workers who embarked on their morning and evening journey of daily toil.
This phenomenon was replicated in many other areas: Al-Attarin, Za’rabana, Kafr Abdu, and Jleem, where all this created a huge gap between one world and another, between people and people, with open doors echoing excessive confessions and others closed to clouds of silence, which was reinforced by forms of harsh mockery that did not last long, because those who sought the unjust silence that enveloped those upscale neighborhoods abandoned it again when they realized that they missed the noisy joy they had spent and regained the strangeness of a creative life.
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A visit to the Diwan al-Khat wa al-Kuttaba
