Full history of the Zamalek Island: THE NAME Prior to the usage of the 20th century vernacular Zamalek, al-Gezira (Arabic for island and also spelt Guezirah, Gezireh or Gezirah) was the most common appellative used when denoting the island, especially after the construction in 1866 of the khedives Gezira Palace (today Marriott Hotel). Hitherto, the island was simply known as Geziret Bulak or Bulak Island, in reference to the thriving 18th and 19th century fluvial port of Bulak situated on the Niles eastern bank. Romantics like to believe the name Bulak itself is the corruption of Beau Lac, yet to this day no one was able to come up with corroborating evidence. Likewise, as though to make a geographic and sometimes social distinction, old timers still refer to the area south of 26 of July as Gezira with Zamalek denoting the rest of the island to the north.The name Zamalek itself was borrowed off a nearby Giza hamlet called al-Zamalek situated south west of Embaba town. Different interpretations of Zamalek have come up over the years. The most common legend is that Zamalek is the plural of Zemlek, a loose Albanian term meaning a village made up of primitive huts built from straw or reeds. The original huts located on the island were allegedly living quarters to either military conscripts or servants attached to palaces and sarays belonging to wealthy merchants living in the then superior district of Bulak (also spelt Boulaq, Boulac, Boulak). Another less creditable claim to the words origin is that Zamalek is a corruption of the Arabic expression word zou-molk meaning he who owns assets. Up until 1900, the only thing on the island sporting the appellation Zamalek was a small iron bridge linking Gezira islands midsection to the then-empty fertile expanse of Giza with the pastoral hamlet of Zamalek within view. In 1913, the still nascent street bisecting Geziras waist was straightforwardly called Avenue Zamalek. Linking the islands eastern and western Nile crossings the street very quickly became the islands qasaba or commercial lifeline, with a Cairo-Pyramids tramway line running through it. Over time Avenue Zamalek changed its name to Avenue Fouad before becoming 26th of July Street after 1952. A GARDEN ISLAND But was that chunk of land always an island? Not so, if one were to consult old Cairo maps drawn up in 1873 by geographer Mahmoud Falaki Pasha. They evidence that Gezira Island was once united to the mainland of Giza. The situation changed however between August and October of each year, when, during high flood, three islands appeared, the largest one situated in the middle. Hence, the name Gezira al-Wosta, or middle island used today as a name for a prominent Zamalek Street. Due the construction of embankments south of the island in the mid 1800s, heavy silt and mud movement eventually merged the three islands into one. Similarly, when a channel was burrowed on its western flank that the bobbing landmass became a bona fide island and a very fertile one at that. In his letter to the secretary of state dated 15 September 1873 American Consul R. Beardsley describes how The island of Guezirah is rapidly being transformed into a beautiful public park and giant nursery. It will soon be home to the new museum presently under consideration. While the museum never materialized, the island was for several decades a large garden, as recorded in plans meticulously laid out by khedivial court landscaper Gustave Delchevalerie. For a detailed description of the Gezira Palace Gardens one needs to consult Les Promenades et les Jardins du Caire (1899), the valuable notes written by Delchevalerie on the subject. As the title suggests, Khedive Ismails chief landscaper was responsible for several vice-regal and public gardens as well as major boulevards. Concerning the island of Gezira he recounts how over one million exotic species were planted on 600 acres in what amounted to a gigantic experimental nursery. This was subdivided into large square-shaped sections for different categories of plants: fruits (citrus and tropical), ornament, woods, windbreakers, vegetables etc. But thats not all that was on the island. According to Delchevalerie it was also the temporary home to 75 different species of animals and 150 species of birds. These were relocated to the Giza Palace following Khedive Ismails abdication. It appears however that part of island fell on hard times following the exile of Khedive Ismail. In his book Souvenirs published in 1935, former state administrator Gallini Fahmy Pasha recounts how in 1900, the state domains on the Gezira side of Kasr al-Nil bridge were squatted upon by brigands pausing as farmers. BRITISH MILITARY CAMP With the start of Britians military occupation of Egypt the very first British army camp was situated on Gezira island. That same camp would very soon become an exclusive British sporting club (discussed in detail in another section of this website). LAND SPECULATION For clues on the creation of the actual township of Gezira and the fantastic land speculation that surrounded the islands commercial beginnings lets consult some of the contemporary correspondence and local papers. From the beginning of the 20th century Al-Ahram printed stories on the islands various construction activities giving way to extraordinary land speculation. In 1905 we read Gezira Land Company buys wasteland from the African Mission for LE 800 per feddan! followed by the comment Sellers make heavenly profit. Later on, Gezira Land Company which started to resell the square meter for LE 0.5 has now raised the price to LE 1.00 per square meter on the rumor of the construction of the Boulac Bridge, with a proposed road linking the new bridge with the older Zamalek bridge facing Giza. At the end of the article Al-Ahram predicts that soon Land will sell for LE 8.00 the square meter once the bridge is functional, especially since the land surrounding Gezira Palace already sells for that price. Land speculation was rife in Cairo during 1904-1907 with the simultaneous creation of Heliopolis, Maadi, Koubbeh Gardens, Garden City and Dokki. Considered a prize location, Gezira Island was recurrently mentioned in the press especially as real estate companies mushroomed with the intent of developing the island. Almost all were conceived by foreign residents with one or two token Egyptians. For instance, in January 1907, we read of a land company being formed To exploit land commercially in Zamalek next to the proposed Bulak Bridge, and that the token Egyptian investor is lawyer Mohammed Mahmoud Khalil whose name would much later be associated with a museum created by his French widow. Other investors in the above company include a Dutch consul already living in Zamalek and a Mr. Skynder, the well-known architect whose landmark building in Zamalek Zamalek Mansions stands near the Marriott Hotel fronting the Anglican Church. Unless someone proves otherwise, this edifice was Geziras first apartment building designed for account of Swiss hotelier Charles Baehler in 1908-9. Today the building is better known as Emaret el Yemeni—Yemeni Building despite the name Gezireh House featuring on a large marble plaque above the buildings entrance. But were there any private residents on the island before the above date? Apparently yes! In his postcard dated 31 May 1900 addressed to the mayor of Boulogne Sur Mer in France, Chelu Pasha gives as his return address Villa des Fleurs, Gezira. Chelu writes about the possible return of the body of Egyptologist Mariette Pasha to his hometown. Even though he had died 19 years earlier, Mariette received a funeral fit for a king when his body was re-buried in the Cairo Museum esplanade in March 1904. THE NILE CROSSING As expected, Gezira Island became a serious destination once the Belgian-run tramway company inaugurated Bulak (Abou al-Ela) Bridge in August 1912 . And with the rapid rise in urban development after WW1, it was a matter of time before the island turned into a full fledged Cairo suburb save for the islands marshy area in the north which remained almost uninhabited save for some ragtag straw-hut settlements and a handful of pioneer Britons who nicknamed it North End. Living on or near a marshy area was no impediment for these stalwart Britons for they were mostly retired military with comfortable sinecures in the Egyptian administration. The so-called retirees often observed to their friends how the islands northern Nile foreshore expanded and contracted with each flood season and that sometimes, during a particularly high flood, the area disappeared altogether! Whereas in 1926 the square meter in this section sold for LE 1.00 the area south of 26th of July Avenue sold for double that amount. With time, the Belgian connection to Zamalek transcended the introduction of Abou al-Ela Bridge and the Belgian-run tramway that crossed the island. For instance, on 17 March 1934, the Journal Officiel announces the creation of the Societe Immobiliere de Zamalek S.A.E. which aimed at constructing apartment buildings on the island. Capitalized at LE 25,000 divided in 1,250 equal shares, the companys principal shareholders were the well-known Belgian constructor Monsieur Leon Rolin and his son Daniel. Another anchor shareholder was Banque Belge represented by its director Louis Van Damme. Until this day, the most visible Rolin construction on the island remains the massive 10-storey Immeuble Rolin at No. 14 Gezira Street opposite the childrens Gezira Sporting Club entrance. STREET NAMES By 1924 the streets on the islands Gezira section west of the former khedivial palace had received lofty names so that the streets lying west of Hassan Sabry (ex-Gabalaya) Street honored several Ayubid sultans including the notorious Armenian-born Sultana Shagaret el Dorr, the first woman to rule Egypt since Cleopatra. Meanwhile, the streets east of Hassan Sabry were named after various members of the incumbent royal family. These were changed after 1952. Flora too lent its name to parts of the island, which is why there was a Ward or Flower Street, and why the area surrounding the Anglo-American Hospital was, and still is, known as Zohria (Flowery) in view of the botanical gardens created there. Several streets north of 26th of July Avenue were named after Egyptian residents of the island: Bahgat Ali Street was alternately known in the 1920s as Rue Chawarby in reference to Mohammed Chawarby Pasha who owned a larger mansion there. Likewise, Rue Doctor Fathi Bayoumi referred to the doctor by the same name who along with his English wife, was one of the islands earliest Egyptian inhabitants. There were also streets named after several of the islands foreign residents such as Privat, Diacono, Milton, as well as British irrigation engineers (Sir William) Garstin, (Sir Scott Colin) Moncrieff and (Sir William) Wilcocks. Likewise, there are those streets named after Egyptian engineers Ismail Mohammed, Mohammed Sakib, Mohammed Mazhar and Marashly Pasha. Some streets were named after adjacent establishment hence the western section of Marashly Street (the eastern part did not yet exist) was called Mahkamah (Tribunal) Street. In 1926 the Indigenous Court of Embaba was located where Marashly today intersects Bahgat Ali Street. And there were streets named after nearby religious institutions such as Monsignor Sogaro, Comboni, and Saint Joseph. True to Cairo tradition, many of Zamaleks streets succumbed to name changes. Pont de Bulak became King Fouad Bridge long before it became known as Kobri Abou al-Ela, reference to the nearby tomb and mosque of Sultan Abou al-Ela. For lack of a name and since hardly anyone lived there, Mohammed Mazhar Street was referred to as Gabalaya up to the late 1920s. It was after all an extension of the latter street. Later, it would carry different names such as Rue Doctor Rosi and Amir Saiid Street. It was only when the original Gabalaya was renamed Hassan Sabry Street that Bahr el Aama Lane was itself renamed Gabalaya. Confusing? Absolutely! Well, heres another muddle. Bahr al-Aama (Blind or Dead End Sea) is reference to the western branch of the Nile that up to the late 19th century dried up in winter becoming a dead end for Nile boats. Only when the channel was deepened did it become navigable year-round. ROYALTY Local history books claim the first worthwhile landmark to surface on Gezira Island was the saray, or summer palace built in 1866 by Khedive Ismail. Three years later, during the Suez Canal opening festivities, Gezira saray was romanticized as the temporary residence of Empress Eugenie of France with the press writing multiple articles on the subject describing its every nook and cranny. Ditto for members of Emperor Franz Josef of Austrias delegation who copiously described the palace in their various correspondence. For more details on the history of the saray, a separate article can be found in the Zamalek section of this website entitled Sale of the Century. Not unlike Khedive Ismail who commissioned the building of his summer palace of Gezira in 1866, other members of the Egyptian royal family later elected to live on the blessed island. Three of their palaces were converted after 1952 into government-owned establishments. The palace of Prince Amr Ibrahim is now a Ceramic Museum; the palace of Prince Omar Toussoun is today a branch of the Council of Ministers; and the Royal Rest House near the Gezira Sheraton is a an undisclosed military establishment soon to become the 1952 Revolution Museum. FIRST SCHOOLS One of the first pre-1925 schools to open in Zamalek was run by the Catholic Church. Later on would come the Catholic Girls College off Bahgat Ali Street and the St. Joseph Preparatory School for Boys off Gabalaya Street (today Brazil Street). It was not long before non-denominational and secular schools opened on the island as well. Foremost among the islands schools was Zamalek School founded in 1930 by Madame Valentine Morin. At first located at No. 25 Mohammed Mazhar Street, then known as Rue Mario Rosi, it moved in 1933 to the abandoned premises (1.5 feddans) of turn of the century prime minister Mustafa Fahmy Pasha at No. 4 Ibn al-Mashtub, overlooking the Fish Garden. Whereas the school later disappeared part of its grounds became the German Embassy in the 1980s. But privilege of being the islands very first school goes to the Austria-Sudan (Catholic) Mission also known as the Fathers of the African Mission or La Negrizia, which opened the previous century on the northern part of the island and named after the Pope Leo XIII HOUSES OF WORSHIP Founded in 1846, the Austria-Sudan Mission recruited its priests from Verona and the Southern Tyrol with the ultimate purpose of enlightening the natives of Sudan. During the Mahdis uprising the missionaries fled to Egypt establishing temporary headquarters on 120 feddans (acres) of Gezira Island land provided by Khedive Tewfik at a give-away price per feddan. It was there that the exiled missionaries set up a church, a school and an agricultural farm. When it was safe for them to return to Sudan, now under joint Egypt-British control, the land was parceled out and sold to developers at a substantial profit, evidencing that the Church is quite skillful when it comes to business transactions. Almost hidden below 6th of October Bridge is another Nileside landmark. Opposite the Ramses Hilton across the Nile stands El Gezira Mosque. It is the islands first Muslim place of worship. Constructed in 1876 by Khedive Ismail it was completely restored during the reign of King Farouk who attended its re-launch in December 1945. The island thus had its mosque, its church, albeit a Catholic one, but to the ordinary visitor there was no synagogue in sight! True, unless one accepted the makeshift oratoire located on Wilcocks Street, inside the villa of one of Zamaleks many Jewish residents. FOREIGN AGENCIES & NATIONAL INSTITUTIONS Two foreign institutes that operated on the island prior to WW2 were the official and the de-facto German Archeological Institutes. In 1931 the official one was located in a new villa at No. 5 El Kamel Mohammed Street, headed by Professor Hermann Junker (1877-1962). When WW2 was declared the Institute was closed down. The de-facto German archeological Institute meanwhile operated out of the former German Orient Society--Deutsche Orient-Gesellschaft, in existence since the turn of the century. Located in a beautiful property overlooking the Nile, it is better known today as the Swiss Institute for Archaeological and Architectural Research--Maahad El Swissry, hence the long-standing name of the adjoining street, which later changed to Aziz Abaza Street. The occupant of this academic center (for a while known as the Borchardt Academic Foundation) was veteran Egyptologist Herr Ludwig Borchardt of Nefertiti fame. Like Hermann Junker, he was a bona fide Germanophile, but unlike the Catholic Junker, Borchardt was a Jew. The advent of WW2 and fearing for his interests, the Berlin-born director of the Deutsches Archaologisches Institut Kairo and his wife, Emilie Ed. Cohen, struck a deal with the Swiss in return for safe passage and protection. Professor Borchardt died in Zurich on 12 August 1938 aged 74. Ten years later the Swiss were declared the official beneficiaries of his floral estate on the Nile. They are still there today hence the survival of these century old buildings and their garden, which if the rumor is correct, is the also final resting place of Professor Borchardts ashes. Apart from these two German centers, by far the most important colonial institution on the island was the British Sirdaria. Second in order of colonial importance after the British Residence at Kasr al-Dubara, the Sirdaria was home to the British Commander of the Egyptian Army. The Sirdar (a borrowed Indian title) was also Governor General of the Sudan. Several Sirdars made their marks in British Imperial history, Kitchener and Wyngate foremost among them. A Sirdar who made it posthumously to fame was Sir Lee Stack. His assassination on 19 November 1924, while returning to the Sirdaria, not only brought down Saad Zaghloul and the entire Wafdist government, but also cost Egypt its 50% stake in the Sudan. The Sirdaria fronted the midsection of Avenue Zamalek. After 1936 it would turn into a British Club before becoming part Egyptian Officers Club, part theatre after 1952. The last Sirdar to live at the Sirdaria was Major General Sir Spinks Pasha. Relieved of his functions following the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936, he and Lady Spinks moved into a 4th floor apartment at No. 18 Nile View, Saray el Gezira Street. During WW2, Zamalek was once more home to platoons of British and other multinational generals and field marshals, along with foreign kings and exiled heads of state. They occupied some of Zamaleks grandest villas while the poorest among them, like the king of Greece, would make do with their handsome embassy residence on Ibn Zanki Street. A long gone pre-WW2 landmark is the once famous Thomas Cook & Son docking facilities at what was then nicknamed Izbet al-Kobri (Bridge Farm) later to be replaced with a pleasure palace and the Gezira Sheraton (later to become the Sofitel). Hence, visits to Luxor and Aswan aboard Cooks legendary paddle steamers PS Setti Karnak and Tewfik, began or ended at Geziras southern embankment. It is also at Cooks Gezira wharf that several dozen cases containing capital objects from Tutankhamuns tomb, arrived on Monday, 21 May 1923, en route from Luxor to the Egyptian Museum. It is interesting to note that Egypts first modern-day exhibition halls were re-introduced on the island in the 1920s replacing older ones built at the turn of the century, for by now Egypts annual agricultural fairs were already world-famous. A half-century later, these same fair grounds became home to Egypts Japanese-built opera house. And since the islands modern beginnings had been so inexorably tied with Egypts first opera house during the Suez Canal inaugural festivities, in a way one of Cairos chicks had come home to roost CLUBS & CASINOS One of the very first institutions on Gezira Island was the Gezira Sporting Club launched by the British circa 1883. Aside from its legendary sports activities and in view of its social, cultural and political importance, a separate article appears on this website. Beneath the overriding shadow of the 6 of October Bridge are several other noted clubs the most famous being the century old National Club (see separate article on website) and the prestigious Feroussia (Equestrian) Club. The latter was inaugurated on 30 April 1938 by King Farouk having for its first honorary chairman, Prince Youssef Kamal, with al-Nabil Amr Ibrahim as its first president. For a long time it was frequented by Cairos elite. It was also a place where many young ladies were wooed by handsome cavalry officers in their awesome military attire. Two other century-old institutions still around on Gezira Island are the Fish Aquarium and the Andalusian Garden. During Gezira islands pre-WW1 days the aquarium was a favorite for picnics. The aquarium also known as Hadikat al-Asmaak opened to the public in November 1902. It was landscaped by Captain Stanley Flower at a cost to the state of LE 1,150. But perhaps we should use the term re-landscaped since, thirty years earlier, the foundations of that popular destination had already been laid out by Delchevalerie whom we met earlier. In his above-mentioned volume he mentions how The Ghezireh Aquarium and its magnificent grotto were constructed by MM. Combaz & Dumpily. But in those days the palace gardens and their dependencies were for the exclusive pleasure of the khedive and his privileged guests. What we know today as the Andalusian Garden had become a pleasure park from as early as 1900. It had been leased by the government to Fahmy Gallini Pasha and his partner Rene Ismalun Bey. In turn they subleased part of the area to a Mr. Zender who built a summer casino and a teatro, not far from where the Pocket Theatre stands today. Later, in April 1906, the government attempted to revoke its 15 year concession with an offer to indemnify Gallini Pasha with LE 3000, and Mr. Zender and Mr. Ismalun Bey with LE 4000 and LE 1,000 respectively. The governments plans to construct housing lots for its senior employees on that land were eventually mooted. zamalek101/history/history_THEZAMALEKLEGEND.html Prior to WW1, Café Gezirah was a place to relax and to gamble, according to turn of the century travel writer Amedée Baillot de Guerville. This was the islands only such convenience courtesy of two Italians, Messrs. Dalbagni & Corbetta. In her book New Egypt (Ldn., Heinemann, 1905) de Guerville describes Café Gezirah as a Nearby Dalbagnis eatery were Zamaleks Theatre des Ambassadeurs and the popular skating rink later to be replaced with the Andalusian Garden and a newer theatre called Masrah al-Geib (Pocket Theatre). If in the southern part of Gezira the filthy agglomerations were replaced by a park and a casino, the grubby areas north of the island were still neglected in the 1920s which is probably why, in December 1928, Gezira residents complained to the Ministry of Health of hovels not unlike those mentioned two decades earlier. These are disease manufacturers and should be removed and their owners compensated reported al-Ahram in its 28 December 1928 issue.
Posted on: Fri, 31 Oct 2014 17:06:48 +0000
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