One of the first grand gestures of love my father made just after marrying my mother was to buy her a tiny apartment close enough to the beach in Alexandria, the city she loved most.
my earliest memories of visiting egypt largely revolve around the summers we spent in Alexandria; the days that disappeared on the beach building sand castles or being carried over the waves by my father...days that gave way to nights spent along the corniche or on the balcony breathing in as much salty breeze as we could while listening to stories.
i remember the beach carnival in Ma’moura where i insisted on riding the strawberry twirly ride over and over again and the subsequent taxi ride home where i threw up all over my sister’s favourite white shorts. and the tram I used to beg my mom to let us ride until she finally gave in, taking me on a field trip to the famed fortress, aquarium and library. i remember all the Pizza Hut we used to eat as kids after abandoning several attempts at eating the fresh seafood (sorry mom & dad). in this city i visited my first circus, weaved my first animal out of beads under my cousin Gihan’s tutelage, and had my first real family vacations.
WHAT I SEE/HEAR/TASTE/SMELL/FEEL WHEN I THINK ABOUT YOU:
- the rest stop in Tanta where we would always eat fiteer with lots of honey and cheeses.
- the red and white striped beach umbrella and chairs we would drag to Montazah every morning.
- the sound of “Fresca!” being yelled out across the sandy seashore by men (and boys) carrying glass display cases full of homemade treats (my favourite = the coconut or sesames ones)
- sitting down to smoke shisha on the corniche after strolling along it.
- the brilliant white of the buildings, or at least thinking so after a month or two spent in dust-covered cairo.
- the cotton candy peddlers, with bags of yellow and pink and white puffs raised up high.
- fresh plain yogurt topped with honey on the balcony as we huddled against the sea breeze listening to my father’s stories.
- rotisserie chicken on the beach after a day spent in the sea, then mango or strawberry ice cream (whatever baba was having).
- freshly caught seafood as far as the eye can see.
- the man who tended a flower garden and gave me a fresh bloom whenever he saw me passing by.
to be honest, it’s easiest to remember Alexandria so fondly from a temporal and geographical distance. over the years, it started to feel as though the place had silently drifted from the oasis of my parents’ loving imagination to a fragmented, decaying version of itself. the buildings seemed unbearably close, the total mismanagement of garbage that resulted in stinking piles left out to smouldering sun, the impossibility of trying to swim in its beaches as a woman all made it seem less attractive. that meant shorter stays and a lost opportunity to familiarize myself with its neighbourhoods the way i had so eagerly done in Cairo. after years spent resisting my cousins’ snobbish comments about how Alexandria was no longer worth visiting and why didn’t we go to nearby Sahel instead, it feels as though I’ve finally betrayed my mom’s vision...
but whenever i find pictures taken throughout our visits, i am transported back to the all the memories my family made here and I am grateful...
