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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 May 2000 Issue No. 482 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 18 - 24 May 2000 Issue No. 482
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Culture Focus Features Heritage Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters De Gaulle was here
By Fayza Hassan
A small group of journalists and photographers are standing near the entrance of 14 Al-Gezira Street in Zamalek -- sometimes referred to as the Maraspini Building, after its original owner. They are waiting for French Ambassador François Dopffer to arrive. Earlier, it had been expected that Cairo Governor Abdel-Rehim Shehata would be presiding over the rather unusual event that is about to take place, but it is now rumoured that he has been called away on more urgent business.
Guests have begun to gather on the footpath. Most are emerging from inside the building, where they live, but a few chauffeured limousines are there too, disgorging members of Cairo's well-bred elite. All eyes are raised towards the balcony of the first floor, below which a Blue Plaque, the first of its kind, has been affixed to the ageing masonry. It informs the bystanders that a very illustrious visitor, General Charles de Gaulle, once stayed in this building.
The ambassador arrives on time and, after a few brief words to the members of the media who are duly recording the event, he and his wife Bathilde (speaking animatedly with Isis Zaki, the French embassy's public relations manager) move on, followed by writer Samir Raafat, whose brainchild this little ceremony is. He has been standing on the footpath, unobtrusively directing the newcomers towards the majestic elevator, by which means they will ascend to the fourth floor, and enter former MP Mona Makram Ebeid's very elegant apartment. She is offering refreshments to toast the occasion.
Although General Georges Catroux is only mentioned in passing, it is he who resided in this block of flats, one of a pair erected by the Belgian architect and entrepreneur François Rollin: "Catroux [the only military commander willing to follow de Gaulle at the time of his first broadcast from London] and his formidable wife, known as 'la Reine Margot,' moved to Cairo in October [1940]. They had an apartment in one of the two blocks of flats in Zamalek known to the British community as Elephant and Castle. He was to be paid the salary of a diplomat en poste, which was appropriate, since he was more a diplomat than a soldier," writes Artemis Cooper in Cairo in the War, 1939-1945 (Hamish Hamilton, 1989). "At first he was incognito, under the name of Monsieur Charretier (a name chosen because a cart has quatre roues [four wheels]). Within a short time he had resumed his identity..." De Gaulle visited Catroux in his apartment when he came to Egypt.
In Makram Ebeid's beautifully furnished salon, the ambassador delivers a short speech, recalling the historical events that surrounded the General's presence in the building. He is followed by the hostess, who praises the idea of placing plaques on buildings of significance, and reviews the steps through which the original idea passed before becoming reality, stressing the role played by Raafat, the Bi-National Fulbright Commission (unfortunately its head, Ann Radwan has been unable to attend) and Al-Ahram Weekly. This is a simple and interesting way of preserving the memory of the place as well as inciting Cairenes to learn more about the history of their city, she says.
In the audience, the question of which apartment Catroux actually occupied is hotly debated. Kadriya Foda whispers that de Gaulle never actually spent the night here, and officially resided elsewhere. She refuses to impart this information to a wider circle, however; "why dampen their enthusiasm?" she says. According to Raafat, Foda "was one of the very first tenants, moving into the Maraspini building almost as they were removing the scaffolding. She remembers seeing de Gaulle calling on the Catroux."
Various sources, adds Raafat, report that an important de Gaulle visit took place in April 1941, at which time there were still two French representations in Egypt: the Vichy government, with its representation in Giza (where the French embassy is today), where Jean Pozzi was in charge; and the Free French, represented by Baron Louis de Benoist, president of the Anciens Combattants. They were leasing the villa belonging to Egypt's ambassador to France, Mahmoud Fakhri, opposite the British Embassy (today Banque du Caire et de Paris on Amrika Al-Latiniya Street in Garden City). This, it appears, is where de Gaulle stayed.
The Pozzis' tour of duty ended in shame and recriminations, for not only were they socially and politically ostracised by half the French community in Egypt (against the advice of his peers, Jean Pozzi had chosen to follow the hated Maréchal Petain's government, which had signed the 22 June 1940 Franco-German Armistice), but they were declared personae non gratae by the Egyptian government (under heavy British pressure) and asked to leave Egypt. As the dejected diplomat and 'la Grecque' (Pozzi's wife was an Egyptian Greek) departed for Palestine on 31 March 1942, the Swiss flag was hoisted at 29 Giza Avenue. In 1944, French diplomat Jean Lescuyer retook possession of the Giza premises on behalf of the Free French, explains Raafat
I feel that now is the time to chip in and establish my own, albeit tenuous, connection with the Maraspini building. In the 1940s, my mother befriended the wife of the Polish embassy's commercial attaché, who lived in one of the apartments on the third or fourth floor. With the fall of Poland, Mr Kulla found himself out of a job (and a country) and decided to join the British forces. His wife and their daughter Patsy kept their residence at 14 Al-Gezira Street until their financial resources eventually dried up, whereupon they took refuge at the Franciscaines convent in Zamalek for the duration. I remember visiting them there late in 1943. A woman of exceptional beauty, Madame Kulla kept saying that after the war they would emigrate to Australia, where she would have to seek a position as housekeeper, having had no professional training allowing her to earn a living.
A present tenant of the building, AUC science professor Gehane Ragai, feels that I should keep the story to myself, since it hardly adds to the glory of the premises. I am barely more successful when I let it be known that architect François Rollin, his wife, two daughters and their black cocker spaniel were very good friends of ours.
Amidst this pleasant chatter, Raafat declares that it is time for the French ambassador officially to unveil the plaque. It has been announced that Tourism Minister Mamdouh El-Beltagui is about to arrive. Suddenly, someone remembers that the plaque has not been hidden. How then is it to be unveiled? It should be covered at once, urges Makram Ebeid's son, Karim. In the flurry that ensues, a suitable drape can not be found, but finally a large towel is brought out and Amm Abdu the bawwab is instructed to place it carefully over the memento. The assembly troops downstairs, preceded by the photographers, and we arrive at the bottom of the stairs just as the minister of tourism is alighting from his car.
A tall and rickety ladder has been positioned beneath the plaque. Climbing up appears to be the only way of reaching the towel. It is quickly decided that the ambassador should not be asked to perform this task, which is definitely beyond the call of duty; while he delivers the few words befitting the circumstance, therefore, Amm Abdu is discreetly dispatched up the ladder once more to remove the shroud. This he does with a great deal of gusto. In the background, three more plaques momentarily displayed near the entrance are awaiting placement on their respective landmarks. There will be many more to follow.
