28 Feb. - 6 March 2002
Issue No.575
|
Al-Ahram Weekly Online 28 Feb. - 6 March 2002 Issue No.575 |
||
| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Adrift on a memory
During the Eid, in my youth, one of my favourite pastimes was going to sit or play by the Nile. Although I was born in a popular neighbourhood far from the river banks, I grew up to love the Nile from a very early age. When my mother wanted to give me a treat, she would take me to the river in exactly the same way as she took me to see monuments, museums and shrines. And she would look at the river with the same awe and admiration she displayed toward them.
So I was fascinated by the Nile in my youth, and I would look over the railing of Abul-Ela Bridge to observe its waters flowing by, so intently my mother had to hold on to me lest I should lose my sense of balance and fall into the water.
Then, when we moved from Gamaliya to Abbasiya -- I was a little older then -- my favourite Eid outing with my friends was to go on a Nile trip by felucca on the banks of Rod Al-Farag. We would rent a boat big enough for 20 people, setting out at sunset and not returning before dawn. It cost 50 piastres, which we shared equally among us so as to make it affordable.
My eyesight having deteriorated so much, I don't really miss anything now; I know I wouldn't be able to enjoy the sights. Yet in a deeper, inner way, I do miss the Nile.
Based on an interview by Mohamed Salmawy.
© Copyright Al-Ahram Weekly. All rights reserved
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||
| ARCHIVES Letter from the Editor Editorial Board Subscription Advertise! |
WEEKLY ONLINE: www.ahram.org.eg/weekly Updated every Saturday at 11.00 GMT, 2pm local time weeklyweb@ahram.org.eg |
 Al-Ahram Organisation |
Recommend this page