The club penchant

By Mursi Saad El-Din

---

I am probably one of the oldest members of the Heliopolis Sporting Club. Nor is this only a question of age: my membership started very early on in 1956, on my return from England after a 10- year stay. I rented a flat in Manshiet Al-Bakry, at the entrance of Masr Al-Gadida (the Arabic term for Heliopolis, literary new Egypt) and prepared for a new life back home.

One cannot live in England for so long without developing a penchant for what might be called "the club culture". It is often said that wherever Englishmen meet, the first thing they do is form a club. It was only natural, I suppose, that I should seek membership of the club nearest to my place of residence. Actually the Heliopolis Club was -- and still is, needless to say -- within walking distance of my flat.

Thus my association with the club started in 1956; it has continued until the present -- a happy marriage during which I became a regular user of the club's numerous and diverse facilities. I started with squash, moving to tennis as I grew older. At present I am more than content with a session in the sauna and two to three lengths of the swimming pool.

Founded on 1 January, 1910 by the Cairo Electric Railways and Heliopolis Oases Company, the Heliopolis Club was managed by that company until 31 December, 1921, when club members took over management -- a move sealed by a contract they signed with the company. In its early days the club's colours were pale and dark blue, and its badge consisted of a lotus flower, an ankh (the Pharaohs' key of life) and the rising sun, symbol of the Sun City, with the name of the club inserted at the centre.

In 1947, sadly, the area of the club was reduced to its present size of 19 feddans, when the company took back the land of the golf course. Golf was cancelled after members voiced objections to a game which only very few club members were interested in playing taking up such huge expanses of space.

From 27 July, 1938 until the July 1952 Revolution, the club was under royal patronage. Until the 1960s, indeed, regulations limited membership to 4,000 -- no longer the case...

I am a member of other clubs as well, including the famous Gezira Club, but in my experience it is Heliopolis that makes me most at ease. Somehow it has a more sober atmosphere, both friendly and warm. And once inside, you feel that you are among friends. Though a sporting club, its activities go beyond sports. At one time I was chairman of the Higher Social and Cultural Committee, which gave me first-hand knowledge of the club's cultural and artistic activities. Lectures are organised through which experts are invited to address the members on various topics.

One of the most important events is the annual exhibition of paintings, organised by the arts sub- committee, which is currently presided over by Ezmiralda, a well-known painter. The travel sub- committee organises trips to different resorts.

As far as I know the Heliopolis Club is the only one in Egypt that has special provisions for "senior citizens". Members over 60 years of age enjoy reductions in membership fees and trip fares. And they have their own sub-committee.