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Egypt destroys historic Nile houseboats in Cairo

2022-07-06T10:44:28.415Z


The plan of the authorities, who have already removed most of these structures, has been criticized by those who consider them a cultural and urban symbol of the capital.


When celebrated Egyptian novelist Ahdaf Soueif returned to her native Cairo shortly after the 2011 revolution broke out in Egypt, she thought she would like to move and spend the last years of her life somewhere where she could see the Nile. She wanted to be part of the new country that seemed to be making its way then, and to do so feeling close to it.

Luck soon smiled on him, and in 2013 it gave him the opportunity to buy one of the iconic floating houses that rest on the calm waters of the famous river as it passes through the neighborhood of Imbaba, in the northwest of the capital.

"I have lived in different parts of the world and I have made many homes, but this is the only one that when I made it I thought I would never move," slides Soueif from the veranda overlooking the Nile of his house.

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Infrastructure fever threatens Cairo's urban heritage

Known by the Egyptians as

awamat

(“floating”), these peculiar houses began to become popular in Cairo at the time of the Ottoman Empire and the dynasty of Mehmet Ali, towards the beginning of the 19th century.

In fact, for some they are a heritage from Ancient Egypt, when there were already residences built on boats to navigate the Nile.

Its modern version has rested for decades moored on the banks of the river, and at its peak it is believed that there were several hundred.

Over the years, their number dwindled until there were around thirty, which, like Soueif's, became an emblematic image of the Egyptian capital.

"They may not be a crucial aspect in the urban relevance of Cairo, but they are super important for the memory of the city," says architect and urban researcher Ahmed Zaazaa.

One of the bulldozers participating in the eviction.

Now, however, the latest models of these particular houseboats are in danger of disappearing altogether.

In recent years, the Egyptian authorities have been increasing the pressure and harassment on their owners with the aim of expelling them from their privileged location, according to some of them.

And the dispute escalated until last Tuesday, June 21, they received an eviction notice in which they were informed that they had between one and two weeks to pack their bags.

Until Thursday morning, about twenty of them had already been torn from the shore.

The authorities assure that the removal of the floating houses is part of an urban development project aimed at commercial and tourist purposes in the area where they are located.

But his decision has been criticized by those who consider that these picturesque structures on the Nile have become the latest victim of the aggressive urban transformation plans promoted by the Government in different parts of Cairo with hardly any dialogue or alternatives for the residents.

On many occasions, they also represent a threat to the heritage of the city and its social fabric.

"They don't like anything that is different, that is not fully understood, and that is not controlled and in a box," laments Soueif.

Ayman Anwar, director of the Central Department of Nile Protection in the Ministry of Irrigation, which is behind these eviction plans, has told local media that the orders affect 32 floating houses built without authorization, that do not have a license, do not They have a mooring permit and in some cases they are used for non-residential purposes.

He has also anticipated that once the houses have been removed, the management of the space will be transferred to an agency of the Armed Forces.

The neighbors, however, tell a different story.

Soueif assures that they only own the floating houses, and that they had to pay a tax for the strip of land that extends between the street and the boat, the mooring permit, and an annual technical inspection.

When she moved, in 2013, the mooring tax was calculated based on the meters of length, and at the beginning she paid the equivalent of about 20 euros a year.

Interior of the Ahdaf Soueif houseboat.

In 2017, the Ministry of Irrigation decided to change the formula for calculating the mooring rate "and shot up its price by 1,400%," says Soueif.

The neighbors took the increase to court and proposed to continue paying the previous rate in the meantime, something that the former did not accept.

In 2020, the authorities also stopped renewing residential licenses, but neighbors say they were not informed of the decision and that they only found out when they received the eviction notice.

The owners will also not receive any compensation, and they continue to be required to make late payments.

“We have known for a long time that they want the land.

But we never thought that they would give us a week to leave.

It's pure military style, like an occupying power.

Now we are completely vulnerable and we have no way out of this situation,” laments film director Omar Robert Hamilton, Soueif's son.

EL PAÍS contacted Anwar and the spokesman for the Ministry of Irrigation Mohamed Ghanem, but neither agreed to speak

One of the minarets that can be seen from the houseboats on the Nile River.

Beyond the affected neighbors, the decision to evict the floating houses has generated strong criticism, especially on social networks, by those who consider them a distinctive cultural, architectural and urban symbol that should be protected.

An online petition to save the remaining structures has gathered some 5,000 signatures in a week.

For many Egyptians, these houses and their lively gardens hold a special place in the collective imagination of Cairo as they have been the setting for numerous black and white films.

Iconic novels have also been set in them, such as

Evenings on the Nile,

by Nobel Prize winner for literature Naguib Mahfouz, in which a group of friends gathers every night on one of these floats to smoke and chat under the moonlight.

The fame of these houses has also been traditionally shrouded in an aura of charm and mystery, reinforced by their relative isolation and some of the stories that occurred inside.

In World War II, for example, two Nazi spies rented one and, as part of Operation Condor, installed a sophisticated intelligence headquarters in it to obtain information on British troops, who had occupied most of it.

Houseboats are called "awamat" in Cairo.

Until now the authorities have not detailed the plans they have for this area of ​​Cairo, but Zaazaa, the architect, points out that they most likely want to transform it into a promenade with cafes and restaurants, just as they are doing along the opposite bank of the Nile. In this sense, most projects carried out in Cairo in recent years follow the 2050 urban reorganization plan drawn up by former dictator Hosni Mubarak's entourage in the early 2000s, and now recovered by the current government .

Cairo 2050 envisioned a ride right in front of where the houseboats are.

"[The authorities] do not care about heritage, they believe that they are going to build the heritage of the future, and that this will be discussed in 100 years, which represents a disaster for the city, its memory and its value," he says. Zaaza.

But even in this scenario, many still do not understand why ways to integrate houseboats into the new government plans have not been explored.

"I wouldn't mind so much if I had to leave and this turned into a fancy restaurant," notes Soueif, referring to his house.

"It's the idea of ​​destruction that moves me."

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Source: elparis

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