Hossam Badrawi Official Website
Ras Bar Egypt
Memories of the past and the beauty of the present
By
Hossam Badrawi
At the beginning of the first day of the school vacation at the end of the school year in the fifties of the last century, the family was traveling from Mansoura, where we lived to Ras El Bar, our resort and the resort of most of the people of Mansoura…
For those who do not know, Ras al-Bar was a summer resort, and I think it still is, one of the most beautiful places in Egypt because it had a special feature of its own. It was an environmentally friendly city before the invention of the name, so cars did not enter it, and we moved around on bicycles and on foot.
In the morning we go to the beach with umbrellas, enjoy the wonderful weather, swim and play, and we pass by sellers of ice cream with different names and holders of glass boxes with fresca and oriental sweets inside, and sellers of juices and fresh fruits …… – and at sunset we return to the nest, which was without air conditioning or noise, in Simple but beautiful life.
Evening outing was a stroll on the shore of the Nile, which meets the Mediterranean Sea at the headland of Ras El-Bar. We met neighbors and friends, and ate the famous Ras El-Bar pie, falafel sandwiches and fava beans. People sat in cafes and we went back and forth with our friends.
I remember the people around us, with delight, and the summer clothes in their bright colors, and the ladies and girls did not cover their hair as we see these days, and there was no topic of discussion mainly about the veil of women as is happening now, but the form of society was completely different without discrimination, and there is no question about clothes. Sometimes we used to see girls wearing a headscarf called a handkerchief Abu Uya, and often they were rural workers who worked as domestic helpers for well-to-do families, accompanying their children, and there were no Asian or African workers, as we see now in abundance in these families..
I came to Ras El Bar this time, fifty years after my last visit…..and found a new, beautiful city, but a different beauty. The nests have disappeared, except for one for the male, and it is clear that the city has become a place to live all year round, not just the spectrum period. The houses have a distinctive character, and the streets are planned in parallel, indicating an architectural touch of a special character…
My visit to stay at the Steinberger Tongue Hotel was to attend a lecture given by my friend Dr. Osama Hamdi, son of Mansoura, coming from Harvard University, is an international expert in diabetes and a distinguished professor at one of the most prestigious universities in the world. The invitation was from Dr. Ibrahim Saber, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Horus University, and Dr. Al-Saeed Abdel-Hadi, President of the University, to participate in a scientific, social and cultural day, in the presence of university faculty members and a number of distinguished scientific figures and university students.
Dr. Osama and I share the love of our homeland, our ability to see the most beautiful things in it, our interest in culture and art, drawing and music, science and the search for truth and knowledge. And love and sophistication, and a desire to serve Egypt and its youth, and a hope to seize opportunities for its sustainable development… He and I see Egypt as a great country and it deserves better than it is, and we believe that the genes of civilization are latent in the conscience of its people and that it is possible to restore its leadership with science and knowledge and the maintenance of its enormous human wealth.
Dr. Osama gave a wonderful lecture on diabetes, its relationship to the content of our food, and the way we eat it, and he referred to the latest scientific research in this field, so he was creative in the simplicity of his explanation and opened the light to how to eliminate this incurable disease..
I was impressed by Horus University, which hosted us, and its distinguished programs, academic leaders, auditoriums, halls, and laboratories, as if I were among the most prestigious universities in the world. A civilization maker, not just an educational service provider.
I return to Ras al-Bar, and to our place of residence in the Steinberger Hotel, which overlooks the confluence of the great Nile River with the Mediterranean Sea. I will not talk about the picturesque view and the wonderful atmosphere, but on a high-quality hotel service led by Mr. Hisham Saeed, the hotel manager, whose affection and taste in my meeting was comprehensive. It is complete and comfortable, and his personality, management style, and respect for his employees must have been reflected on everyone.
From the assistant manager, Ashraf Zanati, to Chef Ahmed Al-Qas and Chef Ibrahim Sobhi, passing by Mina Faraj, the front desk manager, to the workers in it, Gina Taher, Ahmed Maher, Nadine, Nancy, Nashwi, Muhammad and Naeem, to the workers in the sixth floor restaurant overlooking one of the most beautiful views of the city and the workers in The breakfast restaurant is on the ground floor, as well as the chef and manager of the hotel restaurant on the beach and its staff to the artist Salah Al-Maghribi, who has a beautiful voice, who delighted us with his return and his music in the evening, and we eat the unparalleled Ras El-Bar pie.
Before I finish my article about my short trip to Ras al-Barr, passing through Mansoura, where my roots and the roots of my family are, to Damietta, I should mention one of the most successful governors of Egypt, Dr. Manal Awad, the governor of Damietta. A distinguished personality that drives efficiently and seriously, and everyone loves and fears her at the same time. She is flexible in managing her firmly, and she has a clear vision. Fathy for her and her workers in a difficult governorate to drive. The complex composition diversifies the businesses from craftsmen to merchants to fishermen to businessmen, and it contains the most busy port in the country..
Bravo Horus University administration and faculty members, greetings to the Steinberger Hotel, its director and all its employees, and I raise my hat to Manal Awad and the Damietta Governorate, and my love to my country, Mansoura.
