ALEXANDRIA DRAWS A VEIL OVER HER PAST
Nadia Abou el Magd
The National
August 21. 2009 12:08AM UAE
ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT // Alexandria, once "the bride of the Mediterranean",
has covered up. Women who once splashed about in swimsuits at the
popular beach resort are now at risk of insults, threats or worse
from the city’s increasingly conservative population.
"I just discovered I have committed a grave mistake by wearing a
bathing suit and trying to swim. I wasn’t even able to reach the sea,"
said Hanan al Amrani, 28, a Moroccan tourist, who was visibly upset.
She was wearing a short, brown dress above her one piece, colourful
bathing suit.
"People here have been treating me as if I am naked. Boys have thrown
sand and stones at me, and women give me fiery looks, much worse
than the men," she said, sitting next to her elder sister, Asira,
at al Montazah private beach, one of the most expensive to enter.
"I just arrived today and was told it’s OK to swim here. That was
wrong. I’m leaving today and will never come back," she said.
Rows of umbrellas and thousands of people packed the beach, which is
part of what used to be Montazah Palace, the summer home of the late
King Farouk, who was overthrown by a military coup in 1952.
Yet, no other woman was wearing a swimsuit. All were dressed in
galabyas (long robes) and with headscarves; some wore the niqab,
which covers the entire face apart from the eyes. Men wore shorts
and T-shirts.
At another private beach not far from Montazah, alcohol is prohibited,
not by law, but by locals who are intent on enforcing their religious
codes.
"While we were drinking beer on the beach, a man with a beard shouted
at us furiously, telling us we weren’t allowed to drink beer there
because it’s forbidden," said Hossam al Halwagy, 29, a music teacher
who was born and lives in Alexandria.
"When my friends and I shouted back, asking him who he was, he left,
while cursing us," he said.