The dispute thus ended in divorce. Hanuma kept the daughters with her in the apartment in Zamalek and brought them up in her image without once regretting her harsh decision. The days went by and the time came for the girls to marry. However, rising costs and the problem of obtaining an apartment made marriage complicated. Nadir overcame all the difficulties by buying an apartment for each daughter and properly furnishing them. “He’s their father and he’s responsible for them,” Hanuma said to console herself.
But she could not ignore the bitter truth that, were it not for his unlawful money, it would have been hard for any of the daughters to settle in a marital home. She asked herself with deep regret, Isn’t it possible to lead a respectable life anymore?
Waw
Wahida Hamid Amr
THE FIRST CHILD OF HAMID AND SHAKIRA, she was born and grew up in the mansion on Khayrat Square and played through childhood in its vast lush garden. From childhood, it was clear she was intelligent, moderately pretty, and had a cheerful soul, which the winds of misfortune would destroy. From early life, melancholy permeated her heart amid the soured climate of her parents’ marriage. She absorbed her mother’s constant afflictions until an aversion to her father settled inside her. Her brother, Salih, offered no comfort with his bluntness and pursuit of people for their sins, as though he was their reckoner. Then came the split between her grandfather Mahmud and his brother, Ahmad, putting an end to her last remaining hope of a life with any optimism or happiness. She heard about her father’s relatives’ hostility toward her mother, their pointed comments, and the many tragedies that produced cracks in the branches of the family, until she subconsciously accepted that life was a stream of relentless sorrows, deviations, and agitations. Her only solace was in study, where she excelled. She enrolled at the faculty of medicine, like her aunt Nadira, and as soon as the opportunity to work in Saudi Arabia arose she emigrated. After years of absence, it came as a surprise to her mother to receive a letter informing her that she was marrying a Pakistani who worked at her hospital.
Warda Hamada al-Qinawi
She was the third child of Sadriya and Hamada. She was born and grew up in Khan Ga‘far but loved dearly the old house in Bayt al-Qadi. She was devoted to her grandmother Radia, and her grandmother reciprocated her love.
“Warda is your most beautiful daughter but her mind is her most distinguishing feature,” Radia would say to Sadriya.
She was engaged to a young cousin of her father before she had reached the legal age to marry but contracted malaria and was unable to fight it. She died, leaving a wound in her mother’s heart that never healed.
Ya’
Yazid al-Misri
HE ARRIVED IN CAIRO a few days before the French invasion. He came from a family of druggists in Alexandria, which was wiped out by an epidemic, every man and woman in it, leaving only himself. He detested the city, made up his mind to leave, and wended his way to Cairo. He had with him a little money and a rare quality in those days, namely the reading and writing skills he had learned at a religious institute before he was torn away to help his father at the drug store. He was lost in Cairo at first, then found lodgings in a house in al-Ghuriya and a job as a treasurer for a paper supplier. He was young and had a robust body, dark brown skin, and distinct features. He wore a gallabiya, cloak, and turban and, because of his piety and loneliness, his soul craved marriage. He noticed Farga al-Sayyad selling fish on the road and was attracted to her. With the help of his neighbor Ata al-Murakibi, he married her. She gave birth to many children, of whom Aziz and Dawud survived, and he lived to witness the birth of his grandchildren: Rashwana, Amr, and Surur. Sidi Nagm al-Din visited him in a dream and instructed him to build his grave near his tomb. He complied with the order, constructing an enclosure where he was buried and which, to this day, welcomes his deceased descendants from all over Cairo.
Glossary
1919 Revolution A series of demonstrations and uprisings across Egypt between March and April 1919 protesting the British Occupation, sparked by the arrest and exile of Sa‘d Zaghloul and other Wafdists seeking Egyptian independence.
Adli Yakan Pasha (1846–1933) Prime minister of Egypt in the 1920s. Leader of the Liberal Party and political rival of Sa‘d Zaghloul.
Anwar Sadat (1918–81) Third president of Egypt from 1970 until his assassination in 1981 by fundamentalists, following the Camp David Accords and peace agreement with Israel.
bey Title for Egyptian and Turkish dignitaries, ranked below pasha.
dervish Sufi or mystical figure, popularly regarded as a source of wisdom and enlightenment, often consulted for solutions to problems and cures.
effendi Title of respect or courtesy, generally applied to members of the learned professions and government officials.
Free Officers Movement Underground revolutionary group of young army officers founded by Gamal Abdel Nasser, which conducted the military coup of 1952.
gallabiya Simple-cut full-length garment, commonly worn by Egyptian peasants.
Gamal Abdel Nasser (1918–70) First Egyptian president, from 1956 to 1970. Charismatic leader and champion of Arab socialism and pan-Arabism.
hanem Title of respect for women of the aristocracy, similar to “lady.”
infitah Open-door policy. The opening up of the Egyptian market to private investment under Sadat in the 1970s, ending the public sector’s hold on Egypt’s economy.
Ismail Sidqi (1875–1950) Prime Minister of Egypt from 1930 to 1933, unpopular for abolishing the 1923 Constitution.
July Revolution Military coup executed by the Free Officers Movement on July 23, 1952, which led to the abolishment of the Egyptian monarchy and declared Egypt a republic.
June 5 The first day of the Six Day War of 1967, when Israel launched a preemptive attack on Egypt with devastating consequences for the Egyptian air force and Arab morale generally.