MAHALLA: It is the city of spinning and weaving in Egypt and that is the reason for its fame, but the reason why the name of the city is etched in my memory is because of a joke by an officer when he asked one of the soldiers “where do you come from?” and the soldier answered spontaneously “I come from Mahalla, sir.” The officer then laughed loud and told the soldier “you mean, you come from the capital of Hell.”

I kept that phrase in my heart and did not get it back again until I woke up on the 6th of April in 2008, on the afternoon of the famous day of Mahalla’s strike – I participated in the strike and did not go to work, but did not go out to the street – and watched the satellite channels to hear the news and was so surprised that the strike of Mahalla was at the top of the events and that the city had already turned into the capital of hell. I did not know that this officer was reading the future that this city would become, one day, a capital under the line of fire and that the clashes we have seen together, akin to the vivid images of Gaza and Palestinian clash with the occupation forces.

I decided to visit the city, which was between day and night, and had turned from the city of the spinning and weaving industry into the capital of Hell.

Welcome to the capital of Hell

On the road leading to the entrance of Mahalla and about 10 kilometers before the city, I was surprised by the enormous range of tourist casinos that are adjacent to each other and called, metaphorically “tourist villages.” After the search and examination, I knew that most of the rich people of Mahalla or the upper middle-class have their wedding parties in these “villages.” In one of them there is a fun park – incomparable to Cairo’s Dreamland or Aqua Park – but according to the belief of residents of Mahalla, it is the only affordable “village.”

I found at the entrance a gate separating the city from the outside world and the surrounding villages and found the gate designed to make one feel as if you are in the industrial city. The logo of al-Gharbiyah governorate and, of course, the president’s photo, are impaled across the walls.

Allegedly, the city has been subjected to development projects, from paving streets and reconstruction to the delivery of natural gas to all areas of Mahalla.

The first place that came to my mind was that historic location where residents of the city smashed the photo of the President. When I asked the person who accompanied me to this place, he said that this place is the busiest place of Mahalla – al-shoon Square – which the people of Mahalla still insist on keeping its name, despite the attempts to change it. Underneath the central clock, attributed in design to that of the Eiffel Tower, is where the photo of the President was destroyed by the Mahalla youth. Now, they have put a picture of a member of the People’s Assembly, who is a member of the ruling National Democratic Party. He is also a former general and below the photo is the NDP slogan “for you.”

My company thought I would be visiting the industrial edifices, which is the cause of the fame of Mahllah and it is Mahalla’s Misr Spinning and Weaving company, which was founded by the economic leader Talaat Pasha Harb, but he was surprised when I told him I want to go to two places only. The first is the industrial area and Mahala’s club, a place for the rich to relax in a city full of struggle.

When I decided to go to the industrial zone, which tends to be on the outskirts of cities, I was surprised that most parts of the Mahalla factories there, ranging from unlicensed factories to larger plants, is not just in the industrial area and my concepts were immediately changed.

The city does have any security concerns or even industrial safety, an owner of a local grill in the area told me that there had been a fire once and because of the random way of entering the area, firefighters arrived half an hour after the fire had devoured everything in the restaurant and that security preparations are in a poor state. The areas in the oldest parts of the city, including the Youth Center, is located next to the Industrial Area, which turned to stores and became no longer a youth center rather than a hall for wedding parties and is no longer a place for physical exercise because it is located mainly in the oldest markets.

When I tried to discern the nature of employment and manpower within the industrial area, I knew that most of the owners of these factories are dependent on the neighboring villages of Mahalla, because of cheap labor.

When I decided to get out of the area and go to Bahr Street, which is the city’s main street, which was the scene of fighting on the 6th of April, which completely smashed on the day of the strike to the degree that my associate told me that after the strike, there was no billboard, on the eve of the strike, or even a fixed booth.

We took a walk in that street via a pedestrian bridge in the middle, spearheaded by advertisements for stores at al-Abasi street – the largest commercial street in Mahalla. This bridge, of course, topped by a huge photo of President Mubarak combined with the name of the shop owners, is the way most rich people of Mahalla use these areas, as they seek to stick to the National Party in any form, in accordance with the principle of money protected by power. Thus, you find that most rich people with big names are always known for their close relations with the National Party to the extent that I thought Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif comes from Mahalla.

Municipality Club

It is one of the oldest casinos in the Nile Delta and was basically a social club before turning into a sports club. In Mahalla there are other clubs that have joined with Sports Stars clubs, like the 23rd of July club and al-baladiya club, which is well known in Mahalla as the “club of rich people.” Its membership is limited to the upper class of this city and its chairmanship witnesses conflicts of rich men of Mahalla, and there are many I have been.

Supposedly, Mahalla is one of the richest cities in Egypt and I noticed the amount of large buildings that are increasing daily. My guide said the area has long been a place for the rich in the city. They boarded themselves in another place next to the center of the city and establish two separate streets from the rest of Mahalla, behind the slums, the man said. Slums, we discovered, are widespread in every inch of Egypt and here in Mahalla.

Of course, I could not enter the club, but I wanted to see the place and the location of the stadium, which is located in a residential area.

In the end, my companion told me that “if you visit Mahallah and did not eat at al-Baghl restaurant, then you have not visited Mahalla, because it is an icon of the city.” I left him the task of selecting the branch of the restaurant we would go to and he chose the newest one, which lies in Bahr Street, on the corner with al-Sagha street, which witnessed massive losses during the strike. The branch is fully equipped and was packed with customers throughout the day, which locals refer to it as the KFC of Mahalla.

In the end, I enjoyed visiting this small city, which is large in every aspect. It is an important city and if touched by the hands of attention, it will become one of the most attractive cities in Egypt for workers and all to enjoy.

BM

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