The Saga of Armenians in Cairo Continues

BY CATHERINE YESAYAN

I feel lost for words while attempting to write about the captivating city of Cairo. So, I’ll begin from the moment the plane started to cross over Cairo as I was traveling from Paris.

I’ve made it a habit to reserve a window seat during my trips. That day, I sat near the window and had the pleasure of taking several pictures from aboveground. Without any prior knowledge, I had reserved a seat on the left side of the plane, which was the side that displayed the pyramids.

As the flight started to cross over Cairo, I was glued to the window and began taking hap-hazard pictures. All of a sudden, I saw an empty stretch of land with no buildings and, in a corner, I noticed three dots.

First, I couldn’t believe my eyes. However, as I focused, I realized that the three dots were indeed pyramids. Seeing those historic marvels with my own eyes from the plane was an emotional experience.

Cairo seemed endless. I’m not certain, but it felt like we flew over the capital city for about 15 minutes, or even longer. As we landed in Cairo, and after I picked up my luggage, I took a taxi to my hotel in Heliopolis, where several Armenian establishments are located. It took less than half an hour to arrive to the hotel. 

On the way, I was amazed to see the lush and well irrigated vegetation and manicured shrubs and trees on esplanades on the middle of the road. It seemed too much greenery for a desert area. However I was quick to figure out that the abundance of verdant plants was due to sustenance from the Nile river. 

The next day, the hotel had arranged a taxi to pick me up to take me to see the pyramids. It took around an hour, or little over an hour, to reach the pyramids. I found Cairo to be a city of contrasts. We crossed affluent neighborhoods and then extremely poor areas covered with dirt and narrow streets, where animals and people co-existed.

Life in Cairo is cheap, especially when compared to the U.S. The half hour drive from the airport to the hotel cost only $10. My personal round-trip to see the pyramids, which lasted about four hours, cost only $50. On the way, the driver also took me to the breathtaking Nile river and a factory where they demonstrated how to make Papyrus paper.

Also, the cost of the best buffet for breakfast or dinner at the hotel I was staying at cost only $10. I’ve had buffets from Las Vegas to Singapore to Sydney—nothing came close to that of Cairo.

Armenians have a rich history in Egypt, which dates back to the time of the Fatimid Caliphate, in the 11th century, when a few Armenians rose to high political ranks.

One such Armenian, who held a high rank in office back then and became a governor of a province, has an interesting story. 

He was just a boy, when as a slave, or a “mamluk,” he was purchased by a ruler of Tripoli. Mamluk is an Arabic word designated for slave soldiers, which was a `part of a military caste system in medieval Egypt and has played an instrumental role in the Muslim world.

He died when he was 80 years old, bearing the honorific title of “Badr al-Jamali,” or the “Middle East Eye.” History says that, in 1073, he restored the fortune of the Fatimid dynasty, which had faced collapse in previous decades. There are also other Armenians who have become “Vezirs,” or Prime Ministers, in Egyptian courts.  

Between 1266 and 1375, nearly 10,000 Armenians were captured and brought to Egypt as mamluks.They were employed in agriculture and used as craftsmen. The youngest were educated in army camps following the mamluk system, and later employed in the army and at the palace.

Coming to recent history, one of the most influential Armenian figures was Nubar Pasha (January 1825, Smyrna, Ottoman Empire – January 14, 1899, Paris). Nubar Pasha was an Egyptian-Armenian politician. During his career, he served as Prime Minister of Egypt three times.

His son, Boghos Nubar, founded the Armenian General Benevolent Union, as well as the Nubarian Armenian school in Cairo.

The main influx of Armenian refugees into Egypt began in the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide in 1915. Egypt embraced Armenians and gave them the freedom to establish businesses and build their own schools and churches. 

At the time, Armenians heavily contributed to the socio-economic development of the country. The Armenian population reached a peak of 50,000 in 1952. However, due to the revolt created by Prime Minister Gamal Abdel-Nasser to overthrow King Farouk, the Armenian population drastically decreased.

I learned a great deal about Armenian life in Egypt through a documentary film made by Waheed Sobhi, who is Egyptian. Sobhi, deciding to commemorate the centennial of the Armenian Genocide, put a spotlight on Armenians of Egypt.   

This 90-minute, prize winning documentary retraces the impact made by Armenians in a variety of industries, such as trade, crafts, music, theater, and arts in Cairo and Alexandria. 

Since Armenians worked predominantly in the private sector, the Socialist Laws, brought on by the Prime minister Nasser, known as Nasserism, affected them. Many Armenians were threatened by the new policies of Nasser’s regime. Thus, in search of a better future, they decided to leave Egypt and migrate to other countries, including the United States, Canada, and Australia.

That’s how several Armenian families in Egypt lost the businesses that they had worked so hard to build from scratch after escaping the genocide.

Now, a look into the schools and social lives of Armenians in Egypt.

During my trips, I typically make contact with Armenian community members ahead of time to learn about their communities. This time, my contact was Sevan Semerdjian, who is the editor of Arev, a local newspaper in Cairo. She’s also an Armenian language teacher at the Kalousdian-Nubarian Armenian school.

On Wednesday, June 12, I had an appointment to meet with Sevan so that she could show me around. We met at the Kalousdian-Nubarian school in the Heliopolis neighborhood.  Sevan shared a significant amount of information about the local Armenian schools of the past and present.

She had arranged for me to meet with Dr. Kevork Kazandjian, the Academic Director of the Kalousdian-Nubarian school. Below is a summary of what I learned about the Armenian schools.  

The first Armenian school in Cairo was called “Khorenian,” after Movses Khorenatsi, who was an Armenian historian in the 5th century. The school was founded in 1854 by Garabed Agha Kalousd, who arrived with his wife from Istanbul and made a great fortune in Cairo.

In 1854, when the first Armenian school was built, the idea of having a day school was inconceivable. The school remains the oldest standing private educational institution in Egypt.

At the time, young Arab boys learned how to read and write at “Kuttabs,” which were kinds of classes held in mosques, where the students sat on the floor while a religious person taught them to read and write from the Quran. There were no classrooms, per say.

In 1907, the Khorenian school was relocated, and the name was changed to Kalousdian after its founder Agha Kalousd. The school taught students up to 9th grade.

In 1924, the Nubarian Armenian school opened, named after Boghos Nubar, the son of Nubar Pasha.

In the heydays of the Armenian community in Cairo, the Kalousdian and Nubarian schools were two separate institutions, located in different neighborhoods. However, in 2012, the two schools of were merged. Since then, thousands of students have passed through their doors. Today, the Kalousdian-Nubarian school has 130 students and 50 teachers, accepting students in kindergarten through 12^th grades.

In order for students to enroll in the school, one of the parents must be Armenian. The Armenian Patriarchate and the AGBU underwrites the tuition for some families that are unable to pay. The school also provides buses for students who live further away.

After our short tour of the school, Sevan invited me to check out the Armenian club, which was right across the street from the school. As the editor of the Arev newspaper, she had the key to the Armenian Club, where the newspaper’s office is located.  

The main door opened to the backyard of the club, where I saw neatly arranged, stylish outdoor wicker furniture in the middle and nice landscaped trees and shrubs around the walls. The club was built in 1949.

Sevan led me to her office. I was stunned to see the pictures of past editors on the wall, starting with Vahan Tekeyan, who had established the Arev newspaper in 1915.

At the time, Tekeyan was possibly the most famous diasporan Armenian poet and is still considered to be a significant symbol of Armenian identity and cultural heritage.

When it was first founded, the Arev newspaper was published daily, but it later became a weekly publication.

“Arev is a Ramgavar [Armenian Democratic Liberal] newspaper. There are two other newspapers in Cairo—‘Housaper’ is a Tashnagtsagan [Armenian Revolutionary Federation] online daily organ, and ‘Tchahagir’ is a Hunchakian [Social Democrat] organ. and is published every other week,” explained Sevan.

The club was established in 1949 by Levon Gogonian, and it carries his name. The Gogonian club is open Thursday evenings and Saturdays. It provides activities for both children and adults. The club’s Zangezour dance group has been around for 55 years. The performances are held at the club’s Tekeyan Hall.

“Today, the number of Armenians are around 3000 or even less,” Sevan said. Although the number of Armenians has dwindled, Armenian culture, on a smaller scale, thrives in Cairo. She explained how, today, the clubs and newspapers are an important component in keeping Armenians connected.

Today, the clubs, schools, and sports facilities built in “the good old days” in Cairo are kept open by diehard community activists who are determined to not only preserve these facilities, but to also revive the heritage of their forefathers.

The Homenetmen of Cairo was established in 1918 and is still an active athletics club for the local Armenian youth. It offers sports programs, as well as basketball, soccer and, sometimes, tennis tournaments. The club also has scouting groups and the Sardarabad dance group.

Here, I need to mention that the AGBU was founded in 1906, in Cairo, by the initiative of renowned national figure Boghos Nubar.

Today, the AGBU in Egypt has a library of archives, publishes a journal every three months, and has a youth choir, called Dziadzan, or Rainbow.

After spending an hour learning about the schools and the clubs, Sevan said that she had arranged for us to meet with a Bishop at the St. Gregory Armenian Apostolic Church.

After she called an Uber, we crossed town to the Ramses neighborhood. Traffic was very heavy. It took us about 30 minutes to travel a 7-mile route.  

The church was one of the most imposing and ornate Armenian Apostolic churches I have ever seen. 

As we arrived, Sevan led me into the church. There, I saw a spacious sanctuary with intricate arches and columns and an impressive conical dome. The wooden pews had dark brown hues. 

The church’s walls were covered in several ornate, stained glasses and Christian themed canvases, and the tall altar had frescoes painted on the walls. 

The land the church is situated on was donated by Grikor Yeghiayan in 1911. The construction began in 1924 and lasted for about four years. The church was inaugurated during the first liturgy, on February 12, 1928.

In 2007, the church went through a massive renovation. Today, the church sparkles inside and out. 

The church plays a big role in the Egyptian Armenian community. It has a bus that transports parishioners from different parts of Cairo to the church on Sundays. About 70 people attend the liturgies each week. However, during holidays, the church is filled to maximum capacity.

After a quick visit to the church, we walked next door to a building belonging to the Armenian Patriarchate, where Sevan had made an appointment for us to meet with Bishop Ashod Mnatsakanyan. 

The building that houses the Armenian Patriarchate was built in 1930, through donations made by two benefactors—Boghos Nubar Pasha and Tigran Pasha Dabro.

The impressive and spacious entrance led into a grand staircase, which was divided into staircases to the left and right, leading up to the second floor, where we met Bishop Mnatsakanyan. He gave us a quick rundown about the church and parish.

The Bishop had been assigned to his role by the Etchmiadzin Prelacy in 2002, about 22 years ago. He then offered us additional information about the parish. 

The church has a choir of 10 people, as well as a Sunday school.

I was curious to know about how the patriarchate operates. The Bishop said the patriarchate employs 36 people.

Here, I’d like to thank Sevan for dedicating a full day to me and patiently explaining details about Armenian life in Cairo.

After the visit to the church and the patriarchate, Sevan called a taxi to take us back to Heliopolis. On the way, she dropped me off at my hotel and continued off to her home. 

Meeting Sevan and learning about how Armenians in Cairo, although on a smaller scale, are still keeping their traditions and culture alive was astounding. 

Catherine Yesayan is a regular contributor to Asbarez, with her columns appearing under the “Community Links” heading. She can be reached at cyesayan@gmail.com.

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