HOME MOVIES: 1950s EGYPTIAN FAMILY

This film shot by Dr. E. H. Eassa, a physician in the Egyptian Air Force, Shows his middle-class family, their friends and their activities in the 1950s and 60s. The film starts in 1954 with a family visit to the ancestral village of Aslougy, a village in Sharqia Governorate in the Nile delta of Egypt. Three generations of the family are seen visiting with the patriarch who is also the mayor of the village. Some of the highlights include -- 17:57 footage of the famous Tahrir square with the Egyptian Museum in the background; at 19:50 a walking tour of downtown Cairo starts leading to Suleiman Pasha Street, later renamed Talaat Harb Street, an important shopping venue in Cairo; and at 51:00 a movie shoot is seen, and at 57:00 a visit to the Great Pyramid and Sphinx. 7:47 The streets of Aslougy, as it was then, are seen. 9:44 A woman is reading a newspaper and the headlines are about President Nasser’s summit meeting in response to the proposed Baghdad pact. 13:17 The countryside between the village and Zagazig, the largest neighboring city. 13:37 The Zagazig train station. 13:59 Circa 1959, a second visit to Aslougy. A man is seen dealing with a car problem. 14:33 A drive in the Zagazig main street. At 17:57 1954 footage at the famous Tahrir square. 18:03 The then Nile Hilton construction barrier is seen behind the pipe-smoking man. The Nile Hilton was the second Hilton hotel built in the Middle East (after Istanbul’s). The Hilton was relaunched as the Cairo Ritz-Carlton in 2015. 18:29 The Egyptian Museum can be seen in the background. At 19:50 a walking tour of downtown Cairo starts leading to Suleiman Pasha Street, later renamed Talaat Harb Street, an important shopping venue in Cairo. 20:41 Having tea at an outdoor café. 21:50 footage of Ramses station, Cairo’s main train station. 22:09 The iconic statue of Ramses, long a landmark of Ramses station is seen in the background. The statue was moved in 2006 due deterioration resulting from pollution at the train station. It currently resides at the Grand Egyptian Museum near the Pyramids. 22:50 Tahrir square and at 23:32 the Tahrir Complex, center of government offices, can be seen. 25:25 shopping at Suleiman Pasha Street. 27:09 A walk in old Cairo. 28:33 Sitting by the Nile corniche in Giza. 30:13 The dome of Cairo University can be seen in the distant background. 30:48 University bridge can be seen in the background. 32:24 Leisure time at the Giza Zoo Park. 36:05 Circa 1956, walking down Cairo University Street. 36:54 Back at Tahrir Square and the Egyptian Museum. 37:18 A walk in a quiet residential area by the Nile (Garden City?). 40:20 Children playing at Cairo University Street. The fence belongs to the Ministry of Agriculture station. 42:02 Children playing in apartment overlooking Cairo University Street. 42:09 the dome of Cairo University can be seen in the distance. 42:21 Three sisters spending time at home. 45:53 Walking down Cairo University Street. 47:37 At the Mena Golf Course, the first golf course in Africa built in 1899. The golf course is part of the Mena House Hotel overlooking the pyramids. 48:05 Children roller skating at the rink. 50:10 A view of the pyramids and Cairo University from an apartment balcony. 51:02 On the set of an Arabic movie shoot. 51:47 Actors playing a romantic scene. 52:12 Sound recording engineer. 54:32 A grandmother praying. 56:40 Man in bed with the flu. 56:45 Family walk in Amer Street, Giza. 57:07 Panoramic views of the pyramids and Giza. 57:30 Driving down Pyramids Road heading to the pyramids. 57:41 A visit to the pyramids. 58:47 The Sphinx.