In 1959, Elie Moreno, then a 19-year-old sophomore engineering student at Purdue University in Indiana, visited the Egyptian port city of Alexandria on his summer vacation, and brought his camera. Moreno, an Egyptian of Sephardic Jewish descent, had been born in Alexandria and raised in Cairo. But the Egypt in which he had grown up, the milieu of the country's multi-ethnic urban elite, was fast disappearing; the summer of 1959 was the last Moreno would see of it.
The late 1950s marked the end of an era in Alexandria that had begun in the late 19th century, when the port -- then the largest on the eastern Mediterranean -- emerged as one of the world's great cosmopolitan cities. Europeans -- Greeks, Italians, Armenians, and Germans -- had gravitated to Alexandria in the mid-19th century during the boom years of the Suez Canal's construction, staying through the British invasion of the port in 1882 and the permissive rule of King Farouk in the 1930s and 1940s. Foreign visitors and Egyptians alike flocked to the city's beaches in the summers, where revealing bathing suits were as ordinary as they would be extraordinary today.
But by midcentury, King Farouk -- a lackadaisical ruler in the best of times -- had grown deeply unpopular among Egyptians and was deposed in a CIA-backed coup in 1952. Cosmopolitan Alexandria's polyglot identity -- half a dozen languages were spoken on the city's streets -- and indelible links to Egypt's colonial past were an uncomfortable fit with the pan-Arab nationalism that took root under President Gamal Abdel Nasser in the late 1950s and 1960s. "[W]hat is this city of ours?" British novelist Lawrence Durrell, who served as a press attaché in the British Embassy in Alexandria during World War II, wrote despairingly in 1957 in the first volume of The Alexandria Quartet, his tetralogy set in the city during its heyday as an expatriate haven. "In a flash my mind's eye shows me a thousand dust-tormented streets. Flies and beggars own it today -- and those who enjoy an intermediate existence between either." By the time of Hosni Mubarak's rule (and largely in response to his secularism), Egypt's second-largest city had become synonymous with devout, and deeply conservative, Islam.
The pictures from Moreno's collection, taken on the 1959 visit and several beach trips in previous years, capture the last days of an Alexandria that would be all but unrecognizable today, in which affluent young Egyptians of Arab, Sephardic, and European descent frolic in a landscape of white sand beaches, sailboats, and seaside cabanas. Two years later, in 1961, the structural steel company Moreno's father ran was nationalized by Nasser, and his family left for the United States shortly thereafter. Moreno, who went on to found a semiconductor company in Los Angeles, wouldn't visit his birthplace until he was well into middle age.
But the memories aren't all bittersweet. The woman on the far left in the above photograph, taken on Alexandria's Mediterranean coast in 1955, is Odette Tawil, whom Moreno first met in Alexandria in the summer of 1959. Reunited in the United States years later, they visited Egypt together in 1998, to get married.
Courtesy of Elie Moreno
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FRED_J9
3:32 AM ET
April 25, 2011
very funny memories
man !! this photo reminds me of 8O's memories, when egypt had the time of its life !! thank you for this article !!
AVIZE
8:36 AM ET
April 25, 2011
same time
Egypt was good country for travel. But now i dont think so.
avize
CHRISTURNER
10:45 AM ET
April 25, 2011
Photograph
Very cool photograph, it's a shame Egypt is so dangerous nowadays, I would love to visit.
KATERINA PEKOVA
1:29 PM ET
April 25, 2011
The 50s Were Lovely
Always a pleasure to look at retro photos! The 50s were lovely, even if the nuclear war paranoia was present everywhere around the globe.
When times get rough, it's always good to have a quick glimpse into he past and just hope that things would, once again, get better, I guess. The top web searches on Google images for "Alexandria 1950" show up interesting stuff, such as the Ramleh Station, the City Hall on Christmas, the Mohammed Ali Square and other retro locations. You should definitely check those out too! ;)
ALANNEWMAN
11:37 PM ET
May 23, 2011
Alexandria dream...
What a fantastic photo. In case you don't know, my friend who works in a local men shoe lifts company always told me that Alexandria is one of the most beautiful places in the world and I wish I could be there one day.
SADASIVA
4:26 PM ET
April 25, 2011
Egypt's Metaphysical Heritage
I believe, as many like me, that democracy and openness will throw open the shackles that have not imprisoned Egypt's people, but also enslaved its mystical secrets. Like many in the East (and west who are awakening to practices like Yoga, Buddhism and other energetic work), Egypt is a treasure trove of Spiritual science - the alchemy of our spiritual connection to the cosmos. These secrets left ancient egypt, then traveled to the Middle east (especially India and Persia), leading to Yoga, Ayurveda, Sacred geometry and other metaphysical sciences.
May we free astrology (egyptian and otherwise), sacred geometry (which was practiced by the Greeks and known to be the keys to magic) and other metaphysics from the shackles of the dark Ages and tyranny and return to the Pyramid power, renewed to these connective technologies that can turn this earth into utopia.
BAOLUOPAUL
1:06 AM ET
April 27, 2011
Egypt's Metaphysical Heritage
Sounds like idealistic pap. Dream on bubba.
SADASIVA
5:24 AM ET
May 1, 2011
pap?
Well, not really.
In case you haven't noticed, Yoga, vedic astrology, Ayurveda and the spirituality of the East is making a huge renaissance in the world.
We are moving toward a balance between Science and Spirit.. that is long over due. THis reclaiming of the light is happening concurrent to the dark.. showing the stark contrast between the two.
Yours truly,
Bubba
AVILLA
8:23 PM ET
April 25, 2011
Wonderful pictures.
It sure won't happen anytime soon, but I hope that one day Alexandria can be like this again. Thanks for the memories.
SMITHMASON
12:25 AM ET
April 26, 2011
Aw, the girl on the far left
Aw, the girl on the far left is pretty cute! Might've even deserved a ring had I been around back then :p
ARTERY26
8:24 AM ET
April 26, 2011
Alexandria : past, now and future
This photo describer about the condition of Egypt, Alexandria in the past of age.
Alexandria is the greatest places in the world and I always dream someday I will be there.
Now the condition was change because there are the conflict in Egypt, many building and beautiful place in Alexandria was broken. But although the place is not same like the past, Alexandria is still the greatest place for me. One of amazing place in the World. And I will review about it in my personal blog Federacion News. Alexandria is still beautiful in the past, for now and for the future...
NATTAWAT
8:33 AM ET
April 26, 2011
Thank You For The Article
Thank You For The Article
ANITUR
6:15 AM ET
April 27, 2011
Bir zamanlar m?s?r avrupa
Bir zamanlar m?s?r avrupa standartlar?na daha yak?n bir ülkeydi erken rezervasyon.
ADHAMB
8:55 AM ET
April 27, 2011
Vive L'Egypte
???? ????
EDULADO
3:58 AM ET
April 28, 2011
old times
I love the old photos and videos gratis because make me think in the people of the past of age.also I did not knew about this beach.Thanks for sharing.I will share this picture.
THE GLOBALIZER
10:44 AM ET
April 28, 2011
Nasser's legacy...
...couldn't be more obvious than as represented in this pictures.
All of the conditions that led to his ascent are still in place, but with far less comparative prosperity.
Let's hope Egypt gets back on track following the recent events.
CARLOG12345
2:13 AM ET
April 29, 2011
this is awesome!!!
It is from 1950's and wow, Egypt allowed women to wear shorts that time. It's great even if it is a Muslim country. Great Article.
Carlo from http://babygenderpick.com
KAMPER
7:19 AM ET
April 29, 2011
Used to be a Liberal country I see
I diden't know that Egypt was a liberal country once. Interesting to see how Egypt and it's neighbours have become more and more conservative were the rest of the world seems to develop in another way.
Some of the bikinis reminds me of the metal bikini princess Leia used in Star Wars the old republic
HAMADA
9:03 PM ET
April 30, 2011
This article is misleading
The article pushes the idea that once upon a time, women used to wear swimsuits in Egypt in the past with the inherent assumption that they don't do that right now.
Yes, Alexandria was one of the most famous and popular cities in the world and yes, Egyptian people started becoming conservative in the 70s and 80s (didn't Americans and many other nations also became conservative in the 70s and 80s?) but not all of them. Actually, many Egyptian people are and are becoming hard-core secularists and liberals.
Here are some links that will show you that you can come today to Egypt and go to many of the beaches in Alexandria, North Coast (called sahel or sa7el in arabic), Red Sea coast (like Sharm el-Sheik, Hurghada) and see Egyptian and foreign women in real bikinis, unlike the ones in this photo essay
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqPompshegY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E3A7vQrvb6o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHea9Mj_Wq4
But I am really disappointed at you Foreign Policy. I always thought that you were one of the best and most trust-worthy sources out there on international issues. But I think from now on I will read your articles but with a grain of salt.
JHUTTON
2:22 PM ET
May 1, 2011
My Time in Egypt
Hi love the country. I had a great few years when I lived out there coming back to the uk as a Small Business SEO Consultant. But Hey, cant be in the sun for ever. I loved my time there and met a huge number of interesting people who in reality when I look back had a huge impact on who I am now.
ADAM GARDNER
1:25 AM ET
May 13, 2011
This photo reminds me of 8O's
This photo reminds me of 8O's memories, Adam Gardner when Egypt had the time of its life !! thank you for this article !!