Alexandria Adieu :
Subtitle: A Personal History of the Maid of the Mediterranean 1939-1960
Edition: First Edition
Publisher: Nomad  Publishing
Published: 2022
Place of publication: London , UK
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 460
ISBN-13: 9781914325007
Copyright date: 15 December 2021
Subjects: Africa, history
First sentence: The drive from Burg el-Arab, where I landed at night, to the civilised Royal Alexandria took an hour and a half rather than the ten minutes or so from Nuzha Airport, where I had arrived on a previous visit a decade earlier. The journey took me through what more closely resembled Afghan villages than the Alexandria I knew. Perhaps it was symbolic of how quickly Alexandria was moving further from herself.
Description: A twin narrative: one of the most insightful journalists of our time tells the enchanting story of this hauntingly beautiful city. Adel Darwish has been a distinguished figure in the Press Gallery at the House of Commons through some of the most tumultuous political upheavals of the modern age. His reporting and analysis have informed literally millions, both across the Middle East region and internationally, and he is a regular figure across satellite news channels the world over. In Alexandria Adieu, he shares an eyewitness account of life in this uniquely cosmopolitan and ancient city between the Second World War and 1960. Over the course of this period, he witnessed the exodus of over 100,000 Alexandrians dispersed worldwide and the sad demise of many of the city's great institutions and traditions. This book tells that story and captures the lost charm, drawing not only on his own personal experiences in the city of his birth, but also on the rich historical background and the deep literary heritage.
Notes: Hardback and E-book kindle edition
Table of contents: title: Prologue: Alexandria…Where? 7; title: Usage and Glossary 11; title: Part I – The City that Dinocrates Built; title: 1. The Trianon – and a Trio of Writers 17; title: 2. Gare-Ramleh: Alexandria’s Heart and History 23; title: 3. The Hotel Cecil 35; title: 4. The Hyphenated Alexandrians 45; title: 5. Doctors and Dayas 56; title: 6. The Annual Flower Parade 70; title: 7. Tram Number 4, Old Alexandria 75; title: 8. Rue France, Stamps and Homework 87; title: 9. 1,000 Guinnieh, and a Home in Moharrem-Bey 93; title: 10. A Tale of Two Cities 102; title: Part II – Alexandria’s Identity and her Vandalism: Language,; title: Identity and Cosmopolitanism; title: 11. Language 120; title: 12. Invasions and New Expressions 126; title: 13. Alexander: the Democratisation of Knowledge 130; title: Part III – Sidi-Bishr; title: 14. The ‘Devil’s Hole’ 136; title: 15. Plages and Policemen 140; title: 16. My Love Tutor 150; title: Part IV – The Inclusive City; title: 17. A Mischievous Generation 157; title: 18. Schoolchildren Grow Up Fast 165; title: 19. The War Generation 176; title: Part V – The Foundations of Modernity; title: 20. Hats, Hantours and Harlots 187; title: 21. The Railways: Politics and Play 190; title: 22. Cairo Interlude 197; title: Part VI – The Twentieth Century; title: 23. Film Houses: a Way of Life 209; title: 24. Youssef Chahine: Alexandria’s Struggle with Internal Egypt 215; title: 25. Naguib Mahfouz, Censorship and ‘Alexandrian Man’ 222; title: 26. Change and ‘Uglification’ 227; title: 27. Heikal’s Paradox: a Schizophrenic Attitude to Culture 230; title: Part VII – Love, Faith, and Culture; title: 28. Alexandria and God 236; title: 29. Miss World 244; title: 30. Love Songs: Alexandria’s Hymns 250; title: 31. Songs Move Closer to Allah’s Politics 257; title: 32. Leila Murad: Alexandria’s Songstress 262; title: 33. Cosmopolitan Festivities 271; title: Part VIII – Exodus; title: 34. Alexandria’s Jews – a Second Exodus 277; title: 35. The Rest of the ‘Mosaic’ 290; title: Part IX – 26 July 1956: The Day Alexandria Changed Forever; title: 36. Sleepy Streets 295; title: 37. Treaty Journals 301; title: 38. Evacuation Day 310; title: 39. Fuul, Ration Books and Smugglers 315; title: 40. Memories of the North Coast Road 320; title: 41. The Kites Battle 325; title: 42. Nasser Betrays Eden 328; title: 43. Eden’s Miscalculation 336; title: Part X – Countdown to Conflict; title: 44. A Country Divided 342; title: 45. Tawfik–Ourabi: the Constitution 350; title: 46. The British Bombardment – and Occupation 357; title: 47. The Alexandria–Misr Rift 364; title: 48. The ‘Voice’ of the Coup 367; title: 49. The Spy, the Officer, his Dancer and her Lover 371; title: 50. Plotters, Assassins and Fascists 378; title: 51. The Officers’ Conspiracy 382; title: 52. The Move Against Alexandria 387; title: 53. Alexandria’s Identity: Durrell 393; title: 54. Nasser’s Defiance: the Suez War 399; title: Part XI – The Fall of Alexandria; title: 55. The Ethnic Cleansing of Alexandria 403; title: 56. The Second Arab Conquest 407; title: 57. Paving the Way for Sadat’s Islamisation 410; title: 58. A Tale of Two Daughters 413; title: Epilogue: the Gods Abandoned Alexandria 416; title: Notes 421; title: Index 444