بسم الله الرحمان الرحيم
In the Name of Allah,
the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
4. Our River Nile
Al-Hamdulillah, the River Nile flows through our country. It is
the longest river in the world and for thousands of years has been
our life blood.
In the past, the Nile would flood each summer when the snows of
the Jibaal al- qamar (''mountains of the moon'') melted in the high-
lands of East Africa. Most years, flood waters brought a rich layer
of wet mud that irrigated and enriched the fields. In some regions,
four or five crops could be grown in one year!
In 1967, the Aswan High Dam project was completed. In the south
of Egypt, the Nile River was dammed for the first time creating the
world's largest reservoir -- Lake Nasser. Today, the Aswan High
Dam controls the flow of the Nile River. Flooding no longer occurs.
Fellahin all along its banks make use of the river water for their
farming.
In the picture, you can see a felucca, the traditional broad-sail boat
of the Nile. It belongs to my uncle who named it after my aunt :
Nuriyyah. When my uncle does not have to deliver goods up and
down the river, he lets us sail with him in his boat. In our part of
Egypt, there are no longer any crocodiles or hippopotamuses in
the river. The Nile crocodiles does live along the river banks in
the south. When the Greeks first came to our country more than
two thousand years ago, they had never seen a hippo before. As a
result, they called this large water-dwelling mammal a ''river horse''
or hippopotamus in Greek.
Each summer, my uncle takes me and my family on his felucca and
we spend the entire day sailing. This is where I learned to swim. I can
now dive very deep, too! The water here is cleaner and fish are found
in plenty. I swim a lot and catch a lot of fish in the clean water of the
river. Fish are indeed found in abundance if you know where to look
for them.
At the back of the felucca, my uncle has built a small musallah out of
wooden planks. We make wudhu using water from the Nile River, and
if possible pray all together in the musallah. At the end of the day, we
fry our day's catch of fresh fish which we eat with my mother's delicious
aysh. Al-Hamdulillah for Allah's many, many blessings!
5. Our Village Market
Every Thursday there is an open market - the suq al-khamees -- on the
outskirts of our village. The suq-al-khamees is an opportunity for all
of us to meet up with our friends from neighbouring villages. It is here
that I sometimes sell some extra eggs!
Everyone likes to visit the suq-al-khamees. The variety of goods for
sale is truly amazing. The freshest fruits and vegetables are piled into
high pyramids, but by the end of the day, these may be reduced to mere
handfuls.
In the corner of the market, animals are sold: donkeys, horses, goats,
sheep, water buffalo and camels. Our village lies on the camel caravan
route that begins in the Sudan and ends in the great camel market (suq
al-jamaal), in Imbaba, a suburb of Cairo.
For the children of our village, the most exciting time is when the
camel caravans pass through Al-Khayriyyah. Life in the desert is not
possible without the camel, the safinah al-sahara', or ''the ship of the
desert''. Whenever I see a camel, I remember the Prophet Muhammad
صلى الله عليه وسلم, who like everyone during his time, owned and rode
camels. I remember the story of the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم when he had
to migrate from Makkah -the event that initiated the hijrah calender. On
his entering Yathreb (Al-Madinah), all ansars (the people of Al-Madinah
who supported the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم) wanted the camel (named al-
qaswa') to come to rest in front of their house. The camel did stop at a
place which is today the site of the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم's Masjid in
Al-Madinah. 'Abu Ayyub al-Ansariرضى الله عنه, because his house was
closest to where the camel stopped, became the first Companion to
offer the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم a place to rest in Al-Madinah.
Years ago, the black (or occasionally green) Kiswah, or covering for
the Kaa'bah in Makkah was made in Egypt (see illustration). Each year
the newly embroidered kiswah was transported by camel to Makkah in
a ceremony called the mahmal. My grandfather remembers a story his
father told him : a camel from Al-khayriyyah village was once chosen
to carry the kiswah to Makkah. This was indeed an honour our village
has never forgotten.
Sitting atop a camel and riding among the sand dunes behind our village,
I often imagine myself a famous traveller like Ibn Battuta. But sometimes,
the up and down swaying motion makes me feel ''sea sick'', as if I were
really sailing on a ''ship in the desert''!
Islamic Village Stories
Written & Illustrated by
Luqman Nagy
In the Name of Allah,
the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
4. Our River Nile
Al-Hamdulillah, the River Nile flows through our country. It is
the longest river in the world and for thousands of years has been
our life blood.
In the past, the Nile would flood each summer when the snows of
the Jibaal al- qamar (''mountains of the moon'') melted in the high-
lands of East Africa. Most years, flood waters brought a rich layer
of wet mud that irrigated and enriched the fields. In some regions,
four or five crops could be grown in one year!
In 1967, the Aswan High Dam project was completed. In the south
of Egypt, the Nile River was dammed for the first time creating the
world's largest reservoir -- Lake Nasser. Today, the Aswan High
Dam controls the flow of the Nile River. Flooding no longer occurs.
Fellahin all along its banks make use of the river water for their
farming.
In the picture, you can see a felucca, the traditional broad-sail boat
of the Nile. It belongs to my uncle who named it after my aunt :
Nuriyyah. When my uncle does not have to deliver goods up and
down the river, he lets us sail with him in his boat. In our part of
Egypt, there are no longer any crocodiles or hippopotamuses in
the river. The Nile crocodiles does live along the river banks in
the south. When the Greeks first came to our country more than
two thousand years ago, they had never seen a hippo before. As a
result, they called this large water-dwelling mammal a ''river horse''
or hippopotamus in Greek.
Each summer, my uncle takes me and my family on his felucca and
we spend the entire day sailing. This is where I learned to swim. I can
now dive very deep, too! The water here is cleaner and fish are found
in plenty. I swim a lot and catch a lot of fish in the clean water of the
river. Fish are indeed found in abundance if you know where to look
for them.
At the back of the felucca, my uncle has built a small musallah out of
wooden planks. We make wudhu using water from the Nile River, and
if possible pray all together in the musallah. At the end of the day, we
fry our day's catch of fresh fish which we eat with my mother's delicious
aysh. Al-Hamdulillah for Allah's many, many blessings!
5. Our Village Market
Every Thursday there is an open market - the suq al-khamees -- on the
outskirts of our village. The suq-al-khamees is an opportunity for all
of us to meet up with our friends from neighbouring villages. It is here
that I sometimes sell some extra eggs!
Everyone likes to visit the suq-al-khamees. The variety of goods for
sale is truly amazing. The freshest fruits and vegetables are piled into
high pyramids, but by the end of the day, these may be reduced to mere
handfuls.
In the corner of the market, animals are sold: donkeys, horses, goats,
sheep, water buffalo and camels. Our village lies on the camel caravan
route that begins in the Sudan and ends in the great camel market (suq
al-jamaal), in Imbaba, a suburb of Cairo.
For the children of our village, the most exciting time is when the
camel caravans pass through Al-Khayriyyah. Life in the desert is not
possible without the camel, the safinah al-sahara', or ''the ship of the
desert''. Whenever I see a camel, I remember the Prophet Muhammad
صلى الله عليه وسلم, who like everyone during his time, owned and rode
camels. I remember the story of the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم when he had
to migrate from Makkah -the event that initiated the hijrah calender. On
his entering Yathreb (Al-Madinah), all ansars (the people of Al-Madinah
who supported the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم) wanted the camel (named al-
qaswa') to come to rest in front of their house. The camel did stop at a
place which is today the site of the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم's Masjid in
Al-Madinah. 'Abu Ayyub al-Ansariرضى الله عنه, because his house was
closest to where the camel stopped, became the first Companion to
offer the Prophetصلى الله عليه وسلم a place to rest in Al-Madinah.
Years ago, the black (or occasionally green) Kiswah, or covering for
the Kaa'bah in Makkah was made in Egypt (see illustration). Each year
the newly embroidered kiswah was transported by camel to Makkah in
a ceremony called the mahmal. My grandfather remembers a story his
father told him : a camel from Al-khayriyyah village was once chosen
to carry the kiswah to Makkah. This was indeed an honour our village
has never forgotten.
Sitting atop a camel and riding among the sand dunes behind our village,
I often imagine myself a famous traveller like Ibn Battuta. But sometimes,
the up and down swaying motion makes me feel ''sea sick'', as if I were
really sailing on a ''ship in the desert''!
Islamic Village Stories
Written & Illustrated by
Luqman Nagy
