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10:48 pm
Saturday 23 January 2021
Alexandria – Muhammad Al-Badri:
A state of sadness that prevailed in Alexandria over the death of Muhammad Ahmad Al-Sammak, the owner of Foul restaurant “Muhammad Ahmed”, recalled the 65-year memories of one of Alexandria’s oldest restaurants that were imprinted in the memory of people and visitors to the coastal city, after dozens of social media pioneers posted obituaries, including Flashes of their memories with the restaurant.
The restaurant, which was linked to the minds of Alexandrians and their lovers by its heritage and its presentation in the heart of Mahattat Al-Raml, its history began in 1956 after its owner Muhammad Ahmad Al-Sammak decided to buy it from its owner. Al-Khawaja Jew, Benjamin Saadi, to start his own business, after years he worked in the restaurant of his father, Ahmed Al-Sammak, who was the owner in the Mansheya area.
Bought from Khawaja Benjamin
According to earlier statements by the late restaurant owner Muhammad Ahmad, Al-Khawaja Binyamin attempted to pull out of the restaurant sale at first after the Jewish community opposed the matter at the time and tried to pressure him to return the shop because it was gaining fame in the surrounding community and serving a large segment of them, but Egyptian owner Al-Jadid refused to back down and decided to continue with his project.
Keep the covenant
Dr Islam Assem, a professor of heritage and former head of the tour guide association, said one of the stories circulating is that the owner of the original shop was a clergyman in the Jewish temple and used to provide meals and falafel to many members. of the sect To provide service to the customers who used to visit him, especially since a lot of his visitors were from the poor at this time and some of them received their food for free
Asim added to “Masrawy” that the area of the Raml station where the restaurant is located was distinguished at this time by the presence of many hotels, theaters and cinemas, and most of the services provided were closer to the European character, which made the presence of a restaurant serving popular foods like beans and falafel a distinctive theme that attracted many visitors to the area, including a host of VIPs and celebrities who preferred to visit the place each time they arrived in the area.
He pointed out that the restaurant, from its beginnings in Egypt in 1957, gradually gained popularity for the quality of the food, the distinctive service and the way in which the workers of the place deal with the customers, until it became a destination for many celebrities of the field . of politics, art, literature and others.
Sophia, Naguib, the engineer and Roussos are his most prominent clients
The old restaurant was visited by a number of Egyptian celebrities and world personalities and they left their signatures and words that added to the place a rich heritage for those who ate in it, including Queen Sofia, Queen of Spain, world singer Demis. Roussos, as well as the writer Naguib Mahfouz, the artist Fouad Al-Mohandes, the cartoonist Mostafa Hussein and the director Sala Abu Seif.
Visit to Queen Sofia
The restaurant’s guestbook recorded the famous visit of Queen Sofia of Spain in 1989, who spent almost two hours – according to Mohamed Ahmed’s family – and said she would come with her brother, the King of Greece and his family, to eat Beans. falafel and other Egyptian foods.
Words immortalized by celebrities in the old restaurant
Restaurant Mohamed Ahmed’s guest and client list included many princes, ministers and ambassadors, as well as workers in distress, artists and tourists from around the world, but the guest who cannot be forgotten, according to a previous talk from its owner , Mohamed. Ahmed, it was the late comedian Fouad Al-Muhandis. And the one who immortalized his visit by writing a comment on the approach of his famous radio program “Two words and only”, in which he said: “Two words, only … the beans go crazy.” And Mohamed Ahmed printed it on the menu.
Many famous people also immortalized his visits to the restaurant, including cartoons of the late Mustafa Hussein, and a handwritten word by Naguib Mahfouz in which he wrote: “Thank you to the beautiful shop and its generous owner … and greetings to dinner. . whose pleasure will remain with us for a long time. “
