Narratives
On Family, History & Fashion
Left: My paternal great great grandmother (in the back) with her daughter, grandkids, and relatives on a picnic in Fayoum, Egypt in 1930.
Right: Vacationing with my mother, siblings, and beloved nanny in Maamoura, Egypt in 1988.
Sayyida Sekina
A few years ago I stumbled upon a treasure trove of family photos digitized by my father’s late cousin. Amongst the hundreds of photos, I found this one of my paternal great grandmother that no one in my direct family had seen before. This is the earliest photo we have…
Keep readingSitt Umm Al-Khair
My great great grandmother, Umm Al-Khair bint Khidr أم الخير بنت خضر, photographed in Cairo, Egypt on May 14, 1922 (photographer unknown). She was known as Sitt ست Umm Al-Khair, which literally means “lady” in Arabic. Like her daughter, she too adopted the style of urban Egyptian ladies when she…
Keep readingSheikh Gamali
My great great grandfather, Abdul Rahman Mohamad Gamali عبد الرحمن محمد جمالي, photographed in Zanzibar in the early 1900s. Photographer unknown. Even though I started writing these narratives for women’s history month, the stories of my great grandmother and great great grandmother would not be complete without his story. This…
Keep reading