At the end of the Second World War in 1945, following the surrender of Germany and Japan, we were living in a ground-floor apartment on Hammouda Street, just a few meters from the southwestern outer wall of Abdeen Palace. This was due to the lack of available accommodation in my grandfather’s building at 24 Mostafa Kamel Street in the Abdeen district upon our return from Britain. I was three years old at the time, and my brother Sami was one. My father held the position of Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Commerce, Cairo.

During the eleven months we spent in that apartment, my sister Malika was born on November 27, 1945. A distressing incident occurred when my mother hung the family laundry on a line fixed outside the apartment balcony. As mentioned, the apartment was on the ground floor. While she was occupied caring for us and preparing lunch, and before my father returned from the university, she went out to collect the laundry—only to discover that it had been completely stolen. This incident caused her shock and fear, leading her to keep all windows closed for the remainder of our stay whenever my father was away.

A decision was later issued assigning my father to travel to Washington as Egypt’s representative at the International Monetary Fund. He traveled alone to arrange suitable housing for the family. We temporarily moved to my aunt’s ground-floor apartment in my grandfather’s building for about two weeks, after which we joined him. We then lived in a small villa in the Takoma Park area of Maryland, adjacent to Washington, for three years. During this time, my sister Nadia was born on June 2, 1948, and I began attending kindergarten at a nearby school.

We returned to Egypt at the end of 1949, when my father assumed the role of representative of the World Bank in Africa. We lived for two years in a second-floor apartment in my grandfather’s building on Mostafa Kamel Street in Abdeen. During this period, my father took me to see King Farouk I of Egypt as he exited the gates of Abdeen Palace in his red car. He also took me to witness the ceremonial procession of the Mahmal—the honor of crafting the Kaaba’s covering in Egypt and transporting it in a grand military parade that began in front of Abdeen Palace, where the King stood on the large balcony overlooking Abdeen Square to observe the procession. A high-level delegation would then accompany the covering to Mecca to deliver the new Kiswah.

During our life in Abdeen, we formed friendships with neighbors in my grandfather’s building, including Tarek Moharram, who would later become a member of the board of Al Ahly SC after forty years. We also befriended “Khawaga Yanni,” the owner of an excellent grocery store inside the Bab El-Louk market—a market known for its cleanliness, organization, and the appealing aromas of its food products. I often accompanied my mother there to shop. We also became acquainted with surrounding shopkeepers, especially the sweets vendor and the tailor named El-Qadi, who specialized in shirts, pajamas, and galabiyas.

I remember that when a family member fell ill, I would accompany my father to a pharmacy near Bab El-Louk. He would hand the prescription to the pharmacist, who would ask us to sit while he prepared the medicine. This was a meticulous and complex process, as pharmacies at the time contained fully equipped laboratories with tubes and bottles of various shapes and sizes. The pharmacist would prepare the medicine from scratch according to precise measurements, pour it into a separate bottle, seal it with a cork, and attach a label detailing its contents and instructions for use.

The building’s doorman was called Uncle Ali, and his wife, Umm Mohamed, who handled the family’s laundry and other tasks for forty years. My school was Kasr El-Dobara on Qasr El-Aini Street, near the Council of Ministers. I remember the opening line of a song we sang daily in class: “God in His exaltation protects all people…” Whenever I heard the sound of a flute from the street, I knew it was either an ice cream vendor with a box refrigerator on a bicycle or the “sanduq al-dunya” performer. We would sit on a small bench, covered halfway with cloth, watching slowly moving puppets and figures narrating a short story for a small fee—half a piaster.

I also recall two massive columns on either side of Sheikh Rihan Street at its intersection with Noubar Pasha Street, in front of the Ministry of Interior building. These were remnants of a large gate that once closed the Abdeen district at night.

We moved in early 1951 to a villa in Maadi, located at the corner of Street 77 and Street 14B. This step had a profoundly positive effect on all of us, especially us children—our happiness was immense. The villa was surrounded by a garden with large trees such as poinciana and jacaranda, while the garden fence was lined with towering casuarina trees. The lawn was bordered with flowerbeds of marigolds in yellow and orange, and morning glory flowers.

Our neighbors included the Palestinian Al-Nabulsi family, known for producing olive oil soap, and the Al-Ghusaini family. We formed lasting friendships with their children—Nawal, Mona, and Nimer Al-Nabulsi, and Bashar and Bushra Al-Ghusaini—which endured even after we moved to Garden City in 1955.

Among the most notable events during our five years in Maadi:

– The birth of my sister Amal on April 16, 1953, at the Anglo-American Hospital. During my mother’s stay, my father cared for us and even prepared crème caramel, which was excellent in every respect.

– Each morning, a peasant woman would enter our garden leading a buffalo. We would provide a stool and a pot for her to milk it. After paying her, we would boil the milk, let it cool, skim off the thick cream, and eat it immediately with molasses.

– A large coop was built in the garden, where we raised various animals, including Rhode Island chickens, Pekin ducks, Angora rabbits, and others.

– My father declared that alongside celebrating Islamic occasions such as the Prophet’s Birthday, Eid al-Fitr, and Eid al-Adha, we would also celebrate Christmas in honor of my mother, who had left her homeland, converted to Islam, and joined our family. The celebration was symbolic, intended to bring her—and us—joy.

– I suffered severely from respiratory illnesses, at one point being bedridden for three months. My treatment included daily penicillin injections and traditional remedies such as guava leaf infusion and inhalation of benzoin vapor.

– Our dog contracted rabies after a stray dog entered our garden and bit it. The dog bit me, Amal, and Umm Mohamed. It was put down, and the three of us received daily abdominal injections for twenty-one days.

– In 1954, newspapers announced the appointment of my father, Dr. Abdel Moneim Al-Qaisouni, as Minister of Finance—the youngest to hold the position at 34. A guard kiosk was placed in front of the house, along with a Cadillac assigned to him.

– My mother was an excellent cook and skilled in sewing our clothes.

– Our primary mode of transport in Maadi was bicycles. My mother and I would ride to the grocery store.

– Large black predatory kites often circled the skies of Maadi and occasionally attacked food carried by villagers, causing injuries.

– I met President Muhammad Naguib when he visited Maadi; my father introduced me to him. He was a kind and gracious man.

– I accompanied my father to Friday prayers at a mosque built by the actor Hussein Sedki. The preacher used to hold a wooden sword during the sermon—a practice that later disappeared.

My father’s position brought noticeable changes in how others treated me. I first heard the phrase: “He thinks just because his father is a minister…” This was a shock in my childhood and led to exaggerated punishments, including being publicly caned at school. This experience pushed me toward isolation for much of my life.

My father, a former scout, loved the desert. Every Friday morning, he would take us to the desert between Maadi and Mokattam, encouraging us to run, collect stones, and perform breathing exercises—inhale deeply, exhale slowly. These were joyful outings for us.

During religious celebrations, we gathered with my aunt’s family, playing in the garden and receiving monetary gifts of 25 piasters, which delighted us greatly.

In the summer, we traveled to our favorite resort, Kabannon Jabal Ataqa in Suez, along the Gulf of Suez. Before leaving, we would fumigate the house with DDT (later banned) to prevent insects during our absence.