Published by Dar Rawafed Publishing and Distribution, the book "Egypt's Palaces: Rise and Fall of the Human State" by author Mahmoud Khairallah has been released. The author touches upon a delicate and mysterious point that hasn't been previously unveiled. This subject requires a dedicated book based on factual documents and not mere speculative narratives. It's the story of royal courts and the personal temperaments of rulers. If historians had delved into the moods of kings and rulers just as they did with their actions, decisions, and brave measures, we would now have what's called deep research into the personalities of rulers throughout history. This would make it easier to understand the motivations behind pivotal decisions that perhaps impacted entire nations. An example of this is Mohammed Ali, who always had a full hookah beside him.

The writer suggests that most of the decision-makers in the royal palaces that ruled Egypt for many years often consumed alcohol, albeit intermittently. He references what Al-Maqrizi documented about the prevalence of alcohol consumption in Egypt and dedicated places for its intake. Al-Maqrizi mentioned Turan Shah, the son of Al-Salih Najm al-Din Ayyub, who, when fighting Louis IX's army near Mansoura, behaved improperly towards the Mamluks when intoxicated, as an example.

The author raises questions about unverified stories concerning what President Anwar Sadat consumed aboard the airplane taking him to Israel in the 1970s. There's a rumor about cannabis oil stains on the pipe dangling from the president's mouth during that trip. These rumors, if examined factually, might lead to a different psychological perspective on leaders.

Modern bars emerged in Egypt during the British occupation (1882-1952), with dozens being established in the early 20th century. In the 1940s, liquor companies in Egypt spent vast amounts on advertising their products, often financing movies depicting police wars against drugs, cementing the perception that drug consumption was a natural act in most films produced in the first half of the 20th century.

The author touches on King Farouk, the last ruler of the Muhammad Ali state, whom no one truly knows to what extent he was under the influence of alcohol. He frequently visited places where it was served, from casinos to parks, accompanied by most of his rule's pillars and his entourage.

Regarding Egyptians' relationship with alcohol, a French scholar in the book "Description of Egypt" says, "Egyptians, in general, consume poppy seeds and other seeds from which opium is mainly extracted." According to the French scientist "Clot Bey" in his book "A Glimpse at Egypt," Egyptians have a type of beer called "Bouza," prepared by fermenting barley. It is very thick, dark in color, has an unpleasant taste to Europeans, but is delightful for locals. There were public places where Egyptians consumed hashish in cafes, known as hashish joints. Bonaparte once said after a revolution by the Egyptians, "No one understands the Egyptian people more than the Egyptian people themselves. A revolution of this magnitude, momentum, and persistence comes from a people who drink a lot of coffee, smoke hashish, argue with their families with curses, whose food is beans, and whose wisdom is 'hit the world with a gun'."

The author speaks of Cairo's cafes, highlighting Café Riche. This cafe played a significant and inspiring role in the country's history, always siding with the revolutionaries. Such cafes served as safe havens for some rebels, even contributing to the success of these revolutions, as was the case with the 1919 revolution and again on the same chairs during the January 25, 2011 revolution.

Café Riche was frequented by personalities such as Tawfiq al-Hakim, Yusuf Idris, Naguib Mahfouz, Yahya Taher Abdullah, Ghalib Halasa, Amal Donqol, Najib Surur, Fatima al-Yusuf, Mahmoud al-Meligy, Rushdi Abaza, and Adel Imam. In the words of the great historian Jamal Hamdan, Riche is the "fountain of activism" in downtown Cairo, throughout the last century, and at the same time a reflection of its hustle and bustle.

Engineer Abbas tells the story of the old printing press that printed the pamphlets of the 1919 revolution, which is kept in the café's basement. It is said that the Greek owner at that time provided the basement and the printing press to Saad Zaghloul and his companions. The basement and printing press of Café Riche were the means by which the demands of the 1919 revolution were announced to the world.

Highlighting the significance of Café Riche, Najib Surur wrote a poetry collection named "Protocols of the Sages of Riche." Many discuss the café's role in the events of January 25, 2011, and June 2013, and how the rebels were provided food and medicine at the cafe's expense.

As for Café Al-Hurriya, it hosted figures like Sheikh Zakaria Ahmed, Ahmed Ramzy, Rushdi Abaza, Shukri Sarhan, Abdel Salam Mohammed, Fatin Abdel Wahab, Hassan Al-Imam, Mohammed Anwar Sadat. Even the "Cotton King", Mohammed Ahmed Farghali, claims to have lived his life among them. The Free Officers often met at Café Al-Hurriya and made important decisions there.

"An hour after Mohamed Morsi's election to the presidency, several activists organized a protest defending the right to drink under the title "Beer is our right". This took place in Roxy Square in Heliopolis on June 28, 2012 (pg 80).  There were other bars; one of which was in the headquarters of the "Akhbar Al-Youm" newspaper in the 1960s, and another at the entrance of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate. As for the Estella bar, which legends say was founded by a Greek businessman after marrying an Egyptian woman in 1955 as a beer storage, he quickly transformed it into a bar. Some still refer to it as "the store". The bar was frequented by prominent figures such as Farouk Abdel Qader, who used to sit by the window with tears glistening in his eyes, and Mohamed Afifi Matar, who left his home in Monufia to come, drink, and write. Najib Sorour and the satirical writer Mohamed Mostajab also visited Stella.

The article talks about the city of Alexandria, which a century ago had dozens of bars on a single street. Obtaining a license to open a liquor store was a legal and organized matter recognized by the Egyptian government. The book included copies of historical documents dating back to 1913 to prove this. What remains of the bars from the past is only 5% of what was present a hundred years ago. 

Alexandria houses four liquor company headquarters, with the state-owned Al-Karoum Company for Alcohol being the parent company. The most significant ones are Genaklis and Bolonaki in El-Hadra area, Katimats in El-Nozha area, and Zanoussi in El-Raml. Among the famous bars in Alexandria is "Elilet", frequented by iconic figures like Youssef Chahine, Omar Sharif, Naguib Mahfouz, Umm Kulthum, Demis Roussos, and Dalida. Unfortunately, most bars in Alexandria have been closed for countless reasons.

Al-Ahram Beverages Company was the only company in Egypt and the Arab region that produced alcoholic beverages and beer for 100 years. Even the ousted Muslim Brotherhood president, Mohamed Morsi, did not touch this right (pg 41). Due to complicated economic pressures, the Brotherhood leaders allowed the alcohol trade to continue, accepting hefty taxes paid by the producing companies and consumers. Until 2012, the state treasury collected about half a billion Egyptian pounds from sales taxes and profits on alcoholic beverages alone (pg 45).

According to unofficial statistics, Heineken sales in Egypt during the Brotherhood's rule in 2012 might have increased by 4%, reaching a total of 5 billion euros, a 10% increase compared to 2011 (pg 47).

Going further back in ancient Egyptian history, drunkenness was known in Egypt about three thousand years before the birth of Jesus Christ. When two men from the Pharaoh's court drank this mixture, which was made for religious rituals and not for a specific worship rite, but to share stories with each other. At that moment, the first drunkard was born on Egyptian soil, and from that moment onwards, Egypt has witnessed thousands of drunkards."

"In Pharaonic Egypt, beer was consumed by everyone, both young and old. They were so fond of it that they managed to cool it using river air. Egyptian wine was among the finest offerings to the deities, so revered that it was buried with the deceased. A report spread on an online site announcing that Dr. Mohammed Ibrahim, the former Minister of State for Antiquities, discovered the tomb of the chief of storage and the brewer for the goddess "Mut" during the Ramesside period. He was named "Khonsu-Am-Hab" and was located in the Khokha necropolis of Thebes, on the west bank of Luxor (p. 18).

Wine accompanied the workers who built the enduring Giza pyramids around (2480-2550) B.C. In one of the tombs, the first brewery in history was found. It includes four fermenting vats, each with a capacity of 390 liters, dating back to the "Naqada" period, making it the first brewery in the ancient world. The beer bore its first Egyptian name: Hakt.

According to the Dictionary of Ancient Egyptian Civilizations, Family Library Edition 1996, beer was the common national drink in ancient Egypt. The dictionary defines beer as a dough made from barley flour that's baked like bread. This barley bread is then soaked, sometimes with dates for sweetness. Once fermented, the liquid is strained into a vessel. Diodorus said the taste and flavor of this beer are as good as wine.

However, some Western historians trace the origin of beer in the ancient world back to six thousand years ago, specifically with the Sumerians, between the Tigris and Euphrates, including Mesopotamia and Babylon. They discovered fermentation by chance and drank it as if it was a divine beverage. Enkidu, a hero of the Epic of Gilgamesh, drank seven cups until his heart was elevated. In this state, he washed himself and became human.

We cannot forget what Shakespeare said, "I die, Egypt; give me some wine and let me speak a little." This was in the play "Antony and Cleopatra", specifically during the death scene of the hero "Antony", which indicates the distinction of Egyptian wine in prehistoric times.

The author didn't touch upon the wine-related regulations in Egyptian laws or its rules in Islamic jurisprudence. This wasn't the purpose of the book. From the beginning, he clarified that his book's aim is a humble attempt to complete the emotional history of the Egyptians.

In the Freedom Café, an intoxicated man in his fifties placed a beer bottle steadily on his head and sang among men and women:

On the paper of the fennel, pamper me

Don't bear this humiliation, I mean

I have neither power nor with me,

But the bottle that's with me

I have neither power nor in my hand,

But the glass that's in my hand.

On the paper of the fennel, pamper me."

Note: This translation tries to capture the meaning and essence of the original text, but some cultural or poetic nuances might not translate perfectly.