Uncertain about the Islamists’ arrival to power, some of Alexandria’s foreigners have decided to leave for good, while others stay with reservations.

The coastal city of Alexandria has long boasted an ancient cosmopolitan legacy that has embraced Greek, Yugoslavian, Italian, and other nationalities. Foreign presence gradually waned, however, after the 1952 revolution, particularly after the pan-Arab nationalism adopted by Egypt’s second president Gamal Abdel Nasser.

Uncertain about the Islamists’ arrival to power, some of Alexandria’s foreigners have decided to leave for good, while others stay with reservations.

The coastal city of Alexandria has long boasted an ancient cosmopolitan legacy that has embraced Greek, Yugoslavian, Italian, and other nationalities. Foreign presence gradually waned, however, after the 1952 revolution, particularly after the pan-Arab nationalism adopted by Egypt’s second president Gamal Abdel Nasser.

The remaining members of these communities experienced the latest revolution this past January and have concerns about what a government under The Muslim Brotherhood might mean for them. Yet some foreigners here have ties that go back generations.

Levi Katloc came to Alexandria with his father in 1939 when he was just ten years old. His family moved to Alexandria to escape the anxiety and terror that struck all the French merchandisers due to the destruction caused by World War II.

“Alexandria has a special scent that spreads in its streets, alleys and coffee shops,” says Katloc. “It is Petit Paris as we French call it.”

His father started his business by buying a cloth shop in the Zanqet elsettat area in eastern Alexandria. Gradually, the Katlocs replaced their love of France with their love of the sea and Corniche.

The events of the revolution came as a surprise to the old Frenchman. “I was surprised by President Mubarak’s resignation speech. I never expected that one of the world’s most powerful dictators would fall by the same people whom he had deliberately oppressed for 30 years,” says Katloc, who now seldom leaves his house.

Katloc says he fears the possible arrival of Islamic groups rising to power in Egypt might mean radical policies. He thought of moving to France but couldn’t take such a decision because Alexandria still feels like home.

Fear of Salafism

Estimated at 3,000 Egyptian Greeks and expatriate Greeks, including teachers, craftsmen and archaeologists, the Greek community is one of the largest foreign communities in Alexandria.

“Alexandria was like a dream as we celebrated theatres and movie houses,” said Michel Gabriel who inherited a cinema from his father.

Many from the Greek community felt safe during Mubarak’s reign, says Gabriel. After the outbreak of the revolution, however, they felt afraid of Salafists—ultra-conservative Islamists— and the Muslim Brotherhood, who were occupying state positions and trying to enforce “the law of God”, which has led some Greeks to go back to Greece, added Gabriel.

Gabriel confirms that 10 of his Greek friends, who were owners of famous shops in Alexandria, dissolved their businesses after the January revolution given the bullying acts they had seen. “Some of them even left their property because of their fear of the existing events and went back to Greece,” Gabriel explained.

Egypt Invites Foreign Communities

On the other side, some who left Alexandria a long time ago consider returning but have been hesitant since the revolution. “Many friends of mine who left Alexandria 70 or more years ago have a strong desire to return. However, the great concerns in the aftermath of the revolution and the political turmoil currently experienced by Egypt make them reluctant to do so,” says 79-year old Klen Poshtak.

Poshtak adds that friends in Greece received invitations from the Egyptian Ministry of Tourism to visit Alexandria in order to attract ancient communities and activate tourism and trade. His friends are nevertheless reluctant to accept those invitations for fear of what is happening in Egypt, including the political battles and spread of Islamists.

Dr. Muhammad Tawfeek, the Ministry of Tourism Invitation Official confirms that there are no official invitations for foreign communities to reside in Egypt after the revolution, stressing that all the invitations are only to stimulate tourism and the economy since the revolution.

A Community of Two

The Jewish community was one of the largest and most important in Alexandria. Some of its merchandisers had big shops, such as Hanno, Shekorel and Ades. Most members of this community however have left the city or died. Only a few members are left, according to Yousef Gaon, head of the Jewish community in Alexandria.

Five years ago there were 24 Jews in Alexandria, says Gaon then, after the revolution, it dwindled down to only two; himself and a man called Victor Maer Bla Siano. Thus, the religious rituals in which a rabbi comes from Israel to attend are confined to those only those two.

Gaon spends his time in his house and from time to time visits his only friend and they both recall the history of a community of which only they are left.