Sidi Bishr () is a neighborhood in the Montaza District of

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. Established as a summering site by the Egyptian middle class before the Revolution of 1952, it has since become one of the largest neighborhoods of the city.

Overview

The

Coptic Orthodox The Coptic Orthodox Church (), also known as the Coptic Orthodox Patriarchate of Alexandria, is an Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox Christian church based in Egypt. The head of the church and the Apostolic see, See of Alexandria i ...

Church of Saint Mark and Pope Peter—known locally as the Church of the Two Saints—located in Sidi Bishr, was the target of the 2011 Alexandria bombing on 1 January 2011; formerly suspected to be the work of terrorist group the Army of Islam, the Chief Prosecutor of Egypt has since accused the

Interior Ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

of carrying out the bombing. On 10 February 2015, the police headquarters of Montaza District was the scene of five bombs which exploded, injuring many civilians. Years after the Revolution of 2011,

Muslim Brotherhood The Society of the Muslim Brothers ('' ''), better known as the Muslim Brotherhood ( ', is a transnational Sunni Islamist organization founded in Egypt by Islamic scholar, Imam and schoolteacher Hassan al-Banna in 1928. Al-Banna's teachings s ...

continue to respond to Morsi's overthrow and to the crackdown on members of their organization.

History

During World War I, there was an internment camp at Sidi Bishr, and Manwel Dimech was imprisoned there. During the war it was also the scene where the Mediterranean Forces camped and trained and occasionally enjoyed the waters of Sidi Bishr, where the coast wasn't so rocky. In 1928, Sidi Bishr was a picturesque place on the edge of the desert and a decade later had been transformed with the extension of The Corniche. People visited Sidi Bishr's three beaches from around the world, making it cosmopolitan and a fashionable place to be.

Lawrence Durrell Lawrence George Durrell (; 27 February 1912 – 7 November 1990) was an expatriate British novelist, poet, dramatist, and travel writer. He was the eldest brother of naturalist and writer Gerald Durrell. Born in India to British colonial pa ...

's '' Justine'' describes the beach at Sidi Bishr as "a place where beautiful women from all over the world donned bikinis". Since the

Egyptian revolution of 1952 The Egyptian revolution of 1952, also known as the 1952 coup d'état () and the 23 July Revolution (), was a period of profound political, economic, and societal change in Egypt. On 23 July 1952, the revolution began with the toppling of King ...

, women no longer wear bikinis to public Egyptian beaches.

References

{{Neighborhoods in Alexandria Populated places in Alexandria Governorate Neighbourhoods of Alexandria Geography of Egypt

Overview

History

See also

References