At first glance, one would assume this was a photo of a semi-metropolis in Italy or perhaps somewhere on Europe’s Mediterranean coast. Fact is, the subject of this picture (right) indeed belongs to a coastal Mediterranean city, but on the African continent: It is none other than Egypt’s own Ras El-Bar.
Rather dramatically, Ras El-Bar was first mentioned in history books as the disembarking site of the Seventh Crusade lead by Louis IX in June 1249 AD. Facing little resistance, Damietta fell to the hands of the vanquishing knights.
Less than a year later, the French King was taken captive shortly after he lost the legendary Battle of Mansoura. Louis IX was ransomed at 50,000 gold bezants; a sum equivalent of the annual revenue of the whole of France at the time.
At the dawn of the 19th Century, things took a less eventful turn. Sufi orders started frequenting Ras El-Bar after a prominent local sheikh built a mosque bearing his name: Al Girby Mosque.
It wasn’t until the 1890s that Ras El-Bar gained a reputation as a summer getaway. Monsieur Buclan and Madame Kortil got the ball rolling by opening the town’s first restaurant and bar. After that, one hotel after the other opened its doors and in no time, the once fishermen’s village became the premiere summer escape for Cairo’s Pashas.
At first, Ras El-Bar lodgings were designed as eshash (huts). Rather portable, the huts were constructed in the beginning of summer and taken down at the end of the season.
But now Ras El-Bar is saturated with three-storey villas, which locals still refer to as eshash.
Located on the tip of the Nile’s Damietta Branch, the resort enjoys two completely different waterfronts: the Mediterranean and the Nile. You can take on the sea waves or swim lazily in the tranquil river, depending on your preference.
The town began attracting summer vacationers in the hundreds, and now visitors arrive in the millions. Naturally, development was a must and a full-fledged domestic tourism plan was sketched. In 2005, the renovated lighthouse area was inaugurated, complete with a pedestrian promenade, shops and a cafeteria as well as an area designated for a major international hotel, which is yet to be built.
Ras El-Bar is now known for being an over-crowded summer destination, but have you tried visiting on an early summer weekend? Look closely at the photograph, the few people pictured is all the crowd you’ll get early in the season.
