Where history is made bearable!
An Ottoman and a gentleman
By Pascale Ghazaleh
Al Ahram Weekly - 7-13 September 2000
... the royal flag, a wood sculpture of the crescent and three stars, portraits of Kings Farouq and Fouad, military uniforms from the pre-Revolution era... Perhaps the most devoted collector of such mementos is Maged Farag, who has produced volume after volume of pictures and words related to the royal family. Printed on heavy pale grey paper and bound in luxurious deep green leather, the Royal Albums feature "real" photos of banquets, weddings, receptions, dignitaries and royals at work and at play... They could almost be one's family albums, left lying carelessly on the coffee table. Farag has also amassed a large collection of royal memorabilia, including a carriage, several uniforms, and portraits galore, as well as a plethora of medals and books, letters and firmans...
Prince Farouk - Supreme Scout of Egypt
Radio Cairo calling!
The Royal Albums of Egypt
Researched, Compiled, Designed & Published by Maged Farag
1939, The Imperial Wedding
1866, The Khedivial Post
1952, The Last Protocol
1869, Inauguration of the Suez Canal
1898-1998, National Bank of Egypt
The Palace
L'Egypte Illustrée par les Peintres du 19eme Siècle
The Nile & The Delta Barrages
1939, The Imperial Wedding
By Madame Sosostris
Al Ahram Weekly - 11-17 May 2000
Maged has managed to make the study of history pleasurable, writing lightly about important episodes of Egypt's past illustrating the narrative with a large number of rare period pictures . That he did it all single handed, is one more proof that he is, as I always, said a rather special person. And for budding historians who are dying to publish your research, this is your golden opportunity to approach him with the product of your intensive historical cogitation.
Old news
Al Ahram Weekly
20-26 April 2006
"Egypt's history is a long chain of Pharaonic, Persian, Greek, Roman, East Roman, Arab, Ottoman, French, British, Royal and Military links, according to Maged Farag, the force behind Misr Al-Mahrousa. Most are more or less adequately covered. The weakest link, indeed, is the pre-1952 period; some 40 years or so became taboo and you couldn't even mention them outside a specific ideological framework. Someone had to stick his neck out, break the taboo and maintain the continuity..." A visually as well as historically compelling record produced on high-quality paper and containing some of the rarest photos of the period it dealt with, the resulting, bilingual publication of 128 pages had appeared 29 times, once a month, before it was discontinued in 2003. "When I first thought of founding the magazine, I already realised reading was not among the habits of the average Egyptian -- something that was particularly the case with history, since it has a reputation for being boring. That's why I tried to present it in an attractive way; and in fact my pictorial archive came in handy.
H.H. Khedive Ismaïl Pasha
The highest order in the Kingdom of Egypt, The Mohamed-Aly Collier.
Conferred by H.M. King Fouad I on H.M. King George V
Mohamed-Aly Pasha, by David Roberts
Construction of the Delta Barrages (Al-Kanater Al-Khayreya), 1847
Plain Talk
By Dr. Mursi Saad El-Din
Al Ahram Weekly - 6-12 July 2000
History is not only the business of historians. Equally, it can be written by individuals whose love for their country makes them take the trouble of searching deeply into its past. They visit museums, libraries, record offices, newspaper archives and private correspondence.
One such figure is Maged Farag, a controversial intellectual who has developed just such a passion. I say "controversial" because his activities have been interpreted in a number of ways, one being a nostalgic yearning for royalty. But Maged is really only an Egyptian enthusiast, always seeking to put the past in perspective. His own record library, for one thing, stands up to, and surpasses many official reference libraries.
H.M. King Farouk I
No comments:
Post a Comment