Cairo houseboats face uncertain future

Houseboats were once part of the charm of the Nile in Cairo. In the 1960s, there were 100. Now they number 38 and the Government seems determined to rid the river of these floating homes. Ikhlas recalls she lived in the houseboat where she was born for many years. She later married and moved into a flat in Zamalek, but the pull of the river was too strong. She has since taken up residence again on the rippling waters of the world's longest river.

“A houseboat is unique for its privacy, quiet and fresh air, unlike in a flat where you always feel surrounded by people,” Ikhlas said. “There were houseboats on the Nile near Agouza. Each one was 60 metres away from its neighbour. Now they have been moved to Imbaba and they are more tightly packed.“Celebrities used to live in some of these houseboats, but nowadays you will find floating restaurants and cruise vessels.”

Ikhlas says the Government has “given grief” to houseboat owners for renewing their licences and relocating their homes. Besides, there is talks of removing all the houseboats.“Despite international concern and coverage by foreign newspapers, the Government is trying to sever our links with the Nile,” she adds.

Says houseboat owner Wael Abdel Aal: “The River Nile is part of us.” “Houseboats should be regarded as antiquities. I once tried to live in a flat but could not.” Abdel Aal adds that houseboats are being rented out because of the high cost of renewing the licences and the prohibitive costs of maintenance.Abu Gaber, who is caretaker of one houseboat, said houseboats had been moved from their original moorings in Gezira and Agouza 45 years ago to May 15 Bridge and Imbaba Bridge, south of Cairo. “Houseboats are part of Cairo's social history. They have been used as sets in many movies.” “It is mostly foreigners who rent houseboats for between LE500 and LE1000 a month because they want more privacy,”

Abu Gaber said. Abdel Hafiz Shalabi, the chairman of the Nile Protection Department at the Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation, told the evening newspaper Al-Massai'ya that his department had not yet decided whether to remove all houseboats, or to relocate them again. “Any decision would come as part of a national plan to improve the course of the river,” Shalabi added.