Victoria College: A Transcendent History

 

By Dalia Assem

Jadawel, 2014

 

Journalist Dalia Assem’s book, "Victoria College: The Making of Royalty and Celebrities," constitutes more of an attempt to compile the stories behind the 110-year old college and its students than a detailed historical documentation. Even though many of the college’s graduates have gone on to change the course of history in the area, Victoria College cannot be reduced to a simple sum of its students, who have hailed from nearly 55 nationalities. The college itself boasts a rich history, interwoven with that of Alexandria, Egypt, and has stood as a witness to a thriving — and later declining — cosmopolitan city, acted as a centre of British Intelligence in the Middle East and North Africa, and has moulded many unique personalities (which ultimately led to the brain-washing accusations). In 12 chapters, Assem narrates the stories behind the college’s construction, its lively academic life, the turbulent political history it witnessed, and its old Victorian graduates, as well as the college’s current standing in the world.

 

In 1901, as part of Britain’s new imperialist ideology, the English community in Alexandria started building a new college in remembrance of the then recently deceased iconic Queen Victoria, with the intention of enticing the scions of families engrossed in the politics of Egypt, the Arab world and the North African countries. After the college officially opened in 1906, its most important legacy became evident: it offered a liberal education to the sons of the aristocratic families residing in Alexandria, preparing them to become future leaders in their countries, regardless of their religious, ethnic, or national affiliations. The college’s Latin motto, “Una Sumus Cuncti Gens” (meaning “Together We Are One”), still reverberates across the years. Nicknamed the “Eton of the East,” it became renowned in Alexandria for its Speech, Sports , and Music Days, as well as for a scout group and an annual exhibition for cultural, artistic and scientific activities. The college housed a theater hall, an office for a published seasonal magazine, and a distinguished library whose beech racks have cradled thousands of books going back 100 years into the past alongside taxidermied animals.

 

Assem then recounts how Victoria College, despite its brief transformation to a strategic base and a military hospital for the British army, succeeded in surviving two world wars, including the Italian-German air raids on Alexandria. The college, moreover, stood as witness to the 1948 Palestine war and the 1956 Tripartite Aggression against Egypt. By 1956, factors such as the rise of new competing schools in Alexandria, the rampant rumours that Victoria College constituted a stronghold of spies, and its nationalization, compounded by the turbulent political situation in Egyptand the rise of national and religious sentiments, led to the gradual demise of the college’s pre-eminence. Although not a product of Victoria College, Assem’s practice of interviewing old and new Victorians provides her with the required familiarity, knowledge and background. Assem, therefore, dedicates the second half of the book to the biographies of and/or interviews with some of the prominent Old Victorians, notably: Edward Said, Sadiq al-Mahdi, King Hussein of Jordan, artist Mahmoud Said, directors Youssef Chahine and Shady Abdel Salam, actor Omar Sharif, and others. The book closes with black and white photos of various documents, Old Victorians, and different school events.

 

In answer to my query why she chose to write about Victoria College even though she does not number among its graduates, Assem said, “Through my work as a journalist, I have always endeavoured to highlight what makes Alexandria a special place. After a feature I wrote about Victoria College and how it reflected the cosmopolitan life in the city was published in the London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper, I was approached by a publishing house. In this book, I have tried to highlight man’s relationship with the place and how students coming from different cultural backgrounds were able to interact with the college.” For the reader, this book infuses pleasure with sadness, however, it still offers an engaging look at a rich part of Alexandrian history.