October 23, 2015 23 Heritage

Barb horse in spotlight at El Jadida Horse Show

Saad Guerraoui

El Jadida, Morocco

he eighth El Jadida Horse Show ended with the spotlight on the Barb horse, which was born in North Africa more than T3,000 years ago. The six-day presentation, spon- sored by Morocco’s Horse Show As- sociation (ASC), highlighted the an- cient equine heritage of the North African country and illustrated tra- ditional equestrian arts and horse- related crafts. “This is a great event and the pub- lic was unanimous in underlining the professionalism and unswerv- ing organising,” said Mohamed el- Kouhen, an ASC member. The Barb horse, was born in North Africa more than 3,000 years ago.

He added that the show had breathed a new momentum into the development of the equine in- dustry in Morocco and significantly raised procedures for horse breed- ing during its eight years of exist- ence. About 120 exhibitors from 38 countries took part in the show, Horsemanship at El Jadida festival which attracted 250,000-260,000 visitors thanks to a rich programme According to Darem Bouchen- horse category, while Chahm An- Malek Kardoumi. sports activities were held through- of various equestrian disciplines. touf, author of Tbourida, Khayl Wa nasr, owned by Jamal Abdennaser, Four foreign troupes, including out the six-day event, which closed Samira, a 31-year-old government Khiyala, “Tbourida is an art that won the award in male category. France’s Lorenzo, performed at the October 18th. Workshops led by the employee from Casablanca said she comes from the depths of our an- The gold medal of the Interna- closing ceremony. Morocco was Royal School of Cavalry and the was thrilled to see tbourida (fanta- cestors’ memories and is reminis- tional Barb Horse Championship represented by high-level perfor- Royal Society of Horse Encourage- sia). cent of the battles and wars they was also won by Chahm Annasr. mances from the School of Eques- ment were organised along with na- “It’s amazing to see our heritage have undertaken to preserve their Rusty Des Balmes took the silver trian Art of Marrakech, the Royal tional and international demonstra- live and learn more about it,” she ideals and land against attacks from medal while the bronze was award- Armed Forces and the General Di- tions of dressage and trick riding. said. intruders.” ed to Baligh De Groboz. rectorate of National Security. Por- Seven troupes from different re- The filly Dahibat Graine, owned “Just to watch Barb horses gallop- tugal, the event’s guest of honour, Saad Guerraoui is a frequent gions of the kingdom entertained by Noureddine Dahbi, was awarded ing is an amazing feeling because took part with a top-notch carousel. contributor to The Arab Weekly on the crowds. “best in show” in the female Barb they are so beautiful,” said visitor Recreational, cultural, artistic and Maghreb issues. Off tourist map, centuries-old Egyptian gate suffers neglect

Ibrahim Ouf . It marks the cation in 1415. southern end of the old Fatimid Bab Zuweila has survived since city, much of which has been invad- 1092 by accepting layers added to it ed by modern, much less singular, or letting go of layers taken from it. architecture. Layers added during later periods here was a time when the The gate has two beautifully are usually distinguished from ear- area in front of and the adorned minarets belonging to the lier ones, although layers removed alleyways around Bab mosque. The minarets are open to tend to leave traces. Zuweila — one of three visitors, offering rare views of the The most recent renovation of remaining gates of Is- end of . the gate was in 2001 through an Tlamic Cairo — buzzed with tourists Cairo was founded in 969 as the American grant of $1 million. Reno- and visitors from every part of the royal city of the Fatimid dynasty. In vation work ended in 2007, bring- world. 1092, Badr al-Jamali, a prominent ing in new layers to the 4-tonne There were numerous souvenir statesman of the Fatimid era, built a wooden gate. shops and others selling papyrus, second wall around Cairo, with Bab In 2008, a fire in the area caused photos and history books and there Zuweila as the southern gate. major damage but the Egyptian was often more demand than avail- The minarets above the gate were Ministry of Antiquities restored the able guided tours. used to check for enemy troops in gate to its former condition, accord- That, however, is something of the surrounding countryside. From ing to Talaat Ahmed, a ministry of- the past. The gate stands proudly it the sultan would watch the be- ficial. as it has for the past millennium ginning of the annual pilgrimage to Day after day, however, official but the tourists are nowhere to be and Medina in Saudi Arabia. interest in the area seems to be fad- found. Only local residents and ing, he said. workers can be seen walking the The minarets above “Now, subterranean water threat- narrow alleyways of the area. the gate were used ens to destroy most area antiquities Donkey-drawn carts and fava to check for enemy but nobody cares,” Ahmed added. bean and falafel-selling shops are Because of this lack of interest, ubiquitous features of the place. troops in the Bab Zuweila residents have to fend The souvenirs’ shops now offer surrounding for themselves. They raise funds cheap clothes and knife-sharpening countryside. to buy plastic bags to collect trash. services. Tour guides have deserted They also raise funds to renovate the gate and its surroundings. The gate was sometimes used old buildings in the area. “Tourists do not come here any- for execution purposes. Severed But this seems to be far from more,” said Abdel Hakim Zaghloul, heads of criminals were displayed enough, at least for knife-sharpen- a gate security guard. “I do not atop walls in the area. The last time ing services shop owner Mahmoud know whether the gate has been of- this was done was in 1811 when the Ramadan. ficially taken off the tourist map.” heads of from the Citadel Ramadan, in his late 40s, has He said there has been a remarka- massacre were mounted on spikes. lived in the Bab Zuweila neighbour- ble decrease in the number of tour- Mu’ayyad Mosque is west of the hood since he was a child. He says ists in the area in recent years but gate. The location of the mosque he and other residents are willing the area still has a lot to offer. was used as a dungeon where to do anything to save the area from In this, Zaghloul, who has been Sheikh Amir al-Mu’ayyad was im- neglect and return it to the tourist guarding the gate for almost 15 prisoned. map. years, seems to have a strong argu- While in prison, Mu’ayyad vowed “The tourists who do not come ment. The area inside the gate looks to destroy the dungeon and build here are losing a lot, in fact,” Rama- like a museum. It boasts a large a mosque in its location if he was dan said. “This area is a piece of Fa- number of exquisite antiquities, released. After he was released timid Cairo of centuries ago.” Precious site: Bab Zuweila continues to stand proudly to including the Mu’ayyad Mosque, and became the sultan of , guard part of , even as it suffers neglect from the Egypt’s third oldest mosque. Mu’ayyad ordered the dungeon Ibrahim Ouf is an Egyptian government. The gate is a classic example of razed and built a mosque on the lo- journalist based in Cairo.