Egypt Collector Preserves Hundreds of Classic Cars

FILE: An Egyptian collector of vintage cars, drives a British Standard Flying Eight Tourer - 1948 automobile at his father's store where he also has an exhibition of old cars, in the Giza suburb of Abu Rawash, Egypt October 25, 2020. (Reuters)
FILE: An Egyptian collector of vintage cars, drives a British Standard Flying Eight Tourer - 1948 automobile at his father's store where he also has an exhibition of old cars, in the Giza suburb of Abu Rawash, Egypt October 25, 2020. (Reuters)
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Egypt Collector Preserves Hundreds of Classic Cars

FILE: An Egyptian collector of vintage cars, drives a British Standard Flying Eight Tourer - 1948 automobile at his father's store where he also has an exhibition of old cars, in the Giza suburb of Abu Rawash, Egypt October 25, 2020. (Reuters)
FILE: An Egyptian collector of vintage cars, drives a British Standard Flying Eight Tourer - 1948 automobile at his father's store where he also has an exhibition of old cars, in the Giza suburb of Abu Rawash, Egypt October 25, 2020. (Reuters)

The past frequently collides with the present in Cairo, with traffic snarling next to ancient sites.

Cars in the city can take a beating — between soaring temperatures, desert dust and the crowded streets. Classic models are not uncommon, but they often languish in dusty alleys or garages. One man, however, has decided to try to preserve a slice of Egypt’s four-wheeled history.

Car collector Mohamed Wahdan says he has accumulated more than 250 vintage, antique and classic cars. Most of them he discovered inside the country, The Associated Press reported.

A fleet of this size would rank him among the world’s top classic car collectors. Experts typically classify vehicles as vintage, antique or classic depending on their year of production.

The 52-year-old Wahdan runs a tourist company taking visitors to Egypt's famous landmarks. But he’s devoted to his hobby. He owns several different garages to keep all of them, and employs a full time team of mechanics for maintenance.

He says one of the challenges is in getting the cars license plates. Government employees often aren’t sure how to classify them.

Wahdan's oldest, a 1924 Model T Ford that belonged to Egypt’s last monarch, King Farouk, is a museum piece, complete with a velvet rope to mark its parking place in his garage.

The country’s history makes it a treasure trove for antiques. Egypt was a destination for Europeans in the late 19th Century and the first half of the 20th century. Italian, Greek, and Jewish communities once flourished in Cairo and the Mediterranean city of Alexandria. Its historic markets, or souqs, sell many reminders of times gone by, replicas and genuine.

Wahdan has collected many of them. Rotary-dial telephones, gramophones, and old newspapers and stamps also fascinate him.

Recently, his cars have also made a name for themselves, with one appearing in a TV series set in the 1930s. He’s noticed that interest in car collecting is growing among Egyptians, as more flock to classic car shows where his vehicles are displayed.

One of his dearest items is his first purchase, a 1970s Mercedes. Like his other cars, he doesn’t drive it often. But he says he would never sell any of his collection.

“Anyone who is passionate about those cars is unable to do without them,” he said.



Syria Seeks EU Help to Battle Massive Wildfires

FILE : A fire burns at a forest in Latakia province, Syria in this handout released by SANA on October 9, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
FILE : A fire burns at a forest in Latakia province, Syria in this handout released by SANA on October 9, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
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Syria Seeks EU Help to Battle Massive Wildfires

FILE : A fire burns at a forest in Latakia province, Syria in this handout released by SANA on October 9, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS
FILE : A fire burns at a forest in Latakia province, Syria in this handout released by SANA on October 9, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS

Syria’s minister of emergencies and disaster management on Tuesday requested support from the European Union to battle wildfires that have swept through a vast stretch of forested land.

The fires have been burning for six days, with Syrian emergency crews struggling to bring them under control amid strong winds and severe drought.

Neighboring countries Jordan, Lebanon and Türkiye have already dispatched firefighting teams to assist in the response.

“We asked the European Union for help in extinguishing the fires,” minister Raed al-Saleh said on X, adding Cyprus was expected to send aid on Tuesday, AFP reported.

“Fear of the fires spreading due to strong winds last night prompted us to evacuate 25 families to ensure their safety without any human casualties,” he added.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) office in Syria, the fires impacted “some 5,000 persons, including displacements, across 60 communities.”

An estimated 100 square kilometers (40 square miles) of forest and farmland -- more than three percent of Syria’s forest cover -- have burned, OCHA told AFP.

At least seven towns in Latakia province have been evacuated as a precaution.

Efforts to extinguish the fires have been hindered by “rugged terrain, the absence of firebreaks, strong winds, and the presence of mines and unexploded ordnance”, Saleh said.

With man-made climate change increasing the likelihood and intensity of droughts and wildfires worldwide, Syria has also been battered by heatwaves and low rainfall.

In June, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said Syria had “not seen such bad climate conditions in 60 years.”