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P. 244
pulled along the bridge, carrying
the passengers to the other side of the
Nile, to the railway leading to Cairo or
going to Alexandria. On that day, Prince
Ahmed Rifaat, son of Ibrahim Pasha,
Prince Abdel Halim, son of Muhammad
Ali Pasha, Adham Pasha and other pashas
took the train to Cairo. Princes Isma’il and
Mustafa Fazil, brothers of Prince Ahmed
Rifaat, were also on the train, but they
got off it before leaving Alexandria, at the
instigation of an officer of the Diwan of
Muhammad Said Pasha.
When the train arrived at Kafr El-Aiss, a
number of the train carriages were pulled
along that bridge. Princes Ahmed Rifaat
and Abdel Halim, and other pashas rode
one of these carriages. It was said that the
wheels of the carriages were not locked,
as usual, rather they were left untied.
Another carriage came after theirs and
pushed it forward. All the carriages fell
off the float and sank into the Nile. Prince Isma’il, oil on canvas, 140 x 102 cm, by
Benoît-Hermogaste Molin
Prince Ahmed Rifaat was a handsome
young man with a large, strong body and
a big belly; he could not survive and drowned. When the carriage fell into the water,
Prince Muhammad Abdel Halim threw himself out of the window and escaped
drowning with the help of some ship owners.
The Mamluks and followers of Prince Ahmed Rifaat spread around the water,
looking for his corpse. They brought the fishers with their nets and kept searching
until his corpse was found and pulled out.
People talked a lot about the death of Prince Ahmed Rifaat; they said he drowned
upon the order of Muhammad Said Pasha to prevent him from ascending to the
throne as a punishment, and make Isma’il the heir to the throne after the death of his
brother.»(13)
The second painting depicts Prince Muhammad Abdel Halim (1894-1831), son of
Muhammad Ali Pasha, who survived by throwing himself out of the window of the
train carriage, where Prince Ahmed Rifaat rode.
Prince Muhammad Abdel Halim later played a pivotal role in promoting Freemasonry
in Egypt. «In 1867, the United Grand Lodge of England issued a warrant for the
(13) Sharubim, Mikhail: The Compendium of the Ancient and Modern History of Egypt, Vol. 4, pp. 174-175, 1898.
244
the passengers to the other side of the
Nile, to the railway leading to Cairo or
going to Alexandria. On that day, Prince
Ahmed Rifaat, son of Ibrahim Pasha,
Prince Abdel Halim, son of Muhammad
Ali Pasha, Adham Pasha and other pashas
took the train to Cairo. Princes Isma’il and
Mustafa Fazil, brothers of Prince Ahmed
Rifaat, were also on the train, but they
got off it before leaving Alexandria, at the
instigation of an officer of the Diwan of
Muhammad Said Pasha.
When the train arrived at Kafr El-Aiss, a
number of the train carriages were pulled
along that bridge. Princes Ahmed Rifaat
and Abdel Halim, and other pashas rode
one of these carriages. It was said that the
wheels of the carriages were not locked,
as usual, rather they were left untied.
Another carriage came after theirs and
pushed it forward. All the carriages fell
off the float and sank into the Nile. Prince Isma’il, oil on canvas, 140 x 102 cm, by
Benoît-Hermogaste Molin
Prince Ahmed Rifaat was a handsome
young man with a large, strong body and
a big belly; he could not survive and drowned. When the carriage fell into the water,
Prince Muhammad Abdel Halim threw himself out of the window and escaped
drowning with the help of some ship owners.
The Mamluks and followers of Prince Ahmed Rifaat spread around the water,
looking for his corpse. They brought the fishers with their nets and kept searching
until his corpse was found and pulled out.
People talked a lot about the death of Prince Ahmed Rifaat; they said he drowned
upon the order of Muhammad Said Pasha to prevent him from ascending to the
throne as a punishment, and make Isma’il the heir to the throne after the death of his
brother.»(13)
The second painting depicts Prince Muhammad Abdel Halim (1894-1831), son of
Muhammad Ali Pasha, who survived by throwing himself out of the window of the
train carriage, where Prince Ahmed Rifaat rode.
Prince Muhammad Abdel Halim later played a pivotal role in promoting Freemasonry
in Egypt. «In 1867, the United Grand Lodge of England issued a warrant for the
(13) Sharubim, Mikhail: The Compendium of the Ancient and Modern History of Egypt, Vol. 4, pp. 174-175, 1898.
244
