Cairo: In 1922 Egypt was shocked at the arrest and trial of Raya and Skeena, the most notorious two murderesses in the history of the region. The women were sentenced to death in Alexandria on charges of murdering 22 women who were suffocated to death and robbed of their jewelry. Interestingly the two callous stonehearted women have become legendary figures, so much so that they were the subject of many plays, films and of late a successful TV serial. But more shockingly, almost eight decades later, a pedophile gang headed by a psycho criminal nicknamed Al Turbini, hit headlines when the culprit - Ramadan Mansour, 26 - was arrested in November 2006 along with another six accomplices for abusing and killing more than 40 street children, a crime that is bound to bring home the memory of Raya and Skeena. Forget about the similarities involving criminality, horrors and the number of victims. Even when Al Turbini is currently standing trial he is making history as a legendary killer. The criminal aspect of the murderer has been overshadowed as some are using his name and story to jokingly intimidate others. "Go away I am Al Turbini, would shout some to scare away nuisances. But his name has also come in handy for commercial purposes. The press reported that owners of food outlets in Tanta are selling ' Al Turbini', a sizeable sandwich that is amusingly in demand by young people. Also sheep sellers are giving the name Al Turbini to the huge lamb that is priced at more than LE. 2,000. The tuk-tuk drivers are promoting their cabs by calling them 'Al Turbini. It's one way of attracting cab-users to those unlicensed tuk-tuks. Ironically you would see "Al Gharbiya Criminal for Mobile Accessories spelt out on the boards of some mobile shops in Tanta, capital of Al Gharbiya province, Al Turbini's home town.
