CAIRO - Al though in a relatively urban environment, the 'Fish Garden' with its distinct and unusual architectural style and landscaping is a popular and attractive open place, especially for young couples, and attracts attention as one of the historic sites in the upmarket Cairo island area of Zamalek. The garden was constructed in1867 and opened to the public in November 1902 and recently became affiliated to the Supreme Council for Antiquities. Situated on the Nile bank in Zamalek, facing Agouza across the river, the Fish Garden acted as one of the Khedive Ismail's resthouses and places of recreation in the 19th century. The khedive asked the then manager of parks in Paris, which he greatly admired, to entrust one of his landscaping experts to design a park for him. Mud clay was brought from Aswan in Upper Egypt and used with red sand to construct a small hill within the site, which was then hollowed out. It resembled a fish with gills and was used to display fish in a series of basins and aquariums in its grotto. The original park was built on nine feddans (acres) of land and contained 47 basins and aquariums, 32 basins of Nile fish and 15 aquariums of specialised fish. A visitor to the Fish Garden may be reminded of some of the old and memorable black and white Egyptian films shot inside the park because of its magnificent landscape, which is being renovated. The only public entrance to the present garden is on the Nile and bears a notice board giving the modest prices of the entrance tickets for Egyptian and non-Egyptian visitors. Inside the Fish Garden the visitor can admire rare and beautiful trees, contemporaneous with the park, while following the paths to the small hill containing the fish grotto. On the right side, there is a research laboratory and museum, which are not open to the public at present, although there are plans to make them accessible. To the left of the entrance gate, there are a number of wooden seats surrounding a huge and magnificent old tree. In addition there is a playing court for children (for which an additional entrance ticket is required) a cafeteria and a wooden bridge over a lake. This is being restored to its original condition, containing different kinds of fish and is surrounded by a large number of tables and benches from the cafeteria. At the entrance to the grotto, whose roof and ceilings look like waterfalls, there are two pharaonic statues, unfortunately in such bad condition that their features have been obliterated. There are three floors inside the small hill and the exhibits include aquatic creatures and rare turtles as well as fish, regrettably unlabelled. While the visitor is touring the garden they can hear the subtle sounds of bats, giving an ambiguous and marvellous feeling to the whole place, like a natural soundtrack, enhancing the place's distinctive beauty. Unfortunately the walls of the grotto have become disfigured with graffiti and trees have become damaged by lovers carving our their names and messages into the bark. This unsocial behaviour has extended to throwing and leaving garbage in the park. General development works are underway and part will be completed soon, according to Karam Moustafa, manager of the park. He told the local magazine Safar the development plan was begun 40 days ago with the aim of recreating the garden as it was in the past. The park formerly came under the Ministry of Agriculture, but recently became the responsibility of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in respect of its distinct historic value.
