PHOTO CREDIT: Above photo by John Rickman Photography, San Jose, California.

Cairo was frightened by the murder of dancer Imtithal Fawzy at the Casino El Bosphore. It happened in front of an audience whose number exceeded 400, and in front of her mother. This incident occurred in the casino which is close to the Azbakeya Police Station. The motive was that a criminal group wanted 4 pounds per month from the Casino Bosphore which was managed by Mary Mansour and Imtithal Fawzy, but Imtithal refused to pay this money.

On one occasion, one of the members of the criminal group hit Imtithal on the forehead, so she went to the Azbekiya police station and filed a complaint. On the day of her murder, a man called her mother on the telephone and told her to tell her daughter that she must pay the money or they would kill her. The mother went to the police station and asked for protection, but the police refused.

On the day of the crime, the group of criminals agreed to kill Imtithal Fawzy. They sent Hussein Ibrahim to kill her. This criminal sat at a table that faced the table where Imtithal's mother was sitting. As soon as Imtithal walked past him, he stabbed her in the neck with the end of a [broken] bottle. The prime minister asked the police for a report about this subject [about this type of crime] so he could take strong measures against these criminal groups that have become widespread throughout the country. We hope that this crime will have made the government wake up from its sleep and that they take the necessary measures to make people feel safe from these criminal groups.

About the Photos

Click on the image to see more detail.

Left Center: Hussein Ibrahim, the killer

Bottom Left: The caption says, "The last known photograph of Imtithal Fawzy."

Bottom Right: The caption is too blurry and illegible to make out. 

• Imtithal Fawzy: Extortion During the Golden Era. By Priscilla Adum. About the murder of Imtithal Fawzy, on the stage of the rooftop café she co-owned.
• Mary Mansour: The Club Owner Who Launched Careers. By Priscilla Adum. Profile of Imtithal's business partner, Mary Mansour.
• Badia Masabni's Dancers and the Stage Names of Actresses. Translated by Priscilla Adum. Includes Imtithal in the photo.
• Casino El-Bosphore: The Search for a Murder Scene. By Priscilla Adum. Examines information about the club where Imtithal died, in a quest to pinpoint where it was.
• Ad for the Show at El Bosphore Casino May 10, 1920. An advertisement for musical entertainment at El Bosphore Casino sixteen years before Imtithal was murdered on its stage.

• 1930's Ad Promoting a Show at Badia Masabni's Summer Club known as Badia's Garden in Giza. Translated by Priscilla Adum. Mentions Imtithal Fawzy as being part of the cast.
• 1935 Advertisement for Badia Masabni's Sala. Translated by Priscilla Adum. Mentions Imtithal Fawzy as being in the cast.
• 1936 Advertisement for El Bosphore Under Mary Mansour and Imtithal Fawzy. Promoting a show that began eight days before Imtithal was murdered on her own stage.

Priscilla is a dancer of Lebanese heritage who enjoys researching the Golden Era of Egyptian dance. She owns a collection of more than one hundred classic black and white Egyptian films which is continually expanding.

Priscilla has also gathered a large library of dance related articles and clippings from Middle Eastern magazines and newspapers, many of which she has translated from the original Arabic to both English and Spanish.

Priscilla currently resides in Central America where she is a dance instructor.