Raya and Sekina

 Early in the twentieth century police in the city of Alexandria were told that some of women who went to a very busy shopping area downtown disappeared. The women went to do some shopping and never came back to their homes. The police didn't know how that happened. There was one thing in common for all those women - they were wearing a lot of gold.


The police couldn't find any dead bodies while they were following the cases. There was nothing to help them find out how those women disappeared suddenly.


The police asked family members but none of those women had any problems with their husbands and there was no good reason for any of them not to return home.


After a long search, the police found out how all those women disappeared. They were all killed by a gang headed by two sisters. Their names were Raya and Sekina.


Raya and Sekina used to go to the market with different pieces of material. They waited in the streets in busy markets until they saw wealthy women who wore a lot of gold. Raya and Sekina used to go to a victim and offer to sell her high quality material for a cheap price. After talking to the victim for a few minutes, they used to invite her to come to their house to choose any material she liked.


At home, they offered the victim a sweet drink that was spiked. This means that the drink had a strong drug in it to make the woman fall asleep.

After the victim fell asleep, the two sisters used to take all the gold and with the help of their husbands, they got rid of the body. They buried the bodies of the women under their home.


The police found out about the two sisters when one of the jewelers reported them to the police. They were trying to sell him a piece of gold that they took from one of their victims.


The police stormed their house and arrested them. They found a lot of cash and gold. They arrested the husbands too.


They all went to court and stood before a judge. They judge ordered that they be hanged. The court case was reported in the major newspapers in Egypt and in many countries in the Middle East too.


Today the place where the crime took place is still a very busy shopping area in Alexandria. Thousands of women go there every day. Today the place has hundreds of shops that are open to the public. It is safe for women, children and old people to go to. Those people know the story. They smile and laugh when they remember it. They tell the story to their children.