- Title: Parisian-style 'love locks' appear on Egypt bridge
- Date: 4th January 2017
- Summary: ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT (JANUARY 3, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF STANLEY BRIDGE VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING ON BRIDGE LOCKS ATTACHED TO BRIDGE LOCK ATTACHED TO BRIDGE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) STUDENT, MOHAMED RUSHDI, SAYING: "My opinion is I think they are copying. But there are some real feelings but some of the locks are just child's play. If it were me I would do it if I had real feelings. I would not do it if it were child's play." VARIOUS OF LOCKS ATTACHED TO BRIDGE (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PEDESTRIAN, AYA, SAYING: "The young people are doing it but it's not serious. It's not like abroad where they love each other and it's serious. This does not happen in Egypt. Outside it happens but here I don't like it." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING ON BRIDGE MEN PLAYING WITH RACKETS AND A BALL ON BEACH (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) PEDESTRIAN, HUSSEIN IBRAHIM, SAYING: "Two people have a memory and they do the whole lock thing. At the beginning the local authority would come in and break the locks. I noticed that the locks have not been broken. I received some information that they received orders not to break the locks. It is an expression of feelings between two people. This is beautiful. It's not bad." VARIOUS OF WAVES BREAKING ON TO ROCKS
- Embargoed: 19th January 2017 15:05
- Keywords: love lock bridge Alexandria Paris
- Location: ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT
- City: ALEXANDRIA, EGYPT
- Country: Egypt
- Topics: Arts/Culture/Entertainment
- Reuters ID: LVA0015XO0M6T
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Parisian-style 'love locks' have begun to appear on Stanley Bridge in Alexandria, Egypt, dividing local opinion.
Padlocks began appearing on bridges in Paris and other European cities more than seven years ago - left by people seeking to symbolize their enduring love and often inscribed with couples' names. Lovers typically throw the keys into the river.
A famous location for this practice was the Pont des Arts footbridge over the Seine, before workmen began removing hundreds of thousands of padlocks last year due to fears the sheer weight could put the 19th century structure at risk.
Social media reports suggest a couple could have catalysed the trend in Alexandria last year by clasping their own romantic token to Stanley Bridge - an action which reportedly stirred controversy online.
The gesture appeared to divide opinion among locals, too.
"My opinion is I think they are copying. But there are some real feelings but some of the locks are just child's play. If it were me I would do it if I had real feelings. I would not do it if it were child's play," said Mohamed Rushdi, a student.
One woman, Aya, said she felt the practice here wasn't serious, compared to abroad.
"The young people are doing it but it's not serious. It's not like abroad where they love each other and it's serious. This doesn't happen in Egypt. Outside it happens but here I don't like it."
But another passer-by said he thought the gesture was "beautiful".
"Two people have a memory and they do the whole lock thing. At the beginning the local authority would come in and break the locks. I noticed that the locks have not been broken. I received some information that they received orders not to break the locks. It is an expression of feelings between two people. This is beautiful. It's not bad," said Hussein Ibrahim. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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