The flowers he grew were distributed to various merchants in the city and eventually sold to the residents of the Latin Quarter, home to Alexandria's foreign community. Ali's grandson, Khamis Saleh khamis, fondly reminisces about growing up in the Latin Quarter, which he calls "petit Paris" . By 1940, Saleh Khamis (second generation) began planting flowers in El Seyyuf. In 1957, he established the
first Violette flower shop on Horreya Road in downtown Alexandria. " I was a student at Alexandria University's faculty of law at the time, but I spent all my free time working with my father in the shop" Says Kahmis. By the late 1960.s business began to pick up. After graduating from Law school, Khamis Saleh Khamis began working full-time as a florist. Although he had no formal training in flower arragement, he traveled and read a great deal about the business. Before long Violette became a member of the renowned Swiss FTD/Interflora flower organization. In 1986 the shop made the top 10 in an international Interflora window decorating competition. In 1998 Violette won an honorary mention in the Interflora Valentine's Day window disply competition. In March 2001, 44 years after the original Violette opened, a second branch was inaugurated in Roushdi. Khamis' two sons, both agricultural engineers, now run the Roushdi branch. They also own and operate flower plantations in El Ras El Soda and Amreya. "Our flowers are 100% homegrown. We only import the seeds and bulbs...", says Khamis. " The flower business has grown through many transitions over the years, but now I am happy to say that business is good. People now know flowers and they are willing to pay for quality arrangements
