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Egypt Today, Egypt
July 11 2006
Cairo's Dimming Ghosts
As the capital's elegant past sinks further into obscurity,
intellectuals,government agencies - and this historian in particular
- are calling for the restoration and preservation of the city's most
significant buildings
By Fayza Hassan
DOWNTOWN CAIRO, a khedivial creation of the nineteenth century, has
suffered neglect and steady decay since the 1950s. Elegant hotels,
palaces and villas have given way to shoddy apartment buildings,
ramshackle storefronts and improvised parking garages. The elite fled
to more congenial surroundings in the suburbs, and in a matter of
decades, Cairo's city center was completely de-gentrified.
Khedive Ismail's beautiful quarter and all of its architectural
treasures have been abandoned to powers whose least concern was to
respect this particular heritage.
At the turn of the twenty-first century, however, a number of well
known architects and intellectuals sounded the alarm, attempting to
raise public awareness in a bid to save the few buildings that had,
for the time being, escaped the general decay.
One such building is a much-abused palace that stands incongruously
on Champollion Street, a stone's throw from the Supreme Court, amidst
mechanics' workshops, popular cafes and commercial apartment
buildings. The walls of what was once its garden are covered in
posters and graffiti. Peeking through the gates, one finds a grim
view of the terminally neglected, dingy architectural treasure: a
palatial stone construction with two wings, featuring tall columns
and a central (now-shattered) bay window. As the sun sets on busy
Champollion Street, the broken glass ominously reflects the sun's
dying rays, helping the princely abode take on the aura of a rotting,
bat-infested ghost house.
The building, however, was never abandoned - far from it. To know
more about its history one must turn to social historian Samir
Raafat, who describes it in Cairo: The Glory Years.
"To begin with," writes Raafat, "the architect was Antonio Lasciac,
Egypt's renowned palace builder [H]is clients included members of the
khedivial family, Cairene notables and trusted institutions. Among
his most visible works are Banque Misr on Mohamed Farid Street and
the palace of Princess Nimet Kamal Al-Din across from the Arab
League."
The original owner was Prince Said Halim Pasha, a grandson of the
great wali of Egypt, Mohammed Ali. The palace's decorative motifs
bear testimony in the form of his monogram SH imprinted in the stone.
Prince Halim's father could have been the ruler of Egypt had Khedive
Ismail not disregarded tradition and coaxed the sultan in Istanbul to
change the rule of primogeniture, thus favoring Ismail's own son
instead of the oldest male member of the reigning family.
Prince Said was born in Shubra Palace but grew up in Istanbul. It was
the strong Italian tradition of architecture that inspired his
Cairene palace, which was constructed almost exclusively from
Italian-imported materials and decorations.
According to Raafat, Prince Halim's wife, Amina Indji Toussoun -
herself a great-granddaughter of Mohammed Ali - did not care much for
the palace, preferring to live in Istanbul. As for the prince, he
replaced Mahmoud Shevket Pasha, prime minister of the Ottoman Empire,
who was assassinated in June 1913. It is said that the prince was
manipulated by the Young Turks until they brought the empire to its
eventual demise.
Prince Halim's star began to dim when Turkey signed its secret treaty
with Germany in 1914, thereby aligning itself against the British
during the First World War. Three months later, Britain, France and
Russia declared war on Germany, and Egypt officially became a British
Protectorate.
In Cairo, Prince Halim's assets were confiscated, and following
Turkey's defeat, he was arrested and deported to Malta. An Armenian
terrorist ultimately assassinated him in Rome on December 6, 1921.
The prince never had a chance to live in his Cairene palace.
Galila El-Qadi, an architect with the Institute of Research for
Development (IRD), recounts that the palace was sold in 1918 to
Monsieur Carlsioni, who rented it to the Ministry of National
Education. The palace transformed into a school, Al-Nasra, to be sold
once more in the 1940s to the Societe Chaoul Mediano, at which point
it became El-Nasriya School.
Many Egyptian luminaries received their primary education on these
regal premises; among them were Mustafa and Ali Amin, founders of the
daily Al-Akhbar; Ibrahim Badran, former minister of health; and
Ismail Serageldin, the present director of the Bibliotheca
Alexandrina - to name but a few.
A few years after the school opened its doors, the palace's gardens
were sold to make room for a new apartment building in front of
Antikhana Street. The reputation of the school did not suffer from
this amputation, however, and it remained one of the two leading
educational establishments (the other being Al-Saidiya School) for
the sons of the Egyptian elite.
The palace only closed its doors in 2004, when El-Fath Company for
Reconstruction & Development bought the premises - just two months
before it was placed on the list of protected historical monuments.
As a part of this important list, El-Qadi suggests, the palace lends
itself perfectly to the transformation into "the historical museum of
the city of Cairo." Furthermore, it is exceptionally qualified
architecturally for this purpose, endowed as it is with vast rooms,
high ceilings, a majestic staircase and a splendid bay window. The
ceilings are beautifully painted and the facade richly decorated. The
palace is still surrounded by a garden - albeit one much smaller than
the original.
The Supreme Council of Antiquities is the body empowered to make
decisions regarding the restoration and management of the monuments
entrusted to its care, as well as collaborations with technical
institutions and international organizations. The SCA assigned the
task of presenting the pre-project study for the transformation of
the palace into a museum to a consortium including an Egyptian and a
French consultant firm - Mirmar and Bonnamy, respectively - which are
now designated collectively by the name "Mirmar Bonnamy." They work
in association with the Institute for Research and Development (IRD).
The European Commission and the IRD have financed this preliminary
stage. Since in the long term, the entire project will generate
expenditures of both time and money, the IRD has taken the initiative
to mobilize Egyptian civil society as well as international
organizations.
The IRD plans to target the former pupils of Al-Nasriya School who
today occupy key posts in public and private sectors alike; among
whom are renowned physicians and engineers, famous actors and
successful business leaders. It is hoped that they will form the
Association of the Friends of Said Halim's Palace and contribute to a
fundraising campaign in support of the project.
A second target will be society itself, which will be the focus of a
campaign for donations to the cause. An additional plan is the
organization of concerts and exhibitions in the palace and its
gardens, with the help of interested professionals and businessmen.
Beyond this particular museum, the IRD hopes to introduce a new
culture in Egypt, encouraging the full participation of civil society
in the preservation and restoration of our heritage. Quite rightly,
El-Qadi comments that without the full commitment of Egyptian
society, the treasures of our past might forever be lost. et
http://www.egypttoday.com/article.aspx?Article ID=6858
July 11 2006
Cairo's Dimming Ghosts
As the capital's elegant past sinks further into obscurity,
intellectuals,government agencies - and this historian in particular
- are calling for the restoration and preservation of the city's most
significant buildings
By Fayza Hassan
DOWNTOWN CAIRO, a khedivial creation of the nineteenth century, has
suffered neglect and steady decay since the 1950s. Elegant hotels,
palaces and villas have given way to shoddy apartment buildings,
ramshackle storefronts and improvised parking garages. The elite fled
to more congenial surroundings in the suburbs, and in a matter of
decades, Cairo's city center was completely de-gentrified.
Khedive Ismail's beautiful quarter and all of its architectural
treasures have been abandoned to powers whose least concern was to
respect this particular heritage.
At the turn of the twenty-first century, however, a number of well
known architects and intellectuals sounded the alarm, attempting to
raise public awareness in a bid to save the few buildings that had,
for the time being, escaped the general decay.
One such building is a much-abused palace that stands incongruously
on Champollion Street, a stone's throw from the Supreme Court, amidst
mechanics' workshops, popular cafes and commercial apartment
buildings. The walls of what was once its garden are covered in
posters and graffiti. Peeking through the gates, one finds a grim
view of the terminally neglected, dingy architectural treasure: a
palatial stone construction with two wings, featuring tall columns
and a central (now-shattered) bay window. As the sun sets on busy
Champollion Street, the broken glass ominously reflects the sun's
dying rays, helping the princely abode take on the aura of a rotting,
bat-infested ghost house.
The building, however, was never abandoned - far from it. To know
more about its history one must turn to social historian Samir
Raafat, who describes it in Cairo: The Glory Years.
"To begin with," writes Raafat, "the architect was Antonio Lasciac,
Egypt's renowned palace builder [H]is clients included members of the
khedivial family, Cairene notables and trusted institutions. Among
his most visible works are Banque Misr on Mohamed Farid Street and
the palace of Princess Nimet Kamal Al-Din across from the Arab
League."
The original owner was Prince Said Halim Pasha, a grandson of the
great wali of Egypt, Mohammed Ali. The palace's decorative motifs
bear testimony in the form of his monogram SH imprinted in the stone.
Prince Halim's father could have been the ruler of Egypt had Khedive
Ismail not disregarded tradition and coaxed the sultan in Istanbul to
change the rule of primogeniture, thus favoring Ismail's own son
instead of the oldest male member of the reigning family.
Prince Said was born in Shubra Palace but grew up in Istanbul. It was
the strong Italian tradition of architecture that inspired his
Cairene palace, which was constructed almost exclusively from
Italian-imported materials and decorations.
According to Raafat, Prince Halim's wife, Amina Indji Toussoun -
herself a great-granddaughter of Mohammed Ali - did not care much for
the palace, preferring to live in Istanbul. As for the prince, he
replaced Mahmoud Shevket Pasha, prime minister of the Ottoman Empire,
who was assassinated in June 1913. It is said that the prince was
manipulated by the Young Turks until they brought the empire to its
eventual demise.
Prince Halim's star began to dim when Turkey signed its secret treaty
with Germany in 1914, thereby aligning itself against the British
during the First World War. Three months later, Britain, France and
Russia declared war on Germany, and Egypt officially became a British
Protectorate.
In Cairo, Prince Halim's assets were confiscated, and following
Turkey's defeat, he was arrested and deported to Malta. An Armenian
terrorist ultimately assassinated him in Rome on December 6, 1921.
The prince never had a chance to live in his Cairene palace.
Galila El-Qadi, an architect with the Institute of Research for
Development (IRD), recounts that the palace was sold in 1918 to
Monsieur Carlsioni, who rented it to the Ministry of National
Education. The palace transformed into a school, Al-Nasra, to be sold
once more in the 1940s to the Societe Chaoul Mediano, at which point
it became El-Nasriya School.
Many Egyptian luminaries received their primary education on these
regal premises; among them were Mustafa and Ali Amin, founders of the
daily Al-Akhbar; Ibrahim Badran, former minister of health; and
Ismail Serageldin, the present director of the Bibliotheca
Alexandrina - to name but a few.
A few years after the school opened its doors, the palace's gardens
were sold to make room for a new apartment building in front of
Antikhana Street. The reputation of the school did not suffer from
this amputation, however, and it remained one of the two leading
educational establishments (the other being Al-Saidiya School) for
the sons of the Egyptian elite.
The palace only closed its doors in 2004, when El-Fath Company for
Reconstruction & Development bought the premises - just two months
before it was placed on the list of protected historical monuments.
As a part of this important list, El-Qadi suggests, the palace lends
itself perfectly to the transformation into "the historical museum of
the city of Cairo." Furthermore, it is exceptionally qualified
architecturally for this purpose, endowed as it is with vast rooms,
high ceilings, a majestic staircase and a splendid bay window. The
ceilings are beautifully painted and the facade richly decorated. The
palace is still surrounded by a garden - albeit one much smaller than
the original.
The Supreme Council of Antiquities is the body empowered to make
decisions regarding the restoration and management of the monuments
entrusted to its care, as well as collaborations with technical
institutions and international organizations. The SCA assigned the
task of presenting the pre-project study for the transformation of
the palace into a museum to a consortium including an Egyptian and a
French consultant firm - Mirmar and Bonnamy, respectively - which are
now designated collectively by the name "Mirmar Bonnamy." They work
in association with the Institute for Research and Development (IRD).
The European Commission and the IRD have financed this preliminary
stage. Since in the long term, the entire project will generate
expenditures of both time and money, the IRD has taken the initiative
to mobilize Egyptian civil society as well as international
organizations.
The IRD plans to target the former pupils of Al-Nasriya School who
today occupy key posts in public and private sectors alike; among
whom are renowned physicians and engineers, famous actors and
successful business leaders. It is hoped that they will form the
Association of the Friends of Said Halim's Palace and contribute to a
fundraising campaign in support of the project.
A second target will be society itself, which will be the focus of a
campaign for donations to the cause. An additional plan is the
organization of concerts and exhibitions in the palace and its
gardens, with the help of interested professionals and businessmen.
Beyond this particular museum, the IRD hopes to introduce a new
culture in Egypt, encouraging the full participation of civil society
in the preservation and restoration of our heritage. Quite rightly,
El-Qadi comments that without the full commitment of Egyptian
society, the treasures of our past might forever be lost. et
http://www.egypttoday.com/article.aspx?Article ID=6858