Repairing the pashas' lair

By Fayza Hassan

In Cairo, however, renewed interest in 19th- and early 20th-century architecture has offered new hope for edifices like the former Mohamed Ali Club, now the Diplomatic Club, off Talaat Harb (Soliman Pasha) Street, which is at present the object of a complete restoration.

There is considerable confusion as to the way the Mohamed Ali Club came to be. In the Diplomatic Review, issued by the Diplomatic Club, Ambassador Mustafa El-Issawi recounts that in 1895, Khedive Abbas Helmi II, weary of the public scandals continuously being created by members of the royal family, advised them to establish a sort of private enclave in which they could drink and gamble without exciting the criticism of ordinary citizens. Part of the garden of Al-Bustan Palace -- which has been replaced today by a large pink car park -- the property of Prince Fouad (Egypt's future king), was earmarked for this purpose, and a one-storey club erected by Emilio and Aldo Anbro, civil engineers from Alexandria whom the prince had met and befriended during his stay in Florence. Prince Fouad became the new club's director, since, comments El-Issawi, "he already lived on the grounds."

According to El-Issawi, this was the Khedival Club, renamed the Mohamed Ali Club when the owners formed and registered a society in 1907. The royal family, foreign ambassadors, ministers and the Egyptian aristocracy formed its exclusive membership.

Popular historian Trevor Mostyn, however, writes that, in 1898, Prince Fouad was shot and wounded by his brother-in-law, Prince Seifeddin, during their famous altercation over Princess Shewikar -- the estranged wife of Fouad and Seifeddin's sister -- "at the Khedival Club on Al-Manakh Street, next door to the Turf Club" (which used to be situated on Adli Street). Moreover, according to Volait, the club off Talaat Harb Street known as the Mohamed Ali, was built in 1907 by architect Alexandre Marcel, of Heliopolis fame. Since the connection between the Anbron brothers and Alexandre Marcel has yet to be documented, writer Samir Raafat suggests that Alexandre Marcel may have provided the designs for the club, while the actual construction was entrusted to the Anbron brothers, who were civil engineers -- a very plausible explanation, according to Mohamed Awad, professor of architecture at Alexandria University.

One can only conclude, however, that, in this case, the Mohamed Ali was not the re-named Khedival Club, since Alexandre Marcel only came to Egypt in 1906.

In 1930, writes Volait, a second storey was added to the small edifice, designed by Michel Roux-Spitz to match the original construction. The Mohamed Ali Club soon became the meeting place of Egyptian politicians, party members and ministers past and present, a favourite spot where they came in the morning for a quick cup of coffee, to read the papers and listen to last night's palatial gossip, returning a few hours later for a bit of lunch and the latest developments.

After sunset, they could enjoy drinks at the bar, a multi-course dinner in the stately dining room and a grand review of the day's events. They could also amuse themselves in the evenings playing billiards and bridge, or relax with a herbal infusion in one of the numerous luxuriously appointed salons.

"At the Mohamed Ali Club, ministerial intrigues were woven over small cups of coffee," comments historian Jacques Berque. Referring to the well-known events of February 1942, he also writes: "On the morning of the 4th, when Haikal arrived at the Mohamed Ali Club, as was the custom among pashas, to consult with his colleagues, he learned that the Embassy had issued an ultimatum to the Palace."

After the 1952 Revolution, the club was sequestrated and later sold to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For a while, it became known as Al-Tahrir Club and was used to receive foreign diplomats and dignitaries; finally, it was ceded a few years ago to the Diplomatic Corps for their own use. Neglected for a long time, the elegant rooms were showing signs of grave deterioration until recently, when a group of board members, headed by ambassadors Mustafa El-Issawi and Nosrat Naim, decided that intensive care was in order. The Italian Cultural Centre was approached, "because," says El-Issawi, "we found out from the club's archives that it had been built and decorated by Italian engineers and craftsmen."

According to Carla Burri, the centre's director, a technical study was requested and carried out, and the results presented to the club's board members, but, she says, "they never gave us an answer". Naim explains that the price quoted was above the means of the club, and it was therefore decided to entrust the work to an Egyptian firm.

"We want the club to look exactly like it did in the '30s," he says. "We have archival material and photographs from the period and we use them as guidelines. We only replace what is absolutely beyond repair. In the case of the marble floors, for example, our contractors enthusiastically proposed imported tiles from Carara, but I was prompt to point out that, once properly cleaned, the old ones would be more beautiful than anything new."

A chemical compound was used to clean the walls and a paint of the same composition and colour was found. Said Hassan, whose firm has been contracted to do the woodwork, explains that he is mainly repairing damaged pieces according to the techniques which were in use at the time. "On the rare occasions where the wood of a window or part of the paneling need changing, I make sure to match the new to the old," he says.

It is too early to judge the final result of the cosmetic surgery, as the façade has not yet been repainted and the fixtures and fittings are still in the process of being refurbished. Will it be restored to its past splendour? One can hope that, as a result of the recent attention, the club will once again become a landmark on one of downtown Cairo's main avenues, its slightly outmoded turn-of-century elegance attenuating the impact of the ugly steel and glass constructions surrounding it.

Sources:

Mercedes Volait, L'architecture moderne en Egypte et la revue Al-Imara (Modern architecture in Egypt and Al-Imara Magazine)

Trevor Mostyn, Egypt's Belle Epoque, Cairo 1869-1952

Jacques Berque, Imperialism and Revolution