Al-Ahram Weekly | Features

		Al-Ahram Weekly 22 - 28 June 2000 Issue No. 487
Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875

Forbidden pleasure domes

Many post-Revolution researchers, writes Fayza Hassan, have deemed it politically correct to regard ancient palaces with contempt, as concrete examples of rulers' extravagance in times when their subjects were deprived of the bare necessities. Only recently have they realised that, rather than symbols of past despotism, these relics should be preserved as precious testimony to our rich and diverse history

Run, rabbit, run
Mohamed Ali Pasha's palace on the Nile bank of Shubra has witnessed decades of decay. Now, Nevine El-Aref discovers, this much-neglected landmark will finally be rescued