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Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 July 2000 Issue No. 490 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 13 - 19 July 2000 Issue No. 490
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Focus International Economy Opinion Interview Culture Features Travel Living Sports Profile People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters In the shade of the banyan tree
By Nevine El-Aref
At the southern tip of Roda Island stands Manial Palace, an exquisite example of early 20th-century architecture built in 1901 by Prince Mohamed Ali, the son of Khedive Tawfiq, in an attempt to revive the Islamic architectural style in opposition to the European style commonly adopted for the royal family's palaces.
After the 1952 Revolution, when all royal palaces became public property, the Egyptian General Organisation for Tourism and Hotels (EGOTH) transformed the palace into a hotel.
"Having a hotel on a historical site was a mistake," said Gaballa Ali Gaballa, general secretary of the Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA). The mistake, it is hoped, will be corrected through a comprehensive restoration project launched last week by the Supreme Council for Antiquities (SCA). For now, however, visitors to the Manial Palace Museum will be confronted by the somewhat disconcerting sight of piles of rubble, sand and trucks occupying the garden.
Some 50 labourers, archaeologists and cultivation experts are hard at work every day, removing the encroachments made on the palace gardens since early 1960s, and making sure that no harm comes to the building or the garden as a result of the work.
"The initiation of the project comes following a three-year delay," explains Gaballa, attributing the hiatus to the lack of finance. The ministerial decree of 1997, he says, ordered the removal of the encroachments on the building and gardens -- but did not stipulate whether the Ministry of Culture or EGOTH would finance the job.
This problem was settled by Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni, who says he will bill EGOTH for the expenses after the completion of the demolition works. "The bungalows are finally set to go," said Hosni during his field visit to examine the restoration work. He added that this restoration project comes within the framework of the ministry's plans to restore all royal palaces in Egypt. Hosni explained that the project consists of three main phases.
The first, which has already started and will last for approximately two months, includes the removal of 18 bungalows, a complex with a capacity of 300 residential rooms in addition to the kitchen, bathrooms, and swimming pool.
In the second phase, the swimming pool will be replaced by a small lake, and the bungalows by a garden featuring exotic species of trees similar to those cultivated in the vast garden of the palace. "An index of every single tree and plant cultivated in the garden will be created," said Gaballa, who explained that each entry will provide information about an individual plant including its name, specie, age and place of origin.
As for the building used for the hotel's staff, many suggestions have been introduced. Museum experts want to transform it into the headquarters of a network connecting all the country's museums, while others would like to see it used as an administrative building instead of the original administrative complex built by the prince for his employees.
"No final decision has been taken on this building," said Hosni. A temporary committee of archaeologists and architectural historians has been set up to study the case. "Any modern building that will interfere with the visitors' route around the palace will be demolished immediately," said Hosni.
In the third and last phase of the project, the various buildings that make up the palace will be restored.
Hisham El-Orabi, director of the Manial Palace Museum, said that cracks will be repaired, walls cleaned, and new ventilation and lighting systems installed in the palace and its garden. The museum's display will be reorganised, and visits will be designed in a way allowing visitors to view the items on display, but also to enjoy walking around the garden.
"Other rooms will be opened to public for the first time," said El-Orabi.
Some conservationists have accused the ministry of culture of implementing contradictory policies: in the case of Manial Palace, a hotel complex is being removed from an historical area, while in Bab Al-Azab near the Citadel, Hosni has suggested the construction of a hotel on an archaeological site. Hosni explained that the bungalows in the garden of the Manial palace are modern buildings, "but Bab Al-Azab is different. We are not constructing a new edifice. A monument exists which we want to restore and transform into a hotel."
