7 -13 December 2000
Issue No.511
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 7 -13 December 2000 Issue No.511 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Sitting pretty... and useful
RESTORATION work on Beit El-Sennari, one of Egypt's most charming mediaeval houses, is nearing completion. Prior to the restoration, begun in 1995, Beit El-Sennari, located in Haret Monge in the area of Sayeda Zeinab, was in very poor condition. The house showed signs of having suffered centuries of neglect, air and subterranean water pollution, and the onslaught of urban development -- as well as encroachment by the neighbouring Institute of Islamic Handicrafts. The house also suffered severely as a result of the 1992 earthquake.
Thanks to the restoration, which came with French help, Beit El-Sennari will open with the added function of a bookstore and art centre. According to Gaballa Ali Gaballa, general-secretary of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA), the French mission has pumped out subterranean water, replaced old and deteriorated drainage with plastic pipes, and restored the main drainage system. All the tiles and the mashrabiya woodwork have been cleaned and restored
Beit El-Sennari was built in 1794 by Ibrahim Katkhuda El-Sennari, a Sudanese merchant. Abdalla El-Attar, head of the Coptic and Islamic antiquities department, recounts that during the French expedition of 1798 the house became the residence of French scientists, who converted it into a research centre where they compiled the Description de L'Egypte.
In 1917, a permanent exhibition displaying Napoleon Bonaparte's personal collection was mounted and continued until 1926. In 1933 the house once again changed hands, coming under the supervision of the SCA -- then the Department of Antiquities -- which used it as a wood art workshop.
Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni, who toured the house this week, said a gala opening was scheduled within the coming few months. The final touch remaining would be the removal of houses encroaching on the Beit El-Sennari's backyard, Hosni said. He added that the inhabitants of the houses to be removed would be given alternative housing nearby.
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