1 - 7 February 2001
Issue No.519
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 1 - 7 February 2001 Issue No.519 |
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 | Current issue | Previous issue | Site map | ||
Open letter to Prime Minister Atef Ebeid
Your Excellency,
photo: Sherif Sonbol
You are certainly aware that the Serageddin villa in Garden City is up for sale. The palace is a work in art in and of itself, and features fixtures and fittings of great beauty and value, most of which are in exceptionally good condition. Furthermore, Fouad Serageddin's residence has stood witness to 75 years of often turbulent events, and has been closely linked to the Wafd Party, which once gathered some of the most illustrious nationalists in our country's history. As such, the villa is an architectural symbol of liberation from national occupation -- a struggle in which the Wafd played a leading role -- but also of the liberalism and pluralism that once more characterise the nation's political climate.
As a staunch advocate of the conservation and rehabilitation of our national monuments, Al-Ahram Weekly hereby appeals to the Egyptian government in the sincere hope that it will acquire the property at its current market value, possibly with a view to transforming it into a museum.
If our government does not act decisively, the property may be sold and possibly destroyed. The Egyptian people will thus lose one of the finest examples we possess of turn-of-the-century architecture. Most of the villas that once gave Cairo its unique character have fallen victim to neglect or haphazard urban development. It will truly be a shame if the Serageddin villa, a landmark in the residential quarter of Garden City, is not given the place it deserves in the modern history of our country.
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