The Prince Amr Ibrahim Palace is a historical building in Cairo's Zamalek island, which is used as the Egypt's first ceramics museum, the Museum of Islamic Ceramics and as an art center.
| Prince Amr Ibrahim Palace | |
|---|---|
 | |
| General information | |
| Architectural style | Neo-Ottoman |
| Town or city | Zamalek |
| Country | Egypt |
| Coordinates | 30°03′19″N 31°13′33″E / 30.0552°N 31.2257°E |
| Completed | 1921 |
| Cost | 200 million Euros ($257m) |
| Client | Prince Amr Ibrahim |
| Technical details | |
| Size | 850 square meters |
| Design and construction | |
| Architect(s) | Garo Balyan |
History and location edit
The palace is located in the Gezira area, an island in the Nile, of Zamalek in Cairo.[1] It was built on the orders of Prince Amr Ibrahim (1903–1977), member of the Muhammad Ali dynasty, in 1921.[2][3][4] Prince Amr Ibrahim was the husband of Necla Sultan, granddaughter of Ottoman ruler Mehmed VI, also known as Vahideddin.[5] The architect of the building was Garo Balyan, the youngest member of the Balyan family.[6] The cost of the construction was about 200 million euros ($257 million).[4]
The palace was used by Prince Amr Ibrahim and his wife, Necla Sultan, as a summer residence.[7][8]
Style and layout edit
The architectural style of the palace is neo-Ottoman[9] and neo-Islamic.[10] It also reflects dominant styles of the Muhammad Ali dynasty in terms of its architectural and decorative style.[11] There are also Moroccan and Andalusian influences in the architecture of the palace.[10]
Total area of the building is 850 square meters.[7][12] It is made of a basement and two floors.[7] In the entrance hall there is a marble fountain decorated with blue ceramics.[1] The palace is surrounded by a 2,800 square meter garden.[13]
Use edit
The palace became a state property on 9 November 1953 following the 1952 coup d'etat in Egypt.[9][14][15] It was first employed as a club by the Arab Socialist Union until 1971.[16] From 1971 the building was employed by the Ministry of Culture as an exhibition gallery for paintings endowed by former Prime Minister Mohammed Mahmoud Khalil.[13]
In 1998 the building was renovated by the Egyptian architect Aly Raafat[7] and became home to the Museum of Islamic Ceramics in February 1999.[16][17] As of January 2019 it was closed for restoration for at least 2 years.
References edit
- ^ a b El Aref, Nevine (4–10 March 1999). "Take some steps back in time". Al Ahram (419). Archived from the original on 21 May 2008.
- ^ "Famille Souveraine". Egypt e dantan. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ^ "Museum of Islamic Ceramics: Beautiful Browsing for the History-phobes". Cairo 360. 17 March 2010. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ^ a b "Egypt: The return of the King?". Al Jazeera. 8 July 2013. Archived from the original on 24 July 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ^ Murat Bardakçı (8 October 2006). "Mustafa Kemal, önceki gün vefat eden Neclá Sultan'ın annesiyle evlenmek istemişti". Hürriyet (in Turkish). Retrieved 4 September 2021.
- ^ Samir Raafat. "Cairo's belle époque architects 1900 - 1950". EGY. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ^ a b c d "Museum of Islamic Ceramics". Egypt Holidays Directory. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ^ Jonathan M. Bloom; Sheila Blair, eds. (2009). The Grove Encyclopedia of Islamic Art and Architecture. Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press. p. 49. ISBN 978-0-19-530991-1.
- ^ a b Samir Raafat (4 February 1999). "The Palace of Prince Amr Ibrahim". Cairo Times. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ^ a b Mohamed Ahmed Abdelrahman Ibrahim Enab (Winter 2019). "Saray of Prince Amr Ibrahim in Zamalek Archaeological and documental study in the light of a new document published for the first time". Journal of General Union of Arab Archaeologists. 20 (1).
- ^ "Gezira Art Center". DI-EGY Festival. 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ^ "Architecture in Egypt". MIT. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
- ^ a b Yasser Talaat (23 February 1999). "Middle East's First Museum of Islamic Ceramics". Inter Press Service. Cairo. Retrieved 28 July 2020.
- ^ "History of Zamalek". Zamalek 101. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
- ^ Matthew Carrington (2008). Frommer's Egypt. John Wiley & Sons. p. 82. ISBN 978-0-470-40343-3.
- ^ a b "The China syndrome". Al Ahram Weekly (557). 25–31 October 2001. Archived from the original on 13 September 2009.
- ^ "Islamic Ceramic Museum". Eternal Egypt. Retrieved 28 June 2011.