89 / 147
89
I will discuss herein the factors that are affecting the conserva-
tion and management operations of one of the historic Khedi–
vial palaces: Al Sakakini’sPalace, and reveal someof the initiatives
that took place for revitalizing the palace and the involvement
of the local community in these initiatives as well as other
stakeholders. I will also suggest a proposal for improving this
Heritage frommy point of view as a resident who is living in the
district where the Palace is located and keen on fostering the
preservation and continuity of this Heritage within the district
cultural and architectural urban fabric.
Brief Introduction to the history of Al Sakakini’s Palace
The historian, Samir Raafat, documented most of the history
known about Gabriel Habib Sakakini Pasha and his rococo-re-
naissance palace. According to Raafat in his description of the
palace’s location, “When it came to selecting a site for his home
Sakakini Pasha chose it at the convergence of eight important
roadways. Henceforth, all roads led to Sakakini Palace. Seen
from above, the pasha’s Disney-ish abode looked like the sun
radiating outwards in all directions” (Raafat, 1997). The con-
struction of the Palace was completed in 1897 as mentioned in
the inscription on the western entrance, under the supervision
of the Italian architect Pietro Avoscani. The palace design was
inspired from a similar rococo-renaissance palace in Italy, which
Habib Sakakini saw and decided then to hire an Italian architect
to create a replica of it.
The exterior design of the palace can mislead visitors as to its
actual size. It is a five-story building covering some 2,698 square
meters, with a hexagonal structure, topped by a parapet and
large cupola. The palace has 50 rooms, over 400 windows and
doors, and is decorated with more than 300 busts and statues.
There is a marble bust of the palace’s original owner at the en-
trance, and the courtyard still contain the original statues and
fountains surrounded by a greenbelt, however in a ragged and
poor condition (El-Aref, 2013).
In Al Sakakini Square in Al-Daher middle-class district of down-
town Cairo stands Al Sakakini’s palace at the focal point of eight
roads, making it one of the Cultural Heritage landmarks in the
area.
Factors threatening the preservation of Al Sakakini’s Palace
Since after Habib Al Sakakini pasha passed away in 1923 and
the donation of his palace to the Ministry of Health afterward
by one of his grandsons who was a doctor, the ownership of the
palace was since then being shifted between various govern-
mental authorities that has therefore affected the implementa-
tion of any planned conservation projects which also contribut-
ed to the deterioration of this masterpiece landmark. Moreover,
the function of the Palace remained unstable over the past 11
decades. Initially it was transformed into a museum of medicine in 1961
by the Ministry of Health, to showcase the evolution of medical instru-
ments over centuries, an adaptive use of the palace, which in fact did
not last for a long time after the museum’s collections were transferred
to the Technical Institute in Imbaba in 1983, with any non-exhibited ob-
jects being put into storage in the basement of the Al-Sakakini Palace
Palace of Sakakini / el-Sakakini / cairo / Egypt
ph Roland Unger
Palace of Sakakini / el-Sakakini / cairo / Egypt
ph Roland Unger