The
Aisha Fahmi Palace Arts Centre in Zamalek reopened to the public earlier this
week after seven years of restoration
Overlooking
the Nile Corniche in the elegant Cairo district of Zamalek stands the Aisha
Fahmi Palace, its distinguished Italian architecture relating the history of
the fine arts in Egypt and the role played in promoting them by international
and Egyptian artists and architects.
After
it was constructed by Italian architect Antonio Lasciac in 1907, the 2,700
metre square palace was the residence of Ali Fahmi, the head of the army during
the reign of king Fouad I. After his death, his sister, Aisha Fahmi, made the
palace her home, spending the rest of her life there until her death in 1962.
The
Ministry of Culture then bought the palace, transforming it into ministry
offices. In 1971, it became a storehouse for the Ministry of Information, and
late president Anwar Al-Sadat suggested converting the palace into a residence
for his deputy. However, in 1975 the palace was given to the Fine Art and
Literature Authority and converted into the first fine arts complex in Egypt.
This
complex, or mogamaa al-fonoun, went on to host several international
exhibitions displaying the works of renowned modern artists such as Picasso and
Dali. In the early 1990s, the palace was put on Egypt’s heritage list because
of its distinguished architectural style and its exquisite artistic elements.
The
palace is a three-storey building including 30 rooms and two halls, a basement
level and a roof terrace. The basement was originally used as a residential
area for servants, the first floor was the reception area, while the second
floor was originally Fahmi’s living area. The palace’s ceilings are decorated
with frescoes embellished with golden arcades. Some of the walls are decorated
with French tapestries, while others are covered with silk.
Probably
the most striking rooms in the palace are the Japanese, billiards and green
rooms. The Japanese room is the smallest room on the first floor, and its walls
are covered with red silk decorated with golden Japanese lettering and scenes
of landscapes in Japan. One of the room’s walls is decorated with drawings
relating a folkloric Japanese tale. The ceiling is covered with wood painted
with images of Japanese bonsai trees.
The
room is furnished with Japanese furniture in red, gold and black. The most
distinguished pieces in the room are two large golden statues of the Buddha on
red bases.
The
billiards room is a medium-sized room equipped with all the required equipment
for playing billiards, such as the table, the cues and the competitor board,
the latter being rather like the board used in horse racing where the names of
the horses are written and on which the winning horse is put on top.
The
green room is a very distinctive room. On each of its walls, there is a picture
of a woman in a gold frame, all the pictures being in different styles and by
different artists. The restorer of the palace, Mohamed Abdel-Baki, told
Al-Ahram Weekly that the portraits of the women are thought to be pictures of
Aisha Fahmi and her friends.... READ MORE.
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