Every time I pass by Heliopolis in Cairo, I must look around to see its remaining beautiful villas and palaces. One of my favorite palaces there is the Palace of Sultana Melek at Al-Oroba street which was turned in to a public school in the 1960s.
For decades the Heliopolis style building hosted Misr Gadida language school. In the time of elections, it turned in to a poll station, the President’s Polling station especially in the time of Mubarak.
From two weeks, I took a couple of photos of that beautiful building that was once the residence of Egypt’s only Sultana.
To my surprise, I found out that a big banner hanging on the building with the words “Qena police station” !!
What brought Qena police station of Upper Egypt to Cairo Heliopolis.
What was really strange to me was the fact that the Misr El-Gadida language school was still there !!!
I did not understand anything and I forgot to search what happened to the residence of that Turkish woman who became a Sultana for three years only.
Only earlier Friday, I knew that the palace turned in to a public school has become a film studio recently and it is a location for popular actor Mohamed Ramadan’s TV series whose original setting is in Qena governorate, Upper Egypt.
Do not ask me why Mohamed Ramadan does not film his TV series in Qena itself but seriously speaking that Palace does not deserve to be a fake substitute for Qena police station.
I do not know what happened to the school but I know that the Palace deserve to be a Museum or a cultural hub if the school transferred to somewhere else.
Updated: It turned that the school was transferred to a nearby building.
Anyhow I will seize this opportunity to share more photo of that beautiful palace.
Here are also a couple of photos from inside the Palace built between 1908 to 1909.
It was designed by famous French architect Alexandre Marcel for Prince Hussein Kamel who became Egypt’s first and last Sultan in the 20th century.
Marcel seemed to design several buildings for Baron Empain’s company in Heliopolis including his own amazing palace.
Sultana Melek’s palace was officially registered as a monumental heritage building in July 2000.
I cannot imagine how it looked like in its heyday or how it looked like with its complete furniture there.
I could not find any source speaking about how the furniture of that palace found its way to the market in the 1960s.
As you may have known from my previous post about King Farouk’s lost bedroom suit the bed of her royal highness Melek found its way to the flea market in the 1960s.
ًWhat I have read about that old Turkish lady who married Hussein Kamel that she was very kind and nice. May God bless her soul.
Here is photo as an old lady during the reign of Farouk I.
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| Sultana Meleks' palace with two strange banners |
From two weeks, I took a couple of photos of that beautiful building that was once the residence of Egypt’s only Sultana.
To my surprise, I found out that a big banner hanging on the building with the words “Qena police station” !!
What brought Qena police station of Upper Egypt to Cairo Heliopolis.
What was really strange to me was the fact that the Misr El-Gadida language school was still there !!!
I did not understand anything and I forgot to search what happened to the residence of that Turkish woman who became a Sultana for three years only.
Only earlier Friday, I knew that the palace turned in to a public school has become a film studio recently and it is a location for popular actor Mohamed Ramadan’s TV series whose original setting is in Qena governorate, Upper Egypt.
Do not ask me why Mohamed Ramadan does not film his TV series in Qena itself but seriously speaking that Palace does not deserve to be a fake substitute for Qena police station.
I do not know what happened to the school but I know that the Palace deserve to be a Museum or a cultural hub if the school transferred to somewhere else.
Updated: It turned that the school was transferred to a nearby building.
Anyhow I will seize this opportunity to share more photo of that beautiful palace.
Here are also a couple of photos from inside the Palace built between 1908 to 1909.
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| Inside Sultana Melek's palace "Xenia Nikolskaya" |
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| Inside Sultana Melek's palace "Xenia Nikolskaya" |
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| Inside Sultana Melek's palace "Xenia Nikolskaya" |
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| Inside Sultana Melek's palace "Xenia Nikolskaya" |
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| The palace in its heydays in 1915 |
I could not find any source speaking about how the furniture of that palace found its way to the market in the 1960s.
As you may have known from my previous post about King Farouk’s lost bedroom suit the bed of her royal highness Melek found its way to the flea market in the 1960s.
ًWhat I have read about that old Turkish lady who married Hussein Kamel that she was very kind and nice. May God bless her soul.
Here is photo as an old lady during the reign of Farouk I.
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| Sultana Melek in 1940s while wearing the Turkish Yashmak |
The rich sure know how to live well.
ReplyDeleteSome Rich People do not Care about the Poor Around them.
ReplyDelete@Hamdy: True, even in the U.S. this is true. The rich vs the poor and everyone else.
ReplyDelete''Dust to dust....Ashes to ashes''....Why we all The RICH The POOR & The Between are so mentally THICK & SICK that we don't get this; WE ARE TOURIST TO THIS WORLD/EARTH'' here today....ZOOOOM, Gone tomorrow or after..if lucky?...THE poor/rich/middle and the Marginalized....All back to his/her origin..all such SAND CASTLES...may get hit soon or late by sea-waves/tides tsunamis or earthquakes/as if...never existed at all,like some of their owners..HISTORY=Forgot?...why GREED..WHY SNATCH BABIES' MILK-BOTTLES from theirmouths...WHY TYRANNY since the beginning of Human existence,Even the wild world ANIMALS believe in sharing FOOD..after they are full up..they don't mind other birds..hyenas..to finish their loot, but in our So called CIVILIZED world...some take all what they can..if any more left...they bury it instead LET OTHERS..SHARE IT as well?...That's why the poor gets poorer and the rich..becomes a fat.fat cat? Read WISE KING ''SOLOMON's CHRONICLES''where HE attacks / critisizes; VANITY/LUXURY..WEALTH a sa temporary TOY,,as one gives a child to keep them QUIET for a while...until gets tired and put to sleep,even kids find it hard to share their play-things with other kids?/..If there wasn't a word spelled P..o..o..r...the word R..I..C..H was never thought of..in our vocabulary/dictionaries..one caused the other to EXIST...but oceans between their meanings. We will always have the Poor with us..but the Rich...uncertain?,as when shares/markets values..in a blink of an eye can change..CIRCUMSTANCES/ what goes up...comes down furiously due to gravity laws?...whenever the WAR becomes between RICH vs POOR...one good thing it blooms unity between all creeds/colors/communities against one common enemy/monster...called GREED/..Is-hak SAHAG BARSOUMIAN/London uesday 27 March/2018/G.Britain
ReplyDeleteONE MORE THING,BEFORE I FORGET?/.....Question is;1] WHO WANTS TO BA A HAPPY, POOR?= '0' was the answer, 2] AND A MISERABLE RICH?= ?.000.000 answer came/[please you add any figure you think/like or guess?]..It's been claimed ;'THE POOR is always happy?/..I PERSONALLY DON'T THINK,SO...which individual wants to beg ,be homeless..and own nothing except BILLS to pay, but has SHE/HE/THEM got any alternative to that?happy.. HE/SHE/THEM are not, but try to make the best one can..so that it won't effect their health too ..and lose the only best thing one possesses in life poor or rich...no one sleeps HUNGRY?..try to tell that to millions of children around the world where sleeping and some not awakend the next day?where wars/starvation pays visit and settles there ,for good/..like me thousands maybe millions aspire to get some wealth before it's too late,time waits for nobody..i am sure that won't happen in this lifetime...but fingers crossed..& still hoping/illusions..mirages..dreams..i ,and all likewise others are RICH with them...but what DREAMS a RICH MAN/WOMAN..have..surely=NONE/as all their..wishes+desires they get..instantly and boredom RULES OK,..feel sorry for them and why should i/we do so...they never feel sorry for a hungry child/elderly..or the homeless sleeping in the freezing open air..covered with old /read newspapers?/....When Prophet ISSA[Jesus] praised be,quoted that proverb about the rich and the poor entering PARADISE ,HE somehow meant,to my humble understanding that the gates of heaven are too narrow the thin/slim hungry poor ONLY easily able to have ACCESS..i hope i am not WRONG. From; IS-HAK/.Sahag BARSOUMIAN/London March 2018...G.Britain
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