Statue of Isma'il Pasha to be cloned, placed outside Abdeen Palace

CAIRO, Aug 20 2017: A replica of Isma'il Pasha, who was the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan from 1863 to 1879, will be placed outside Abdeen Palace, said an Antiquities Ministry official on Sunday.

The move comes on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of the establishment of Old Cairo, Amr el Taibi, executive director of the replicas department at the ministry, told MENA.

In two months, an Egyptian team will work on the new statue that will be made either of bronze like the original one or of fiberglass.

The cost of the replica will be shared by Cairo City Hall and the ministry, he added.

The original statue still stands at Kom el Dekka area in Alexandria. It was designed by Italian Sculptor Pietro Canonica as a gift from the Italian community in Alexandria, Egypt, 1940.