VIDEO: Egypt’s Tourism & Antiquities Min. inspects Baron Empain Palace for grand opening

CAIRO – 17 June 2020: Egypt’s Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled el-Anani inspected the Baron Empain Palace in Heliopolis on Tuesday, June 16, in preparation for its grand opening after completing its restoration and development project, to become an exhibition that narrates the history of the Heliopolis neighborhood.

The inspection tour comes within the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities’ plan for a set of archaeological openings scheduled to take place over the upcoming period.

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During the inspecting tour, Anani was accompanied by Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities Mostafa Waziri, Assistant Minister for Investment and Financial Resources Development Iman Zidan, Assistant Minister for Minister's Office Sector Affairs Ahmed Obeid, Assistant Minister for Engineering Affairs Hisham Samir and Head of the Museums Sector Momen Othman.

The Minister of Tourism and Antiquities visited the general site of the palace and its various halls, the panorama area [roof], in addition to inspecting the guide boards displayed in the palace, which is one of the constituent elements of the exhibition of the history of the district of Heliopolis.

In addition, Anani also inspected the carts and electronic portals of the palace, the electronic insurance system, the lighting systems and the work of preparing the screens for multimedia displays: culturama; that will be used to display pictures and documentaries about the construction work of Heliopolis, Baron Palace, the streets, buildings, shops, private cars, trams and other aspects of life in the neighborhood at that time

Furthermore, the screens also display pictures of Baron Empain, his partner Nubar Pasha and French engineer Alexander Marcel who designed the palace, in addition to inspecting one of the old Heliopolis trams, which was displayed in the palace’s garden after its restoration.

That is in addition to the old cars, such as those that were traveling in the streets of Cairo during the twenties and thirties of the last century, which were put in the garden to give a vivid picture of Heliopolis neighborhood and the way of life in it during this period.

On the sidelines of the visit, the minister inspected the tourism services area provided to visitors located in the gardens of the palace and around the open spaces surrounding it, which includes a carriage of a style inspired by the historical nature of the palace and respects the surrounding environment to provide drinks and snacks to visitors, a cafeteria and restaurant with a distinctive style that respects the archaeological environment of the palace to provide a unique experience for visitors, as the services and their providers reflect the historical atmosphere of the beginning of the twentieth century, such as the uniform of old-fashioned workers, which indicates the time period of the palace.

During the tour, the minister made sure that the tourism services area met the conditions for social distancing and the approved health safety requirements.

Moreover, the Ambassador of Belgium to Egypt Sibel de Cartier, has been keen on joining the tour and visiting the palace because she is attached to it both personally and officially, since the Baron Empain is of Belgian origin.

The Ambassador of Belgium expressed her happiness to Anani towards the work of restoring and developing the palace, hoping that the palace would be officially opened before the end of her term as the ambassador of her country in Cairo in mid-July.

It should be noted that the palace includes an exhibition of a variety of photos, archival documents, illustrations, maps, and official documents for the history of Heliopolis neighborhood (Heliopolis and Al-Mataria) through different eras, in addition to its most important heritage features, and a variety of photos, maps, documents and films, illustrating the history of Heliopolis and the appearances and lifestyle of that special time period.

The Baron Empain Palace is registered with the Islamic Antiquities Counter and is affiliated with the area of Antiquities east of Cairo. The palace is built in the style of Indian architecture and was established by the Belgian millionaire Baron Edward Empain. It is located on El-Oruba Street in Heliopolis, Cairo.