Baron Palace safe & secure: Assistant Minister of Tourism & Antiquities

CAIRO – 26 January 2021: The restoration of Baron Palace, located in Heliopolis, is one of the most important projects that have recently taken place in Greater Cairo. The palace has regained its splendor and beauty due to the intensive restoration work that was implemented over 3 years and at a cost of L.E. 175 million.

During the past few days, specifically on January 22, a group of photos were posted on social media, which refer to some defects at the bottom of the external terraces walls surrounding the Baron Palace. The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities immediately clarified the matter, given the importance of the project.

Assistant Minister of Tourism and Antiquities for Antiquities and Museums Projects and General Supervisor of the Historic Cairo Project Hisham Samir said in a statement, “The walls of the Baron palace are completely intact and safe, and the visits are ongoing. What appears under the fences is some moisture and salts as a result of the proximity of these fences to the garden that was irrigated by immersion in previous periods.”

Samir further pointed out that during the palace restoration project, the irrigation system used in the garden was changed and replaced by the drip irrigation system. The planted surfaces have been moved away to safe distances to preserve the artistic value of the elements in the walls until the soil and the building material are completely dry.

Also, Samir added that due to the saturation of the ground layers with water, some salts appeared below the fences near the garden and are treated first-hand, successively, until they cease to appear, by appropriate technical methods.

All necessary measures were taken as soon as the salts appeared. Currently, a team of engineers from the ministry and the Arab Contractors Company is working on removing salts and ventilating the walls.

On the following day, January 23, the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities began maintenance work on the walls of the external terraces’ walls that surround the Baron Palace, which showed traces of some moisture and salts.

Samir confirmed that the metal scaffolding is completed by the implementing company and under the supervision of specialists from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. The applicable technical measures are being taken to remove salts and ventilate the walls in preparation for the return of paint layers after the completion of maintenance work.