Aisha Fahmy palace - YOUM7 (Archives)
CAIRO – 11 April 2017: The Aisha Fahmy Palace in Zamalek is set to reopen April 27 after being closed for 15 years, Hassan Khallaf, the office director of the Ministry of Culture, announced.
The palace was set to reopen in 2016 as a Fine Arts Complex after the completion of its renovation, yet the opening was postponed for a year for unknown reasons,
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The palace went through hot waters over its ownership during the aftermath of the coup in 1952, where it was registered as a presidential palace eliminating the heirs of Fahmy from inheriting. In 1975, Egyptian government turned the palace into a jewelry museum showcasing the jewelries of Egypt’s monarchial family, in addition to being an art museum leading the palace to fall under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture ever since,
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the Japanese inspired room - YOUM7 (Archives)
According to Roz Al Youssef, the palace operated as an art complex for a small period of time, and then closed for the second time due to ongoing complications between the heirs and the Egyptian court over its ownership.
Tinted glass on the walls - YOUM7 (Archives)
The heirs received an estimated 72 million EGP from the government as restitution for the damage caused in the palace in 2000, after its abandonment during its second closure, as reported by Roz Al Youssef’s. Amid the restitution the palace went through renovation lasted for 15 years straight until the recent announcement of its opening as a museum in 2017.
one of the hallways in the palace - YOUM7 (Archives
Aisha Fahmy was an Egyptian aristocrat and a descendent of Egypt’s royal family. Fahmy bought her siblings’ share in the palace making her the only owner of the palace. Fahmy has lived in this palace since 1924 with her husband Youssef Wahbi, an Egyptian acting legend.
The two storey palace is inspired by Italian architecture is popular for its exquisite wooden facades, royal suits engraved with Japanese drawings, and its tinted glass drawings.
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