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Dina Essawy
Dina Essawy
El Sakakini is a Cairo district named after the palace designed by a French architect in 1897 and owned by Count Gabriel Habib Sakakini Pasha (1841–1923), the head of the Syrian Sakakini family. It took five years to build. He first arrived in Egypt to work with the Suez Canal Company in Port Said but later moved to Cairo, where he built this palace, one of Egypt’s oldest palaces. It was built in the Rococo style of the late 18th century and attached to a church.
The palace is decorated with stunning sculptures, and its ceilings are painted with scenes typical of the Rococo style. The palace features a marble bust of Sakakini Pacha and unique antiquities, such as the famous Dorrat Al-Tag (Crown Jewel) sculpture of a young girl.
During his stay in Cairo, Sakakini Pacha worked on many other notable constructions, such as the building of the old Roman Catholic Cemetery in old Cairo and the Roman Catholic Patriarchate in old Cairo.
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Who was El Sakakini?
Legend says Habib Sakakini attracted Khedive Ismail’s interest when he exported parcels of hungry cats to the area where mice were spread in the Suez Canal. Within days, the problem of this rodent infestation was resolved. Given his ability to quickly find a solution, the Khedive employed this Syrian noble and assigned him the arduous task of completing the construction of the Khedivial Opera. He began working under the Italian architect Pietro Avoscani. Sakakini created a system of 8-hour shifts for the following 90 days until the construction was completed, just in time for the arrival and visit of the European Kings to Egypt to attend the most luxurious ceremony for the opening of the Suez Canal on 17 November 1869.
From then on, Sakakini managed most construction and public works contracts. At 39, Habib Sakakini received the Ottoman title ‘Bek’, which Sultan Abdul Hamid approved from Constantinople. Two decades later, on 12 March 1901, Rome’s Leon XIII awarded Sakakini the papal title ‘Count’ in recognition of his services to his community.
He eventually became one of the wealthiest contractors at the time and participated in digging the Suez Canal.
The Sakakini district eventually became home to many notable figures, including the late Palestinian President Yasser Arafat.
History of Sakakini Pasha Palace
The palace was built in Italian style and commissioned by Habib Pasha Sakakini to be similar to a palace he had seen in Italy and fell in love with. He chose the location at the crossroads of 8 main roads; thus, the palace became a central point in the region. Even though it was not easy to obtain such an attractive location at the time, Sakakini Pasha’s relationship with the Khedive facilitated this task.
Restoration of El Sakakini Palace
The Egyptian Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities plans to carry out several archaeological projects, including restorations of many landmarks around the country. So, the ministry began working on El-Sakakini Palace to open it to visitors.
One of Sakakini’s heirs was a doctor who decided to gift the palace to the Egyptian Ministry of Health. So, in 1961, the Health Education Museum was moved from Abdeen to the Sakakini Palace.
In 1983, the Ministry of Health transferred the Health Education Museum to the Technical Institute in Imbāba. Some exhibits were moved to Imbāba, and the rest were stored in the basement below the palace. This palace was registered among the Islamic and Coptic antiquities, according to Prime Minister Decree No. 1691 of 1987, to be placed under the administration and management of the Supreme Council of Antiquities.
Sakakini Palace is built over 2,698 square meters and contains over fifty rooms distributed on five floors, more than 400 windows and doors, and 300 statues. The palace also includes a basement surrounded by four towers, each crowned with a small dome.
The basement has three spacious halls, four living rooms, and four bathrooms. This area has no unique design or decorations because it was designated for the servants and kitchen area.
The ground floor is accessed through the main entrance on the southwestern side. The ascending staircase leads to the first floor, with a rectangular hall with a marble floor and a wooden ceiling. In the middle of this hall is pottery decorated with plant and conch motifs. On either side of this entry are two large crystal mirrors.
The reception hall is accessed through the two doors from the rectangular hall, which has a parquet floor and a ceiling divided into three squares. Each square is decorated with a pictorial scene with a Christian influence, similar to Renaissance paintings based on angelic drawings and human statues. Then, there is the fireplace room with wooden shutters decorated with prominent decorations and musical instruments and a window that leads to the balcony.
The first floor consists of four rooms, and the second consists of three halls, four salons, and two bedrooms. The main hall is about 600 square meters and contains six doors leading to the palace’s halls. The palace has an elevator and overlooks a balcony with a round dome that leads to the summer living room.
The third floor is accessed through a wooden spiral staircase from the second floor. This staircase leads to a rectangular corridor with a marble floor and a wooden ceiling, in which an oval is decorated with vegetal motifs.
The central dome of the palace is divided from the outside into three floors; the first and second are two squares on the southern side, each with three rectangular windows topped by three other windows with semicircular arches, followed by the third floor of the dome adorned with arabesque floral motifs topped with a pointer to indicate the direction of the wind.
Two statues are engraved above the palace’s main entrance. The first statue on the left side is of a woman, and the second is of a man, likely representing the house’s owners. The initials H and S are also engraved above the palace entrance.
The palace has four facades overlooking Sakakini Square, and it has four gates; three of them are on the southwestern side, while the fourth gate is located on the northeastern side, and the main façade is located on the southwest side, with the main entrance in the centre leading to a marble staircase leading to a rectangular hallway, on either side of which are two small guard rooms. The hallway tops an entrance with an opening as wide as the balcony above it.
The second façade is located on the northeastern side and is surrounded by two other towers in the northeast and northwest corners. The third facade is located on the southeastern side and is divided into two parts. The first part surrounds the northeastern and southeastern towers. This first section consists of two floors, and the ground floor is topped by a rectangular balcony that rises above four rectangular pillars.
Although the garden surrounding the palace is not wide, it helps isolate it from some modern buildings around it. This garden has a marble statue of a crouching lion that resembles a sphinx.
As for the eastern balcony, it has a marble fountain in the form of a square basin on either side of two opposing marble lions sitting in the middle of which is a zebra, decorated with a carving of fish whose mouths open down and tails are up as if it were in a swimming position with the flow of water, which is crowned by a small vase in the centre of which is the faucet from which the water comes out.
Legends about the Sakakini Palace
Like most abandoned palaces, the Sakakini Palace has its legends circulated by Egyptians for years. Since it was abandoned for so long before the restoration work began, it was said that the lights within the palace would turn on suddenly at night, and no one had been able to explain how that happened.
Another story says that some people saw a silhouette of a person looking through one of the palace windows, which is reportedly of Sakakini’s daughter. Others also reported hearing unexplained strange and creepy sounds coming from the palace.
Exploring the Palace Today
For those interested in history and architecture, the El Sakakini Palace is well worth a visit despite its current disrepair. The palace offers a unique opportunity to explore a part of Cairo that is off the beaten track. While access to the interior of the building is currently restricted due to safety concerns, visitors can still admire its stunning exterior and imagine what life must have been like within its walls during its heyday.
One can also stroll around the surrounding Sakakini neighbourhood, where the contrast between the modern and the historic is palpable. The grand, decaying palace against the vibrant life of modern Cairo makes for a unique experience, offering a different perspective on the city’s rich history.
Conclusion
The El Sakakini Palace is more than just a building; it symbolises a bygone era when Cairo was a cosmopolitan hub that attracted the world’s elite. While the palace has suffered from neglect and decay, its architectural brilliance still shines through, offering a glimpse into the opulent lifestyle of Egypt’s 19th-century aristocracy.
As calls for its restoration grow louder, there is hope that the El Sakakini Palace will one day be returned to its former glory, allowing future generations to appreciate its historical and cultural significance. Until then, it remains one of Cairo’s hidden gems, a monument to the past, waiting to be rediscovered.
