, a Heliopolis landmark, will at last be saved from decades of neglect, reports Gihan Shahine Baron Edouard Louis Joseph Empain (1852-1929) might at last be able to rest in peace in his crypt in the basilica that stands barely a stone's throw away from the true object of his passion -- the remarkable Hindu temple that he built as his home. The former abode of the Belgian industrialist, the mastermind behind the desert suburb of Heliopolis, has been neglected for more than half a century. But now that Mrs Suzanne Mubarak has asked the Ministry of Housing to take over the palace and restore it, in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, to mark the centenary of the founding of Heliopolis, those 50-long years have come to an end. The previous owners of the palace, Egyptian businessman Bahgat Mohamed Qassem and the Saudi businessmen Mohamed and Ali Reda, received land in Al-Qahira Al- Gadida (the new Cairo) satellite city to compensate them for the property. The fact that the Baron's Palace, as it is commonly known, is now state-owned has been greeted enthusiastically. "It is a great step," enthused Fahmi Abdel-Alim, former head of the Islamic Monuments Department at the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). "I always wanted Egypt to own the palace but the Culture Ministry never had the funds to compensate the owners." Samir Raafat, the architectural conservationist, is equally thrilled. "The palace is an important landmark and a unique architectural masterpiece, and it stands on the route taken by almost every visitor to the country," says Raafat. "The palace should have received attention long ago but as the proverb goes, better late then never." Baron Empain commissioned the building in 1907, two years after work began on the construction of Heliopolis. Empain asked French architect Alexander Marcel to build him a Hindu palace on an artificial elevation. It was completed in 1911. The artistically-inclined baron wanted his palace to be a haven for art and artist. Marcel, says Raafat, modelled the palace's exterior on a well-known Cambodian temple. It features "a motley collection of busts and statues of elephants, snakes, Buddhas, Shivas and Krishnas." The elaborate interior was the responsibility of his French associate, Georges-Louis Claude. Marcel and Claude had previously constructed and decorated the Oriental Pavilion attached to the Royal Palace of Laeken in Belgium. The palace was set in a marvellous garden -- "a wonderland of ascending green terraces each with its own set of erotic marble statues and exotic vegetation," according to Raafat. It was the death of Baron Empain that marked the beginning of the palace's slow demise. The palace, together with its valuable interiors, was eventually auctioned in 1957 since when it has been systematically stripped. The Egyptian army requisitioned the building during the Tripartite Aggression, which further damaged the garden and interior. The edifice eventually became home to thousands of bats and stray dogs and the inevitable rumours began to circulate. The palace was haunted. It was used by devil worshippers and, perhaps more credibly, by drug dealers. The once-lush gardens of the palace withered as the municipality cut the water when the bills were no longer paid. Raafat, who visited the palace 10 years ago, describes how the palace's lustre has not "just faded but been stripped away". "Gone are the frescoes and massive gilded doors. Gone are the balustrades, the beautifully designed parquet floors and the gold doorknobs. Even the famed Belgian mirrors were wrenched from their sockets. Instead of gilded ceilings bat droppings are everywhere. It is impossible to believe this building was once the toast of international café society. It was more like the house of vampires." Raafat deplored "the priceless architectural treasure left to decay and crumble in full view of every minister, VIP, tourists and other air passengers as they motored up the airport road on their way in or out of Cairo." The problem is not limited to the Baron's Palace. Experts agree that Egypt's architectural heritage is eroding fast. Many buildings of architectural value have been razed or simply neglected. The under- funded SCA is not always interested in registering buildings since this stretches already over-stretched funds. And for the owners of villas and palaces, few can resist the financial temptation involved in tearing down the villa and replacing it with an apartment block. The owners of the Baron's Palace proposed a number of schemes following their purchase of the building in 1955 for LE160,000. All of them fell foul of one hurdle or another. A plan to turn the palace into a health spa was killed in the bud in the 1950s when the owners were informed that under existing legislation such a scheme would fall under the supervision of the Ministry of Social Affairs and that Egyptians would need to own a 51 per cent stake in the project. Then, in 1993, the palace was accorded protected status, and became subject to Law 117/1983 which stipulates that the building could not be altered in any way. Hisham Ismail, the lawyer for the previous owners, told Al-Ahram Weekly that "some projects were rejected because the SCA probably thought the plans did not accord with the aesthetic and historic value of the place, while others were hindered by investment laws and bureaucratic obstacles." A recent attempt to sell the palace also failed since, says Ismael, no one is interested to invest money in a building registered as an antiquity. Nor could the SCA restore the palace since it did not own it. "All we, at the SCA, could do," says Abdel-Alim, "was to make sure the owners did not use the palace in a way that would compromise its architectural, aesthetic and historic significance. We also insisted that no renovation be done except under the supervision of the council." It is the quality of restoration that now concerns many architects. "The palace is unique and there would be no shame bringing in international restorers," says Raafat. "The palace should be brought back to its original state. There are plenty of old photos extant to help achieve that goal."
