The Egyptian Science Institute, which preserved the nation's history for five centuries, is now little more than ashes and the culprits remain unidentified. Nevine El-Aref mourns this great cultural landmark Last Sunday night Cairenes, whether protesting in Tahrir Square or following the TV news at home, were stunned to see the building that housed the Egyptian Science Institute in flames. Black smoke hung over the exquisite, early 20th- century edifice after petrol bombs were thrown into the building amid ongoing protests against the military regime in front of the Cabinet Building in Qasr Al-Aini Street in Downtown Cairo. For two hours the fire raged within the walls, bringing down magnificent ceilings in the two-storey building and destroying ornate woodwork and a large number of precious books, documents and manuscripts. Among the priceless items lost in the conflagration was an original copy of La Déscription de L'Egypte compiled by the scientists and historians travelling with Napoleon Bonaparte as a record of what they found and saw in Egypt. Thugs and vandals took the opportunity of the chaos in and around Tahrir Square to jump into the building and destroy its iron gate. They also did considerable damage to the garden and its collection of specimen trees and plants. Fire service trucks were prevented from pushing their way through the crowds to reach the building as confrontation escalated between protesters and the military personnel guarding the nearby cabinet building. The entire interior of the institute building was gutted. So far investigations have not yet identified the criminals who threw the Molotov cocktails, but the military and protesters are accusing one another of starting the fire. "I am really shocked! How can Egyptians destroy their history like that?" asked Mohamed El-Sharnoubi, general-secretary of the Egyptian Science Institute (ESI). El-Sharnoubi told Al-Ahram Weekly that the material value of the ESI building and the books was not important, but the their moral value was incalculable. "These books were Egypt's history and its heritage," he said. "The master copies of books were destroyed and original copies of rare books were burnt. These burnt books cannot in any way be compensated." El-Sharnoubi also warned that any person who had stolen anything from the ESI collection during the fire and the ensuing chaos would be considered a criminal and a traitor to the nation, and would be subjected to legal accountability according to Egypt's antiquities law. He continued that fortunately some of the collection had been rescued and transferred to the Dar Al-Kuttub (The Egyptian National Library) in Bab Al-Khalq to be examined and if necessary restored. The director of the Dar Al-Kuttub, Zein Abdel-Hadi, announced that early examination of the 30,000 books rescued -- out of 200,000 in the original collection -- revealed that the original copy of La Déscription de l'Egypte had been totally destroyed. The ESI was the first ever scientific institute in Egypt and the Middle East. It was established by the order of French commander Napoleon Bonaparte during his expedition to Egypt in 1798 at Beit Al-Senari in the Sayeda Zeinab district of mediaeval Cairo as a counterpart to the French Science Institute in Paris. Under the supervision of Comte Gaspard Monge, who led the institute at the time, scientists and historians worked to monitor Egypt's ancient Egyptian, Coptic and Islamic history as well as its contemporary life and geographical, industrial and agricultural aspects. They also wrote and published the famous Déscription in 24 volumes. Following the departure of the French expedition, some of its scientists remained in Egypt to revive the institute, which was removed in 1859 to Alexandria where it gained its current name. In 1880 the institute moved back to Cairo to be housed in the Qasr Al-Aini building, which was placed on Egypt's Islamic heritage list in 1995. The ESI also housed about 40,000 rare books and manuscripts that predated the French expedition, including 1,635 books and maps. It held drawings of bridges, aqueducts and dams; the Déscription published in 1809 in 24 volumes; and 18th-century periodicals published by organisations that no longer exist. Among the invaluable items are an atlas of ancient Indian arts; a German atlas of Egypt and Ethiopia published in 1842; and Egypt: Mother of the World written in 1753. Also in the collection was an ancient map of Egypt that, El-Sharnoubi said, "from here, Egypt succeeded in regaining Taba from Israel." He added that old maps and documents that assured Egypt's ownership of Taba were stored there. The Minister of State for Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim told the Weekly that he had assigned an archeological committee to inspect the current condition of the ESI and submit a detailed report directly to him. Ibrahim said that, according to this report, although the institute suffered considerable damage its overall structure remained sound. He explained that the building was partially damaged by fire which had led to the collapse of its first and second floor ceilings as well as the destruction of its wooden windows and arcades. Some walls had been destroyed, but load-bearing walls were still well preserved. Restoration work will start as soon as the tense political situation in the area was brought under control. Ibrahim told the Weekly that French minister of culture, Frederic Mitterrand, had offered to help restore the institute. Help has also been offered by the ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Sultan bin Mohamed Al-Qasimi. In a live telephone call with the Al-Ashera Masaan TV programme, Sheikh Al-Qasimi offered to help rebuild the Egyptian Scientific Institute and pledged to donate manuscripts and books from his personal collection. Sheikh Al-Qasimi said this was Sharjah's way of repaying Egypt for its help in educating the people of Sharjah. "What happens to Egypt affects us, and this is part of giving back, especially from the people of Sharjah, who were taught by the Egyptians until they completed their way to universities; and whatever we do, it will not be enough," he said. Sheikh Al-Qasimi studied in Egypt during the late 1960s and obtained his Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Engineering at Cairo University in 1971, at a time when Egypt was a hotbed of cultural and political activity. He went on to obtain two doctorates from the British universities of Durham and Exeter and is a published historian. Ibrahim has written to the minister of international cooperation, Fayza Abul-Naga, asking her to put these two offers in action. He says the EIS restoration will take a year and will cost about LE2.5 million. "Restoring the EIS will be the ministry's deed of rescue of one of Egypt's cultural and monumental landmarks, which displays not only Egypt's distinguished history but also that of the whole world," Ibrahim concluded.
