WE mentioned in the previous two articles how we formed an Egyptian chapter for the French "Vielles Maisons Francaises ��" VMF" ��" an organisation that is in charge of preserving the French architectural heritage around the world. The Egyptian chapter will study and document the French influence on the Egyptian architecture parallel to the Egyptian influence on France which is normally known as the "Egyptomania". In the March 14 article, we gave a briefing about the presence of Egypt in Paris "L'Egypte a Paris". This week we will talk about the influence of the French architecture on Cairo. In the mid of the 19th century, Napoleon the Third started the second republic with a plan to redevelop Paris and provide it with wide new roads (boulevards). He appointed Baron Haussmann governor of Paris; during whose time Paris became known for its circular squares with many streets redirecting from them. The best example is "Place de L'Etoile ��" The Star square" because it looks like a star shining with several beams. The Baron also created several gardens in the heart of the city like the "Luxembourg" as well as vast gardens outside the city like "Bois de Boulogne". That was about the time khedive Ismail came to power. The Khedive decided to visit Paris in 1867 to see for himself the new urban development of the city. During his visit, Baron Haussmann suggested that he would hire two French architects to help develop Cairo and so the Khedive took the advice and hired Barillet de Champs, a landscape specialist, and P. Grand, a specialist in infrastructure engineering. It was therefore no coincidence that the "New Cairo", which extended from Khalig Street to the bank of the Nile, was similar to Paris; it had circular squares like Talaat Harb and Mostafa Kamel, as well as a central park at Azbakeya, Peripheral gardens, Giza Zoo and Orman Park. The master plan for ‘New Cairo' or ‘little Paris', that was prepared by Mr. P. Grand, was executed over several decades even after the death of khedive Ismail. Many European architects participated in designing the different buildings of whom a good part was French. To mention a few here: Ambroise Baudry designed the residence of Shawarby Pasha, George Parque designed eleven buildings in the downtown area amongst which is the Egyptian Stock Market, the National Egyptian Insurance Company and Sidnawi department store. Three French architects participated in the design of the Supreme Council. They were Jacques Hardy, Max Enei and Victor Erlanger. Paul Conin-Pasteur designed the French Consulate, Raoul Brandon designed the famous department store of Omar Effendi. And finally, the famous Alexander Marcel designed the Egyptian Diplomatic Club, in addition to a dozen of buildings in the 20th century city that was developed in the desert named Heliopolis (now part of Greater Cairo). The most known of his works, located in Heliopolis, is villa Empain. With this briefing, and the briefing we presented in the previous article, one can imagine the amount of beauty the two civilisations added to each other: Paris glowing with Pharaonic charm, and Cairo charming in a Parisian garment. [email protected] Saleh is the Director of Egypt's Centre for Documentation of Culture and Natural Heritage.
