Restoration of the Baron Palace, Heliopolis

Marking the passing of 80 years on the building of the Baron Palace, the Egyptian Ministry of Culture plans an exhibition of old photographs of Cairo along 100 years ago.

Between fact and fiction, urban legend and confirmed reports, there have always been stories about the Palace and the visionary who created it. The Baron Palace in Heliopolis in eastern Cairo, is built on an artificial elevation centred on a six-feddan (acre) plot in the heart of Heliopolis. On scaled panels, friezes and sculpture forged by Indonesian artists highlighting the façade, each detail vies for attention. The wall surrounding the palace's terrace is engraved with a blend of floral designs and carved images of squatting male and female figures typical of Hindu temples.The Palace consists of two storeys and two underground floors, which comprise a family mausoleum, a kitchen and servants quarters. On the second floor are a large drawing room and four bedrooms with en suite bathrooms. The style is predominantly European, with parquet flooring, a fireplace - or, at least, a space where the fireplace used to be - and carved ceilings complete with garlanded cherubs and cupids. The bathrooms, each with its own porcelain tub, are all tiled in different colours: white, beige and baby blue. Even the bathrooms have ornate cornices and engraved ceilings. The positioning of the large windows and balconies is a stroke of genius. Each room and bathroom is filled with light and air throughout the day.

In 1907, Belgian tycoon Baron-General Edouard Louis Joseph Empain (1852-1929) decided to build his own Heliopolis residence from which he could overlook the rise of his utopia. He commissioned French architect Alexandre Marcel to design it in the style of a Hindu temple. Marcel, who also built the Basilica Church in 1910, was responsible for the exterior, while the interior was left to another French architect and decorator, Georges-Louis Claude. Floral designs and other images are carved in the stone walls surrounding the terrace. Dragons, Krishnas, and Shivas engraved in leaf-shaped formations mark the four edges of the terrace to make for a stunning ornamented façade.

Only three generations occupied the mansion before it was deserted: the Baron Empain himself, followed by his son Baron Jean Empain, and finally Edward Emapin's grandchildren Janine and Huguette. Thereafter, the huge mansion has became a rich source for legends and fables. Superstitions usually arise with the unknown, and the Baron Palace was no exception. According to one myth, the palace is built on a rotating base to allow the Baron to manage the entire area while sitting in one place. Another one says that there is a secret tunnel from the residence to the Basilica. Moreover, there have been countless stories of mysterious lights and music from the house.As has been the case with many of our unobserved national treasures, the palace was neglected and became home to bats and stray dogs. The palace was reputedly haunted, 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.

But in 2005 Mrs Suzanne Mubarak, Egypt's First Lady, asked the Ministry of Housing to restore the palace in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, to mark the centenary of the founding of Heliopolis.