More re Salah Attia's report on an official visit to Minia

During our visit to the Upper Egyptian city of Minia, its Governor Maj. Gen. Fouad Saad Eddin distributed a glossy book, which highlights archaeological sites and historic buildings in his city. The visit took place last week in response to an invitation from Minister of Tourism Zoheir Garranah to inspect the development of tourist projects in the city. Flipping through the pages of the book, the illustrations of admirable historic palaces refreshed my memory of visits I had made before, together with Egyptian colleagues, to rural areas in Britain and France upon an invitation extended by tourist officials in both countries.

The Egyptian delegation received warm welcome from the landlords of palaces there. For example, during our visit to a historic palace in Britain, its landlord and his wife gave us a warm welcome upon our arrival in the building. They cordially invited us to tour the palace's rooms, wings, etc. We also had dinner in fascinating candle-lit atmosphere and withdrew to have tea and coffee at the grand hall. The landlords entertained us with interesting discussions on politics, art and tourism. They also entertained us with their reminiscences about Egypt. We were surprised after discovering it was the British Tourism Authority-not the landlords-which paid the bill for our dinner in the palace. We were also informed that the British Tourism Authority would cooperate with landlords of historic buildings and palaces, who are willing to entertain tourists at dinner or lunch in their buildings. According to this brilliant idea, landlords guarantee a good income, part of which would be usefully spent on carrying out regular maintenance in the building. The same interesting arrangements are under way in France. But unlike their British counterparts, the French landlords of historic palaces are keen to turn a hall or a room in the building into a museum to exhibit masterpieces of art work collected by their ancestors; and stuffed birds and animals caught during hunting journeys. The French landlords also distributed coffee-table books and brochures, which explain the highlights of the building, its different halls, its history, architecture, etc.

At this moment, I thought it would have been much better if the Governor of Minia had invited us to spend some time in one of the palaces illustrated in the book. But the question is: Would time-honoured traditions in Upper Egyptian areas allow landlords of palaces to follow the example of their counterparts in Britain and France and entertain tourists at their buildings? Would Upper Egyptian landlords of palaces be persuaded to cooperate with travel agencies and turn their buildings into tourist sites? Although it is difficult to answer these questions now, I expect heirs of historic palaces in Egypt would change their minds in the future. I am also confident that their decision would be dramatically influenced when an official body stepped forward to take the initiative and draw up the programme. This official body should first suggest, which historic palaces across the country, have the potentials to take part in this unprecedented tourist project in Egypt. The second step in this respect should reveal a publicity campaign to promote these buildings at home and abroad. These buildings can also be prepared to host conferences or seminars; admirers of historic buildings will appreciate the invitation even if its costs are expensive.

On this occasion, we should sound the alarming bell that a big number of historic palaces in Egypt had been erased to construct high-rises instead. The latest victim of this massacre is the historic palace of great poet Mahmoud Sami el-Baroudi in Giza. El-Baroudi, who was dubbed the Poet of the Sword and Pen, was one of army insurgents commanded by Ahmed Orabi and revolted against Egypt's Khedive. It is unfortunate that el-Baroudi's palace was erased to the ground level after local municipality officials and engineers were allegedly bribed. The demolished historic buildings also included the villa of singing legend Om Kalsoum. The singer's heirs were allowed to sell the villa, which witnessed the glorious history of their grandmother, to wealthy people, who destroyed it and built a high-rise instead. Om Kalsoum's villa should have been opened to receive her admirers and fans. Fortunately, the villa of great poet Ahmed Shawki, the villa of great man of letter Dr. Taha Hussein, and the palace of Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil, have miraculously survived. Therefore, the Ministry of Culture should assign any of its departments to scour for historic buildings and palaces in Cairo, Alexandria and other provinces across the country. These buildings should be maintained regularly and restored properly to act as museums or displaying areas. I expect artist Farouk Hosni, the Minister of Culture, would appreciate this suggestion and assign efficient officials to carry it out to preserve key chapters in the country's history.

On the other hand, historic buildings and palaces, which are occupied by schools and government departments, should be evacuated and given a face-lift before turning them into tourist-attraction sites. The success achieved in the palace of Mohamed Ali Pasha in Shoubra, Qaliubia Governorate, is a perfect example in this respect. The palace, which was occupied by the Faculty of Agriculture, is now a wonderful tourist site, which attracts the attention of locals and foreign tourists alike. I also think that the Ministry of Culture should collaborate with the Parliament and jointly suggest a bill to preserve these historic buildings.