The demolition of Egypt’s former ruling National Democratic Party (NDP)’s Cairo headquarters began on Sunday.

The building was torched on 28 January 2011, during mass protests demanding the ouster of NDP head and former president Hosni Mubarak.

In April 2015, the Egyptian cabinet approved demolishing the headquarters, which consists of two buildings behind the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square, downtown Cairo.

The building was also home to the Arab Socialist Union, the state-sponsored and only popular political body allowed to operate during the era of former president Gamal Abdel-Nasser.

Before the Arab Socialist Union, the building housed the Cairo Municipality. It was designed by architect Mahmoud Riad and built in 1959. 

All photos by Osman El-Sharnoubi