Own the City is a series documenting the social history of Egypt's historic districts. Share your memories and photographs of your favourite neighbourhood with us, and we will add them to the story, which will be updated over the course of a month.
We are the city. We are the hustle and bustle and the endless walks among historic buildings, shaded by trees that watched our grandparents grow up. We are the streets that twist and turn, widening and narrowing into small alleys that preserve the treasures of time. We are the old songs that are remixed yet never go out of fashion. We are the city that holds the truth and all our versions of it.
Celebrating its 121st anniversary, the heritage district of Heliopolis opened the Baron Palace to two exhibitions.
Under the auspices of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities, the Heliopolis Heritage Initiative organized the Heliopolis Memorabilia and Inspired by Heliopolis exhibitions at the palace as part of Heliopolis Heritage Week, which began several months ago.
At the gate of the Baron Palace, grandeur greets the eyes. The vast stairs leading to the main entrance grant the visitor a panoramic view of Heliopolis, the "Sun City," which was first founded in 1905.
The Memorabilia exhibition is divided into three connected halls inside the palace. The first explains the historical background behind the establishment of Heliopolis, the second focuses on the people who designed and built the ancient district, and the third is dedicated to the intangible cultural heritage of its residents.
Paris on the Nile
"The idea of Heliopolis was born as part of the modernizing wave initiated by Khedive Ismail in the 1860s, when he sought to transform Cairo into 'Paris on the Nile'," reads one of the exhibition panels.
Soon afterwards, Baron Edouard Empain conceived the idea of buying a new area of land and connecting it to downtown Cairo. A star was born!
Designed as a self-contained city, Heliopolis included entertainment venues such as the Heliopolis Sporting Club, a hotel, a horse-racing track, and Luna Park amusement park. Its architecture combined decorative Mamluk-inspired elements with modern residential buildings.
The palace
Baron Empain was a business icon of his time. He founded his palace between 1907 and 1911.
According to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities' official website, the palace was designed in an Indian architectural style, making it distinct from the surrounding buildings of Heliopolis. It consists of two storeys and a basement topped by a roof. The floors were all connected by a spiral staircase and an elevator.
Baron Empain and the Heliopolis Metro
Baron Edouard Empain's influence in Egypt began in 1894. After helping establish public transport systems in several countries, the Belgian businessman acquired a stake in the Belgian Tramways Society of Cairo.
Soon, his high-end new city flourished as he extended a line to Heliopolis on 9 May 1908. A couple of years later, Heliopolis had its own Heliopolis Metro Line, which was first launched on 11 July 1910.
The exhibition signs explain that Belgian Baron was a business shark who, in 1914, controlled over 60 companies in France, Belgium, China, Spain, the Ottoman Empire, and Egypt.
In Egypt alone, he established 14 companies, including Tramways du Caire (1895), The Cairo Suburban Building Land Company (1906), Heliopolis Palace Hotel (1909), and Banque Belge et Internationale en Egypte (1929).
The people of Heliopolis
An Egyptian proverb says that a place is known by its people, and the residents of Heliopolis have long been associated with refinement and authenticity.
The exhibition highlighted the personal collection of the Asmar family. The collection included the old identity card of Choukry Asmar, who was born in 1899 and lived in the Al-Khalifa Al-Maamoun district of Heliopolis.
The businessman is the grandfather of Choukry Asmar, founder of the Heliopolis Heritage Initiative.
The collection also includes vintage televisions, a radio, a typewriter, a sewing machine, a telephone, old issues of Heliopolis magazine, postcards, historic photographs of Heliopolis streets, and the official race card of the Heliopolis Racing Club.
It also features Metro cards, tickets, historic Metro signs, and the original design sketches for the Metro carriage.
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