The Prince Amr Ibrahim Palace is a historical building in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

's Zamalek island, which is used as the Egypt's first

ceramics museum A ceramics museum is a museum wholly or largely devoted to ceramics, usually ceramic art. Its collections may also include glass and enamel, but typically concentrate on pottery, including porcelain. Most national collections are in a more gener ...

, the Museum of Islamic Ceramics and as an art center.

History and location

The palace is located in the Gezira area, an island in the Nile, of Zamalek in Cairo. It was built on the orders of Prince Amr Ibrahim (1903–1977), member of the Muhammad Ali dynasty, in 1921. Prince Amr Ibrahim was the husband of Necla Sultan, granddaughter of Ottoman ruler Mehmed VI, also known as Vahideddin. The architect of the building was Garo Balyan, the youngest member of the

Balyan family The Balyan family ( hy, Պալեաններ; tr, Balyan ailesi or ''Palyan ailesi'') was a prominent Armenian family in the Ottoman Empire consisting of court architects in the service of Ottoman sultans and other members of the Ottoman dynas ...

. The cost of the construction was about 200 million euros ($257 million). The palace was used by Prince Amr Ibrahim and his wife, Necla Sultan, as a summer residence.

Style and layout

The architectural style of the palace is neo-Ottoman and neo-Islamic. It also reflects dominant styles of the Muhammad Ali dynasty in terms of its architectural and decorative style. There are also Moroccan and

Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a "historical nationality". The t ...

n influences in the architecture of the palace. Total area of the building is 850 square meters. It is made of a basement and two floors. In the entrance hall there is a marble fountain decorated with blue ceramics. The palace is surrounded by a 2,800 square meter garden.

Use

The palace became a state property on 9 November 1953 following the 1952 coup d'etat in Egypt. It was first employed as a club by the Arab Socialist Union until 1971. From 1971 the building was employed by the

Ministry of Culture Ministry of Culture may refer to: *Ministry of Tourism, Cultural Affairs, Youth and Sports (Albania) * Ministry of Culture (Algeria) *Ministry of Culture (Argentina) *Minister for the Arts (Australia) *Ministry of Culture (Azerbaijan) * Ministry of ...

as an exhibition gallery for paintings endowed by former Prime Minister Mohammed Mahmoud Khalil. In 1998 the building was renovated by the Egyptian architect Aly Raafat and became home to the Museum of Islamic Ceramics in February 1999. As of January 2019 it was closed for restoration for at least 2 years.

References

External links

Art Center

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prince Amr Ibrahim Palace 1920s architecture 1921 establishments in Egypt 1999 establishments in Egypt Art museums and galleries in Egypt Ceramics museums Gezira Island History museums in Egypt Houses completed in 1921 Museums established in 1999 Museums in Cairo Palaces in Cairo