Symbols of Egypt

As a foreigner stopping over or passing through a country such as Egypt, a place so different from what might be considered 'home', it can be easy to give in to the temptation to make judgements, justified or otherwise, of the life we find ourselves surrounded by.  Nine months does not by any means make one an expert, in reality I have barely scratched the surface, however every now and then you happen upon a symbol that explains things better than words could.

That being said my friend Emily lives in downtown Cairo across from a massive rundown and abandoned house.  Sitting on the balcony having a drink before dinner we decided it needed to be explored.  All it took was 10 LE and a smile and we were in.  

It turns out it was built in 1899 for Prince Saiid Halim Pasha, whose father would have ruled Egypt had his nephew not upstaged him.  With the British occupation Prince Halim's assets were confiscated and the palace was turned into a boys preparatory school in 1939 and was considered the chosen place of education for the sons of the Egyptian elite.  "With the extinction of titles and Egypt's old bourgeoisie, the palace became the unlucky ward of the ministry of education. Thereafter, the deterioration came in steady increments fueled by ignorance and greed. A dispensary here, an office for the ruling party there, plus the indiscriminate building of brick walls on the balustrades and the pilfering of the priceless pink marble and other rare historical rarities. The rest is shameless history."

Wandering through the house you can imagine how grand it must have been in the beginning when it was well cared for, although the cartoon drawings on the walls might not quite fit the architect's intended style.  Inefficiency, neglect, chaos, nepotism, wealth and a losing battle with time and the desert dust, all in the life of a building in Cairo.  We also thought it'd make a great spot for party.

There was supposed to be pictures with this post but I'm in Egypt...enough said so if you want to see what I'm talking about check it out here.