Cairo Electric Railways and Heliopolis Oases Company
Encyclopedia
The Cairo Electric Railways & Heliopolis Oases Company , is the original name of the Heliopolis Company for Housing and Development , a company formed in Cairo
in 1906 in a partnership between a consortium of Belgian developers led by Édouard Empain
and Boghos Nubar Pasha, son of the former Egypt
ian Prime Minister
Nubar Nubarian.
once stood.
On that land the company built, Galaxy company in effect, a new city called the Heliopolis Oasis with rail and tramway links to the centre of Cairo. Not only did the company build a great number of houses and apartments, but also the Heliopolis Palace Hotel (which is now the Egyptian Presidential Palace
), restaurant
s, shop
s, churches, mosque
s, and hospital
s. Upon completion some parts of the project were sold off as separate companies.
Its banquet halls were amongst the biggest anywhere. The utilities were the state of the art technology of the time. All had been constructed and put together by the contracting firms Leon Rolin & Co. and Padova, Dentamaro & Ferro, the biggest two civil contractors in Egypt
. Siemens-Schuckert
of Berlin
fitted the hotel's web of electric cables and installations.
, reaches its artistic zenith. Damascus
-made Oriental lamps hung from every corner and cranny hang."
King Albert I
(King of Belgium
), who stayed in the hotel with his wife Queen Elisabeth
for a month, said "C'est une merveille!" upon entering the main hall.
The main hall, which was almost 589 meters2, had a 55 meter-wide dome
, designed by Alexander Marcel of the French Institute and decorated by Georges Claude
, was carpeted with the finest oriental rugs and fitted with large floor-to-ceiling mirrors, draperies and a large marble
fireplace
. Twenty-two Italian marble
columns connected the parquet to the ceiling. To one side of the hall there was the dining room, which seated 150 guests, and to the other was the billiard hall with two full-sized Thurston tables, as well as a priceless French one. The hotel's mahogany
furniture
were supplied by Maple's Furniture (London
).
The hotel's area was so large, that a railway system was installed, running through the hotel; passing by offices, kitchens, refrigerators, storerooms and the staff housing.
and II
, the hotel was transformed into an for British
soldiers.
After World War II
, air travel reduced the average tourist stay to a few days. As tourism became a mega-industry, massive hotels emerged in Egypt
with interiors calculated on the basis of return per square meter. Unable to compete, the hotel became less popular.
regime, the Heliopolis Palace Hotel was declared the headquarters
of the new presidential administration, after becoming the location of various government departments for over 10 years.
, as a compensation for the land that was taken to build the Cairo International Airport
.
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
in 1906 in a partnership between a consortium of Belgian developers led by Édouard Empain
Baron Empain
Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Empain was a wealthy Belgian engineer, entrepreneur, financier and industrialist, as well as an amateur Egyptologist.-Early life:...
and Boghos Nubar Pasha, son of the former Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Nubar Nubarian.
History
Though a railway company by name, the company played just as great a role as a property development company once the company acquired a very large area (25 square kilometers) northeast of Cairo, where the ancient city of HeliopolisHeliopolis (ancient)
Heliopolis was one of the oldest cities of ancient Egypt, the capital of the 13th Lower Egyptian nome that was located five miles east of the Nile to the north of the apex of the Nile Delta...
once stood.
On that land the company built, Galaxy company in effect, a new city called the Heliopolis Oasis with rail and tramway links to the centre of Cairo. Not only did the company build a great number of houses and apartments, but also the Heliopolis Palace Hotel (which is now the Egyptian Presidential Palace
Egyptian Presidential Palace
The Heliopolis Palace is one of the Egyptian presidential palaces and residences for the executive office of President of Egypt. It is located in the suburb of Heliopolis, northeast of central Cairo and east of the Nile in Egypt. It was built as the grand Heliopolis Palace Hotel in 1910...
), restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s, shop
Retailing
Retail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
s, churches, mosque
Mosque
A mosque is a place of worship for followers of Islam. The word is likely to have entered the English language through French , from Portuguese , from Spanish , and from Berber , ultimately originating in — . The Arabic word masjid literally means a place of prostration...
s, and hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
s. Upon completion some parts of the project were sold off as separate companies.
History
On September 23, 1905, the world celebrated the official date of this new hotel. Conceived by Belgian architect Ernest Jaspar,his birth boasted 400 shows including 55 private shows.Its banquet halls were amongst the biggest anywhere. The utilities were the state of the art technology of the time. All had been constructed and put together by the contracting firms Leon Rolin & Co. and Padova, Dentamaro & Ferro, the biggest two civil contractors in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. Siemens-Schuckert
Siemens-Schuckert
Siemens-Schuckert was a German electrical engineering company headquartered in Berlin, Erlangen and Nuremberg that was incorporated into the Siemens AG in 1966....
of Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
fitted the hotel's web of electric cables and installations.
Design
As though intentional, it’s severe, almost forbidding exterior contrasted sharply with the extravagance of the interior. A 1912 visitor recounts: "Beyond the reception offices are two lavishly decorated rooms, in the Louis XIV and Louis XV styles respectively and then comes the central hall, which is a dream of beauty and symmetry. Here the architecture, which is responsible for so many wonderful effects in HeliopolisHeliopolis (Cairo Suburb)
Modern Heliopolis is a district in Cairo, Egypt. The city was established in 1905 by the Heliopolis Oasis Company, headed by the Belgian industrialist Édouard Louis Joseph, Baron Empain, as well as Boghos Nubar, son of the Egyptian Prime Minister Nubar Pasha.-History:The Baron Empain, a well known...
, reaches its artistic zenith. Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
-made Oriental lamps hung from every corner and cranny hang."
King Albert I
Albert I of Belgium
Albert I reigned as King of the Belgians from 1909 until 1934.-Early life:Born Albert Léopold Clément Marie Meinrad in Brussels, he was the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders, and his wife, Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen...
(King of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
), who stayed in the hotel with his wife Queen Elisabeth
Elisabeth of Bavaria (1876-1965)
Elisabeth of Bavaria , was the queen consort of Albert I of Belgium and was the mother of Leopold III of Belgium and grandmother of Baudouin I of Belgium and Albert II of Belgium.-Family:Born in Possenhofen Castle, her father was Karl-Theodor, Duke in Bavaria, an ophthalmologist of...
for a month, said "C'est une merveille!" upon entering the main hall.
The main hall, which was almost 589 meters2, had a 55 meter-wide dome
Dome
A dome is a structural element of architecture that resembles the hollow upper half of a sphere. Dome structures made of various materials have a long architectural lineage extending into prehistory....
, designed by Alexander Marcel of the French Institute and decorated by Georges Claude
Georges Claude
Georges Claude was a French engineer and inventor. He is noted for his early work on the industrial liquefaction of air, for the invention and commercialization of neon lighting, and for a large experiment on generating energy by pumping cold seawater up from the depths...
, was carpeted with the finest oriental rugs and fitted with large floor-to-ceiling mirrors, draperies and a large marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
fireplace
Fireplace
A fireplace is an architectural structure to contain a fire for heating and, especially historically, for cooking. A fire is contained in a firebox or firepit; a chimney or other flue allows gas and particulate exhaust to escape...
. Twenty-two Italian marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
columns connected the parquet to the ceiling. To one side of the hall there was the dining room, which seated 150 guests, and to the other was the billiard hall with two full-sized Thurston tables, as well as a priceless French one. The hotel's mahogany
Mahogany
The name mahogany is used when referring to numerous varieties of dark-colored hardwood. It is a native American word originally used for the wood of the species Swietenia mahagoni, known as West Indian or Cuban mahogany....
furniture
Furniture
Furniture is the mass noun for the movable objects intended to support various human activities such as seating and sleeping in beds, to hold objects at a convenient height for work using horizontal surfaces above the ground, or to store things...
were supplied by Maple's Furniture (London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
).
The hotel's area was so large, that a railway system was installed, running through the hotel; passing by offices, kitchens, refrigerators, storerooms and the staff housing.
World Wars and after
During World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, the hotel was transformed into an for British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
soldiers.
After World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, air travel reduced the average tourist stay to a few days. As tourism became a mega-industry, massive hotels emerged in Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
with interiors calculated on the basis of return per square meter. Unable to compete, the hotel became less popular.
Becoming a Presidential Palace
In the 1980s, which marks the beginning of the MubarakHosni Mubarak
Muhammad Hosni Sayyid Mubarak is a former Egyptian politician and military commander. He served as the fourth President of Egypt from 1981 to 2011....
regime, the Heliopolis Palace Hotel was declared the headquarters
Egyptian Presidential Palace
The Heliopolis Palace is one of the Egyptian presidential palaces and residences for the executive office of President of Egypt. It is located in the suburb of Heliopolis, northeast of central Cairo and east of the Nile in Egypt. It was built as the grand Heliopolis Palace Hotel in 1910...
of the new presidential administration, after becoming the location of various government departments for over 10 years.
Cairo International Airport
On October, 2003, a presidential decree stated that the Heliopolis Company for Housing and Development would receive a 1695 acres (6.9 km²) piece of land in New CairoNew Cairo
New Cairo is a new satellite city of Cairo. Located in what was formerly desert, the master plan was created in 2001 by a Boston firm. It is the home of the new campus of the American University in Cairo, as well as the German University in Cairo, the Future University in Egypt and the Canadian...
, as a compensation for the land that was taken to build the Cairo International Airport
Cairo International Airport
Cairo International Airport is the busiest airport in Egypt and the primary hub for Star Alliance member EgyptAir. The airport is located to the north-east of the city around from the business area of the city.The airport is administered by the Egyptian Holding Co...
.