The Orouba Palace, which is also the Heliopolis Palace or Ittihadiya Palace, is one of the three presidential palaces in Egypt (the other two are the Montazah Palace and Ras El Tin Palace). The palace is located in the suburb of Heliopolis, northeast of central Cairo, east of the Nile, Egypt. Before it was used as the official palace of the Egyptian President, it was a hotel, the Heliopolis Palace Hotel.
History
the hotel
This vast building is one of the central parts of a new area (Heliopolis) emerging from the desert at the beginning of the twentieth century at the initiative of Baron Edward Empain, a Belgian businessman with a passion for Orientalism. At the head of the Heliopolis Oasis Company, he is the true promoter of a real estate complex that includes hotels and luxury residences (including his own home, "The Baron's Palace"), as well as buildings as well as the basilica that contain his mausoleum.
The first stone of the future palace of Heliopolis was laid in 1908, and it was completed only two years later, in 1910. The building was designed by the Belgian architect Ernst Gaspar, in the style of Heliopolis (a combination of Arab architectural trends), Persian, Neo-Maghreb tinged with European influences, especially Neoclassicism) applied to a number of buildings in the new area. The site was commissioned by two large construction companies: Leon Rolin & Co. , Padova, Dentamaro & Ferro.
Important guests
Proud of being the most luxurious hotel in Africa and the Middle East, and boasting impressive architecture, the Heliopolis Palace Hotel is quickly becoming an intriguing destination for many, including foreign royalty and international business leaders. First of all, the royal parties were held in the hotel's magnificent ballrooms, especially the ones called "The White Family" organized by King Farouk of Egypt.
King Albert I and Queen Elizabeth of Belgium were among the most important guests.
Military hospital
During the two world wars, the hotel suspended its activities and turned into a military hospital (convalescent home) for British and Dominion soldiers. He kept his hotel job until the early 1960s
Federation of Arab Republics
When public administrations settled there. From 1972 to 1977, the palace became the seat of the Union of Arab Republics, in an ephemeral attempt for a union between Egypt, Syria and Libya.
The presidential palace in Egypt
In the 1980s, after a major renovation and restoration of the building, the building became the Egyptian Presidential Palace as well as the administrative headquarters of the new president; Hosni Mubarak.
Architectural Engineering
The hotel was designed by Belgian architect Ernst Jasper and built by French architect Alexandre Marcel and decorator Georges Louis Claude. In the building, they experimented with the fusion of different styles, Persian, Islamic and Neoclassical architecture. The new architectural style, called Heliopolis, is responsible for many of the great original buildings in Heliopolis.
The building is located on a facade of 150 meters in length, with an area of ​​6,500 square meters, with 400 rooms and more than 55 private apartments, giant elevators, bathroom, billiard rooms, and garden.
The decoration of the building was borrowed from different architectural directions: the large Neo-Moorish reception hall with two rooms was inspired by the styles of Louis XIV and Louis XV. It is all organized around the central hall, with elegant lines and mixed combinations of columns, glass walls and marble panels. This true "heart" of the building was designed by French architect Alexandre Marcel and outfitted by interior designer Georges-Louis Claude in the "Orientalist" flair of the time (Persian carpets, Moroccan lamps, etc.).
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