CAIRO: An archaeological committee has been formed to determine the damages of Mohammed Ali Palace caused by the Thursday’s bombing that ripped through the opposite homeland security building at Shubra el-Khema, said Antiquities Minister Mamdouh al-Damaty.
“The initial examination showed that a chandelier in the main hall of the 1809 palace’s Fountain Hall fell down and broke completely,” Damaty said in a statement Thursday.
Decorations on the doors were also affected, Damaty said, adding that glass windows in the dining room of the one-storey palace shattered due to the bombing.
Glass windows in the dining room of the one-storey palace shattered due to the bombing. Courtsy of the Antiquities Ministry
Chaired by Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) Mostafa Amin and Head of the Islamic and Coptic Antiquities Sector Mohammad Abdel Latif, “the committee is scheduled to start the renovation work this week to return the damaged buildings to their original state,” according to a statement issued by the ministry Thursday.
The blast has also caused critical cracks all over the walls and floors of the palace, Damaty added.
Chandelier in the main hall of the 1809 palace’s Fountain Hall fell down. Courtsey of Antiquities Ministry
Considered as the real builder of modern Egypt, Mohammad Ali (1769-1849) was an Albanian army man dispatched to Egypt by the Ottoman emperor in 1803. He later became a ruler of Egypt from 1805 to 1849.
The architectural design of his Shubra el-Khema Palace was based on a Turkish style that was not known in Egypt at the time.
In January 2014, over 165 artifacts along with doors and glass windows at the Museum of Islamic Art have been severely damaged by a car bomb attack that targeted the opposite Cairo Security Directorate in Bab el-Khalk district.
The damage at the ceiling of Mohamed Ali palace caused by the car bomb attack