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An empire's echo hidden behind Downtown’s electric wires and satellite dishes.This palace doesn’t shout — it murmurs.
Built in 1899 by Said Halim Pasha, a former Ottoman Grand Vizier and member of Egypt's royal elite, the palace was designed in a Neoclassical style influenced by European sensibilities.
It has lived through colonialism, monarchy, revolution, and repurposing. After 1952, it was nationalized and later used as a school. Now, it's fenced off, fading behind urban chaos.
I stumbled on it by accident — and what caught me wasn't just the architecture, but the contrast. This once-grand residence now shares its sidewalk with a street food stand and tangled phone lines. But if you look up — really look — you'll see Corinthian columns, ornamental balconies, and a building that still carries itself with dignity.
This sketch is about holding space for forgotten elegance in everyday places.
I invite you to check this video for a more in-depth narrative of the time I sketched this in 2024.
If you have reached this far into our story, I have, yet, another hidden side of the story, that I haven't shown before, neither exhibited nor shared online!
Enjoy this!
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