Tahra Palace, A Gem in a Majestic Garden, presents a wonderful overview of one of the most cherished 20th-century presidential guest-houses in Egypt. The catalogue is the second in the series of publications by the Centre of Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage (CULTNAT), an educational and cultural body affiliated to the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, and follows their first publication on Abdeen Palace.
The project to record the history of Egypt’s palaces is undertaken by CULTNAT jointly with the official bureau of the presidency, and is supported by the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology. Its object is to highlight and safeguard the cultural heritage and national treasures of which the nation is so proud. The publication reveals within its three chapters the history of the palace, a description of its magnificent halls and salons, and a general introduction of the concept of royal gardens and their botanical features. The book is currently available in a hardcover English language edition and can be ordered through CULTNAT’s website.
The catalogue includes 300 high-resolution pictures of the palace##s rooms, as well as documents that are being published for the first time. The publication introduces the architecture, furnishings and majestic gardens, of Tahra’s cosy yet distinguished premises. In 224 pages, the book recounts the history of the palace, describes its architecture and relates the many developments it has undergone.
Unofficial residence
Fathi Saleh, CULTNAT’s director, says the Tahra Palace was built to resemble the European palaces of the time and was filled with engravings pertaining to different civilisations, contrary to other palaces built in the Mohamed Ali era which all adopted the Ottoman style. The palace was built in 1939 by Mohamed Taher Pasha, a friend of King Farouk, to serve as his unofficial private residence. When in 1939 the future Shah Mohamed Reza Pahlavi came from Iran to ask for Princess Fawziya’s hand in marriage, Taher offered King Farouk his palace for the use of his distinguished guest. Afterwards Farouk decided to buy the palace from Taher as a gift to his then wife, Queen Farida, thus adding Tahra Palace to his personal property portfolio. Farouk moved furniture from his other palaces to the new one, the most famous of which was the billiard table inlaid with abony and gold which he moved from Mohamed Ali’s palace in Shubral-Kheima. After the 1952 Revolution Tahra Palace was nationalised along with all other State palaces. Even though Tahra was Farouk’s private property, the Revolutionary Command Council refused to hand it back to his family when they asked for it later on.
Dr Saleh said the October 1973 War strategy was drawn up at Tahra, as confirmed by a famous picture of Sadat and his subordinates showing them seated round a large table that was actually Farouk’s famous billiard table. The book includes pictures of some of the guests received at the palace after the 1952 Revolution, such as King Abdel-Aziz Al Saud and President Nixon. The Egyptian cinema filmed one of its great movies, al-Aydi al-Naaima (The Soft Hands), directed in 1963 by Mahmoud Thul-Faqar, inside the palace.
Antiques and paintings
Hala Barakat, supervisor of the process of documenting the palace, says the documentation took two years to complete. The book, Dr Barakat says, records the architectural aspect of the palace as well as its possessions, from antiques, to furniture and paintings. The palace, which was designed by the legendry Italian architect Antonio Lasciac who also designed many other Egyptian buildings such as the headquarters of Banque Misr in Cairo, the Khedivial buildings on Emad al-Din street in today’s Downtown Cairo and the former premises of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In Alexandria he designed the buildings of Raml station. Lasciac also designed the new plan of the Abdeen palace after it burnt down.
Dr Barakat pointed out that Lasciac designed Tahra as a private villa and not a royal palace, but he did a wonderful job in using the 1,300 square metres available to plan a balanced yet attractive three-storey building, surrounded by a large garden, This created a magnificent relationship between the building and the nature surrounding it. The interior design of Tahra, as well as the fine choice of furniture and antiques, Dr Barakat explained, contributed to make the palace guests feel most welcome and at home. A few years later the palace’s neighbouring gardens were bought and added to the estate, making the current area about eight feddans.
All the documentation was orchestrated by CULTNAT. Dr Saleh said that in the 10 years since its establishment, CULTNAT had served both researchers and institutions. He explained that CULTNAT##s mandate was to document, preserve and manage the various aspects of Egypt’s tangible and intangible cultural heritage as well as its natural heritage. This involved the implementation of the national plan of action of documentation, making use of the most up-to-date information technology and working in collaboration with the national and international specialised organisations.