The owners of the Eskandar Palace in Mansoura have put the 3-storey palace up for sale, angering several intellectuals and those interested in antiquities in Mansoura who believe the building should be renovated and protected.
The Eskandar Palace, also known as the Red Palace, is a Gothic-style building with a fish scale facade, something rarely used in the construction of residential buildings.
The Save Mansoura Antiquities campaign has issued a statement rejecting the sale of the building, considering it an archaeological building that should be protected by law.
The statement called on heritage associations or companies to buy the palace and turn it into a cultural center, taking advantage of its unique location.
The palace is situated in the al-Mokhtalat area of Mansoura City, Daqahlia. It was built in 1920 and was known as the Red Palace due to its red walls. It was built using the Gothic style often used to build churches. The palace has a tower covered with bricks that are applied with the fish scale technique. The building was owned by a foreigner before it was sold to the Eskandar family.
Today, the building has fallen into disrepair. Despite that, and the rumors that the palace is haunted, some residents and intellectuals took it upon themselves to clean up the residence in March and hold a cultural event there, said resident Amr Adel.
The palace is an iconic building that distinguishes the area of al-Mokhtalat, said resident Amr Adel. They had hoped to turn it into a museum or use it to promote tourism, but the owners neglected it, later attempting to demolish it.
After they failed to get a permit to demolish the archaeological building, they deserted it, allowing it to be used as a garbage dump where vagrants soon took over, Adel added.
Meanwhile, the owners' lawyer and brother is defending the family's actions.
"My brother Hossam Reda bought the Eskandar Palace 18 years ago from the Eskandar family. He obtained a permit to completely demolish it as it is not officially registered as an archeological building," said lawyer Mohamed Reda, pointing out that the palace has turned into a garbage dump, irritating residents.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
