The area,
designed by prestigious French architects was commissioned by Khedive Ismail.
It was he who stressed the importance of urban planning for the first time in
Cairo, to include broad, linear gridded streets, geometric harmony and modern
European architectural style.
It was once
home to the prosperous elite of late 19th and early 20th century Cairo. It is a
relic of a bygone era — Egypt\\\'s Belle epoque — and demonstrates the Khedive\\\'s
vision for developing Egypt. Yet decades of neglect by the neighborhood\\\'s
landlords and tenants, precipitated by the exodus of the expatriate community
after the 1952 Revolution led by Gamal Abdel Nasser, and the ensuing departure
of the upper classes, have left the ornate splendor of its ornate edifices
mired in decay. Lax enforcement of laws and regulations gave way to the entry
of commercial establishments into the neighborhood, mostly with no regard to
maintaining aesthetic harmony or preserving the historic buildings.
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