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Storied Structures: The History of the Yacoubian Building in Egypt

August 23, 2022

Cairo is home to some of the most beautiful art-deco structures in the world, so what makes one building, situated in Downtown Cairo’s Talaat Harb Square, stand out as a subject for books, films, and television shows in Egypt? Eternalized in writing through Alaa El-Aswany’s best-selling novel and showcased on all screens in Marwan Hamed’s film adaptation, Omaret Yacoubian (‘The Yacoubian Building’) is one of Cairo’s architectural jewels, etched in Egypt’s history. The historical building was commissioned by the millionaire Jacob Yacoubian in 1937. Head of the Armenian community in Egypt at the time, Yacoubian commissioned Armenian architect Jaro Balian to design the building. He designed the building to represent the Art Deco style, infusing classic European aesthetics. The name Yacoubian was engraved on its entrance in Arabic and English in luminous neon lettering. The building was home to a multitude of Egyptian pashas, wealthy Europeans, and star artists. It blended different religions, ethnicities, and nationalities.When a number of buildings were transferred to state ownership in the wake of the 1952 revolution, the living situations changed for its inhabitants. They were chased out, and there were physical transformations to the…


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