Bayt al-Sinnari explained

Bayt al-Sinnari
Native Name:بيت السنارى
Native Name Lang:ar
Building Type:Mansion
Architectural Style:Ottoman style
Address:Monge passage
Location City:Cairo
Location Country:Egypt
Completion Date:1794
Renovation Date:2002
Material:Stone and wood
Website:Official website

Bayt al-Sinnari, built in 1794, is one of the remaining bourgeois mansions in medieval Cairo, Egypt. Managed by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the house has become an important cultural center after its restoration.

Location

Located in the neighborhood of the Al-Sayeda Zainab Mosque, Bayt Al Sinnari is reached through the dead-end Monge passage, named after Gaspard Monge,[1] who accompanied the French campaign to Egypt.

History

Bayt Al Sinnari was built in 1794 by Ibrahim Katkhuda al-Sinnari, whose surname refers to the city of Sennar. In 1798, the house was confiscated by the French to house the members of the Committee of Sciences and Arts, that accompanied Napoleon Bonaparte to Egypt. Its mission was to conduct a systematic study of Egypt, published in the famous Description de l'Égypte.[2] Gaspard Monge, eponym of the passage, in which the house is located, was president, Napoleon Bonaparte deputy, and Joseph Fourier secretary. However, with the departure of the French expedition in 1801, the institute closed down.

From 1917 to 1933 Bayt Al Sinnari housed a private Napoleon museum. In the aftermath of the 1992 Cairo earthquake the house underwent an elaborate restoration process.[3] France, Egypt and the UNESCO cooperated in the salvage of the house.[4] Today, the house is an important cultural center.

Architecture

Bayt al-Sinnari is composed of two distinct sections: the ground-floor with all the reception areas on the western side. On the second floor the private apartments with a mashrabiyya of magnificent woodwork and a small hammam.[5] The house has an interior court centered by a marble fountain.[6]

Sources

Notes and References

  1. https://mapcarta.com/29605736 Map of Bayt al-Sinnary
  2. https://www.spottedbylocals.com/cairo/bayt-al-sinnari/ History of Bayt Al Sinnari
  3. https://www.bibalex.org/en/center/details/sinnarihouse/ Official website of Bayt al-Sinnari
  4. https://whc.unesco.org/en/soc/2336 UNESCO restoration of Bayt al-Sinnari
  5. https://archnet.org/sites/2198/media_contents/6128 Architecture of Bayt al-Sinnari
  6. Bernard Maury, Conserving and restoring the Harawi and al-Sinnari Houses in Cairo, Museum International (UNESCO Paris) 210:53, nº 2 (April–June 2001), pp 22-35.