Baron Empain Palace - also known as "Le Palais Hindou" or The Hindu Palace - was built by Belgian millionaire Baron Edward Empain in 1911, in the Heliopolis district of the Egyptian capital.
The grand palace then fell into disrepair after Empain's death in 1929 and for many years afterward, amid a long dispute over ownership, it was rented out for social events or film sets, Reuters reported.
Egypt's Ministry of Antiquities has now confirmed that restoration efforts, carried out by the National Armed Forces Engineering Authority, on the structure are 85% complete. The ministry said the ceilings, marble columns, doors, ornate windows and statues have all been fully restored.
Restoration of Baron Empain Palace in Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt is nearing completion
While the restoration will largely preserve the Palace's original state with new renovations, several other features, including the iron fence built around the palace in 2006, will be removed as they are deemed no longer compatible with the aesthetics of the current building.
After an extensive restoration costing around $6 million, the Palace will reopen in October this year, according to state news agency Al Ahram.
Archaeologists are working to restore reliefs at the historic "Le Palais Hindou"
The restoration has been controversial, however. Al Ahram reports that the structure has been painted a “scorched red” color, and some organizations have been highly critical of the new look. The Facebook group “Egyptian Historians,” for example, described it as “defamatory.” Others, including the government, have defended the color as historically accurate.
“The color of the Baron Empain Palace facade is exactly the same as the original,” said Hisham Samir, technical advisor to the Minister of Antiquities. “The restorers have taken all necessary measures from testing, analysis, studying architectural documents and photographs of the wear and tear to draw up a suitable plan, and working on samples in practical restoration methods,” he added. “Based on this, the restoration work on the facades has been carried out in accordance with what was discovered about the original color – which has been adversely affected by the weather over time.”
