Manzil 'Abd al-Rahman al-Harawi
Cairo, Egypt

This courtyard house shares a wall with the house of Sitt Wasila and is named for its last owner, al-Harawi, who left it in 1920/1338 AH. There are two large qa'as on the ground floor and another the first floor. The main ground floor reception room is architecturally and stylistically dated to the turn of the seventeenth, making it the earliest portion of the house. The handsome decoration includes a Qur'anic inscription in Thuluth script, painted cupboards, and painted ceilings, along with an inlaid marble fountain. An inscription in the south qa'a states that "this blessed house was built by Yusuf al-Sayarfi in AH 1144 (AD 1731)". The entrance, along with the portion of the house above it, is a nineteenth-century reconstruction.

The house was restored jointly by the Institut français d'archéologie orientale (IFAO) and the Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA). The restoration was completed in 1993 and was based on the principle of restoring only what remained and not adding or inventing. The house is now used as a venue for concerts, special events, and as a base for visiting architectural studios.

Sources:

Warner, Nicholas. The monuments of historic Cairo: a map and descriptive catalogue, 156. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2005.

Williams, Caroline. Islamic monuments in Cairo : the practical guide, 174. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2008.

Location

Cairo, Egypt

Images & Videos

Documents

Associated Names

Site Contains

Events

1731/1144 AH

Style Periods

1299-1922

Variant Names

Abd al-Rahman al-Harawi House
Variant
Manzil al-Harawi
Variant

Site Types

Keywords