Egyptian dispatches: Feb. 15, 2013

The Presidential Palace from the balcony of the apartment. Also known as Kasr Al Ittihadia it was originally built for the Heliopolis Palace Hotel in 1910. It's been used for some time now by the Presidents of Egypt.

Unlocking the two bedroom doors now appears to be the easy part. We searched high and low for the key to the safe, but no luck. Chris is looking into an expert safecracker. The safe itself sits inscrutable in its thick metal shell. If it could talk it might be saying "fuck you, I'm just doing my job sucker." There's things in there that we need. Arda's passport, papers, and probably some hash and cash.

Last night around 3am young guys were burning up and down Merghany street in front of the palace in souped-up cars, making a hell of a noise. I watched them for a while and no cops bothered them. It all looked kind of fun and they must have been going well over 100mph, and dangerous too.

Have been retrieving paintings from all the packages and furniture that Arda had ready to send to the USA and it took me a while to find the three Chant Avedissians (one is above). I'm going to pass on the Puzant (1909-1993) as we have a nicer one at home. Found the hilarious Saroukhan (1989-1977) piece that I'll be donating to Mohamed Abla's cartoon museum in Fayoum. Located the painting of the young woman about to be married, and am worried about it cracking when I roll it up for travel. Have unrolled the carpets Arda had chosen, and will select the best and hope we can throw them in as extra baggage at the airport.

We have an appointment at 11am tomorrow to view's Arda's body at the Italian hospital. I called Koumaki and he will meet us there. I don't imagine it will take too long, I just want to see her and take a photo. Not exactly sure why Koumaki wants to come, but I will hand over Arda's Macbook to him which I know will be much appreciated.

After that I want to take Nina to the Gayer-Anderson (Beit El Kertilia) museum, next to Tulun mosque. While Arda, her family and the Armenian community have up to now been her main connection to Egypt, this museum is connected to my side of the family. Frankly, I'm not exactly sure how to accurately describe my connection to Major R.G. 'John' Gayer-Anderson but he was a second cousin to my mother. I'll let Wikipedia entry describe this unique pair of buildings and the man:

The Gayer-Anderson Museum is located in Cairo, Egypt, adjacent to the Mosque of Ahmad ibn Tulun in the Sayyida Zeinab neighborhood. The museum takes its name from Major R.G. Gayer-Anderson Pasha, who resided in the house between 1935 and 1942 with special permission from the Egyptian Government. It is noted for being one of the best preserved examples of 17th century domestic architecture left in Cairo, and also for Gayer-Anderson's vast collection of furniture, carpets, curio, and other objects.

In 1935, Major Gayer-Anderson, a retired collector and self-described Orientalist, was granted permission to reside in the house, which had just been restored. Gayer-Anderson oversaw the installation of electricity and plumbing, and the restoration of fountains, pavements, and other parts of the interior of the home. He populated the building with his personal collection of art, furnishings, and carpets. In 1942, Gayer-Anderson was forced by ill health to leave Egypt, and he gave the contents of the house to the Egyptian government. King Farouk gave him the title of Pasha in return. Gayer-Anderson died in England in 1945, and is buried in Lavenham, Suffolk.

Nina had visited the museum when she was much younger but I want her to see it now especially since we don't know when we'll be back. A couple of years ago I was in communication with an Indian scholar who was writing a book about Gayer-Anderson and it was at this point that I discovered his extensive collecting activities, and his donations to museums around the world. One piece he gave to the British Museum has become known as the 'Gayer-Anderson cat' and it's one of their 100 most popular objects. Again here's the wikipedia entry:

The sculpture is now known as the Gayer-Anderson cat after Major Robert Grenville Gayer-Anderson who, together with Mary Stout Shaw, donated it to the British Museum. The statue is a representation of the cat-goddess Bastet. The cat wears jewellery and a protective wedjat amulet. The earrings and nose ring on the statue may not have always belonged to the cat. A winged scarab appears on the chest and head, it is 42cm high and 13cm wide. A copy of the statue is kept in the Gayer-Anderson Museum, located in Cairo.

Only three days left of this whirlwind journey. My sister Helena skypes me and I give her a tour of the apartment. We have a moving conversation about Arda and her life. We also talk about how Nina has lost three very important people from the same side of the family in the space of seven months.