Heliopolis | Where Is It Going?

At the turn of the 20th centaury, in the desert of Cairo, a city was being built from scratch. The concession was granted to the Belgian industrialist Baron Edouard Empain and the Egyptian Armenian Boghos Nubar Pasha on the 23rd May 1905. The principal objective was to establish a railroad and electric tram ways, by the Cairo electric railways and Heliopolis Oases Company, and government of Egypt would sell, yield and transfer rights to property of 25 square kilometer (roughly the same area of Cairo in 1906), 10 km from Cairo, to the company, in order to invest it in real estate. The Heliopolis Oases Company was established on the 23rd January 1906, with a capital of 15 million Belgian francs.

Originally the plan was to build 2 oases in the desert, one residential and for tourists, while the second was intended for factories and workers. But following the economical crisis in 1907, the investment was concentrated in the first oasis and the second was postponed. In order to attract people to the new developed city, a hippodrome and an amusement park (the first of its kind in Cairo) plus an aerodrome, a sporting club and cinemas were erected. The First World War decreased the investment in Heliopolis.

The new city underwent a lot of transformations during its history. Over the decades, buildings have been torn down and new ones have been erected instead. Some of the projects that were associated with Heliopolis have vanished, and new developments are seen all around Heliopolis. Now, the project that started more than 100 years ago in the desert is a suburb of Cairo.

The presentation will discuss in the first part the history of Heliopolis, the creators, the urban fabric and architecture, then in more detail, the former entrance to Heliopolis will be presented, with the hippodrome and the amusement park as its nucleus, which has undergone several important transformations over the years. This particular area, as mentioned before, was created to attract people from Cairo to reside in Heliopolis. It has a historical importance, as well as a social and economical significance. What remains of the entrance are just the platforms. The rest of the projects do not exist anymore.

What is the future awaiting Heliopolis? Is it a normal transformation or does Heliopolis need to be saved? Where is Heliopolis going to, and where do we want to take it? The case study might help find a way to understand where Heliopolis is going, and where we really want to take it!!