UK’s Prince Charles of Wales on Thursday 18/112021 visited Bayt al-Razzaz Palace, located in medieval Cairo.

During his tour, Prince Charles met with craftsmen working in the area and expressed his appreciation for the traditional handcrafts.

The prince also voiced the UK’s support for preserving cultural heritage and traditional crafts.

Bayt al-Razzaz Palace or Beet El Razzaz, is a mansion, in the heart of medieval Cairo, constructed from the late 15th century through the late 18th century. The 190-room urban palace in the Darb al Ahmar, the neighborhood of medieval Cairo, of was abandoned in the 1960s, but a restoration project rehabilitated the eastern building between 1977 and 2007. The property belongs to the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities which has plans to restore the western complex.

Originally built in the 15th-century during the Mamluk Sultanate, the Bayt Al-Razzaz is a mansion now comprising two houses, two central courtyards, and other utility structures such as stables, baths, storerooms, etc. The number of buildings along with its size gives the structure the impression of being palatial. The two properties, which collectively comprise 190 rooms, were connected via a single passageway sometime in the early 19th-century, as a result of a marriage contract.

The first house (eastern side) was built in around 1480 by Sultan Qaytbay by and features highly decorative mashrabiya windows on the second floor, overlooking the street and others looking out over the courtyard. One of the doorways on the eastern side of the courtyard is decorated in the Mamluk style and includes the cartouche or blazon of Qaytbay. The structure is primarily of stone and brick, with carved wooden windows. Interior walls and ceilings are of finely painted wood panels. The flat roof is constructed of layers of mortar over horizontal sheathing boards. The second floor was used as the women’s quarters while the downstairs area was occupied by the men.

The second house (western side) was built by a wealthy rice merchant, Ahmad Katkhuda al-Razzaz, in the 18th-century, probably to accommodate a growing family and an increasingly complex network of relationships. The buildings were occupied by the same families for centuries.

Earlier in the day, Prince Charles and his wife, the Duchess of Cornwall, arrived in Cairo on a two-day visit.

Source: State Information Service Egypt