“Petros Kassab”… Another forgotten house in Suez falls

The residents of the Suez neighborhood woke up to the sound of excavators demolishing “Petros Kassab’s house,” which overlooks the city’s old harbor, bringing down with it more than 200 years of history. Less than a week ago, the local administration in the Suez neighborhood removed an encroachment on the wall of the Masagiri house (less than a kilometer from Kassab’s house). A white brick barrier had been erected on an old wooden fence, hiding the garden that was part of the house, which was the headquarters for receiving mail between the Red Sea ports and Egypt via the Suez Creek.

The Kassab House was reduced to rubble after withstanding the bombing of the city between the wars of 1967 and 1973. Its facade still bears the marks of the bullets and shells that were fired at the city. In addition to the effects of time, ownership of the house was transferred to the Canal Shipping Agency Company by a decision of the late President Gamal Abdel Nasser as part of the nationalization decisions of 1956.

Official response to the demolition of Boutros Kassab’s house

Major General Ahmed Alaa, head of the Suez district, said in a statement reported by local news sites that the decision to demolish the house was issued in accordance with a final court ruling in favor of the owner, the Canal Shipping Agency, noting that the demolition was carried out in accordance with legal procedures, after notifying the Housing Directorate, the Security Directorate, the district, and the utilities.

He added that the decision is one of 65 demolition decisions approved within the district.

Neglect of Boutros Kassab’s house for years

Researcher Hossam Al-Hariri, founder of the “Memory of Suez” initiative, fears the repetition of demolition or encroachment on buildings of distinctive architectural heritage.

He told Bab Masr – Bahri: “The governorate must expedite the registration of heritage buildings with distinctive architectural styles in the records of the National Agency for Cultural Coordination. This is because they preserve the historical value of the city.” He added: “A week ago, the wall and garden of the Masagiri House were vandalized. Today, the Petros Kassab House is being demolished, without knowing who is really responsible for the demolition: is it the owner from the Maritime Agency Company, or has ownership been transferred to a new owner who decided to demolish it?”

Al-Hariri pointed out that the house has been neglected for a long time. Its doors and windows have been closed with red bricks for nearly 15 years. Some of its walls and ceilings partially collapsed years ago. He explained: “The structural condition of the building is deteriorating, and I don’t think it can be restored. However, there is a marble plaque engraved with the name of the first owner and the date of construction. This makes it a priceless relic and an important part of the city’s history. I hope that someone saved it before demolition to preserve it.”

The Kasab House Style

According to the book History and Architecture of Suez by French author Claudine Piatton et al., published in 2011, the Kasab family home was built in its final form in 1886.

The grandson rebuilt the house of his great-grandfather, Boutros Kassab, who worked as a tax collector, near the old headquarters of the governor of Suez (now known as the Muhammad Ali Palace).

The book notes that the style of the Kassab house relied on stone bricks, floral decorations, and tall windows with a European-Italian character. This was in contrast to the buildings constructed between 1880 and 1914, which were limited to only two floors with facades devoid of decorations, except for simple wooden balconies.

In a 1914 report by the chief engineer of the municipality of Suez, the engineer describes the city’s buildings as using uncut stones from Ataka, with mud and lime mortar in the construction of the ground floor. The upper floors belong to a type of construction called “Sueisi” or “Baghdadli.”

Previous collapses

In September 2017, parts of the upper floor ceiling and interior walls collapsed. This prompted the governor of Suez at the time, Major General Abdel Majeed Saqr, to form an investigation and follow-up committee to ascertain whether the building was registered in the antiquities or cultural heritage records. This was to prove whether or not there had been negligence.

The doors and windows of the building’s facade were closed with red bricks. A fence was erected in front of it with the words: “Land owned by the Canal Company for Maritime Agencies. Any trespassing or fraud is considered a violation punishable by law.”