Archaeological Study of Heritage Building from the First Quarter of the Twentieth Century in Egypt

This study aims to discuss a heritage building from the first quarter of the Twentieth Century, 
where the residential buildings are one of the fundamentals of urban cities’ construction and 
their proliferation is important for the continuity of city construction. Residential buildings 
are one of the remarkable features of stability and city center to the extent that they have 
become a criterion for reflecting the stages of the growth of the city. There is a commonly 
known proverb that states that the man who has a child, plants a tree and builds a house 
leaves a legacy for the next generations. By the end of the 19th and the beginning of the 20th
centuries, architecture has witnessed a breakthrough in terms of the styles of establishing 
houses in Egypt. This was a consequence of Muhammad Ali's dynasty's influence by 
European architecture styles and its artistic standards. 'Alawiyya dynasty adapted new 
building styles which were distinct from those prevailing in Egypt in previous eras. 
Muhammad Ali's dynasty's persistent desire- to turn Egypt into a piece of Europe especially 
Cairo and Alexandria- has given its establishments a special and distinct style. The European 
influences - which were symbols of progress, urbanization and civilization - were not limited 
to Cairo as the capital of Egypt but they were transferred to other Egyptian cities, through the 
rise of trade traffic let alone the development of transportation which contributed to their 
spread then. In addition, the foreign architects and engineers circulated their foreign 
architectural concepts and ideas in the north and south of Egypt as well as in capital cities. 
Taking Al-Fashn city as an example, we could say that it has included a lot of residential 
buildings that were established in the first half of the 20th century A.D. One of the buildings 
that would be discussed in this study is Abd Al-Azim Abu El-Nil's house which represented
the domestic style of the residential buildings in provinces, where it has preserved the 
domestic architectural traditions and is influenced by the European methods and styles in 
terms of the architectural and ornamental elements. The study will adopt the descriptive 
approach and analytical methodology for presenting this significant residential building 
through architectural along with artistic study and publishing for the first time.