Yacoubian Building (Cairo)

Yacoubian building (Arabic: عمارة يعقوبيان‎, or Édifice Yacoubian, as officially named in French upon its completion) is an edifice in Cairo, Egypt, built in 1937.[1] It was the home of the crème de la crème of Egyptian society who lived in the building during the city's heyday of the 1930s and 1940s. Located on No. 34 on Talaat Harb, Cairo,[2] the Art Deco style edifice was named after its Armenian owner and businessman Hagop Yacoubian. The architect of the building was Garo Balian.

Cairo - Downtown - Talaat Harb Street, the Yacoubian building is on the left

The once-chic, now rundown, building serves as a metaphor for Cairo's own deterioration particularly in the 2003 Arabic language novel The Yacoubian Building by Alaa Al Aswany.

Based on the book, an award-winning film was made in 2006 also entitled The Yacoubian Building directed by Marwan Hamed.[3] The film was reportedly the highest-budgeted film in the history of Egyptian cinema at the time. A different building was shown in the movie.

The Yacoubian Building in Beirut, Lebanon belongs to the same family.

References
  1. Netflix: Date of building structure
  2. Richardson, Dan (2007). The rough guide to Egypt (7 ed.). London, England: Rough Guides. p. 7. ISBN 1-84353-782-6.
  3. https://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2007/09/10/the_yacoubian_building_2007_review.shtml


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