A 30-year dispute over the properties of Mohammad Ali Pasha in his hometown of Kavala in Greece has been resolved, the daily Al Ahram reported on Tuesday.
According to the paper, a new contract was recently signed between a Greek investor and the Egyptian Ministry of Awqaf (religious endowments), through the Egyptian embassy in Athens.
Under the contract, the house of the 19th century ruler of Egypt and another building called Emirate will be utilized as tourist projects to generate revenues for the country.
Egyptian Minister of Awqaf Mahmoud Zaqzooq, whose ministry is in charge of such Egyptian state properties, told the Cairo-based daily that he had given instructions to cancel a contract signed with an Egyptian investor three years ago, based on the latter’s failure to meet the terms of the agreement.
The chairman of the endowment commision, Khuloosi Mahmoud, said that the new lease contract signed between his agency and a Greek company with investments in tourist, industrial and commercial projects, provides for transforming the two old buildings into a tourist complex with a first-class hotel, a restaurant and other attractions. Renovation works will start soon to give the places their original attractive appearance, said the official.
The leaseholder will pay the sum of 12 million Greek drachmas or their dollar equivalent in advance in August each year to the ministry.
She will obtain the administrative approvals and licenses from the Greek authorities in addition to bearing all the charges. The contract is effective for 50 years.
Mohammad Ali Pasha is known as the ruler who transformed Egypt into a modern state by opening the door for European ideas in the Arab Muslim country.
He was appointed as the Ottoman Sultan’s viceroy, Egypt’s governor, on May 17, 1805. He ruled Egypt until September 1848, then died in Alexandria on August 2, 1849, and was buried in his mosque.
The ruler was born in 1769 in Kavala, which was small Macedonian seaport on the coast of the Aegean Sea.
He fought Napoleon Bonaparte as an officer in the Ottoman army.
Supported by the Egyptian people, Mohammad Ali became the Ottoman Sultan’s viceroy in May 1805. His dynasty ruled Egypt until 1952, when King Farouq was overthrown by a military coup - Albawaba.com
