The owner of the 90-year-old Gustav Aegeon heritage villa in Wabour al-Mayah neighborhood, downtown Alexandria, has demolished the historical building, despite the Cabinet issuing a decision that considered the building as public property. The Administrative Court had issued a ruling, considering the villa an ordinary, not an archeological building, after which its owners obtained on November 5, 2014, permission to demolish the villa. Alexandria governor Tarek al-Mahdy addressed then-Prime Minister, Hazem Beblawy, who issued a decision suspending the demolition permit and announcing the villa a public archeological property. The villa is called Gustav Aegon. The villa enjoyed global concern and was referred to in an article in one of the French periodicals interested in world heritage under the title: "Save Aegeon Villa in Alexandria".

Source: Egypt Independent December 05, 2016 15:12 UTC