On March 8, 1919, British forces attacked the house of revolutionary Saad Zaghloul for his continual demands to end the British occupation in Egypt. He was arrested in the presence of his wife, Safiya, and was exiled with some of his colleagues to Malta.
The following day, when the news spread among Egyptians, they flocked to the Zaghloul house — known as the House of the Nation — to protest against his arrest. Their slogan ‘Long live Saad’ echoed in the streets. Students and workers staged peaceful demonstrations in Cairo. Protests spread to other governorates and countryside, before they turned bloody as British troops shot at protesters.
House of the Nation curator Rasha Abdel Aziz told the Egyptian Mail: “Zaghloul was like a godfather to the Egyptians. This house witnessed demonstrations of love for and gratitude to him by people from all walks of life. His house was always open to anyone as he was ready to listen to their problems and try to help them.”
Built in 1903, the two-storey house resembled a residence of the village omda (mayor), which was typical of the countryside as Zaghloul was influenced by his father and grandfather, who were mayors in a village in Gharbia Governorate north of Cairo.
Zaghloul was born in 1860 and was a journalist for Al-Waqa’i’ Al-Misriyya (Egyptian Affairs) newspaper. He was dismissed after he associated himself with the Urabi Revolt (1879-1882) to depose Khedive Tewfik and end British and French interference in the country’s budget and political affairs.
Zaghloul obtained a law degree in France in 1897 and took on a large volume of pro bono work.
He led Egypt’s most popular and influential political party, Al-Wafd after World War I.
The vast main hall of the house is laid with Persian carpets and is furnished in French style furniture. This was once the meeting place for politicians and petitioners.
“Every piece of furniture here is kept as Zaghloul left it, although we restored them,” Abdel Aziz said.
Indeed, everything is its place. Even Safiya’s ostrich feather fan is on her sofa in a ground floor room. Everything is there, even their clothes, shoes, perfume bottles, radio and gramophone.
Portraits of him and his wife adorn the walls. The house is not only famous for Zaghloul but also for his wife, Safiya, who played a great role in shaping Egyptian women’s political life, earning the sobriquet Umm Al-Masryeen (Mother of the Egyptians).
“In this house, the first ever women’s meetings in modern history were held. These meetings were encouraged by Safiya and feminist leader Hoda Shaarawi. It was a starting point for their march together with men in the 1919 Revolution against British occupation,” Abdel-Aziz said.
The room which witnessed their gatherings is located on the first floor. It is all in Arabesque style. The visitor can imagine the enthusiasm and anger of the women who planned the first ever demonstration of its kind in modern history. Previously, women in the Ottoman era stayed at home. Their only view of the outside world was through mashrabiya.
After 40 days of Zaghloul’s arrest, the British forces gave into the demands of the Egyptians and released him.
Zaghloul had two parrots. When they saw him every day going up and down the marble staircase, the birds repeated the cheers which they always heard outside the house.
When Zaghloul died on 23 August 1927 in the bedroom at 10 p.m., it seemed that life stopped for Safiya. She kept everything unchanged like a calendar fixed on the day of his death. She kept sleeping in the bedroom in which he died. After the death of the parrots, she had them stuffed and kept them in their cages.
Forty days after his death, Safiya received a medium-size carpet woven in the shape of Zaghloul made by Armenian orphans in Alexandria. The visitor can see this antique on a wall in a room on the ground floor.
Zaghloul was buried first in Al Imam Al-Shafie cemeteries. But because he had bought a plot near his house two years before his death, Safiya asked the government for permission to build a mausoleum, which was paid for by public subscription.
Architect Mustafa Pasha Fahmy designed the mausoleum, built in Aswan granite, in pharaonic style. In 1936, Zaghloul’s remains were laid to rest there.
Safiya still visited her late husband every day. But when she was too old to use the stairs, she communicated with him spiritually.
Her bedroom window overlooks the mausoleum. Every day, she used to drop flowers to the mausoleum until she slept beside him forever on January 12, 1946.
As the couple had no children, all the furniture and their belongings were kept inside the house, which was turned into a museum in 1952.
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