“Keep out! No photography!” are printed on signs warning potential trespassers in front of the three presidential rest houses in Ismailia.  Although neither President Muhammad Morsi nor any of his family want the rest houses, strict security measures, reminiscent of the old regime, still exist.

Mubarak’s curse

Mubarak left a curse on Rest house six, according to the neighbours who said the ousted president frequented the residence several times the month before he stepped down.

“Keep out! No photography!” are printed on signs warning potential trespassers in front of the three presidential rest houses in Ismailia.  Although neither President Muhammad Morsi nor any of his family want the rest houses, strict security measures, reminiscent of the old regime, still exist.

Mubarak’s curse

Mubarak left a curse on Rest house six, according to the neighbours who said the ousted president frequented the residence several times the month before he stepped down.

The neighbours say there is big difference between his visits and those of his predecessor, Anwar Al-Sadat, who was the first to establish the rest house. Sadat was welcomed with joy by the locals. The mention of Mubarak’s name, however, is met with angry looks.

However, the neighbourhood has no reason to worry any longer. Neither the president nor any of his family members is intending to claim the houses. A number of Ismailia political parties, on the other hand, have expressed interest in using them.

Othman Nahhas, coordinator of Ayez Haqqi Campaign, offered three scenarios: turning them into public museums to increase the governorate revenues; selling the surrounding lands in public auctions; or building tourist and youth projects. Jamal Hassan, member of the dissolved People’s Assembly agreed with this suggestion.

First dibs

But these rest houses already have an owner, The Suez Canal Authority according to Adel Al-Souli, head of the SCA Rest house Department. He claims that the authority itself operates and maintains the rest houses and only the security is assumed by the presidential guard, given that the rest houses are used by the Egyptian president and his guests.

Al-Souli revealed that the presidential staff recently inspected the runways of the three rest houses after the new president was elected, explaining that this was a routine measure. 

Built in 1861, rest house six was the first building to be constructed in Ismailia to serve as residence for the Egyptian Wali during his field tours to the Canal digging works, according to historian Muhammad Youssef.

As for Al-Fursan Island rest house, the SCA had given away half of the Island area to President Sadat for its construction.

The Annakhil Palace rest house was used by senior Canal Company guests and continued to receive guests after nationalization until Mubarak and his cabinet seized it exactly as they did with most of Egypt’s resources.

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