By Hassan Saadallah
Rosetta lies in the western Delta and gained its worldwide fame from being the town in which the Rosetta Stone - a black basalt slab that enabled the deciphering of hieroglyphics - was found. But that is not all Rosetta holds, embracing also Egypt's largest number of Islamic structures outside of Cairo.
Rosetta houses a unique collection of twenty historic mansions, ten mosques, a public bath, a mill, a citadel, a gate and remains of an old wall. These all date back to the Ottoman age with the exception of the citadel and the gate which belong to the Memluk age. These structures are built from a kind of brick which as of yet the experts have failed to understand how it was produced.
Although several of these structures have undergone restoration projects, a much more comprehensive project is still needed owing to their dilapidated condition. Most of the mansions have large wall fissures with disintegrated floors.
Dr Zahi Hawass, Secretary-General of the SCA, said that a plan is soon to be administered which will restore the architectural and ornamental aspects of Rosetta's Islamic treasure. This will include replacing some of the buildings' existing wooden ceilings with new ceilings of the same pattern.
From the inside, the painting used will be the same as the original material in order to convey the same impression of age. Rust will be also removed from the ironware in houses which will then be coated with Vaseline to protect them.
The mansions of Rosetta reflect the architectural boom in the city during the Ottoman age. They display excellence both in carpentry work and architecture.
Among the houses to be restored is a three-story building constructed in 1808 and named after its owner, Osman Al Amasyli, who was a soldier in the Turkish army. The mill is named after its owner Abu Shahin and belongs to the 9th Century. The mill built by Osman Agha was powered by horses.
The house of Al Maizouni, built in 1740, belonged to the father of Zbeida, the wife of Mino, the third commander of the French expedition in Egypt. The four-storey mansion of Arab Killy, built by the governor of Rosetta in the first half of the 18th Century, is also part of the restoration plan.
The Bath of Azuz is over 100 years old and comprises two wings. The first wing, the reception wing, leads to a corridor with a marble fountain in the centre. At the end of the corridor lies a wooden compartment where the master of the place would sit to receive people. The second wing was flanked by bathing rooms and had a marble floor ornamented by another fountain. The ceilings of both wings were domes with glass windows to allow adequate lighting. Annexed to the bath building was a small house used as a residence for the bath owner and its workers.
The mosques of Ali Al Mahali and Al Abbas, constructed in 1721 and 1809 respectively, are two of the city's mosques included in the restoration plan.
Reports show that the Qaitbay citadel of Rosetta is in dire need of restoration as parts of it have collapsed. But before embarking upon the project, a barrier is to be built around the citadel to prevent water leakage within. The citadel resembles in design the interior fortress of Alexandria citadel, which also bears the name of Qaitbay. It was in the citadel of Rosetta that an officer of the French expedition found the Rosetta stone in 1799.
