US consulate in Alexandria transformed into national museum

Egyptian Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni has decided to convert the building previously occupied by the US Consulate in Alexandria into a national museum in order to maintain its architectural style.

Hosni said that the museum will contain antiques found in the Mediterranean sea in addition to other groups from the Islamic, Christian and Greek eras.

Hosni requested that the secretary-general of the Higher Council for Archeology, Dr. Gaballa Aly Gaballa, oversee the preparation of the museum and select the committee that will be responsible for announcing the project in a public tender.

The four-story building is located on an area of 1,500 square meters in downtown Alexandria. It was owned by Basily Pasha who built it in 1920 on the European style. The US Embassy in Cairo bought the building in 1960 and had used it as its consulate until it put it up for sale two years ago after closing the consulate.