Name of Monument:

Imaret

Other name of the Monument:

Imaret of Mohammed ‘Ali

Location:

Kavala, Greece

Responsible Institution:

IMARET – Institute Mohammed Ali for the Research of the Eastern Tradition (under contract with the Egyptian Waqf Organization)

 About IMARET – Institute Mohammed Ali for the Research of the Eastern Tradition, Kavala

Date of Monument:

Construction: 1807–1821; restoration: 2001–2004

Architect(s) / Master-builder(s):

Unknown

History:

With the passage of time, the charitable and educational purposes of the foundation declined. According to surviving records, the School continued to function as late as 1902, and the Soup Kitchen as late as 1923. After the Lausanne Treaty and the exchange of populations between Greece and Turkey, the complex housed Greek refugees from Asia Minor (1927–1960). In 1954, Imaret was listed as a protected historical monument by the Greek Government. A series of (never realized) agreements between Greece and Egypt to restore the monument followed. In August 2001, a contract was signed between the Egyptian Waqf Organization and the Missirian family, who undertook the demanding task of restoring the two monuments and attributing them to new uses.

Description:

Imaret was an educational and charitable foundation, donated by Mohammed ‘Ali, founder of modern Egypt, to his hometown. The complex included an elementary school and two higher level colleges dedicated to the instruction of the traditional Islamic curriculum, modern sciences and mathematics. It is one of the earliest examples of western style technical school providing secular education in the Ottoman Empire and reflects Mohammed ‘Ali’s program of modernization. The complex had 61 rooms for up to 300 boarding students, two study halls, a library, a printing press and a soup kitchen to feed students, travellers and the poor, regardless of religion. To meet the religious and hygiene needs of its occupants, the complex also contained a place for prayer, fountains for ablutions and a hammam. Cisterns underneath the structure guaranteed a continuous source of water.

Citation of this web page:

I.M.A.R.E.T. "Imaret" in "Sharing History", Museum With No Frontiers, 2024. https://sharinghistory.museumwnf.org/database_item.php?id=monuments;AWE;gr;1;en

Prepared by: I.M.A.R.E.T.

MWNF Working Number: GR 001