Princess Samiha Kamil
Egyptian princess / residence owner / artist and cultural benefactor
20th-century ownership; palace became a library in 1995
Who they were
Princess Samiha Kamil was a daughter of Sultan Husayn Kamil. She purchased the Zamalek palace associated with her name; the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities dates the building itself to 1902. Its construction date should therefore not be presented as the date of her purchase.
Her artistic interests had a physical place within the house: a circular room on the third floor served as her studio. The building’s decoration combined Andalusian, Moroccan and Ottoman references with European influences, providing the setting for her domestic and artistic life.
She directed that the palace should be used for cultural purposes. In 1995 it became the Greater Cairo Library. Her importance in the residence’s history thus includes both its private use and the intended cultural legacy that followed. The source used here does not establish a purchase year or a complete life chronology.
Related residences
Sources
- Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities — Samiha’s ownership, studio and cultural bequest
- Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities — English monument record
Short biography checked 10 October 2026. Lifespan and documented activity dates are labelled separately.