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46-898: The palace was originally built as the luxurious Heliopolis Palace Hotel in the open desert from 1908 to 1910, while development of the new suburb began around it, by the Heliopolis Oases Company was ongoing. The hotel was designed by Ernest Jaspar as part of the larger Heliopolis project being done by Édouard Empain . Billed as the most luxurious hotel in Africa and the Middle East, the Heliopolis Palace Hotel became, because of its grand architecture, an exclusive destination for guests including foreign royalty and international business tycoons. Guests included Milton S. Hershey and King Albert I and Queen Elisabeth of Belgium. During

92-567: A compensation for the land that was taken to build the Cairo International Airport . In 2021, and agreement was made for its development as the Heliopark project. Stalactite A stalactite ( UK : / ˈ s t æ l ə k ˌ t aɪ t / , US : / s t ə ˈ l æ k t aɪ t / ; from Ancient Greek σταλακτός ( stalaktós )  'dripping', from σταλάσσειν ( stalássein )  'to drip')

138-415: A drip stalagmite that forms below as material is carried through the tubular stalactite and piles up on the floor beneath. Sometimes the tubular form collapses near the distal end, most likely when the pressure of escaping gases decreased and still-molten portions of the stalactites deflated and cooled. Often these tubular stalactites acquire a twisted, vermiform appearance as bits of lava crystallize and force

184-441: A rounded or cone-shaped stalagmite . Unlike stalactites, stalagmites never start out as hollow "soda straws". Given enough time, these formations can meet and fuse to create a speleothem of calcium carbonate known as a pillar, column, or stalagnate. Another type of stalactite is formed in lava tubes while molten and fluid lava is still active inside. The mechanism of formation is the deposition of molten dripping material on

230-406: A stalactite. They are normally a few centimeters long and with a diameter of approximately 4 to 5 mm (0.16 to 0.20 inches). The growth rate of stalactites is significantly influenced by supply continuity of Ca saturated solution and the drip rate. A straw shaped stalactite which has formed under a concrete structure can grow as much as 2 mm per day in length, when the drip rate

276-509: A very narrow (≈4 to 5 mm diameter), hollow tube commonly known as a " soda straw " stalactite. Soda straws can grow quite long, but are very fragile. If they become plugged by debris, water begins flowing over the outside, depositing more calcite and creating the more familiar cone-shaped stalactite. Stalactite formation generally begins over a large area, with multiple paths for the mineral rich water to flow. As minerals are dissolved in one channel slightly more than other competing channels,

322-436: Is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves , hot springs , or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble and that can be deposited as a colloid , or is in suspension , or is capable of being melted , may form a stalactite. Stalactites may be composed of lava , minerals , mud , peat , pitch , sand , sinter , and amberat (crystallized urine of pack rats ). A stalactite

368-421: Is a slow leak and where there are calcium, magnesium or other ions in the water supply, although they form much more rapidly there than in the natural cave environment. These secondary deposits, such as stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone and others, which are derived from the lime, mortar or other calcareous material in concrete , outside of the "cave" environment, can not be classified as " speleothems " due to

414-405: Is added to the mix, the calcium oxide in the cement reacts with water to form calcium hydroxide (Ca(OH) 2 ). The chemical formula for this is: Over time, any rainwater that penetrates cracks in set (hard) concrete will carry any free calcium hydroxide in solution to the edge of the concrete. Stalactites can form when the solution emerges on the underside of the concrete structure where it

460-528: Is approximately 11 minutes between drops. Changes in leachate solution pH can facilitate additional chemical reactions, which may also influence calthemite stalactite growth rates. The White Chamber in the Jeita Grotto 's upper cavern in Lebanon contains an 8.2 m (27 ft) limestone stalactite which is accessible to visitors and is claimed to be the longest stalactite in the world. Another such claim

506-641: Is made for a 20 m (66 ft) limestone stalactite that hangs in the Chamber of Rarities in the Gruta Rei do Mato ( Sete Lagoas , Minas Gerais , Brazil). However, cavers have often encountered longer stalactites during their explorations. One of the longest stalactites viewable by the general public is in Pol an Ionain (Doolin Cave), County Clare , Ireland, in a karst region known as The Burren ; what makes it more impressive

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552-449: Is not necessarily a speleothem , though speleothems are the most common form of stalactite because of the abundance of limestone caves. The corresponding formation on the floor of the cave is known as a stalagmite . The most common stalactites are speleothems , which occur in limestone caves. They form through deposition of calcium carbonate and other minerals, which is precipitated from mineralized water solutions . Limestone

598-416: Is reversed and particles of calcium carbonate are deposited. The reversed reaction is: An average growth rate is 0.13 mm (0.0051 inches) a year. The quickest growing stalactites are those formed by a constant supply of slow dripping water rich in calcium carbonate (CaCO 3 ) and carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), which can grow at 3 mm (0.12 inches) per year. The drip rate must be slow enough to allow

644-400: Is suspended in the air, for example, on a ceiling or a beam. When the solution comes into contact with air on the underside of the concrete structure, another chemical reaction takes place. The solution reacts with carbon dioxide in the air and precipitates calcium carbonate . When this solution drops down it leaves behind particles of calcium carbonate and over time these form into

690-423: Is the chief form of calcium carbonate rock which is dissolved by water that contains carbon dioxide , forming a calcium bicarbonate solution in caverns. The chemical formula for this reaction is: This solution travels through the rock until it reaches an edge and if this is on the roof of a cave it will drip down. When the solution comes into contact with air the chemical reaction that created it

736-534: Is the fact that the stalactite is held on by a section of calcite less than 0.3 m (3.2 sq ft). Stalactites are first mentioned (though not by name) by the Roman natural historian Pliny in a text which also mentions stalagmites and columns and refers to their formation by the dripping of water. The term "stalactite" was coined in the 17th century by the Danish Physician Ole Worm , who coined

782-572: The First World War , the Heliopolis Palace Hotel was transformed into a military hospital for Australian troops. The hospital employed students and nuns from the nearby Collège du Sacré-Cœur . The hospital was one of the largest and grandest in the campaign and was referred to in Australian press as "the Hospital in a palace." It made use of ambulances and had beds and tents lined up for miles along

828-580: The International Monetary Fund and World Bank 's Economic Reform and Structural Adjustment Programme, or ERSAP, the company was part of a privatisation programme and was listed in 1996 on the Egyptian Exchange and has the Reuters code of HELI.CA . As of 2021, the government of Egypt was still the majority shareholder, with its Holding Company for Construction and Development owning 72% of

874-698: The Louis XIV and the Louis XV styles. Beyond those was the Central Hall, the primary public dining space with a classic symmetrical and elegant beauty. The Central Hall's dome, awe inspiring to guests, measured 55 metres (180 ft) from floor to ceiling. The 589 square metres (6,340 sq ft) hall's architectural interior was designed by Alexander Marcel of the French Institute, and decorated by Georges-Louis Claude. Twenty-two Italian marble columns circled

920-402: The 1980s, after extensive renovation and restoration efforts, the building became an Egyptian presidential palace and the headquarters of the administration of the new president, Hosni Mubarak . Today it is perhaps one of the more restricted presidential palaces regarding access. It is surrounded by simple gardens. The landmark hotel was designed by Belgian architect Ernest Jaspar. He introduced

966-540: The 1980s, which marks the beginning of the Mubarak regime, the Heliopolis Palace Hotel was declared the headquarters of the new presidential administration, after becoming the location of various government departments for over 10 years. In October 2003, a presidential decree allocated the Heliopolis Company for Housing and Development a 1,695-acre (6.86 km ) plot of land in the satellite city of New Cairo , as

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1012-622: The CO 2 to degas from the solution into the cave atmosphere, resulting in deposition of CaCO 3 on the stalactite. Too fast a drip rate and the solution, still carrying most of the CaCO 3 , falls to the cave floor where degassing occurs and CaCO 3 is deposited as a stalagmite. All limestone stalactites begin with a single mineral-laden drop of water. When the drop falls, it deposits the thinnest ring of calcite. Each subsequent drop that forms and falls deposits another calcite ring. Eventually, these rings form

1058-577: The Cairo and Alexandria Stock Exchange (now the Egyptian Exchange , or EGX) in 1995 and renamed the Heliopolis Company for Housing and Development ( Arabic : شركة مصر الجديدة للإسكان و التعمير ). On May 20, 1905, the Egyptian government signed a concession to develop a large desert plot of 25 square kilometres north-east of Cairo, with Belgian industrialist Édouard Empain and Boghos Nubar Pasha, son of

1104-544: The Cairo municipality. The post-independence socialist government of Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalised the company in 1961, turning it into the public Masr al-Gadida Suburb Organisation (Arabic:مؤسسة ضاحية مصر الجديدة) and affiliated to the Ministry of Municipal and Village Affairs, taking on the real estate development business. By 1964 the company was renamed as the Heliopolis Company for Housing and Development ( Arabic : شركة مصر الجديدة للإسكان و التعمير ). As part of

1150-453: The art technology of the time. All had been constructed and put together by the contracting firms Leon Rolin & Co. and Padova, Dentamaro & Ferro , the biggest two civil contractors in Egypt . Siemens-Schuckert of Berlin fitted the hotel's web of electric cables and installations. As though intentional, its severe, almost forbidding exterior contrasted sharply with the extravagance of

1196-512: The ceilings of caves, however with lava stalactites formation happens very quickly in only a matter of hours, days, or weeks, whereas limestone stalactites may take up to thousands of years. A key difference with lava stalactites is that once the lava has ceased flowing, so too will the stalactites cease to grow. This means that if the stalactite were to be broken it would never grow back. The generic term lavacicle has been applied to lava stalactites and stalagmites indiscriminately and evolved from

1242-559: The centre of Cairo, and consisted of plots for villas, Heliopolis style apartment blocks, workers' housing , the Heliopolis Palace Hotel (converted later into a presidential palace ), restaurants , shops , churches , mosques , a synagogue , and hospitals . In 1955, the company was instructed by the government according to Law 123/1955, to prepare 1,500 400m plots of land in five new neighbourhoods on its desert concession to be sold at LE1.45 per square meter primarily to government employees or members of housing cooperatives approved by

1288-402: The company, while the second-largest shareholder by far was the government of Norway , whose Norges Bank owned 1.19%. On September 23, 1905, the world celebrated the official date of this new hotel . Conceived by Belgian architect Ernest Jaspar , his birth boasted 400 shows including 55 private shows. Its banquet halls were amongst the biggest anywhere. The utilities were the state of

1334-415: The definition of the term. The term " calthemite " is used to encompass these secondary deposits which mimic the shapes and forms of speleothems outside the cave environment. The way stalactites form on concrete is due to different chemistry than those that form naturally in limestone caves and is due to the presence of calcium oxide in cement. Concrete is made from aggregate, sand and cement. When water

1380-438: The dominant channel begins to draw more and more of the available water, which speeds its growth, ultimately resulting in all other channels being choked off. This is one reason why formations tend to have minimum distances from one another. The larger the formation, the greater the interformation distance. The same water drops that fall from the tip of a stalactite deposit more calcite on the floor below, eventually resulting in

1426-399: The flow in different directions. These tubular lava helictites may also be influenced by air currents through a tube and point downwind. A common stalactite found seasonally or year round in many caves is the ice stalactite, commonly referred to as icicles , especially on the surface. Water seepage from the surface will penetrate into a cave and if temperatures are below freezing ,

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1472-462: The former Egyptian Prime Minister Nubar Pasha . The Cairo Electric Railways and Heliopolis Oases Company itself was established by the two entrepreneurs and 22 other investors and companies on February 14, 1906 as a property development company to build the Heliopolis Oasis near where the ancient city of Heliopolis once stood. The new suburb was planned with rail and tramway links to

1518-460: The hotel with his wife Queen Elisabeth for a month, said "C'est une merveille!" upon entering the main hall. The main hall, which was almost 589 meters , had a 55-meter-wide dome , designed by Alexander Marcel of the French Institute and decorated by Georges Claude , was carpeted with the finest oriental rugs and fitted with large floor-to-ceiling mirrors, draperies and a large marble fireplace . Twenty-two Italian marble columns connected

1564-530: The interior. A 1912 visitor recounts: "Beyond the reception offices are two lavishly decorated rooms, in the Louis XIV and Louis XV styles respectively and then comes the central hall, which is a dream of beauty and symmetry. Here the architecture, which is responsible for so many wonderful effects in Heliopolis , reaches its artistic zenith. Damascus -made Oriental lamps hung from every corner and cranny hang." King Albert I (King of Belgium ), who stayed in

1610-413: The lava tube, coating and recoating the stalactite with more material. They can vary from a few millimeters to over a meter in length. As lava flows through a tube, material will be splashed up on the ceiling and ooze back down, hardening into a stalactite. This type of formation results in an irregularly-shaped stalactite, looking somewhat like stretched taffy . Often they may be of a different color than

1656-451: The local Heliopolis style of architecture, a synthesis of Persian , Moorish Revival , Islamic , and European Neoclassical architecture . It was built by the contracting firms Leon Rolin & Co. and Padova, Dentamaro & Ferro, the two largest civil contractors in Egypt then. Siemens & Schuepert of Berlin fitted the hotel's web of electric cables and installations. The utilities were to

1702-553: The most modern standards of their day. The hotel operations were under French administered management. The Heliopolis architectural style, responsible for many wonderful original buildings in Heliopolis, was exceptionally expressed in the Heliopolis Palace Hotel's exterior and interior design. The hotel had 400 rooms, including 55 private apartments. Beyond the Moorish Revival reception hall two public rooms were lavishly decorated in

1748-507: The original lava that formed the cave. When the roof of a lava tube is cooling, a skin forms that traps semi-molten material inside. Trapped gases expansion forces lava to extrude out through small openings that result in hollow, tubular stalactites analogous to the soda straws formed as depositional speleothems in solution caves. The longest known is almost 2 meters in length. These are common in Hawaiian lava tubes and are often associated with

1794-552: The parquet floor up to the elaborate ceilings. The hall was carpeted with fine Persian carpets and had large mirrored wall panels and a substantial marble fireplace. To one side of the Central Hal was the Grillroom seating 150 guests, and to the other was the billiards hall, with two full-sized British Thurston billiard tables and a 'priceless' French one. The private banquet halls were quite large and elaborate. The mahogany furniture

1840-458: The parquet to the ceiling. To one side of the hall there was the dining room, which seated 150 guests, and to the other was the billiard hall with two full-sized Thurston tables, as well as a priceless French one. The hotel's mahogany furniture were supplied by Maple's Furniture ( London ). The hotel's area was so large, that a railway system was installed, running through the hotel; passing by offices, kitchens, refrigerators, storerooms and

1886-518: The road, making it able to treat thousands of Commonwealth troops at a time. In 1958, the hotel was purchased by the Egyptian government and closed. It was used to house government offices. In January 1972, the building became the headquarters of the Federation of Arab Republics , the short-lived political union between Egypt , Libya and Syria , which gave it the current Arabic name of قصر الاتحادية Kasr Al Ittihadia ("Federation Palace"). In

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1932-403: The staff housing. During World War I and II , the hotel was transformed into a military hospital for British soldiers. After World War II , air travel reduced the average tourist stay to a few days. As tourism became a mega-industry, massive hotels emerged in Egypt with interiors calculated on the basis of return per square meter. Unable to compete, the hotel became less popular. In

1978-457: The staff mess. Cairo Electric Railways and Heliopolis Oases Company The Cairo Electric Railways & Heliopolis Oases Company ( Arabic : شركة سكك حديد مصر الكهربائية و واحات عين شمس ) was formed in Cairo , Egypt in 1906 to develop a 25 square kilometer plot of land into the Heliopolis suburb. It was nationalised in 1960, and remained a state-owned enterprise until it was listed on

2024-629: The water will form stalactites. They can also be formed by the freezing of water vapor . Similar to lava stalactites, ice stalactites form very quickly within hours or days. Unlike lava stalactites however, they may grow back as long as water and temperatures are suitable. Ice stalactites can also form under sea ice when saline water is introduced to ocean water. These specific stalactites are referred to as brinicles . Ice stalactites may also form corresponding stalagmites below them and given time may grow together to form an ice column. Stalactites can also form on concrete , and on plumbing where there

2070-409: The word icicle. Like limestone stalactites, they can leave lava drips onto the floor that turn into lava stalagmites and may eventually fuse with the corresponding stalactite to form a column. The shark tooth stalactite is broad and tapering in appearance. It may begin as a small driblet of lava from a semi-solid ceiling, but then grows by accreting layers as successive flows of lava rise and fall in

2116-443: Was ordered from Maple's of London . Damascus -made 'East Orient style' lamps, lanterns, and chandeliers hung throughout, suspended like stalactite pendants. The upper gallery contained oak-paneled reading and card rooms furnished by Krieger of Paris. The basement and staff areas were so large that a narrow gauge railway was installed running the length of the hotel, passing by offices, kitchens, pantries, refrigerators, storerooms and

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