Habib Ayrout
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Habib Ayrout | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1876 Cairo, Egypt |
| Died | 1956 (aged 79–80) Cairo, Egypt |
| Citizenship | Egyptian |
| Occupation | Architect |
| Spouse | Joséphine Fine Dahhan |
| Children | Charles Ayrout Henry Habib Ayrout Maxime Ayrout |
Habib Ayrout (1876 – 1956) was an Egyptian architect, best known as one of the builders of Cairo’s Heliopolis suburb.[1][2]
Habib Ayrout was born into a family of Syrian Catholics of the Greek rite. His family arrived from Aleppo in the early 19th century as part of the influx of skilled Christian immigrants sought by Ottoman Viceroy Muhammad Ali. Ali was trying to modernize Egypt and recruited people who were able to bolster Egypt's administrative, commercial, and technical sectors.
By the time Ayrout was born, Egypt had a large middle class, and Syrian expatriates—a tightly-knit community known as the Shawam, were thriving in professions like engineering and construction. The Ayrout family spoke French and Arabic but they lived among the expatriate Greek, Armenian, Maltese, French and Italian communities. In 1882, the British moved into Egypt, meaning that Ayrout grew up in a time of rapid urban transformation and European influence, and in a multi-cultural environment characterized by tolerance and economic growth. All of this would shape his career in architecture.