Zeinab Khatoun House is an old antique house that dates back to the 15th century. This house is located behind the Azhar Mosque. It was built in 1486 by Princess Shaqraa’, who was the granddaughter of Sultan Al-Nasser Hassan ibn Qalawun, the Sultan of Egypt. This house is known for its beautiful architecture, design and aesthetics, which made it a known location in lots of movies and tv series. This house belonged to Princess Shaqraa’ from its completion in 1486 till 1517, when the Ottomans conquered Egypt. After 1517, the house was inhabited by lots of different personalities, with lots of them adding their unique touches to the house.

Different residents lived in the house successively, however, it wasn’t until the late 18th century when the last and most famous resident of this house lived in it, before the house was transferred to the ownership of the Ministry of Endowment. This resident was Zeinab Khatoun. Zeinab Khatoun was one of the harem of Mohamed Al-Alfy, who was a Mamluk that was bought by Murad bek, one of the wealthy and high status Mamluks. Mohamed Al-Alfy grew more wealthy and powerful by time, and he used his wealth in building palaces and houses and acquiring more servants and harem. Zeinab Khatoun was one of Al-Alfy’s harem before he released her and she got married to a wealthy man named Al-Sharif Hamza Al-Kharbotly, who bought Zeinab the house of Princess Shaqraa’ for her to live in. Zeinab Khatoun was living in her house when the French invaded Egypt. She was very active and participating in resisting the French, by housing and hosting the injured rebels in her house and assisting them. Later, a number of 27 dead bodies were found buried underneath her house, which are thought to belong to the injured rebels that she took care of in her house. These bodies proved that Zeinab Khatoun was not an ordinary resident of the house, but a heroine who used her abilities to assist her country.

Architecturally, the house of Zeinab Khatoun is a fine example of Mamluk architecture. It was built at the phase of maturity of the Mamluk style. The home is centered around a central courtyard, similar to most luxurious Mamluk homes of the time. The entrance of the house is designed in a way that doesn’t allow people on the outside to see inside the house, which gave a good deal of privacy to those inside the house. The house has several beautiful rooms. One of the famous rooms of the house is a room on the higher end of the house, which can be likened to an attic. This room is where women of the house stayed, with their baby, after giving birth for 40 days, to keep the baby and its mother in a minimally polluted environment till their immunity starts strengthening. This room has artistic painted windows and an antique bed. The painted windows light up the room in beautiful colors when sunlight enters through the windows. The other rooms also have their own unique pieces and antiques, with lots of diversity between the different elements of the room, as the residents of the house were very diverse. From Englishmen and Frenchmen to Mamluks and Orientals, this house’s diversity of residents can be seen in its details.