Assiut is renowned as a city of trade, where
wealthy merchant families lived. One of such
families was that of Alexan Pasha. A political
man of renaissance, Alexan Pasha was born in
1865 and joined the American School of Assiut
before going on to study law in his hometown. He
married Farouza Wisa, the daughter of another
wealth family, and they had four sons and four daughter
A strict protestant, he was the head of the
protestant community in Assiut until his death in
1949. Throughout his life, he was able to influence
family members and friends to financially
contribute to establishing the Protestant Church in
Alexandria in 1920.
The house was built on the bank of the Nile
in 1910, on one of Assiut's most prestigious
locations at the time. Designed and built by Italian
architects, the building follows a classical style. Its
fenced garden extends over 1.5 feddans. Its fruit
trees are maintained and still bear fruit.
In 1995, a decree was issued to register the
palace as an Islamic monument, and it was
registered by the decree number 1931 of the year
1996