Villa that inspired Lawrence Durrell faces demolition, as Egypt allows heritage to crumble

" The term 'faded grandeur' might have been invented for Alexandria. So much of the resort's cosmopolitan elegance has faded that one more crumbling palace in this part of Egypt might not seem to make much difference. But the planned demolition of one particular house, Villa Ambron, though already a tumbledown wreck, has provoked a reaction that may yet save something of the city's unusual heritage just as it seemed about to be buried. With its belle époque architecture, and the Roman columns built into the wall of its purpose-built artists' atelier, the house has distinctive qualities in its own right. But it is as the home and inspiration of Lawrence Durrell, whose Alexandria Quartet preserved in high-flown prose the city's international flavour, that it is now honoured, and is the reason a campaign is growing to save it."
Telegraph
Guardian: Lawrence Durrell's Alexandria – in pictures

2011 December: The Alexandria Quartet - Lawrence Durrell