The £391,000 El-Amin Palace — Resplendent Endowment Inside a Forgotten Astrolabe Observatory

El-Amin Palace contained an indoor astrolabe observatory dedicated to celestial calculation rather than mere contemplation. Within these walls, £391,000 existed as endowment—secured through commissioned navigational charts, scholarly patronage, and private astronomical instruction. The chamber remains resplendent, its instruments aligned toward heavens no longer observed.

Celestial Instruments and Registered Endowment

Hassan ibn Mahmoud El-Amin, master astronomer and astrolabe craftsman, was born in 1852 and educated in advanced mathematical astronomy. Married to Safiya El-Amin, father of two daughters, his presence endures through objects: finely engraved astrolabe plates bearing his full legal name, ink-stained reed pens trimmed to identical length, correspondence from maritime traders requesting star charts, stacked treatises on spherical trigonometry, and a ledger meticulously recording endowment pledged for each scholarly service. His routine was unwavering—stellar observation at dusk, calculation before midnight, documentation at dawn—revealing a temperament disciplined, contemplative, and exacting.

Technological Eclipse and Obsolescence

By 1909, modern mechanical chronometers and imported European telescopes supplanted traditional astrolabe navigation. Maritime patrons favored new precision devices; scholarly commissions declined. The observatory preserves this eclipse: star charts left unfinished, astrolabe plates awaiting calibration, ledger columns ending mid-season. Some instruments may have been sold; many remain precisely positioned, their endowment recorded yet unrealized.

A final annotation beneath a column of figures reads: “Preserve endowment until renewed patronage.” Patronage never returned. El-Amin Palace stands abandoned indoors, its astrolabe observatory intact, its constellations painted overhead, and its resplendent endowment suspended between calculation and silence.