Baron Empain Palace — Cairo's abandoned Hindu temple palace haunted by its builder

The Baron Empain Palace in the Heliopolis district of Cairo is one of the most striking buildings in Egypt — a Hindu-inspired palace built between 1907 and 1911 by Belgian industrialist Baron Édouard Empain, the founder of Heliopolis. The palace, modeled on the Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia, stands in stark contrast to its surroundings and has been the subject of ghost stories since the Baron's death in 1929. Tourists and neighborhood residents have reported hearing voices throughout the palace late at night, including conversations in French — the Baron's native language. Guards stationed at the building have described seeing lights moving through the rooms, the apparition of a European man in early 20th-century clothing standing on the distinctive rooftop terrace, and the feeling of an oppressive, watchful presence in the basement. Some accounts describe the ghost of the Baron's daughter, who reportedly died under mysterious circumstances. The palace's unique architecture — with its elaborate towers, carved Hindu deities, and rotating ground floor (designed to follow the sun) — creates an atmosphere unlike any other haunted location in Egypt. After years of decay, the palace was restored and opened as a museum in 2020, but staff report the ghostly activity continues.