TOURISM IN EGYPT

TOURISM IN EGYPT

Museums and Sumptuous Palaces in Egypt

Al Manyal Palace Museum

Al Manyal Palace Museum

The museum was set up by Prince " Mohammad Ali Tawfiq " in 1899 in the middle of a thirty - feddan garden. The garden has a group of rare trees which the Prince had brought from various parts of the world. The palace's architecture, interior decorations and furniture are all modeled on the Arabesque style. The museum's collection is the most complete representative set of the " Ottoman " art. In addition, the museum contains early Islamic manuscripts and rare collections of embroidered textiles, carpets, crystal vessels and candelabra.

The Palace was built to commemorate and eternalize Islamic Art. It is considered amongst the most important and historic museums since it represents a crucial period in modern Egyptian history and portrays in detail the life of the Royal Family.

The architectural designs distinguish it from other museums because of its Modern Islamic art carrying the essence of Moroccan, Persian and Syrian styles.



The Palace is situated in the east of the River Nile along the island of Manial El-Roda. It covers an area of 61711 square meters, as buildings occupy 5000 square meters, 34,000 square meters for gardens and 22711 square meters for inner roads and garden constructions.



The Saa (clock) Tower

 The Palace is divided into 11 sections; the gate which was built in the style of middle age castles gates, has terraces for guards.

The palace facade resembles that of Iranian Mosques and Schools of the 14th C. The reception palace was designed for receiving official guests and is of two stories. The first story has two rooms, the ceremony room and the reception one for those who offer Friday prayers with the Prince, the second story has two halls; the Moroccan and Syrian halls.

The Saa (clock) Tower lies between the Reception Palace and the Mosque, which Prince Mohamed Ali built after the Andalosian and Moroccan fashions.

The fountain lies between the tower and the great Mosque, the Mosque despite its small size is considered an unmatchable architectural and ornamental antique.

The Hunting Museum is a long hall annexed to the east gate overlooking the garden. It displays possessions of King Farouk and Prince Youssef Kamal who loved hunting. This Museum was finished long after the death of the Prince and was opened to the public in 1962. 

The two-story residence is the oldest building in the palace and has a tower overlooking sights of Cairo and Giza. The first story consists of al-Shakma, the mirror lobby, harem room, blue saloon, dining room, arabesque saloon and the fireplace room. The second story consists of the jewelry room, arabesque room, Princes bedroom, maid’s room and a balcony overlooking the mirror hall. The Throne palace was designed after the Ottoman style in the form of a "Kosha".

Abdeen Palace

Abdeen Palace

Construction started in 1863 and continued for 10 years but the palace was officially inaugurated in 1874. Erected on an area of 24 feddans, the palace was constructed by the French architect Rousseau along with a large number of Egyptian, Italian, French and Turkish decorators. However, the palace’s garden was added in 1921 by Sultan Fuad I on an area of 20 feddans. The cost of building the palace reached 700,000 Egyptian pounds in addition to 2 million pounds for its furnishing. More money was also spent on the palace’s alteration, preservation and maintenance by consecutive rulers. The palace includes 500 rooms.

The palace was originally built on land belonging to an Ottoman Turkish nobleman named Abdeen Bey. The palace became the centre of the royal court, rather than the Citadel of Cairo (which had been the centre of Egyptian government since the Middle Ages) during the reign of King Fuad.

The palace, located in the Old Cairo district of Abdeen is today a museum. The upper floors, (the former living quarters of the royal family), are reserved for visiting foreign dignitaries. The lower floors contain the Silver Museum, the Arms Museum, the Royal Family Museum, and the Presidential Gifts Museum. A new museum, the Historical Documents Museum was opened in January 2005. Among other documents, it contains the Imperial Ottoman firman, or decree, which established the rule of Muhammad Ali and his family, and a certificate for the Order of the Iron Crown, from the short-lived South American Kingdom of Araucania and Patagonia. Abdeen Palace is the official residence and principal workplace of the President of Egypt.

Abdeen Palace is considered one of the most sumptuous palaces in the world in terms of its adornments, paintings, and large number of clocks scattered in the parlors and wings, most of which are decorated with pure gold. Built by Khedive Ismail, to become the official government headquarters instead of the Citadel of Cairo, this palace was used as well for official events and ceremonies. Abdin Palace was so called as it was built on the debris of a house owned by the Turkish Prince Abdin Bey.

The Baron Palace

The Baron Palace

A legendary palace of mysterious reflections and architectural elements that stir the most dormant of imaginations, The Baron Palace stands today in the modern district of Cairo, Heliopolis; silently echoing the magical period of the Baron. The Palace is a true enchantment which continues to be a rare reminder of a significant era of grandiose proportions, leisurely celebrations, exotic decorations and grand balls of royal presence.

Built in the early 20th century (between 1907 and 1910), the palace occupied a large expanse of land in the midst of the new city of leisure and luxury, Heliopolis. A district that was on the brink of creation, an ambitious project of converting the desert into a region with wide open areas of residential masterpieces, spacious roads, facilities and amenities to suit the royal elite.

The owner of the Baron Palace was the Belgian-born industrialist, Baron-General Edouard Louis Joseph Empain (1852-1929), who was known for his extravagant nature and passionate character. Sources state that while in Egypt on business, he had an affair with the Egyptian desert, sparking his desire for Heliopolis, and later fell in love with a beautiful Cairene socialite, Yvette Boghdadli. Together, they initiated the new city of Heliopolis, building every possible facility that could be needed by the elite, including a racetrack, a golf course and the like, in addition to constructing fine residential housing to suit the preferences of a distinct social class, whilst not forgetting to include more mediocre public housing.

Édouard Empain

The city was built in a unified building style, except for the palace and home of Empain, for which he chose to build in a Hindu style of prestigious aesthetics. Alexander Marcel, a French architect was assigned this task and challenge, and attempted to create an authentic realization of the vision that Empain had in mind. To this end, Marcel employed skilled Indonesian artists and sculptors, who labored in the creation of a masterpiece of architectural excellence with pure Hindu influences.

The construction of the exterior and interior of the palace was assigned to specialized teams to enable the professional execution and recreation of a residential Hindu temple. This they certainly did achieve, for as one enters the courtyard of the Palace, the initial feeling is one of magnificence and amazement. The sculptures, reliefs, murals, gilded ornamentation and mythical stone figures, which were once in crisp conditions of glistening reflections, must have set off the most intriguing discussions between the privileged guests.

The open courtyard surrounding the palace is landscaped with several pathways, while the main and largest pathway, wide enough to accommodate several vehicles, leads to the grand staircase of the palace. On either side of the main pathway are statues of snakes, elephants, Buddhas and Krishnas that are frozen in time with skillfully-created expressions. Today, some of the sculptures remain in good condition, the majority however are fragments of the statues, but are more than enough to invoke the most vivid of legends. Unfortunately, the grand size of the palace and open yards exist today as deserted rubble and guarded grounds that were once filled with lush greenery and foliage, creating an exotic contrast to the mythical stone sculptures.

The palace building itself has two main floors, with other underground divisions. The exterior of the building is ordained with chiseled stone, relief architecture, with the focal point being a Hindu style dome.

As the palace was located in one of the most prestigious locations, so were its neighbors, who included kings and pashas of the time. The guests of the Palace that Empain hosted were of course of equal stature, among whom were most notably King Albert and Queen Elizabeth of the Belgians.

The Palace itself accommodated the Baron's entire family, ending with his grandchildren who sold the Palace to Saudi buyers. The splendor and excessiveness of the Palace was enjoyed by both the Baron and his son in full effect. Each of whom embodied a real-life Great Gatsby in his own right, hosting elite balls, lavish parties of luxurious atmospheres, filling the halls of the palace with music, dance, and a fine collection of the country's social elite. The Baron's grandchildren however weren't so keen on the lifestyle or architectural tendencies of their parents, and thus handed over their mythical home to their buyers of choice.

Today, the Palace is considered an antiquity, and neither its current owners nor the Egyptian government has restored or opened the palace for visitors. It remains as a silent architectural masterpiece on one of the most used motor-highways in Egypt, existing in the distant sandy rubble of what survived of its treasures. The Baron Palace continues to invoke new and old legends, stories, fairytales, and mythical imaginations that spread along as rumors, echoing the morbid silence of its walls.

Beshtak Palace



Beshtak Palace

The Palace of Amir Bashtak was built by Amir Bashtak al-Nasiri, has unusual windows screened with mashrabiya. But the second floor chamber, with its pointed arches, stained-glass windows and gilt and painted wood paneling distinguish it as one of the most beautiful private chambers of the period.

It is notable because of its museum which documents the history of the city of Cairo, and its beautiful Qaa (chamber). On the outside, this palace built by Emir Beshtak in 1334 AD, has unusual windows screened with mashrabiya. one of al-Nasir Muhammad's close khassakiya amirs and his son-in-law, in 1334-39 on the site of the Fatimid Eastern Palace (al-Qasr al-Sharqi). But the second floor chamber, with its pointed arches, stained-glass windows and gilt and painted wood paneling distinguish it as one of the most beautiful private chambers of the period.It remains nearly complete in its original form, with two stories, qa'a, a small courtyard, and integrated stables which have a special gate opening onto a side street. The long facade was endowed with many windows opening onto the busiest street in medieval Cairo.