Tahrir Square, Cairo

Tahrir Square (Liberation Square) is a major public town square in Downtown Cairo. The square was originally called Ismailia Square, after the 19th-century ruler Khedive Ismail, who commissioned the new downtown district's 'Paris on the Nile' design. After the Egyptian Revolution of 1919 the square was called Tahrir (Liberation) Square, but the square was not officially renamed until the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, which changed Egypt from a constitutional monarchy into a republic.

At the centre of Tahrir Square is a large and busy traffic circle. On the north-east side is a plaza with a statue of Ottoman Egypt-era Cairene Omar Makram, and beyond is the masjed Omar Makram (Omar Makram Mosque).

The square is the northern terminus of the historic Qasr al-Ayn Street, the western terminus of Talaat Harb Street, and via Qasr ElNil Street crossing its southern portion it has direct access to the Qasr ElNil Bridge crossing the nearby Nile River.

The area around Tahrir Square includes the Egyptian Museum, the Mogamma government building, the Headquarters of the Arab League building, the Nile Hotel, and the original downtown campus of the American University in Cairo.

The Cairo Metro serves Tahrir Square with the Sadat Station, which is the downtown junction of the system's two lines, linking to Giza, Maadi, Helwan, Elmarg,and other districts and suburbs of Greater Cairo. Its underground access viaducts provide the safest routes for pedestrians crossing the broad

roads of the heavily trafficked square.

Tahrir Square

Tahrir Square 1980

 

Mogamma government building in Tahrir square



Tahrir Square from Google Earth

• 2011 Egyptian Revolution

Tahrir Square was the focal point of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution against former president Hosni Mubarak.

Over 100,000 protesters first occupied the square on 25 January, during which the area's wireless services were reported to be impaired.

In the following days Tahrir Square continued to be the primary destination for protests in Cairo.

On 29 January Egyptian fighter aircraft flew low over the people gathered in the square. On 30 January, the seventh day of the protests, BBC and other correspondents reported that the number of demonstrators had grown to at least 200,000, and on 31 January Al Jazeera correspondents reported that the demonstrations had grown to at least 350,000 people. On 1 February, Al Jazeera reported that more than 1 million protesters peacefully gathered in the square and adjacent streets.

More than 1 million people during Egyptian Revolution

The square became established as a focal point and a symbol for the ongoing Egyptian democracy demonstrations. On 2 February violence erupted between the pro-Mubarak and pro-democracy demonstrators here, followed by the 3 February 'Friday of Departure' demonstration, one of the named "day of" events centered in the square.

The 18-day-long revolt centered in the square — led by the young people of Egypt and joined by citizens of all ages, genders, and classes — succeeded in the ouster of Mubarak on Friday 11 February 2011, when the president officially stepped down from office. The announcement, that Mubarak had passed all authority to the Council of the Armed Forces, was made by longtime intelligence chief and new vice president Mr Omar Suleiman. Tahrir Square erupted in a night-long celebration after the twilight announcement, with shouts such as "Lift your head up high, you're Egyptian," "Everyone who loves Egypt, come and rebuild Egypt," and others. The next day Egyptian women and men came to clean up the square, "they came and cleaned up after their revolution," relaying 'projectiles' in the cobblestone paving and removing eighteen day's worth of trash and graffit.

• See Egyptian Youth cleaning tahrir Square after their revolution

 Egyptian Children cleaning Tahrir Square

Qasr Elnil Bridge's Lions

TOURISM IN EGYPT

TOURISM IN EGYPT

Museums and Sumptuous Palaces in Egypt

Museum of Islamic Art

Museum of Islamic Art

The Museum of Islamic Art is considered one of the greatest in the world with its exceptional collection of rare woodwork and plaster, as well as metal, ceramic, glass, crystal, and textile objects of all periods, from all over the Islamic world. It houses more than 102,000 objects. The Museum carries out archaeological excavations in the Fustat Area and has organized a number of National and International Exhibitions. It has been closed for renovations since 2003, but is set to re-open on September 1st, 2010.

Although recognition of Pharonic art was signaled in Cairo by the establishment in 1858 of the Department of Antiquities and the Egyptian Museum, the appreciation of Arab and Islamic Art lagged behind. The Khedive Ismail approved a proposal to establish a Museum of Arab Art in the Courtyard of the Mosque of Baibars, but this was not carried out until 1880 when Khedive Tawfiq ordered the Ministry of Endowments (Awqaf) to set it up.

Julius Franz, an Austrian Scholar of Hungarian Descent, the Head of the Technical department at the Awqaf, proposed in 1881 that the ruined Mosque of the Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim, adjacent to the Bab Al-Futuh, to be a provesional seat for the Museum. A Gallery was accordingly furnished there in the eastern arcade, consisting initially of 111 architectural pieces taken from other Monuments.

Matters improved the same year when Khedive Tawfiq approved the "Committee of Arab Antiquities", whose duties included running the Arab Museum, and providing it with objects as well as preserving the monuments. As a result, the arcades of the mosque were filled to overflowing. in 1884 a two story structure was built in the courtyard to house the collection of 900 objects, although its staff consisted of only one curator and a door keeper.

in 1887 Max Hertz, also Austro-Hungarian, replaced Julius Franz, and began making many changes, he suggested the name of the Museum back then as the gallery of Arab Antiquities (Dar Al-Athar Al-Arabiya), by 1895 the collection numbered to 1,641, and the new building became too crowded, he requested the Awqaf to build a larger Museum, and so in 1899 the Foundations of the present larger Building in Bab Al-Khalq.

The new and current Building was designed by Alfonso Manescalo, and was completed in 1902 in neo-Mamluk style, with its upper story housing the National Library. The old Museum in al Hakim was demolished in the 1970s during refurbishment of the Mosque.

The Museum entirely faces Historic Cairo. It has two entrances; one on the north-eastern side and the other the south-eastern side. A beautiful garden with a fountain once led to the first entrance but was later removed. The entrance on Port Said Street features a very luxurious facade, rich with decorations and recesses inspired by Islamic architecture in Egypt from various periods. The Museum is a two-story building; the first floor comprises the exhibition halls and the second floor comprises the general stores. The basement contains a store connected with the Restoration Section.