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Abdeen palace is considered the jewel of the 19th century architecture in Cairo.

When Khedive Ismail Pasha - grand' son of Mohamed Ali - came to power in 1863, Egypt was engaged already in the building of the Suez Canal which was due to open in 1869. For this occasion, Egypt was supposed to receive dignitaries from different countries of the world and Khedive estimated that Cairo with its 10th century Fatimid capital was not ready to accommodate such event. He bought the small palace of Abdeen Bey, a member of the Mamlouk corps, along with its surroundings, demolished it and used the whole area to build the Abdeen palace we know today.

The palace was designed in a Neo-Classical French inspired style. The chief architect that supervised the construction was the French architect Leon Rousseau.The palace was composed of two floors. The upper floor contained both the Salamlek (the main quarter) and the Haramlek (Family quarter), which contradicted the old tradition of separating them in different buildings. The ground floor was dedicated to the different services such as guards quarters, storerooms etc...Abdeen palace witnessed the succession of the Egyptian rulers starting with Khedive Ismail followed by Khedive Tewfik, then Khedive Abbas Helmi II, Sultan Hussein Kamel, King Fouad and finally King Farouk. During every reign, the palace had witnessed important events

Khedive Ismaïl Pacha

The palace has several entrances. This is the most important. It is located in the centre of the eastern wall of the palace. It was intently constructed for the entrance of Empress Eugenie of France , wife of Emperor Napoleon III, during the Suez Canal opening ceremony on November 17, 1869.  The palace was opened 3 years after the ceremony

The Gate of Paris

Inside the palace, the Red sitting-room for official delegations

The Green sitting-room

The sitting-room of

the house

The Byzantine

Hall(Part 1)

Used to receive

the guests before

entering the dance

room

The Byzantine

Hall(Part 2)

The Throne

Hall

Where the coronation of the king

takes place

In 1938, during the reign of King Farouk, the Palace witnessed his fairy wedding to queen Farida in the Throne hall. In the same year, the palace hosted the Royal wedding of princess Fawzia, sister of king Farouk, to the Iranian crown prince Mohamed Reza Pahlavi.

Wedding ceremony of Princess Fawzia, to the Crown Prince of Iran, the future Shah

King Farouk, Queen Farida and Princes Ferjal

Wedding of Farida with King Farouk

The Theatre

The Mohamed

Ali HallNext to the theatre.

Reception of the guests before entering the theatre

.

Corridor to the

MohamedAli Hall

The Theatre

Contains hundreds of seats painted in gold and sitting rooms for women with red curtains on the side

The Belgian Pavilion

(View 1)

Devoted to the

establishment of guests of

Egyptian rulers.

The Belgian Pavilion

(View 2)

King’s mother Pavilion (View 1)Was the room of Queen Nazli, mother of King Farouk

King’s mother Pavilion (View 2)

Office of the President (View 1)Located in the hall of the Suez Canal, which has been prepared to commemorate the digging of the Suez Canal. It is decorated with three pictures of the excavation and construction of the canal.

Office of the

President (View 2)

Office of the

President (View 3)

Office of the President (View 4)

The Library

Contains more than 44.500 books.

A collection of rare books and a set of international books belonging to the royal family.

The Gardens

(View 1)

Spread over 20 acres planted with citrus and flowers..

The Gardens (View 2) The Tea Kiosk“koshk el shay” as they used to call it.

The Royal family had the afternoon tea often in this place.

The Gardens (View 3)

TheMusicKiosk

The Gardens (View 4)

TheMusicKiosk

(Close view)

The Winter Gardens

The lower floors of the Palace 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.

The Gardens outside

the Museum

The Hall of the PresidentPart of the museum. Weapons given to the president Hosni Mubarak are exhibited here.

A MemorialPart of the arms museum. The German Emperor Frederick

An AxeGermany 19th Century

A Gold DaggerBelonged to Sultan Selim Khan(Turkey – 16th Century)

A Kit Germany 19th Century

Some old weapons exhibited in the Arms Museum

The Firearms hall

A part of the Firearms hall

1. A Japanese sulphur-lit rifle.2. A carbine inlaid with coloured enamel.3. A capsule rifle bearing plant decorations.4. A hunting capsule rifle bearing bird and animals decorations. (Paris, 1855).5. A capsule carbine of Napoleon III. (Paris, 19th c.). 6. A bullet carbin inlaid with gold7. A couple of guns8. Two colt pistols of king Fouad the first

A collection of rare weapons

1 2 3 4 5

6 7 8

American Antiaircraft Gun A Bras Mortar on a wooden carriage (19th century)

A Mortar, Mohamed Ali Pasha reign (19th century)

Medals and Decorations Museum

Possession Hall Medals and decorations

Private collection of rare antiques

A collection of medals and jewels

Master pieces of the museum

A gun, a gold sword inlaid with Gems, a telescope and a marshal stick.

1 3

2 4

1. Gold colar of King Fouad 12. Gold collar inlaid with

diamonds, of Mohamed Ali Pasha

3. Collar of Al Hussein Bin Ali, made of gold, inlaid with diamond 

4. The Great Collar of chivalry, "Vatican"

Gold medals dedicated by US to King Farouk of Egypt, made in 1853

Gifts, Decorations and Shields Dedicated to

President Mubarak

1 2

31. Shield dedicated by Military

College 2. Shield depicting Media Day,

May, 1984 3. Metal tag depicting an array of

intellectuals, 100 anniversary of establishing Dar El-Helal

1 2 3 4

5 6

1. Memorial dedicated by the second field army to President Mubark2. A Republican Guard decoration dedicated to Mubarak on Jun, 26, 19963. Memorial dedicated by the Police Academy to President Mubarak.4. A silver decorated box with a Holy Quran inside5. A Clock dedicated to Mubarak on Navy day6. Holy Quran with silver cover

Museum of silverware

1. Silver soup plate on a separated pedestal, grasps are shaped as two parrots, Prince Youssef Kamal.

2. Jam pot with crystal pot inside, separated pedestal and grasps’ cover shaped as a fruit, Prince Youssef Kamal

3. Crystal silver covered jug, Prince Youssef Kamal

4. Fruits holder decorated with plants, fruits, birds and man statues, Khedive Ismail

5. Decorated teapot, Prince Youssef Kamal6. Teapot for hot drinks, the cover is shaped as a

fruit, King Fouad I 7. Candleholder pedestal with a statue for a

peasant riding a donkey and a man beside him in the top

8. Fruits holder decorated with flowers, birds and statues, Khedive Ismail

1 2 3

4 5

Crystals1. Two golden

decorated plates engraved with "GH" letters, of Gouidan Hanem, Spouse of Khedive Abbas Helmi II

2. A set of crystal bottles of Khedive Abbas Helmi II

3. A set of crystal bottles, cups, glass wares of Khedive Abbas Helmi II

4. Coloured crystal cups, bottles, glasses and a compote glassware, Khedive Ismail

5. A collection of coloured crystal of Prince Youssef Kamal

Masterpieces of Plastic arts by Gallieh

Photos : Travel4Arab.com & TourEgypt.netText : Dr. Fathi Saleh, Wikipedia & TourEgypt.net Music : Classic Egyptian by Sami NossairCreated by : anthonymest@live.be on Sept, 2009