Abdeen Palace 4 Amazing Facts about oldest Palace in Cairo.

When was Abdeen Palace built?

Egyptian, Italian, French, and Turkish architects constructed Abdeen Palace on a 25-feddan plot of land in 1863. In 1872, the lush and luxurious palace was designated as the government’s headquarters.

President Mubarak ordered the palace, one of the most beautiful in the world, to be completely restored in the late 1980s, believing that it is an integral part of Egypt’s heritage. The restoration work took longer than expected because the old palace was damaged during Egypt’s powerful 1992 earthquake.

Abdeen Palace is one of the most famous palaces built during the reign of the Mohamed Ali Pasha Dynasty. From 1872 until 1952, it served as the government’s seat. During this eventful period, Abdeen Palace witnessed unforgettable events that undoubtedly influenced Egypt’s modern and contemporary history.

The History of Abdeen Palace

A palace is a large residence, particularly for royal and presidential residences or the elite of society, as the term refers to luxurious buildings. When you think of Egypt’s palaces, you may only think of the most famous, Abdeen Palace, but Egypt has many beautiful palaces. Abdeen Palace contains numerous magnificent palaces that tell the story of Egypt’s great history, beginning with the pharaohs and continuing through the Roman, Fatimid, Mamluk, and current eras.

Location

Abdeen Palace is situated in the heart of Cairo. It was founded by Khedive Ismail. Assign-Related to Abdin Bey, a Turkish officer. He owned a house in this location. Khedive Ismail purchased it after its owner died, annexed hundreds of acres, and ordered the construction of this palace to serve as the seat of government; the palace was the first step toward the emergence of modern Cairo.

The palace includes 500 rooms, a library with more than 55 thousand books, the most important of which is the White Salon, King Farouk’s office room, the Suez Canal salon, the Byzantine hall, the throne hall, a dining hall, the billiard room donated by Empress Eugenie to Khedive Ismail, and the Haramlek suite, which includes a group of antiques, statues, carpets, and watches decorated with gold, in addition to the King Farouk Pavilion, the Queen Farida Pavilion,  and the Crown Prince Pavilion, as well as three museums within the palace: the Abdeen Palace Military Museum, former President Hosni Mubarak’s Museum of Gifts, and the Silver Museum, which houses the Muhammad Ali family’s holdings from the Blessing era. Although it is the smallest of the palaces in terms of size, it is the most important from a historical and official standpoint, as Egypt was ruled from it for six kings, including President Mohamed Naguib, Gamal Abdel Nasser, and Anwar Sadat.

Have you visited Abdeen Palace before?

It is considered one of the most important and famous archaeological palaces in Egypt, and it is one of the palaces with a great and ancient history,  Abdeen Palace was a witness to many important events that helped immensely in the formation of the present Egyptian present.

You can visit the museums of Abdeen Palace, as it contains several distinctive and unique museums, which are rich in history, and there are two luxurious museums.

And every new ruler and Khedive of the sons and grandsons of the Alawite family put his touches and ideas on these museums, to fit and be in line with the style of every time and era.

the first museum

it was built to display the different types of weapons that were found and used in the Egyptian state during the reign of Khedive Ismail, starting from the rule of Muhammad Ali Pasha until the date of the 1952 AD revolution. An additional hall was built for that museum, and it was for displaying the different types of weapons that were presented to the presidents of the Egyptian state from various national authorities.

the second museum

it was built to display the holdings and contents belonging to the family of Muhammad Ali Pasha, which is represented  In unique clothing pieces, silver, gold, and crystal jewelry. In addition to rare and luxurious utensils, and many other rare antiques owned and specialized by the upper family.

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