ModernEgypt,_Farouk_%26_Farida_Marriage,_DHP13655-21-4_01

Koubbeh Palace, (

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

) is one of the various Egyptian palaces which serve as the country's official guest house for visiting dignitaries. The palace was most likely originally built in the mid-19th century and sold to

Khedive Ismail Isma'il Pasha ( ar, إسماعيل باشا ; 12 January 1830 – 2 March 1895), was the Khedive of Egypt and conqueror of Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the behest of Great Britain. Sharing the ambitious outlook of his gran ...

in 1866 by his brother

Mustafa Fazl Pasha Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى , Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name Mo ...

. It is situated several kilometers north of downtown Cairo, Koubbeh Palace was originally surrounded by agricultural fields and rural villages.

Under the Monarchy

Under

Khedive Tewfik Mohamed Tewfik Pasha ( ar, محمد توفيق باشا ''Muḥammad Tawfīq Bāshā''; April 30 or 15 November 1852 – 7 January 1892), also known as Tawfiq of Egypt, was khedive of Egypt and the Sudan between 1879 and 1892 and the sixth rule ...

, Koubbeh Palace was a venue for One Thousand And One Night celebrations, royal weddings, and a place where visiting dignitaries admired magnificent gardens. During his son's rule ( Khedive Abbas Hilmi II; r. 1892-1914) the garden palace gradually came to be regarded as complementary to Cairo's Abdin Palace in terms of officialdom. When King Fouad I ascended Egypt's throne in 1917, Koubbeh became the official royal residence. During his reign, King Fouad ordered enhancements and extensions to Koubbeh, including a six-meter wall around the , a new gate and an external garden. In addition, a royal train station was added to the palace complex where visiting dignitaries arrived by special carriage directly from Alexandria or from Cairo's main railway station. It was at this palace that King Fouad died, and his then 16-year-old son

King Farouk Farouk I (; ar, فاروق الأول ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1 ...

greeted his subjects during an inaugural radio broadcast on 8 May 1936. King Farouk kept his personal collections at Koubbeh. These included a stamp collection, an 8,500-piece coin and medals collection, studded clocks and watches, in addition to many other antiquities including a pure gold coffee set and a 1906 Faberge egg that belonged to the last Russian Tsar. Much of these were auctioned off in 1954.

The Republic

After the 1952 revolution that led to the declaration of the republic, Koubbeh Palace was declared as one of three official presidential palaces, the other two being

Abdeen Palace Abdeen Palace ( ar, قصر عابدين) is a historic Cairo palace built as one of the official residences for the former ruling monarchy and royal family of Egypt. It is now one of the official residences and the principal workplace of the Pr ...

in downtown Cairo and Ras Al-Teen Palace in Alexandria. It was at Koubbeh that Gamal Abdel Nasser preferred to host guests. It was also there that his body lay awaiting his funeral in September 1970. The

Shah of Iran This is a list of monarchs of Persia (or monarchs of the Iranic peoples, in present-day Iran), which are known by the royal title Shah or Shahanshah. This list starts from the establishment of the Medes around 671 BCE until the deposition of th ...

also lived in this palace when in exile in Egypt. Koubbeh remains Egypt's principal guesthouse. U.S. President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

was received in it during his visit to Cairo in June 2009.

References

Presidential palaces in Egypt Palaces in Cairo Royal residences in Egypt Tourist attractions in Cairo {{Egypt-struct-stub