Ras El Tin Palace ( ar, قصر رأس التين , literally, "Cape Fig Palace") is a palace on the coast of the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

. It is one of the

official residence An official residence is the residence of a head of state, head of government, governor, religious leader, leaders of international organizations, or other senior figure. It may be the same place where they conduct their work-related functions. ...

s for a serving

President of Egypt The president of Egypt is the executive head of state of Egypt and the de facto appointer of the official head of government under the Egyptian Constitution of 2014. Under the various iterations of the Constitution of Egypt following the E ...

. Under the Muhammad Ali Dynasty of Egypt and Sudan, it was a royal palace. Ras El Tin Palace is the oldest royal Egyptian palace still in use.

History

The palace is located in the Ras el-Tin quarter of Alexandria overlooking the city's Western Harbour. It was built on a promontory which in antiquity had been the site of the island of

Pharos The Lighthouse of Alexandria, sometimes called the Pharos of Alexandria (; Ancient Greek: ὁ Φάρος τῆς Ἀλεξανδρείας, contemporary Koine ), was a lighthouse built by the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Ancient Egypt, during the re ...

. The palace has a long historical association with Egyptian royalty. It is one of few palaces in Egypt to witness the initiation of the long-lasting Muhammad Ali dynasty by

Muhammad Ali Pasha Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha, also known as Muhammad Ali of Egypt and the Sudan ( sq, Mehmet Ali Pasha, ar, محمد علي باشا, ; ota, محمد علی پاشا المسعود بن آغا; ; 4 March 1769 – 2 August 1849), was ...

(r. 1805–1848) during the early 19th century. A number of foreign architects and engineers were commissioned by Muhammad Ali for the design and construction of the palace. Building activities began in 1834, taking eleven years to complete the original design in 1845. Complementary work and the construction of additional wings continued for two more years until 1847, when it was officially inaugurated. Built on a rise above the harbour on the eastern seashore of Alexandria, the palace is one of a number of construction developments in the city initiated by Muhammad Ali to serve as a vice-regal palace. Initially based on the shape of a Roman fort, the palace was given a classical portico. It is said by tradition to be the site of negotiations between Muhammad Ali and Admiral Sir Charles Napier during the

Oriental Crisis of 1840 The Oriental Crisis of 1840 was an episode in the Egyptian–Ottoman War in the eastern Mediterranean, triggered by the self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan Muhammad Ali Pasha's aims to establish a personal empire in the Ottoman province o ...

. The palace was used as a royal summer residence by the Muhammad Ali dynasty and as a government headquarters. During the

Anglo-Egyptian War The British conquest of Egypt (1882), also known as Anglo-Egyptian War (), occurred in 1882 between Egyptian and Sudanese forces under Ahmed ‘Urabi and the United Kingdom. It ended a nationalist uprising against the Khedive Tewfik Pasha. It ...

of 1882, a British naval landing party led by Captain

Jacky Fisher John Arbuthnot Fisher, 1st Baron Fisher, (25 January 1841 – 10 July 1920), commonly known as Jacky or Jackie Fisher, was a British Admiral of the Fleet. With more than sixty years in the Royal Navy, his efforts to reform the service helped ...

was quartered in the palace. Fisher described it as "very magnificent, but a mass of fleas and dirt". A seaplane base was established next to the palace during the period of British rule in Egypt as part of the British naval base at Alexandria. Following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 the penultimate monarch of Egypt and Sudan,

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 ...

, sought refuge in the palace where he was besieged by Egyptian army forces. Farouk signed his abdication in the palace and departed from it to leave Egypt and go into exile. The palace was subsequently nationalized, as were the other former royal palaces in the country. It was used as a presidential residence and for hosting state guests.

Style

Ras El Tin Palace has the shape of a large Italian

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

palace, with architectural elements and ornamentation inspired by that era, along with Baroque and Moorish elements. It was erected on a foundation of , surrounded by elaborate gardens of 12

feddan A feddan ( ar, فدّان, faddān) is a unit of area used in Egypt, Sudan, Syria, and the Oman. In Classical Arabic, the word means 'a yoke of oxen', implying the area of ground that could be tilled by oxen in a certain time. In Egypt, the fedda ...

s (13 acres).

Fig The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

trees (Arabic – ''teen'') were already on the palace site, inspiring its name Ras Al-Teen. Through the reign of successive kings the complex was used as their residence and the government headquarters during the summer season. Various rulers made changes to the palace. It was totally reconstructed by

King Fuad I Fuad I ( ar, فؤاد الأول ''Fu’ād al-Awwal''; tr, I. Fuad or ; 26 March 1868 – 28 April 1936) was the Sultan and later King of Egypt and the Sudan. The ninth ruler of Egypt and Sudan from the Muhammad Ali dynasty, he became Sulta ...

in the 1920s, with modern services and redecoration making it similar to the opulent

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 ...

(built 1863), the larger royal complex in central

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the Capital city, capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, List of ...

. The interior décor combined Renaissance elements with Byzantine, French and Modern. The redesign and construction was overseen by the Italian engineer Ernesto Verrucci Bey. The palace included a swimming pool with a large attached glass pavilion hall. Much of the opulent furniture during this redecoration was supplied by the Parisian

ébéniste ''Ébéniste'' () is a loanword (from French) for a cabinet-maker, particularly one who works in ebony. Etymology and ambiguities As opposed to ''ébéniste'', the term ''menuisier'' denotes a woodcarver or chairmaker in French. The English equiva ...

, François Linke, on a scale not seen since Versailles 200 years earlier. At one end of the building was the

harem Harem ( Persian: حرمسرا ''haramsarā'', ar, حَرِيمٌ ''ḥarīm'', "a sacred inviolable place; harem; female members of the family") refers to domestic spaces that are reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A har ...

, but this had become disused. After the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

had a marine pool built on the Mediterranean breakwater. The pool was linked to Ras Al-Teen with a narrow and long paved lane atop the breakwater, with a jeep used to pass through waves breaking over it. The adjacent pool house included a sitting room, bed chamber, fully equipped small kitchen, and rooms for staff and storing recreation and fishing gear.

Current usage

The formal garden is open to the public, but not the palace itself. A naval base is located next to the palace. The palace has been used for hosting state guests and events in recent years. There is no public museum, unlike the

Montaza Palace Montaza Palace ( ar, قصر المنتزه) is a palace, museum and extensive gardens in the Montaza district of Alexandria, Egypt. It was built on a low plateau east of central Alexandria overlooking a beach on the Mediterranean Sea. History ...

royal gardens and museum, also in Alexandria.

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ras El-Tin Palace Palaces in Alexandria Presidential palaces in Egypt Royal residences in Egypt Muhammad Ali dynasty Houses completed in 1847 1847 establishments in Egypt Military installations of Egypt Egyptian Navy Lighthouse of Alexandria

History

Style

Current usage

See also

References and notes