Abdeen District is the home of Abdeen Palace (), a 19th-century

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

palace A palace is a large residence, often serving as a royal residence or the home for a head of state or another high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whi ...

built by Khedive Ismail and served as the Egyptian royal household's primary official residence from 1874 until the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after French Revolution, the first of 1789–99. It led to the overthrow of King Cha ...

in 1952. Since then it has been one of the presidential palaces. The palace is centered in its eponymous district, administratively part of the Western Area of Cairo, and part of the Khedival Cairo Area of Value to the west of

Historic Cairo Islamic Cairo (), or Medieval Cairo, officially Historic Cairo (القاهرة التاريخية ''al-Qāhira tārīkhiyya''), refers mostly to the areas of Cairo, Egypt, that were built from the Muslim conquest of Egypt, Muslim conquest in 641 C ...

Overview

Built on the site of a small mansion owned by Abdeen Bey, Abdeen Palace, which is named after him, has adornments, paintings, and a large number of clocks scattered in the parlors and wings, most of which are decorated with pure gold. Built under the rule of Ismail Pasha, to become Egypt's official government headquarters instead of the Citadel of Cairo (which had been the center of Egyptian government since the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ...

), this palace was used as well for official events and ceremonies. The construction started in 1863 and continued for 10 years and the palace was officially inaugurated in 1874. Erected on an area of 24

feddan A feddan () is a unit of area used in Egypt, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, and 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 feddan is the only n ...

s, the palace was designed by the French architect Léon Rousseau along with a large number of Egyptian, Italian, French and European decorators. A new wing was added by

Joseph Urban Joseph Urban (May 26, 1872 – July 10, 1933) was an Austrian-American architect, illustrator, and scenic designer. Life and career Joseph Urban was born on May 26, 1872, in Vienna. He received his first architectural commission at age 19 wh ...

in 1891. However, the palace's garden was added in 1921 by

Sultan Sultan (; ', ) is a position with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", derived from the verbal noun ', meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be use ...

Fuad I on an area of 20 feddans. The cost of building the palace reached £E700,000 in addition to £E2 million for its furnishing. Between four palaces, King Fuad spent more than 18 million French francs with just one

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

ian furniture manufacturer '' Linke & Cie''.Christopher Payne, 'François Linke 1855-1946, The Belle Époque of French Furniture', Antique Collector's Club 2003, p.269 More money was also spent on the palace's alteration, preservation and maintenance by consecutive rulers. The palace has 500 rooms.

Museum

The palace today is a museum, located in the

Old Cairo Old Cairo (, Egyptian pronunciation: Maṣr El-ʾAdīma) is a historic area in Cairo, Egypt, which includes the site of a Babylon Fortress, Roman-era fortress, the Christian settlement of Coptic Cairo, and the Muslim-era settlement of Fustat that ...

district of Abdeen. The upper floors (the former living quarters of the royal family) are reserved for visiting foreign dignitaries. The lower floors 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. Among other documents, it contains the Imperial Ottoman ''

firman A firman (; ), at the constitutional level, was a royal mandate or decree issued by a sovereign in an Islamic state. During various periods such firmans were collected and applied as traditional bodies of law. The English word ''firman'' co ...

'', or decree, which established the rule of

Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali (; born Cassius Marcellus Clay Jr.; January 17, 1942 – June 3, 2016) was an American professional boxer and social activist. A global cultural icon, widely known by the nickname "The Greatest", he is often regarded as the gr ...

and his family, and a certificate for the Order of the Iron Crown, from the short-lived South American Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia.

References

External links

Egypt's Royal Archives: 1922-52

historical Abdeen Palace: Archives housed in the palaceArchive
{{Authority control Museums in Cairo Palaces in Cairo Art museums and galleries in Egypt History museums in Egypt Presidential palaces in Egypt Royal residences in Egypt Muhammad Ali dynasty Tourist attractions in Cairo Tourist attractions in Egypt Houses completed in 1874 Neoclassical architecture in Egypt Downtown Cairo 1874 establishments in Egypt 19th-century architecture in Egypt

Overview

Museum

See also

References

External links