''El Mahrousa'' (, literally "The Protected"), officially renamed for a period of time as ''El Horreya'' (, "Freedom"), is a super yacht that serves as Egypt's

presidential yacht Presidential yacht may refer to a vessel of a country's navy that would be specially used by the country's president. It is common for a vessel to be designated as the presidential yacht during a fleet review. Some countries (below) have vessels ...

, and previously served as the country's

royal yacht A royal yacht is a ship used by a monarch or a royal family. If the monarch is an emperor the proper term is imperial yacht. Most of them are financed by the government of the country of which the monarch is head. The royal yacht is most often c ...

. She was built by the British ship building firm

Samuda Brothers Samuda Brothers was an engineering and ship building firm at Cubitt Town on the Isle of Dogs in London, founded by Jacob and Joseph d'Aguilar Samuda. The site is now occupied by Samuda Estate. Samuda Brothers initially leased a premises on ...

in 1863 to the order of Egyptian

Khedive Khedive ( ; ; ) was an honorific title of Classical Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, but most famously for the Khedive of Egypt, viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914.Adam Mestyan"Khedive" ''Encyclopaedi ...

Ismail Pasha and was handed over to its crew two years later. ''El Mahrousa'' underwent a number of important alterations during its years of service, including the replacement of her

paddle wheel A paddle is a handheld tool with an elongated handle and a flat, widened end (the ''blade'') used as a lever to apply force onto the bladed end. It most commonly describes a completely handheld tool used to propel a human-powered watercraft by p ...

engines by

turbine A turbine ( or ) (from the Greek , ''tyrbē'', or Latin ''turbo'', meaning vortex) is a rotary mechanical device that extracts energy from a fluid flow and converts it into useful work. The work produced can be used for generating electrical ...

driven propellers in 1905; the installation of a

wireless telegraph Wireless telegraphy or radiotelegraphy is the transmission of text messages by radio waves, analogous to electrical telegraphy using cables. Before about 1910, the term ''wireless telegraphy'' was also used for other experimental technologies fo ...

in 1912 and a diesel-fueled system in 1919; as well as multiple-feet lengthenings throughout that period. She also witnessed much of Egypt's modern history since she was first commissioned in the 19th century up till now. The yacht carried three Egyptian rulers to their exile abroad, namely Khedive Ismail, Khedive Abbas II and King Farouk I, along with the latter's recently born son,

Fuad II Fuad II (, full name: Ahmed Fuad bin Farouk bin Ahmed Fuad bin Ismail bin Ibrahim bin Muhammad Ali; born 16 January 1952), or alternatively Ahmed Fuad II (), is a member of the Egyptian Muhammad Ali dynasty. As an infant, he formally reigned as ...

, the last ruling members of the

Muhammad Ali dynasty The Muhammad Ali dynasty or the Alawiyya dynasty was the ruling dynasty of Egypt and Sudan from the 19th to the mid-20th century. It is named after its progenitor, the Albanians, Albanian Muhammad Ali of Egypt, Muhammad Ali, regarded as the fou ...

. This marked the end of the monarchy in Egypt following the

1952 revolution The Egyptian revolution of 1952, also known as the 1952 coup d'état () and the 23 July Revolution (), was a period of profound political, economic, and societal change in Egypt. On 23 July 1952, the revolution began with the toppling of King ...

and the founding of the Republic of Egypt, after which the yacht joined the

Egyptian Navy The Egyptian Navy (), also known as the Egyptian Naval Forces, is the maritime branch of the Egyptian Armed Forces. It is the largest navy in the Middle East as well as Africa, and is the twelfth largest (by the number of vessels) navy in the w ...

and was renamed ''El Horreya'' (). The yacht continued to play a role in the country's post-revolutionary history and participated in the 1976

United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States as an independent republic. It was a central event in the memo ...

celebrations. She took Egypt's president,

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and revolutionary who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 a ...

, to numerous locations and she notably sailed with President

Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar es-Sadat (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until Assassination of Anwar Sadat, his assassination by fundame ...

Jaffa Jaffa (, ; , ), also called Japho, Joppa or Joppe in English, is an ancient Levantine Sea, Levantine port city which is part of Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel, located in its southern part. The city sits atop a naturally elevated outcrop on ...

, Israel, during the 1979 peace talks between Egypt and Israel. She was renamed back to ''El Mahrousa'' in 2000 and became the first ship to cross the New Suez Canal extension in 2015.

History

She was designed by Oliver Lang along the same lines as , and built by the

on the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, s ...

. In 1867, the ship embarked on its first trip, in which it transported Egyptian troops to aid the Ottomans during the Cretan revolt. Two years later, Khedive Ismail Pasha used the ship to go on a tour to invite royals of Europe to attend the inauguration of the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

. After the 1952 abdication of

King Farouk Farouk I (; ''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 1936 and reigning until his ...

and his arrival in Europe he sent back the yacht to Egypt with all the crew and the equipment; she was taken over by the Egyptian government for use as a naval training ship, and her name was changed to ''El Horreya''. She spent most of her career in the eastern

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, but did participate in the International Naval Review held to commemorate the

bicentennial __NOTOC__ A bicentennial or bicentenary is the two-hundredth anniversary of a part, or the celebrations thereof. It may refer to: Europe * French Revolution bicentennial, commemorating the 200th anniversary of 14 July 1789 uprising, celebrated ...

of the

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

. Other notable figures who boarded the ship were

Mohammad Reza Pahlavi Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (26 October 1919 – 27 July 1980) was the last List of monarchs of Iran, Shah of Iran, ruling from 1941 to 1979. He succeeded his father Reza Shah and ruled the Imperial State of Iran until he was overthrown by the ...

, King

Ibn Saud Abdulaziz bin Abdul Rahman Al Saud (; 15 January 1875Ibn Saud's birth year has been a source of debate. It is generally accepted as 1876, although a few sources give it as 1880. According to British author Robert Lacey's book ''The Kingdom'', ...

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...

, and

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'', ; (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of both Herut and Likud and the prime minister of Israel. Before the creation of the state of Isra ...

. In 1984, its title as the largest super yacht was taken by '' Prince Abdulaziz'', after having retained it for 119 years. It is the oldest active super yacht in the world and the eleventh largest in 2023. The ship is cared for by the

, and is occasionally used as a Presidential Yacht. The ship goes to sea about three times a year, usually for just a day. On 10 September 2000 after visiting the ''El Horreya'', President

Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011 and the 41st Prime Minister of Egypt, prime minister from 1981 to ...

changed the name back to her original name ''El Mahrousa''. On 6 August 2015, the ship was used to inaugurate the New Suez Canal.

Alterations

Twice in the ship's history significant alterations to the ship's length were carried out. Firstly by in 1872, with a further being added in 1905. The 1905 rebuild was undertaken at the Pointhouse Shipyard of

A & J Inglis A & J Inglis Limited, was a shipbuilding firm founded by Anthony Inglis (shipbuilder), Anthony Inglis and his brother John, engineers and shipbuilders in the Partick area of Glasgow, Scotland in 1862. The firm built over 500 ships in a period o ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and included the replacement of her two

s with triple propellers powered by

steam turbines A steam turbine or steam turbine engine is a machine or heat engine that extracts thermal energy from pressurized steam and uses it to do mechanical work utilising a rotating output shaft. Its modern manifestation was invented by Sir Charles Par ...

built by Inglis at their Warroch Street Engine Works in Glasgow. Inglis were one of the first companies to be granted a license by the

Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company was a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, British engineering company based on the River Tyne at Wallsend, North East England. History Charles Algernon Parsons founded the company in 1897 with £500 ...

Wallsend Wallsend () is a town in North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, England, at the eastern end of Hadrian's Wall. It has a population of 43,842 and lies east of Newcastle upon Tyne. History Roman Wallsend In Roman times, this was the site of the fort of ...

for the construction of

in their own works.

References

{{Oldest surviving ships (pre-1919) Royal and presidential yachts 19th century in Egypt Steamships of Egypt Steam yachts 1865 ships Ships built in Cubitt Town Ships of the Egyptian Navy Ships of the Ottoman Empire

History

Alterations

See also

References