The Manasterly Palace is an

Ottoman Baroque Ottoman Baroque architecture, also known as Turkish Baroque, was a period in Ottoman architecture in the 18th century and early 19th century which was influenced by European Baroque architecture. Preceded by the changes of the Tulip Period and Tul ...

palace and grounds in the south western corner on the southern end of Rawda Island on the

Nile The Nile (also known as the Nile River or River Nile) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa. It has historically been considered the List of river sy ...

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 ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

. It stands next to the

nilometer A nilometer is a structure for measuring the Nile River's clarity and water level during the Flooding of the Nile, annual flood season in Egypt. There were three main types of nilometers, calibrated in Egyptian cubits: (1) a vertical column, (2) ...

that dates back to 861 CE. The one story palace was built in 1851 by Hassan Fouad Pasha al-Manasterly, then Governor of Cairo. Only the public halls ( selamlik) of the governor's palace are still standing while his private residence (

harem A harem is a domestic space that is reserved for the women of the house in a Muslim family. A harem may house a man's wife or wives, their pre-pubescent male children, unmarried daughters, female domestic Domestic worker, servants, and other un ...

) has been demolished to make way for a water station.Official website of the palace
Retrieved 2020-04-14.

Present use

The palace houses the International Music Centre, which holds musical events over the year.

Architecture

The palace, consisting of a main rectangular hall which opens to the outside through a door preceded by a marble case. A second hall is located to the west of the main hall. Adjacent to this hall lie two rectangular rooms with attached bathrooms. A terrace overlooking the Nile surrounds the building from the west and intersects in the end with another terrace. The palace is famous for its beautiful decorative style and wooden architecture design. Its walls and ceilings are garnished with plaster and colored greenery ornaments and bird figures. The floors of the two main halls are covered with marble and parquet. The influence of the ''Ottoman Rococo'' is quite notable as well as a Pharonic impact at the external entry-front of the palace.Architecture of the palace
Retrieved 2020-04-14.

References

{{coord, 30.0070, 31.2247, type:landmark_region:EG, display=title Palaces in Cairo Houses completed in 1851 Arab art scene Ottoman architecture in Egypt Baroque architecture in the Ottoman Empire 19th-century architecture in Egypt