
Qasr al-Ayni Street or Qasr Eleini Street (, spoken ''Shāriʿ Aṣr el-Einī''; translated as Palace of Eleini Street) is one of the oldest streets in
downtown Cairo
Downtown Cairo ( "middle of town") is the colloquial name given to the 19th-century western expansion of Egypt's capital Cairo, between the historic medieval Cairo, and the Nile, which became the commercial center of the city during the 20th c ...
, Egypt.
Namesake
Asr Eleini (Egyptian for ''Palace of Eleini'') owes its name to the nearby landmark of the same name,
Eleini's Palace Hospital, which now hosts one of the oldest medical schools in the Middle East and Africa. The street has an outlet into
Tahrir Square
Tahrir Square (, ; ), also known as Martyr Square, is a public town square in downtown Cairo, Egypt. The square has been the location and focus for political demonstrations. The 2011 Egyptian revolution and the resignation of President of Egypt, ...
.
Location and history
Qasr El Einy Street is located in
downtown Cairo
Downtown Cairo ( "middle of town") is the colloquial name given to the 19th-century western expansion of Egypt's capital Cairo, between the historic medieval Cairo, and the Nile, which became the commercial center of the city during the 20th c ...
, running parallel to the
Cairo Metro
The Cairo Metro (, lit. "Cairo Tunnel Metro" or ) is a rapid transit system in Greater Cairo, Egypt. It was the first of the three full-fledged metro systems in Africa and the first in the Middle East to be constructed. It was opened in ...
Line 1, spanning El Malek El Saleh, El Sayeda Zeinab, Saad Zaghloul and Sadat stations along its length. The street runs NNE from the National Cancer Institute to Tahrir Square, a distance of 2.4 kilometres (1.5 miles). Tahrir Square was built in the late 1860s, around the
Khairy Pasha Palace, which later hosted the
American University in Cairo
The American University in Cairo (AUC; ) is a private research university in New Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs at undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels, along with a continuing education program. ...
's campus, built in the 1920s.
;Tahrir Square
The Metro's Sadat Station serves Tahrir Square, providing links to
Giza
Giza (; sometimes spelled ''Gizah, Gizeh, Geeza, Jiza''; , , ' ) is the third-largest city in Egypt by area after Cairo and Alexandria; and fourth-largest city in Africa by population after Kinshasa, Lagos, and Cairo. It is the capital of ...
,
Helwan
Helwan ( ', , ) is a suburban district in the Southern Area of Cairo, Egypt. The area of Helwan witnessed prehistoric, ancient Egyptian, Roman and Muslim era activity. More recently it was designated as a city until as late as the 1960s, befor ...
,
Maadi
Maadi ( ) is a leafy and once suburban district in the Southern Area of Cairo, Egypt, on the east bank of the Nile about upriver from downtown Cairo. The modern extensions north east and east of Maadi, New Maadi and Zahraa al-Maadi are admini ...
, and other districts and suburbs of
Greater Cairo
The Greater Cairo () is a metropolitan area centered around Cairo, Egypt. It comprises the entirety of the Cairo Governorate, the cities of Imbaba and Giza in the Giza Governorate, and the city Shubra El Kheima in Qalyubia Governorate. Its def ...
. The area around Tahrir Square includes the
Egyptian Museum
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum (, Egyptian Arabic: ) (also called the Cairo Museum), located in Cairo, Egypt, houses the largest collection of Ancient Egypt, Egyptian antiquities in the world. It hou ...
, the
Headquarters of the Arab League building,
the Mogamma government building, the original downtown campus of the
American University in Cairo
The American University in Cairo (AUC; ) is a private research university in New Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs at undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels, along with a continuing education program. ...
, the Nile Hotel, and used to host the
National Democratic Party headquarters building until it was demolished in the aftermath of the Egyptian revolution of 2011.
Tahrir Square has been the site for numerous major protests and demonstrations, including in March 2003 when people came out to protest the
War in Iraq
This is a list of wars involving the Republic of Iraq and its predecessor states.
, style="background:#F88" , Coalition of Gulf War, Coalition victory
* Kuwait, State of Kuwait resumes self-governance over all Kuwaiti sovereign territory
* Esta ...
, and the
2011 Egyptian protest gatherings. Tahrir Square was originally called "Ismailia Square", named after 19th-century ruler
Khedive Ismail
Isma'il Pasha ( ; 25 November 1830 or 31 December 1830 – 2 March 1895), also known as Ismail the Magnificent, was the Khedive of Khedivate of Egypt, Egypt and ruler of Turco-Egyptian Sudan, Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the ...
, but the name was changed to Tahrir Square after the
Egyptian Revolution of 1952
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 ...
.
;Parliament Building
The parliament building that houses Egypt's legislative body, the
House of Representatives
House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
, is located on the Qasr El Einy Street. In 2008, the building was severely damaged by a fire.

;The Egyptian Geographic Society
The Egyptian Geographic Society (, ) was established by a decree of Khedive Isma'il Pasha on 19 May 1875. Its first president was the German botanist, traveller and ethnologist
Georg August Schweinfurth
Georg August Schweinfurth (29 December 1836 – 19 September 1925) was a Baltic Germans, Baltic German botanist and ethnologist who explored East Central Africa.
Life and explorations
He was born at Riga, Latvia, then part of the Russian Emp ...
. Founded as the Khedivial Society of Geography, its name was modified several times in order to reflect Egypt's changing political status. It acquired its current name following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952.
;Egyptian Ethnological Museum
This museum houses exhibits covering the activities and traditions in Cairo including village crafts, costumes, equipment and other items of daily life. The museum is located at the Geographical Society Building on Qasr El-Einy Street.

;Cairo University Hospital—Qasr El Einy Hospital
The Qasr El Einy Medical School () is part of the
Cairo University School of Medicine, and is located in
Garden City district in downtown Cairo. Qasr El Eyni Medical School is one of the largest, oldest, and most prestigious medical schools in Africa and the Middle East. Along with the Cairo University Hospitals, it is considered the largest medical institution in the Middle East, and probably one of the largest in the world. Established in 1827, it was named after El Einy Pasha, whose palace was originally the school's main building. It accepts about 1600 students annually out of the thousands of applicants who apply. The students are chosen by a computer program based on the score they have achieved in high school. It provides a six-year combined premedical-medical programme leading to a MBBCh which is usually followed by a one-year internship at the university hospital.
Qasr El Einy is considered a symbol of the medical profession in Egypt. Hence, the founding date of Qasr El Einy, March 11, 1827, was chosen as the day of the annual festival for the Egyptian medical profession.
Today
Located in the center of downtown Cairo, Qasr El Einy Street has a range of buildings including apartment complexes, banks, churches, gas stations, government buildings, hospitals, internet cafes, mosques, pharmacies, and numerous shops and restaurants. Qasr El Einy Street is a one-way street that heads directly towards Tahrir Square with no intersections, 18-20 side streets, and occasional bus stops.
Major institutions and buildings
Qasr El-Einy Street has many notable institutions, buildings, and landmarks. Listed southeastward from its Tahrir Square terminus they include:
# AUC—American University in Cairo Bookstore (and original AUC Campus, now
AUC downtown campus)
#
The Mogamma
# The Principal Bank for Development and Agriculture
# The Society for Egyptian Geography
# The Egyptian Ethnological Museum
# Ministry of Transport (General Authority of Roads, Bridges, and Land Transport)
# House of Representatives
# Ministry of Social Solidarity
#
Cairo University Hospital—Qasr El Einy Hospital
# Cairo University College of Pharmacy
# Moustapha Fahmy Bay's "Faisal Nada Theater" (1931)
# Cairo Medical Syndicate
# National Herpetology and Tropical Medicine and Research Institute
Adjacent and nearby sites
;Mugamma
Mugamma (alternatively
the Mogamma), literary meaning ‘combined,’ is Egypt's government office complex located adjacent to Qasr El Eyni Street on the south side of Tahrir Square, where much of the government paperwork is done. It's a Soviet-era gray concrete, massive twenty-story building. The interior has narrow hallways, unlabeled doors to the many government agencies located in this one building. The agencies in the building include: the Fire Fighting Organization; the Tax Evasion Investigations Offices; the Passport Offices; and the High Committee for Sports and Youth. This is where people go to get a marriage license, a driver's license, and most any other necessary license. If one needs to transact with the Egyptian government on public business of most kinds, the Mogamma is where it is transpires.
;The Egyptian Museum
The
Egyptian Museum
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum (, Egyptian Arabic: ) (also called the Cairo Museum), located in Cairo, Egypt, houses the largest collection of Ancient Egypt, Egyptian antiquities in the world. It hou ...
— officially the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, and commonly referred to as the "Cairo Museum" — on the northern side of Tahrir Square is one of the world's archaeology and ancient art museums. The building holds a collection of Egyptian antiquities, with at least 136,000 items on display. Hundreds of thousands of additional items are in the museum's basement storerooms and elsewhere, and are added to each year with ongoing archaeological excavation discoveries.
Gallery
Image:developmentandagriculturebank.JPG, The Principal Bank of Development and Agriculture on Qasr El Einy Street
Image:Gamhariya.JPG, Side view of the Gomhoriya on Qasr El Einy Street
Image:muhammadbeyarchitecture.JPG, Muhammad Bey Architecture on Qasr El Einy Street
Image:Cairouniversityhospital.JPG, Cairo University Hospital
Image:Faisalnadatheater.JPG, Moustapha Fahmy Bey's Theater (1931)
See also
*
Al-Azhar University
The Al-Azhar University ( ; , , ) is a public university in Cairo, Egypt. Associated with Al-Azhar Al-Sharif in Islamic Cairo, it is Egypt's oldest degree-granting university and is known as one of the most prestigious universities for Islamic ...
*
Khan el-Khalili
*
Muizz Street
*
Saliba Street
References
External links
Urban Map for interactive informationcairolife.wordpress.com
{{coord missing, Egypt
Downtown Cairo
Streets in Cairo
Tourist attractions in Cairo
Qasr El Eyni Hospital