Abdeen Palace (Photo: Archive)
CAIRO - 17 August 2017: Abdeen Palace is a magnificent and historical architectural piece located on Al Kasr Al Ainy Street in Cairo. It was constructed in 1863 by Khedive Ismail Pasha as an early step of Khedive Cairo.
Abdeen Palace (Photo: Archive)
It is marked with amusing Italian, Oriental, Turkish and French architectural designs and decorations, in addition to unique rare paintings. Most of the furniture is decorated with gold and handmade decorations.
Abdeen Palace (Photo: Archive)
It was used as a center of governance from 1872 to 1952. After the July 23 revolution, the palace witnessed a darkened era of neglect until President Mubarak directed it to be reopened for the audience, using it as a presidential palace and upgrading the palace museums.
Abdeen Palace (Photo: Archive)
Unfortunately, the palace was closed after the January 25 revolution. In 2016, the palace was reopened after upgrading the quality of the museums.
Abdeen Palace (Photo: Archive)
Over time, a number of additions were constructed, for example King Ahmed Fouad made part of the palace as a museum for the Royal Family’s belongings, and then King Farouk widened the museum to display a number of Royal Family’s weapons and medals.
Abdeen Palace (Photo: Archive)
It carries a number of reception places to receive diplomatic delegations, kings and senior visitors. It is consisted of 500 rooms and different royal suites, including the Belgian suite. It also has five different halls for ceremonies. The Hall of Throne is the most important hall due to its oriental design and ceiling paintings.
Abdeen Palace (Photo: Archive)
A number of main historical events are connected with the Abdeen palace, as the famous demonstration lead by Orabi in 1882 and the February 4 incident in 1942, in which a military confrontation took place. Mostafa Al Nahas Pasha was declared as a prime minister.
Abdeen Palace (Photo: Archive)
Currently, the palace includes five museums:
1 - War Museum (Arms Museum)
It was constructed by King Farouk. It displays different weaponry collections, including a number of Egyptian guns that belonged to King Farouk and a number of light weapons.
2 - Peace Museum (Presidential Gifts museum)
It was established by President Mubarak in 2005 to show a number of presidential gifts and Mubarak family belongings. In addition, it contains a number of royal honoree medals.
3 - Royal Museum
It contains a big number of Royal Family belongings. It shows a number of objects, plates and eating instruments made from colored glass, gold and silver. It also carries a different collection of Royal Honoree medals.
4 - Historical Documents Museum
It displays a number of important and secret historical documents from different eras.
5 - Silverware Museum
It was added to the Abdeen Palace museums in 1998. It contains a number of silverware antiques that belonged to Mohamed Ali’s family.
Comments
Leave a Comment