Have you heard about king Mohamed Ali before? He is one of the greatest Egyptian kings who built modern Egypt. Because of his greatness, he built a marvelous palace at a very special spot in Egypt. Now this palace hosts The Mohamed Ali Basha Museum which has many historical pieces that will blow your mind about Egypt’s history.
This palace was built in 1808 and it’s now available to have an amazing experience inside it as it’s located in a very famous district in Cairo called Shoubra district.
Mohamed Ali Basha searched for a very unique and Special spot in Egypt to build his own royal palace, he searched for a site near to the Nile and away from the center of Cairo and he found this spot at Shubra which became a famous neighborhood in Egypt Today.
Mohamed Ali Basha wanted to get away from any lands that may belong to the citizens, so he got an empty land away from the downtown where most of the citizens were living there.
He also wanted to live in a calm and safe district that’s somehow away from any threats coming from the Mamluks at that time.
That’s why Shubra was a perfect fit for the location of Mohamed Ali Basha Palace and the construction began in 1808 and finished in 1809 to be the official royal palace for Mohamed Ali in Egypt.
The palace of Mohamed Ali was built in a new design that wasn’t known in Egypt which is related to the Turkish style, this made it more unique.
The Turkish architectural style is known for creating a huge and beautiful garden that’s surrounded by large defensive walls with a few gates to be able to monitor the safety of the palace easily.
They built many kiosks all over the garden or as they call it in the Turkish language Hans or Saraya. Mohamed Ali copied many of his palace architectural styles from a very famous palace in Istanbul called Topkapi Palace. This palace was the seat of the Ottoman Empire for many years.
Inside Mohamed Ali palace you will find a small villa that hosts the employees and guards, there is also an adjoined harbor structure in the palace to dock the ships on the Nile. This is plus many different buildings related to the King.
During King Farouk’s ruling period, most of the structures of the palace were removed due to creating the new Cairo-Alexandria Agricultural Road in the 1930s.
The Waterwheel Tower is the oldest building in the whole palace as it was built in 1811 very close to the Fountain Villa just in the middle of the palace garden.
This huge building is very tall as the eastern façade reaches 40 meters long and the southern one is 21 meters long. The main reason behind having this tower stand still for today is the strong stone used in its construction. The main purpose of naming this tower by the Waterwheel Tower are the 4 waterwheels located in the middle of the tower. These waterwheels were unique as they worked with machines not animals and this wasn’t normal in Egypt at that era.
The main building of the palace is The Fountain Villa which was built very close to the Nile only 430 meters away which gives the villa a very charming view. The construction process of this villa was so special as the French consul of Egypt at that time was responsible for this process and also the Armenian engineer Yusuf Hakikan was responsible for all decorations and ornaments of the villa.
They chose to build the villa in the middle of the palace’s garden and made it in the shape of a receptacle with many doors and steps. Each door and step at the villa was leading to a unique fountain to make the living experience at the palace more special.
There are also 4 different halls inside the Fountain Villa that have fascinating decorations and architectural design. Among these halls there is one called the salon or walnut hall, the walls inside this hall was made specially with the Turkish walnut wood that’s why they called it the walnut hall. This unique wall was decorated with a large mirror made in the fabulous Moroccan and Andalusian style plus many remarkable drawings made in the golden color and the baroque style. You will enter this hall and feel like you traveled to different places in the world.
Another fascinating hall in the villa called the Arabian Hall, this one had green paintings of flowers and roses on its wall which gives it a very special decoration. This hall’s ceiling also has unique wooden arabesque screens full of small complex geometrical shapes that you will definitely enjoy looking at.
The most interesting thing about the Arabian Hall is that you can find there a special corner full of the names of Mohamed Ali’s royal family. Sultan Said Pasha and Abbas Pasha continued redecorating this section of the hall after Mohamed Ali.
Mohamed Ali Palace is always full of glory and many surprises. You will enjoy discovering more about the founder of modern Egypt and the great history of Egypt. Plus having an unforgettable tour at one of the greatest architectural complex buildings in the whole world, you will find decorations and building materials used from different countries of the world. Make sure to not miss such a wonderful experience while you’re visiting Egypt.
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