Manial Palace-Cairo

 

 

 

 Manil Palace and Museum is one of the palaces of the Egyptian period with special architecture. The palace was built in 1901 on the island of Manil on the outskirts of Cairo in an area of ​​61711 square meters, of which 5000 square meters was built. This palace of unique architectural value, which includes various Islamic arts from the time of the Fatimid rule and caliphs and the period of the Mamluk kingdom and the period of Ottoman rule in Egypt, as well as Andalusian, Iranian and Syrian architecture, this palace includes three palaces or independent buildings. These include the residence of Prince Mohammad Ali, the reception building, the coronation building, the throne and the government crown, as well as a mosque, a special museum, a hunting museum, a clock tower, and a wall around the palace, built in the medieval style. Inside the compound, various gardens have been built and arranged between the buildings, which include a rare collection of different trees and plants. This palace is currently used as a museum.

Prince Mohammad Ali himself chose the location and land of this palace and first built the building where he settled and after completing it built the rest of the buildings, the prince himself designed the engineering as well as the decorations of the palace and during the construction The construction of the palace was supervised, Prince Mohammad Ali ordered that this place be used as a museum after his death
The builder of this palace is Mohammad Ali, the second son of Khadivi Tawfiq, the son of Khadivi Ismail. , Princess Khadijeh Hanam, Princess Nematullah. Prince Muhammad Ali returned to Egypt on November 9, 1875, equal to 11 Shawwal 1292 AH, after the death of his father in 1892. He was a young man from a young age with wisdom, prudence and foresight. He had a great desire for science and love. Literature and art in particular had Islamic art.
The land of this palace was acquired between the royal family as well as foreign dignitaries. This land was the property of Prince Mustafa Fazel Pasha, then the property of Prince Ahmad Rafat Pasha, then this land was transferred to Khadivi Ismail and then this property passed to Levi Marie Joseph and then It was transferred to the Duke of Edmund. In 1888, the Duke of Edmund renounced ownership of the site and handed it over to one of his French employees in Egypt, John Claude Arshid. In 1902, the land was purchased by Prince Mohammed Ali. After that, he started to build his own palace on this land. During the civil and monarchy rule in Egypt, many celebrations and meetings were held in this palace, in which many government dignitaries including ministers, writers and journalists participated, Prince Mohammad Ali He bequeathed that after his death, this place would be turned into a museum so that visitors could enjoy the beauty of the arts used in this palace. After the 1952 revolution and the nationalization of the property of Mohammad Ali Pasha's family, the affairs of this palace were transferred to the Egyptian Hotel and Tourism Company in 1964. The company built a hotel in the palace garden called Qasr Al Manil Hotel or Manil Balas Hotel. It was a two-story wooden summer house consisting of 180 two-room suites. After a while, the hotel was transferred to the Accommodation, Tourism, Hotels and Cinemas Company under Act 203 of 1991, which led to a legal dispute between the State Property and Property Administration. And it was the company that finally ordered the Prime Minister to give this palace and its garden to the Museum Administration in Egypt, and then the whole wooden summer building that had ruined the face of the palace was destroyed by this circle.
This palace is located in the north of Al-Rawdha Island on the shore of the small tributary of the Nile River in front of the palace and Al-Aini Palace. The total area of ​​the palace is about 61711 square meters, of which 5,000 square meters are used to build palace buildings, including residential buildings. The rest of the remaining area is dedicated to the gardens and inner paths of the palace. As mentioned above, this palace is a unique building that has used various Islamic architecture between the rule of the Fatimid caliphs and the Mamluk and Ottoman rule, and Andalusian, Iranian and Syrian architecture. , The palace consists of three buildings, which are: the residence of the prince and his family, the reception building and the government throne building, plus a special mosque and museum and a hunting museum and a clock tower, all of which is supported by a wall in the style of Medieval walls are built and surrounded.

Welcome building

The purpose of its construction was to welcome official guests. This building includes some rare gifts such as carpets, tables, chairs and upholstered Arabic furniture. This building has two floors, the first floor includes a room for honoring and ceremonies to welcome official figures and elders. The second floor consists of two large halls, the first hall is made in the Maghreb style and its wall is covered with a mirror, the second hall is made in the dinner style so that the wall And its roof is covered with boards on which geometric and plant paintings are drawn, next to which are verses of the Qur'an and verses from poems.

The residence of the prince and his family

This building is the main building of this palace and the first point where its construction started and then the rest of the palace was built. This place was the residence of the prince and his family. This building is a two-storey building with a wooden staircase between the two floors. The accuracy has been fixed. The first floor includes the nave, the shrine and family room, the alcove, the mirror room, the blue room or hall, the oyster room or hall, the dining room, the heating room and the prince's office and library. The halls and rooms of this building together for decorations and furniture. Furniture, carpets, paintings, photographs and jewelry are different. It can be said that this building itself is a museum where you can taste all kinds of Turkish court furniture. This building has a tower that overlooks the most famous monuments and sights of Cairo and Giza is overlooking.

Government Throne Building

The building also has two floors, on the lower floor, which is also called the Government Hall, and it is a very large hall that is located in gilded wooden furniture, in which there are photos of some Egyptian rulers from the family of Mohammad Ali, Next to these photographs are pictures and photographs of the natural landscapes of Cairo and Giza. The prince has welcomed his guests on occasions such as feasts and ، in this hall, but the second floor consists of two halls that were used for winter meetings. On this floor is a special room for Pasha's inspiration. He was the maternal grandfather of Prince Mohammad Ali. This room is also called the Obison Room because the entire wall of this room is covered with French Obison thread.

Golden Hall

This hall is also called the hall of guardianship or guardianship. This hall was used for official celebrations, despite the fact that it is empty of gifts and offerings, but it should be said that this hall is an architectural gift, on the walls and ceiling of this hall are plant motifs. And the gilded geometry, which has been carefully worked on, has been drawn. Prince Mohammad Ali Mohammad Ali has moved the furniture of this hall from the house of his ancestor Elhami Pasha, and it is mainly to welcome Sultan Abdul Majid I, who is here to honor and celebrate Elhami. Pasha was present in the Holy Shrine after his victory over the Russian Empire. The name of the golden hall is given to this hall because all the engravings on the walls and ceiling are all gilded in the Ottoman style and the columns of this hall are made in the shape of an Egyptian palm.

Mosque

This mosque is made in Ottoman style nectar, this mosque is different from other places in terms of architecture and art, this mosque has two porches, the roof of the east porch is in the shape of a small dome of yellow glass, the west porch with the sun radius and its drawings There are different colors, the pulpit and the altar of this mosque were made of gold, the wall of the mosque is covered with Turkish Qishani cloth, some of which have inscriptions on them.

Clock Tower

This tower is built in the style of Andalusian and Maghreb towers, these towers were used to monitor and send messages by fire at night and smoke during the day, this tower has a very large clock, on the top of the tower is written in Kufic script. Although this watch is similar to another watch at the Egyptian station, the difference is that this watch has two round hands made in the shape of a snake.

Special Museum

The museum is located in the southern part of the palace and consists of 15 rooms. In the middle of this museum is a courtyard with a small garden. This museum contains a rare collection of rugs and rare Arabic inscriptions and color paintings of some members of Mohammad Ali's family. In addition to these paintings, it includes some paintings of natural landscapes and mineral gifts (precious stones), and glass gifts of crystal and a collection of writing instruments, clothes, carpets, furniture, and candlesticks. The show is as follows:

Hall 1: Exhibition of rare writings and interpretations of the Qur'an and manuscripts with plant and bird motifs drawn on the margins.

Second Hall: In this hall, writing instruments that are made of booze, ivory, mineral stones and inks are displayed.

Hunting Museum

This place was added to the palace in 1963, it was actually a long corridor that was stretched and built towards the north wall, and after years, this corridor was changed and turned into a hunting museum, in this museum 1180 There are various parts of animals, birds and butterflies that have been dried and mummified as a result of the prince's special hunts with King Farooq and Prince Yusuf Kamal. He traveled with them to Mecca, as well as the skulls, horns and skins of some animals, and the fishing gear and gifts donated to this place, as well as various paintings.

Garden

The area of ​​these gardens is 34,000 square meters, which includes a rare collection of trees and plants. These trees and plants were collected by Prince Mohammad Ali from different parts of the world and planted here, including Indian olives, palms, bamboo trees and…

Rebuilding

In 2005, the palace was closed for ten years for reconstruction and restoration, until it was reopened and reopened in 2015. The reconstruction of the palace includes the restoration and complete maintenance of all the buildings of the palace and everything used in this palace. Gradually, in this reconstruction, painting and writing tablets were cleaned and taken care of, and the roof of the Throne building was also reconstructed. In this reconstruction, very precise tools were used that could be taken care of in the best way.

The current state of the palace

This palace is now an open museum to see new Islamic buildings and arts in different types and shapes and types of engravings. In this museum, various and rare items of Prince Mohammad Ali are displayed. The gardens of this palace as well as the golden hall of this palace are used for celebrations for a sum of money. The whole palace is used for cultural and educational education for school students. The face can be used for free.

Location

This museum is located in the heart of Cairo, specifically on the island of Manial Al-Rawda, near Qasr Al-Aini. When you arrive at the place, you have to get off at El Sayeda Zeinab station when you want to go by metro, and after a few minutes walk to the palace.

Management

The palace is run by the Supreme Council of Historical Monuments, which reports to the Egyptian Ministry of Historical Monuments, which is run by a museum director.