More than 200 years ago, Egyptian ruler Mohammed Ali Pasha chose a unique site on the banks of the Nile in Cairo’s Shubra el-Heim district to build a state-of-the-art palace. As Egypt has completed conservation work on the palace and plans to open it to the public in the near future, DNE Buzz is researching the history of this stunning structure.
Overlooking an impressive park with rare trees and shrubs, Mohammed Ali Palace is one of the most important royal buildings in Cairo, one of the oldest and most luxurious palaces in Egypt.
Mohammed Ali began construction of his palace in 1809, and Zulfikar Kathuda supervised the construction. This was the first large-scale construction in Shubra. The palace was built on an area of 50 feddans in several stages, which lasted about 13 years.
Construction and design of the palace
The building area reached 26 feddans. It consisted of a rectangular Jabalia kiosk and a chamfer building, which included a large lake-like pool with water, with a fountain in the middle, surrounded by four halls at the corners, which were “Lunch”, “Asmaa”, “Throne”, “Billiards”.
The palace combined European style in decoration and the spirit of Islamic architecture in design. The main building looked like a mosque, with four ceilings surrounding huge fountains.
It was a rare architectural masterpiece that combines the architecture and art of the Western and Islamic worlds. Drawings and decorations of the palace are made in Italian and French styles of the XIX century. Mohamed Ali hired French, Italian, Greek and Armenian artists to decorate his palace.
Among the masterpieces of the palace were ancient paintings by Mohammed Ali Pasha and members of his family. This palace also witnessed important historical events that shaped the modern era in Egypt.
Restoration works
In March 2018, the Egyptian authorities launched a project to restore and rehabilitate the palace of Mohammed Ali in Shubri at an estimated cost of more than 194 million Egyptian pounds under a protocol of cooperation signed between the Ministry of Antiquities and the Engineering Department of the Armed Forces.
Mostafa Waziri, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt, said on August 4 that all conservation work on the Jabaliya kiosk building had been completed and 99% of the restoration work on the chamfer building had also been completed.
The development plan also included connecting the palace with the Nile marina to transport tourists to the area and back over the pedestrian bridge, which was under construction. Construction of the Nile marina and pedestrian bridge began in January 2021. The implementation rate was more than 96%.
It is noteworthy that during the previous restoration, the palace was held during the reign of the late Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, who opened it in 2005. The restoration project, carried out by the Ministry of Culture, cost 50 million Egyptian pounds. The palace was then used for several formal and private parties, but nine of his paintings were stolen. In 2009, the state returned the stolen paintings. However, the palace was closed in 2011 after the January 25 revolution.