Abdeen Palace is considered to be the most luxurious palace in Egypt. Khedive Ismail ordered to construct it to be the seat of the rule instead of the Al-Jawhara Palace at Salah El-Din Citadel. Abdeen Palace is located in the downtown area in Cairo. Until now, Abdeen Palace is the residence of the President of the Republic.
Abdeen Palace History:
Khedive Ismail ordered to construct this palace to be the seat of the rule in 1863 AD on an area of 25 acres. French, Italian, and Turkish engineers supervised the construction of this palace. Its construction took 10 years to be officially inaugurated in 1864 AD.
The palace was named Abdeen Palace because the owner of the land where the palace was built was one of the Ottoman nobles, and his name was Abdeen. Khedive Ismail bought the land from him, but the palace bears his name.
After the revolution of July 23, 1952, the palace became owned by the Egyptian government. In the late eighties, former President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak ordered the restoration of the palace.
The design of this palace:
The palace consists of a ground floor for official meetings with the government members and the first floor for housing. Abdeen Palace contains 500 rooms. Also, it includes a beautiful and large garden, and outbuilding to serve the palace.
The palace is characterized by wonderful decorations, luxurious furniture, beautiful paintings, and a large number of clocks scattered in the palace.
Palace Museums:
Silver Ware Museum: it displays the collection of silver and crystal owned by the family of Mohammed Ali Pasha.
Museum of Historical Documents: it houses rare and unique documents explaining the social, political, and economic aspects during the period of the family of Muhammad Ali Pasha.
Weapons Museum: it is considered the largest part of Abdeen Palace and contains various weapons.
Presidential Gifts Museum: it contains gifts received by the Presidents of Egypt in national celebrations.
