Abdeen Palace is located in El- Gomhuria Square, old Cairo. It was built in 1863 by Egyptian, Italian, French and Turkish architects. “Khepe Ismail” ordered the palace be erected in 1863; it was named after “Abdeen Bay”, one of the army commanders under Mohamed Ali Pasha. The palace’s garden was added in 1921 by “Sultan Fuad I” on an area of 20 feddans.
The palace was used as a center of governance from 1872 to 1952. After the July 23 revolution, it witnessed a darkened era of neglect until former President Mubarak directed officials to reopen it for the audience.
Abdeen Palace in Cairo
Believing in the fact that such palace is part and parcel of Egypts heritage, Former President ''Mubarak'' in the late 80's ordered that the palace be one of the most beautiful in the world.
The restoration work completely took longer than expected as the old palace was hit during the strong 1992 earthquake that jolted Egypt.
500 rooms and different royal suites
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.
number of Royal Family’s medals
It’s consists of 500 rooms and different royal suites and the Belgian suite as well as five different halls for ceremonies. The Hall of Throne is the most important hall due to its oriental design and ceiling paintings.
The palace features a military museum of all arms presented, museum of ancient weapons and a third of the medals and orders of merit bestowed on members of Egypt’s formal royal family and eminent Egyptian figures.
The private acquisitions museum is particularly fascinating as it includes notebooks and hand drawings by Prince Ahmed Fouad during his study at a military academy in Italy.
It also contains an atlas showing Egypt during the time of King ''Fouad I'', a narghile made of glass and silver, a collection of snuff and cigarette boxes, musical instruments, medals and badges donated from different countries all over the world.
In December 16, 2004, a specialized museum for historical documents was established. It is considered as one of the most important sections of the palace for visitors as well as researchers in this field as well as a documentary film playing inside the museum tells visitors the most important events in the history of Egypt’s royal family. The documentary is accompanied by soft music by famed composer Omar Khairat.
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