Mohamed Ali Tawfiq Palace, located on El-Manial Island in Cairo, is one of Egypt’s most beautiful attractions for Islamic arts. It witnessed a lot of celebratory activities held by the Ministry of Antiquities and Tourism for ages.
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Mohamed Ali Tawfiq Palace[/caption]
The palace has been built by Prince Mohamed Ali, son of Khepe Mohamed Tawfiq, who was born in 1875 and died in 1954. Ali decided to draw all the architectural plans and decorations for the palace himself.
He was appointed as crown prince for King Fuad before the latter receives his second son Faruq. When the father King died, King Faruq had not yet attained the legal age at which he could ascend the throne, so Prince Mohammad Ali became regent.
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Mohamed Ali Tawfiq Palace[/caption]
The Royal Family obtained a fatwa (ruling) from the al Azhar that counted the age of King Faruq in Hijri years, which are shorter than Gregorian years, and thus they were able to shorten the period of the regency of Prince Mohammad Ali and accelerate the legalizing of King Faruq's ascension to the throne. In this way, they avoided the chance that Prince Mohammad Ali might seize the throne.
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Mohamed Ali Tawfiq Palace[/caption]
The prince put in his will his wish that the palace would be transformed into a museum after his death, in order to memorialize his name. This wish was carried out.
The palace is built on an area of 61,711 square meters. It also includes three throne rooms: the residence, the reception, and the throne. This is in addition to the mosque, the private museum, the fishing museum, the clock tower, and the golden hall.
The architectural masterpiece entails five separate and distinctively styled buildings, surrounded by a garden within a larger extensive landscaped garden, along a small branch of the Nile.
It also became a public art and history museum, reflecting the settings and lifestyle of the late 19th- and early 20th-century Egyptian royal prince and heir apparent.
Here are to see all the photos taken inside the palace:
[gallery jnewsslider_title="Mohamed Ali Tawfiq Palace " ids="110393,110395,110397,110398,110399,110400,110402,110403,110405,110406,110407,110408,110411"]
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