Manial Palace re-open

At the southern tip of the Road Island in Cairo stands Manial Palace, its exquisite early 20^th-century architectural style welcoming visitors. Closed for 10 years for restoration, the palace has now regained its original splendor.

A major work started on the palace’s restoration in 2005, during the opening ceremony, held in the Golden Hall of the palace, the Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehleb, Minister of Antiquities Mahmoud Eldamaty and Prince Abbas Helmy, grandson of the Manial Place’s builder, Prince Mohamed Ali, cut the ribbon to mark the reopening of the Palace to the public.

Ahmed Ashraf, the head of the Museums Department at the ministry, said that the restoration project cost LE 61 million and included the main building of the palace as well as its gardens, mosque and clock tower.

The site combines Fatimid and Mameluke style, as well as Ottoman elements and features drawing on Persian, Andalusian, Syrian, and Moroccan architecture, as well as European rococo.

All decorative elements found at the palace, including manuscripts, carpets, textiles, brass work and crystal pieces have been restored.

Mohamed Abdel-Aziz, head of the Historic Cairo Rehabilitation Project, said Prince Mohamed Ali, built the palace in 1901 in a revived Islamic architectural style, unlike the European style usually employed for the royal family’s palaces.

The palace is also home to rare collection of antiques that the prince collected from different parts of the world or picked out of the rubble of collapsing Mameluke and Ottoman houses.