Abdeen District is the home of Abdeen Palace, a 19th-century Cairo palace built by Khedive Ismail and served as the Egyptian royal household's primary official residence from 1874 until the 1952 Egyptian revolution. Since then it has been one of the presidential palaces. and part of the Khedival Cairo Area of Value to the west of Historic Cairo.
Overview
Built on the site of a small mansion owned by Abdeen Bey, Abdeen Palace, which is named after him, has adornments, paintings, and a large number of clocks scattered in the parlors and wings, most of which are decorated with pure gold. Built under the rule of Ismail Pasha, to become Egypt's official government headquarters instead of the Citadel of Cairo (which had been the center of Egyptian government since the Middle Ages), this palace was used as well for official events and ceremonies.
The construction started in 1863 along with a large number of Egyptian, Italian, French and European decorators. A new wing was added by Joseph Urban in 1891. However, the palace's garden was added in 1921 by Sultan Fuad I on an area of 20 feddans. The cost of building the palace reached £E700,000 in addition to £E2 million for its furnishing. Between four palaces, King Fuad spent more than 18 million French francs with just one Parisian furniture manufacturer Linke & Cie. More money was also spent on the palace's alteration, preservation and maintenance by consecutive rulers. The palace has 500 rooms.
Museum
The palace today is a museum, located in the Old Cairo district of Abdeen. The upper floors (the former living quarters of the royal family) are reserved for visiting foreign dignitaries. The lower floors contain the Silver Museum, the Arms Museum, the Royal Family Museum, and the Presidential Gifts Museum.