Al-Manyal Palace Museum

Al- Manyal Palace


The museum was set up by Prince " Mohammad Ali Tawfiq " in 1899 in the middle of a thirty - feddan garden. The garden has a group of rare trees which the Prince had brought from various parts of the world. The palace's architecture, interior decorations and furniture are all modeled on the Arabesque style. The museum's collection is the most complete representative set of the " Ottoman " art. In addition, the museum contains early Islamic manuscripts and rare collections of embroidered textiles, carpets, crystal vessels and candelabra.

The Palace was built to commemorate and eternalize Islamic Art. It is considered amongst the most important and historic museums since it represents a crucial period in modern Egyptian history and portrays in detail the life of the Royal Family.

The architectural designs distinguish it from other museums because of its Modern Islamic art carrying the essence of Moroccan, Persian and Syrian styles.

The Palace is situated in the east of the River Nile along the island of Manial El-Roda. It covers an area of 61711 square meters, as buildings occupy 5000 square meters, 34,000 square meters for gardens and 22711 square meters for inner roads and garden constructions.

The Palace is divided into 11 sections; the gate which was built in the style of middle age castles gates, has terraces for guards.

The palace facade resembles that of Iranian Mosques and Schools of the 14th C. The reception palace was designed for receiving official guests and is of two stories. The first story has two rooms, the ceremony room and the reception one for those who offer Friday prayers with the Prince, the second story has two halls; the Moroccan and Syrian halls.

The Saa (clock) Tower lies between the Reception Palace and the Mosque, which Prince Mohamed Ali built after the Andalosian and Moroccan fashions.

The fountain lies between the tower and the great Mosque, the Mosque despite its small size is considered an unmatchable architectural and ornamental antique.

The Hunting Museum is a long hall annexed to the east gate overlooking the garden. It displays possessions of King Farouk and Prince Youssef Kamal who loved hunting. This Museum was finished long after the death of the Prince and was opened to the public in 1962. The two-story residence is the oldest building in the palace and has a tower overlooking sights of Cairo and Giza. The first story consists of al-Shakma, the mirror lobby, harem room, blue saloon, dining room, arabesque saloon and the fireplace room. The second story consists of the jewelry room, arabesque room, Princes bedroom, maids room and a balcony overlooking the mirror hall. The Throne palace was designed after the Ottoman style in the form of a "Kosha"

The private Museum is situated in the southern part of the palace and consists of 15 halls divided by a yard with a small garden. The palace garden is a rare plant museum, where the Prince collected a lot of plants unknown in Egypt and was able to adapt them to the soil and environment. It is a real example for the modern Egyptian history.

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