The story of the construction of modern Egypt as told by Muhammad Ali Palace in Shubra

Muhammad Ali Palace in Shubra “Al-Kheima” was also called Al-Fasiqiya Palace due to the presence of a large fountain in it (Al-Jazeera)

Shubra is the name of one of the most densely populated neighborhoods in Cairo. However, this neighborhood did not exist for approximately 200 years, and was composed of agricultural lands, ponds, and swamps.

The establishment of the Shubra district dates back to the year 1808, when Muhammad Ali Pasha, the governor of Egypt, wanted to build his first palace far from Cairo, in order to calm himself down and get rid of a little of the concerns of politics, and in anticipation of the unrest caused by the Mamluks inside Cairo. In this remote place, Muhammad Ali Pasha built his palace, and that was The beginning of Shubra Al-Kheima, the most famous neighborhood in Egypt, was born from the womb of the palace. This does not prevent the fact that Shubra Beach on the Nile has been a park since the Mamluk era, and a number of Mamluks inhabited it and built their palaces there.

Two years or a little more before the famous Citadel massacre, during which he wiped out all the Mamluks in Egypt with one blow in 1811, Muhammad Ali Pasha wanted to establish and document his era with a ruling house that would differentiate between an era past and a new one, and a new era that he planned to last, so he chose a location. On the shore of the Nile in the Shubra area, an area of ​​70 acres, extending from the shore of the Nile to Birkat al-Hajj, after he seized several villages and fiefdoms to build his palace.

Al-Fasqiyya Palace from the outside (Al-Jazeera)

Garden palaces

The architecture of the palace was based on a new style of architecture, the “garden palaces” style, which became widespread in Turkey on the shores of the Bosphorus, the Dardanelles, and the Sea of ​​Marmara. This design is based on a vast garden surrounded by a huge wall, interspersed with a few doors. Scattered in this garden are several buildings, each of which bears the characteristics of... Special architecture, and these palaces remained and remain a witness to the era, and Al-Fasiqiya Palace is considered the most magnificent and a proverb in architecture. Al-Fasiqiya Palace became famous by this name due to the presence of a large fountain in it, and it is considered the most beautiful palaces in Egypt at all after Al-Tahira Palace.

In building Shubra Palace, Muhammad Ali sought the help of French, Italian, Greek, and Armenian artists to decorate his palace. The palace combined the European style in decoration with the spirit of Islamic architecture in planning. The palace was built in the spirit of a mosque, as there are 4 canopies surrounding a huge courtyard, as if it were a mosque courtyard.

Shubra Palace decorations (Al Jazeera)

Khaled Azab, an expert in the field of heritage, told Al Jazeera Net, “It is fortunate that Shubra Palace was part of my thesis to obtain a doctorate, and I was able to correct much of the historical and archaeological information surrounding this important landmark. We are not talking about a single palace, but rather a group of palaces built in At different times, it was started by Muhammad Ali Pasha and completed by his successors. It overlooked directly the Nile, and the beginning was from a point or “kiosk” (as the palace was called) where the governors used to stay in the Ottoman era when they wanted to take a walk.

Azab continues, “When Muhammad Ali assumed the rule of Egypt, he began erecting many buildings in this place in the year 1223 AH/1808 AD, until it became his favorite residence in the later years of his era, especially after the Azbakeya Palace burned down in 1840. The construction of the palace continued for about 13 years, starting from 1808 to 1821.

The seat of government for Egypt, Sudan and the Levant

Shubra Palace became the seat of actual government from 1820, and from it Muhammad Ali ruled Egypt, Sudan, and the Levant, and from it issued decrees with the names of the campaigns that reached the Upper Nile, and from it also the army of Ibrahim Pasha departed towards the Hijaz and the Levant, and this palace witnessed the historical reforms led by Muhammad Ali. Pasha and his sons during the rule of Egypt, and after the naval battle of "Navarine" in which the European fleets destroyed the Egyptian fleet, Muhammad Ali remained in Shubra Palace until he died.

The names of those who designed the palace were numerous, but what is certain is that Monsieur Dorfty, the French consul in Egypt during the reign of Muhammad Ali, was the one who designed this palace. However, the French architect Pascal Coste narrated in his memoirs that Muhammad Ali Pasha asked him to design a palace in Shubra, and it was mentioned. The documents include the names of some of the engineers who supervised the construction of the palace, especially the Al-Fasiqiya palace, and it is likely that they made amendments to the original design, which was not fully implemented. Among these are Amin Effendi, the architect, Omar Agha, the building superintendent of the Shubra Saray, and Abdullah Agha, the Bashi engineer.

Marble works in Shubra Palace (Al Jazeera)

Khaled Azab points out that Pascal Coste developed a design that includes 4 gorges, corridors surrounded by trees, a large water pool, a small mosque, and a horse racing arena. The first facility in this palace was the Residence Palace. It was located in the middle of the current Corniche Road and was attached to several wooden buildings for employees of the palace offices and the guard, in addition to a marina for boats on the Nile. In its early days, the palace consisted of the governor’s palace and its annexes, which included the doorman’s residence (the guard building). , a fountain, a balcony with a Jabaliya courtyard, a fountain pool, and an oriental bath (the fountain palace).

"Marble railing" in Shubra Palace (Al Jazeera)

Then a factory was established to prepare lamp gas, and an aesthetic group was added to the palace, such as the green foyer of the bamboo forest (bamboo forest), a road planted with Aleppo pine (pine forest), a vineyard cubicle, the citrus group (citrus garden), and fruit trees with fallen leaves. The entrance is from Shubra Street, Rawdat Al-Zohour, and Al-Khader Garden.

Azab confirms that the documents say that the palace consisted of two floors: the second floor was designated for Muhammad Ali’s residence, and the largest room was designated for his sleeping. Khedive court documents indicate the names of some of the rooms of this palace, and we understand from them that the first floor consisted of the salamlik and the courtyard, or the courtyard, and the second. Which included two rooms: a nautical one overlooking the Nile, and a front room with a dome-roofed space between them. There is a bathroom attached to this floor. This palace was restored in 1261 AH/1845 AD, and Abbas Pasha presented the Great Shubra Saray to his uncle Abdel Halim Bey in 1851 AD.

Fasih Palace

As for the Al-Fasqiyya Palace, which is considered a miracle in design, construction and architecture, the documents mention this palace as “the Kiosk”, and work on it began in 1821 AD, until 1823 AD. It has a single floor, with 4 axial doors opening in the middle of its sides, each door being preceded by a shed carried on Columns covered by a gabled roof. In the middle of the building is a basin or pool whose floor is 1.5 meters lower than the floor of the building from the inside.

This pond has a watering hole or fountain that draws its water from the Nile using a steam engine, the work of the English engineer “Galway,” and on its edge are statues of crocodiles imported from abroad. Another English engineer, “Kaldi,” also participated in the work of the pond, and he may have been specialized in the drainage network and design of the pond.

Al-Fasqiyya Palace from the inside (Al-Jazeera)

In the four corners of the pond there are 4 crouching lions with water coming out of their mouths, and on the floor of these triangles, on which these lions crouched, there are burrowed types of fish with their different movements as they swim in the water. The pond is surrounded by 4 corridors supported by 100 cylindrical columns.

Al-Faqiyya Palace Pool (Al-Jazeera)

The Al-Fasqiyya Palace building includes several rooms, including the Throne Room, the Names Room (the names of Muhammad Ali’s family), the dining room, the billiards, and the garden. These halls are: The Walnut Hall, which derives its name from the use of walnut wood in it for covering the ceilings and floors, and in the wall cupboards, which number 3 cupboards. At the end of the northern and southern sides of the hall, there is a huge mirror inside a wooden frame decorated with carvings of flower pots. The frame is crowned with 3 semicircular arches. This frame has been painted with gold water. This hall is also known as the Sessions Hall. Among the masterpieces that the palace includes are painted antique paintings. It belongs to Muhammad Ali Pasha and his family members.

Al-Jouz Hall in Shubra Palace (Al-Jazeera)

The second hall is located facing the Walnut Hall on the western end of the southern portico. It is the dining hall (the dining room). Its location is an irregular octagon from the inside. Its corners have been cleaned, and a window opened in each corner overlooking the garden. The ceiling is decorated with gilded geometric decorative shapes with drawings of birds, animals, and women. In its center is a wooden beam with engraved decorations from which a chandelier chain hangs. The ceiling skirting is divided into decorative inserts.

Al-Jouz Hall in Shubra Palace (Al-Jazeera)

The third hall, the billiard hall: is located in the northwestern corner of the Saray Al-Fasqiya building. It is a rectangular hall, with a wide apse in the eastern wall crowned by a semicircular arch, in which an ancient Egyptian temple is depicted. In each of the western and southern walls there are 3 windows, and the ceiling is decorated with geometric and floral shapes and drawings of women. Its middle is a circle of gilded wood decorated with deep carvings, and the facade of the billiard hall and its annexes takes up a quarter of the circle.

The last hall is the Arab Hall: it is located in the northeastern corner, and it was called the Arab Hall due to the predominance of Arabic decorations on it. Its location is octagonal, and it has beveled corners, with every window beveled. The ceiling of the hall has gilded floral decorations colored in several colors, and it has inscriptional decorations bearing the names of Muhammad Ali Pasha and Ibrahim. Pasha, and the date was recorded on it as 1270 AH/1853 AD.

Small Shubra Saray

There were many palaces built by Muhammad Ali and his successors as annexes and annexes to the Palace of Residence. On Muharram 19, 1250 AH/May 29, 1843 AD, a high order was received from the governor of Shubra to build a residence palace, or what was called a “kiosk,” on an area of ​​8 acres inside Shubra Park.

Hossam Ismail, professor of archeology at Ain Shams University, says, “The decision was issued to build the small one-story palace of Shubra, containing 5 or 10 rooms. The Armenian engineer Hakikian was commissioned to make several designs for the aforementioned kiosk, and Muhammad Ali requested that all of its windows overlook the kiosk. The garden from all four sides, and the wooden poles needed for this kiosk should be made in Bulaq’s workshop, and in Rajab 1251 AH/1835 AD, Muhammad Ali laid the foundation stone for this kiosk himself.”

Ismail adds, “As for the Jabaliya Palace, it was built in the shape of a rectangle on top of the Jabaliya Palace located in the palace garden, facing the Muhammad Ali Palace, and in the middle of the palace is a circular marble fountain whose roof is a dome decorated with plant branches divided into 8 areas, and in the center of the dome there are capital shapes surrounded by floral decorations and gilded flowers.” .

Marble of Al-Fasqiyya Palace (Al-Jazeera)

The small Shubra Saray consists of one floor and opens at the middle of its sides with 4 axial doors. Each door is preceded by a shed. Each corner of the building occupies a room that protrudes from the facade as if it were a tower. In the middle of the building is a basin with a fountain in the middle, lower than the floor of the building.

Khedive Abbas Hilmi I issued an order in Shawwal 1266 AH/August 1845 AD to build two palaces, one in Manial and the other in Shubra. Muhammad Ali had agreed to the construction of the new palace, but his death prevented the start of this project, and when Abbas assumed power, he ordered the construction to be completed.

Water drivers and gas lighting

The waterwheels attached to Shubra Palace were a sign of art and a scientific miracle at the same time. The waterwheel tower is considered one of the masterpieces of engineering art. It was designed by the English engineer Perseid, and dates back to the year 1227 AH/1811 AD. Its miracle is that it was at a great height to achieve, by the difference in level, a powerful momentum. The water was sufficient to operate the fountain, in addition to that, the Nile water was drawn through a tunnel to pour after passing through the waterwheel into 4 basins, through which the water was purified before it passed into the water basin in pure form to emerge again through irrigation channels. The tower of one of these waterwheels may remain until now.

Al-Fasqiyeh Palace and its courtyard (Al-Jazeera)

For the first time in the history of Egypt, lighting was done with lamp gas in Shubra Palace, by engineer Galloway in the year 1824 AD. This was done in an official ceremony held on March 24 of the same year, after the completion of establishing a factory to prepare this gas in the palace, and some columns still remain. The lighting remains on the stands in the Jabaliya Palace.

Shubra Park

If Shubra Palace was decorated with modern masterpieces and wonders, the palace garden was also a verse of art and architecture that resulted from the beginning of the 19th century AD, as it included some scattered buildings, such as the Samar Theater built in the Byzantine style, as well as many units. Service architecture.

The founding of this garden dates back to the year 1806 AD, that is, before Muhammad Ali began establishing many facilities for the palace. The area of ​​Shubra Park reached 70 acres and was located east of Shubra Palace. It is a facility in the regular Egyptian style, interspersed with straight roads extending in all directions, and sections confined between... The roads were planted with fruit trees and ornamental plants brought from all over the world.

A hallway in Shubra Palace (Al Jazeera)

Shubra Street

After Shubra Palace was inaugurated as the main seat of government during the era of Muhammad Ali, it was planned that it would be connected to the main city of Cairo via two roads: the first, the Nile Road, which Muhammad Ali used many times to reach the palace during construction operations, and the second, a land road opened by Muhammad Ali in In the year 1231 AH/1816 AD, it was known as Shubra Street. It extended from Ramses Square today to Shubra Palace.

Trees were planted on both sides of Shubra Street, and several palaces were built on its western side. They were a major reason for Shubra’s urban growth. Muhammad’s goal was to transform this street into a place for picnics and recreation outside his capital, Egypt. In order to achieve this, the decision was made to make the street the largest street in Egypt. This covenant.

Source: Al Jazeera