Cairo of the Royals

Cairo of the Royals

A Man's Dream and the Reality that Lasts for Hundreds of Years

with confident steps, he climbed the stairs at the end of the stone walkway that leads from the elegant mosque to the the mansion residence of that ruler, who named the Palace after his beloved wife and the mother of his sons; "Gawhara'.

He is now pleased with an idea that lurks in his mind. Turning around to face the wall of the castle that is now highly fortified, he toured the horizon that extends in front of him; the colors were ranging from ripe green to other richer shades, wonder ful scattered formations lie ahead, while shades of deep brown lighten up the place in a float manner as if he were looking into his favorite cup of coffee.

He whispered again to himself some other names; yet this time, these were feminine names: Al Mahrousah (the guarded city), Al Quahirah (the victorious city).

Thus the story began; Muham mad Ali Pasha, Mohamed Ali the Great, forerunner of the renaissance of modern Egypt and his story with his glorious city, Cairo.

Muhammad Ali began his proj ect to develop Cairo by expanding and widening its streets, cleaning and repainting them as well as up grading the city administratively, physically and culturally. The new plan of Cairo divided the city into a  number of main streets that connect the Castle (the seat of government)

with the areas to the West; such as Al-Rouda, through "Al-Khaleej Al- Masri" (the Egyptian Gulf) at Bab Al- Kharq (known now as Bab Al-Khalq) and the streets of Bab al-Louk, Al- Sayyeda Zainab and all those that pour into Bab Al-Kharq as the center of the new capital.

After the organization of the streets of Cairo, expanding them and planting trees on their sides, it was the time for

naming the streets and numbering the houses.

As the establishment of the Diwans (i.e. Ministries) was one of the most im portant pillars of the administrative thought of Muhammad Ali, he made sure to have an Office of Public Works, which was responsible for the

development of Egypt and its urbanization. We could

also find some Diwans that are designed by Muham

mad Ali in a way that reflects very clearly to the nature of

his civilization-oriented pro

gram; such as the Office of

the Translation and Diwan Al-Mobtada`aat (Creative

works) (i.e. Arts and Litera ture). On top of these arts was

that of Arab Calligraphy, as

Muhammad Ali was greatly concerned with developing

this art.

In his journey to rebuild Cairo, Muhammad Ali con

structed a number of Palaces for his residence and other

buildings to be the premises of his government. He also Ibrahim Pasha, son of Mohamed Ali Pasha and father of adopted the concept of "social Ismael Pasha, and the great commander who lead Egypts responsibility of the institu army to victories, one after another

tions of governance" which is a modern concept of our time, as he has created a number of public water fountains, service buildings and facilities for the people of Cairo including the Observatory of Bulaq, al-Azbakeyya Hose pital and governmental bakeries.

Therefore, there is no wondering that historians calls this man ‘Muhammad Ali the Great ... And indeed, he is the great founder of modern Egypt.

Ismail Pasha ... Another Story in the Love of Cairo

Whenever I walked in the downtown area in the heart of Cairo, I could hear his voice accompanying me in my tours, whispering to me his inquiries about my opinion regarding 'his new Cairo' and whether he succeeded in making it "a piece of Europe", worthy of being the capital of a great country like Egypt, and worthy also to be visited by his guests and friends, who are infatuated with this country.

The man is none but my great friend, Ismail Ibrahim Mohammed Ali, known to everyone as the famous "Ismail Pasha", or "Khedive Ismail Pasha", "the Khedive of Egypt".

He told me that in his early days in education, when he was sent by his grandfather in an educational mission to Europe, he frequently read and heard some painful remarks about Cairo made by the European travelers. They would say: "It is better to hear or read about Cairo rather than visit it. If you drink water from the Nile once, you must return to your country for medical treatment".

He said to me, as his face changed, that he had heard this saying once and thus he decided to change this image for good. I did not know that he is the

one who invented the argument that lasted for hundreds of years later as he,

Ismail Pasha Khedive of Egypt, is the Hone who first said, "Whoever drinks from the Nile of Egypt once must return to it again and again".

To make his dream a reality, Ismail Pasha did his best to create a city that is worthy of being the capital of Egypt and its people, and of course marking his achievement as well.

"Born with a golden spoon in the mouth", the best example of this characteristic is Ismail Pasha. Ismail was the grandson of Muhammad Ali Pasha, and son of inspiring military leader Ibrahim Pasha who led the Egyptian military to achieve great victories in every battle fought under his leadership when he was the commander of the Egyptian army under the Ottoman Empire and under the rule of his father Mohammed Ali Pasha. , The founder of the dynasty, Muhammad Ali Pasha, sent his beloved grandson to Europe on a scientific mission to Paris; and thus he joined the famous "Saint-Cyr" Military College. Out there, the young Ismail was described by one of his teachers as a "unique and rare model for a man who is born to rule and perhaps to make history".

Ismail Pasha began his rein by the abolition of bonded labor system, which has burdened the Egyptians for long. He kicked off the trade lib  famous "Orman" orchards that covered an area of 465 acres, all decorated with rare trees. He also built the Saray (Palace) gardens of Giza, which extended till the site of Abbas Bridge. Over an area of fifty acres of the orchards, the famous Zoo was set up later on.

Bearing in mind to highlight Egypt's image of civilization and modernity, Khedive Ismail built a museum for Egyptian antiquities in the courtyard of Azbakiyya. Khedive Ismail was the man of the impossible, the man who boldly faces obstacles, insisting on the

realization of his dreams that are evident from the art of architecture, stressing that his hobby – as he said to me - was "brick and cement". Therefore, he received the decree by the Ottoman Sultan granting him the title of "Khedive", means "the brave knight".

Written by Neveen Ahmed