Built on the site of a small mansion owned by Abidin Bey,
Abdeen Palace, which is named after him, is considered one of the most
sumptuous palaces in the world in terms of its adornments, paintings, and large
number of clocks scattered in the parlors and wings, most of which are
decorated with pure gold. Built by Khedive Ismail, to become the 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.
Construction started in 1863 and continued for 10 years and
the palace was officially inaugurated in 1874. Erected on an area of 24
feddans, the palace was designed by the French architect Rousseau along with a
large number of Egyptian, Italian, French and Turkish decorators. 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 700,000 Egyptian pounds in addition to
2 million pounds for its furnishing. More money was also spent on the palace’s
alteration, preservation and maintenance by consecutive rulers. The palace has
500 rooms.
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. A new museum, the Historical Documents Museum,
was opened in January 2005. Among other documents, it contains the Imperial Ottoman fireman, or decree, which established the rule of Muhammad Ali and his family,
and a certificate for the Order of the Iron Crown, from the short-lived South
American Kingdom of Araucanía and Patagonia.