Gezirah Palace

Ghezireh Palace, Zamalek district, Gezira Island, Cairo (1906 - as Hotel)

The Gezirah Palace was one of the Egyptian royal palaces of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty. It is located in the Zamalek district on Gezira Island in the Nile, just west of Downtown Cairo.

History

The Gezirah Palace, designed by Carl von Diebitsch c. 1868, was commissioned by Khedive Ismail for entertaining visiting international dignitaries during the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869.

It was sold to Paul Draneht Pasha and Commander Oblieght in 1889, and by 1906 was the elegant Gezirah Palace Hotel. During World War One it was put into service as the No.2 Australian General Hospital, after Mena House was unable to cope with the huge number of casualties from the Battle of Gallipoli.

Present day

The Gezirah Palace is currently the central part of the Cairo Marriott Hotel complex, between the hotel's pair of towers, on Gezira Island north of the 6th October Bridge.

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Coordinates: 30°03′24″N 31°12′27″E / 30.05667°N 31.20750°E / 30.05667; 31.20750


This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/11/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.