Manial Palace Museum
๐ Location: Roda Island, central Cairo ย ยท ย ๐บ Focus: Royal palace and decorative arts ย ยท ย ๐๏ธ Tickets: ~250 EGP foreign adults
The Manial Palace was built between 1899 and 1929 by Prince Mohamed Ali Tewfik, an uncle of King Farouk and twice the regent of Egypt, on the northern tip of Roda Island in the Nile. The prince was a passionate collector and ardent admirer of every Islamic decorative tradition; rather than choose one style for his residence, he commissioned a campus of five separate buildings, each in a different idiom โ Ottoman, Moorish, Persian, Syrian and Rococo โ wrapped around a botanical garden.
The visit is a half-day in itself. Highlights include the Throne Hall with its Persian-tile dado and gilt ceiling, the Reception Palace with its grand staircase, the Private Residence preserving the prince's bedroom and library, the family Mosque with its Anatolian-tile mihrab, the spectacular Golden Hall in lacquered Damascus woodwork, and a curious Hunting Museum containing taxidermied trophies โ and most macabrely the heads of King Farouk's hunting expedition victims. A small Carriage House displays royal carts.
The botanical garden was once one of the great private collections of trees in Egypt and still holds rare specimens.
Highlights
- Throne Hall with painted ceiling
- Golden Hall in Damascus woodwork
- Family mosque with Anatolian tilework
- Hunting Museum โ strange and a bit unsettling
- The five different architectural styles in one compound
Visiting
- Opening hours: 9 am โ 5 pm
- Tickets: ~250 EGP foreign adults
- Best time: weekday mornings โ the gardens are most pleasant
- Nearby: Coptic Cairo and the NMEC are a short cab ride south