View allAll Photos Tagged cairo
This is another of the statues at the former palace that is now the Cairo Marriott Hotel.
The palace was commissioned by the Egyptian ruler, the Khedive Ismail, and was designed by architect Karl von Diebitsch to host French Emperor Napoleon III and his wife, the Empress Eugénie, during the celebration of the inauguration of the Suez Canal in 1869. At the Khedive's request, the architect designed it to resemble the Versailles Palace.
In 1880, the palace was seized by Ismail's creditors and was eventually leased to the Compagnie Internationale des Grands Hotels, which turned it into "The Ghezireh Palace Hotel" in October 1894.
During World War I, the hotel served as a second Australian hospital to cope with the large number of casualties from the Battle of Gallipoli.
In 1919, The Ghezireh Palace Hotel was sold to Syrian businessman Habib Lotfallah, who converted it into a private residence.
The palace was nationalized in 1952 and eventually converted back to a hotel, reopening in 1962 as the Omar Khayyam Hotel.
In the late 1970s, two large towers were added and the entire hotel was completely rebuilt. President Hosni Mubarak presided over the grand reopening in 1982 as the Cairo Marriott Hotel.
I lived across the street from the hotel for many years as a child, and often played with my friends in its extensive gardens. Later, it became a favorite place to take my dates for dinner.
There are not even enough people left around Cairo to graffiti/tag all the abandoned buildings.
Cairo, IL
The Al-Nasir Muhammad Mosque, or more formally, the Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad ibn Qalawun Mosque, is a mosque located in the Citadel of Cairo, Egypt. Completed in 1318 CE, the mosque was built by the Mamluk sultan Al-Nasr Muhammad as the royal mosque of the Citadel, where the sultans of Cairo performed their Friday prayers. The mosque is located across the street from the courtyard access to the Mosque of Muhammad Ali. The Sultan also built a religious complex in the center of the city, adjacent to the one by his father Qalawun.
Sultan al-Nasir Muhammad was one of the sons of Sultan Qalawun (d. 1290). He was reportedly short, had a lame foot, and a cataract in one eye as well. However, he still managed to rally the support of his people because he was smart and energetic. He also managed to remain on good terms with other countries. The historical chronicler Ibn Batuta says that he was of “noble character and great virtue”.
Though surprisingly popular, al-Nasir did not keep control of his city throughout his life. Much of that has to do with him becoming sultan as a nine-year-old. Because the city was ripe with power mongers, his tutor, Kitbuqa sent him away to grow up and come home when he was better able to deal with the responsibility of ruling a country. Kitbuqa was killed shortly thereafter and was succeeded by a short succession of other rulers. Finally Lagin, an advisor loyal to the sultan took control and informed the young sultan he had nothing to fear and could return to Cairo. Nasir was usurped one additional time during his rule. Only after being reinstated a second time did Nasir begin working on his massive construction projects.
At the time, rulers of Cairo would support the city by sponsoring massive building projects which brought them prestige and created jobs. Al-Nasir’s claim to fame was building up the Citadel area that the Mamluk Empire ruled from. The Citadel resided aside from the more day-to-day people’s market place. Al-Nasir wiped out the library and audience halls of his predecessor and sponsored the building of a grand palace, aqueduct, and mosque for his own personal use in their place.
Watching this gentleman carrying that big cage walked all the way down from the top of the hill with his cane, I wanted to help. But he smiled a "no need".
www.gdecooman.fr - Photographe à Lille - portfolio, stages photo, mariages, naissance / bébé, évènements
Black & White portrait of a Muslim pilgrim at a traditional festival in Cairo, Egypt.
Website: Dietmar Temps, photography
This was one of the most amazing acts - from the time she came on, the crowd was hooked and couldn't have enough of her.
The proximity of Cairo, a colossal city considering its extension and population, is shocking once you situate yourself in the surroundings of the Giza pyramids.
As respectful as future developments, such as the new practically built museum, are with that environment, they will continue to make the location a unique place.
Khan el-Khalili (خان الخليلي) is a famous bazaar in the historic center of Cairo, Egypt. Established as a center of trade in the Mamluk era and named for one of its several historic caravanserais, the bazaar district has since become one of Cairo's main attractions for tourists and Egyptians alike. It is also home to many Egyptian artisans and workshops involved in the production of traditional crafts and souvenirs. The name Khan el-Khalili historically referred to a single building in the area; today it refers to the entire shopping district.
Cairo was originally founded in 969 CE as a capital for the Fatimid Caliphate, an empire which by then covered much of North Africa and parts of the Levant and the Hijaz. Jawhar al-Siqilli, the general who conquered Egypt for the Fatimids, was ordered to construct a great palace complex to house the caliphs, their household, and the state's institutions. Two palaces were eventually completed: an eastern one (the larger of the two) and a western one, between which was a plaza known as Bayn al-Qasrayn (lit. 'Between the Two Palaces'). The site of Khan el-Khalili today was originally the southern end of the eastern Fatimid palace as well as the location of the burial site of the Fatimid caliphs: a mausoleum known as Turbat az-Za'faraan ('the Saffron Tomb'). Also located here was a lesser palace known as al-Qasr al-Nafi'i (today the site of the 19th-century Wikala of Sulayman Agha al-Silahdar).
Under the Fatimids, Cairo was a palace-city which was closed to the common people and inhabited only by the Caliph's family, state officials, army regiments, and other people necessary to the operation of the regime and its city. The first attempts to open the city to merchants and other outsiders took place in the later Fatimid period, on the initiative of powerful viziers. Between 1087 and 1092, Badr al-Jamali, the vizier under Caliph al-Mustansir, undertook the task of enlarging the city and building the stone walls and gates that still partly exist today. At the same time, he also opened the city to the common people, but the decision was quickly reversed. Between 1121 and 1125, al-Ma'mun al-Bata'ihi, vizier under Caliph al-Amir, undertook many reforms and construction projects, including the creation of a mint, known as the Dar al-Darb, and of a customs house for foreign merchants, known as the Dar al-Wikala. These were placed in a central location not far from the current site of the 15th-century Madrasa of al-Ashraf Barsbay. This introduced foreign trade into the heart of the city for the first time