Qasr el-Nil Street
Encyclopedia
Qasr el-Nil Street, also spelled Qasr al-Nil, is a street in Downtown Cairo
, Egypt
. Qasr el-Nil Street is one of the biggest streets in the downtown Cairo area with many business
es, restaurant
s, and an active nightlife
.
The vintage urban planning and architecture
here are reminiscent of the illustrious period of late 19th and early 20th century Europe
an Beaux-Arts and Egyptian—Islamic
—Moorish Revival styles. The street and its new building designs were part of creating a new international downtown district, to link to Egypt’s rich Islamic heritage and institutions with the many new foreign enterprises, at the turn of the 20th century in Cairo.
and passes through Tahrir Square with The Mogamma
building and Egyptian Antiquities Museum
, and then crosses the Nile River on the Qasr al-Nil Bridge
, to end on Gezira Island
.
, the ruler of Egypt, decided to strategically reclaim the East Bank of the Nile
opposite Gezira Island, and create a 'Paris on the Nile.' The lower area was part of the Nile's natural pond
, marsh
, wetland
, and riparian zone
habitats for millennia, making this an ambitious civil engineering project. The existing 1880s Khairy Pasha palace
was higher in the eastern Tahrir Square area, and later was absorbed into the American University in Cairo
downtown campus. This urban project’s starting point was building the Egyptian Army
Barracks
, which became an important Egyptian and later British government institution. This area was eventually part of the urban district called 'Ismailiya' and 617 acres (2.5 km²) were allocated for this new neighborhood in which Qasr el Nil Street was centered. After adequate civic infrastructure was completed in 1874, Ismail Pasha decided that buildings had to cost a minimum 2000 L.E. amount of money to build and furnish. The large sum for the time was intended to ensure that the buildings in the Ismailiya district would be significant, large and built with expensive materials, and therefor excluding small shops and houses. Throughout its early years the street attracted many of the Egyptian elites, socialites, celebrities, and businesspeople, who caused a commercialization
and development movement from the street beyond into the district that was rising to become classic downtown Cairo.
is reminiscent of Europe
an Beaux-Arts, Neo-Baroque, Art Nouveau
, and Modernisme, and Art Deco
architectural influences, with some Egyptian, Islamic
, and Moorish Revival architectural styles, and recent modernist
buildings as well.
Abdin Palace
The Abdeen Palace
—Abdin Palace was built by Khedive Ismail in the 19th century to become the official government headquarters and royal residence, replacing the Citadel of Cairo
used by rulers since the Middle Ages
. Construction started in 1863 and continued for 10 years and the palace was officially inaugurated in 1874.. The name means “Palace of the Nile” and refers to the name of the palace built by Said Pasha
in 1858. . The extensive gardens were completed in in 1921 by Sultan Fuad I. The palace includes 500 rooms. Currently the upper floors (the former living quarters of the royal family) are reserved for visiting foreign dignitaries. The palace structure is a national museums centre: with the Silver Museum, the Arms Museum, the Royal Family Museum, the Presidential Gifts Museum, and the Historical Documents Museum.
Sednaoui Department Store
Royal Automobile Club
Bella Studio
Qasr al-Nil Bridge
Cairo Opera House
and sweets store called Groppi’s that has been there since the turn of the century. The Qasr el Nil British Army Barracks were demolished in 1947 and replaced by an expanded Tahrir Square and the early 1950s modernist Nile Hilton Hotel complex.
In recent decades Qasr el-Nil Street has become busier, and now there is insufficient parking for residents due to increasing commercial uses and number of 'nightlife venues' on the street especially, and in the neighborhood. A recent event here was the anti-Algerian riots that targeted an Algerian airline
in the fallout of the events that took place during the World Cup qualification matches. The most recent street events are being a part of the 2011 Egyptian protest demonstrations for democracy, especially on the street's tw approaches to and section within Tahrir Square.
Downtown Cairo
Downtown Cairo, , has been the urban center of Cairo, Egypt since the late 19th century, when the district was designed and built.-History:The area, designed by prestigious French architects was commissioned by Khedive Ismail...
, Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
. Qasr el-Nil Street is one of the biggest streets in the downtown Cairo area with many business
Business
A business is an organization engaged in the trade of goods, services, or both to consumers. Businesses are predominant in capitalist economies, where most of them are privately owned and administered to earn profit to increase the wealth of their owners. Businesses may also be not-for-profit...
es, restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
s, and an active nightlife
Nightlife
Nightlife is the collective term for any entertainment that is available and more popular from the late evening into the early hours of the morning...
.
The vintage urban planning and architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
here are reminiscent of the illustrious period of late 19th and early 20th century Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an Beaux-Arts and Egyptian—Islamic
Islamic architecture
Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture....
—Moorish Revival styles. The street and its new building designs were part of creating a new international downtown district, to link to Egypt’s rich Islamic heritage and institutions with the many new foreign enterprises, at the turn of the 20th century in Cairo.
Geography
Qasr el-Nil Street extends (east to west): from the Abdin Palace at Abdin Square, passes a vibrant business district, Bab El-Lauq Market, and the American University in Cairo—Downtown Campus, is joined by Talaat Harb StreetTalaat Harb street
Talaat Harb Street is a historic street in downtown Cairo, Egypt, connecting Tahrir Square—Liberation Square and Talaat Harb Square.-Naming:...
and passes through Tahrir Square with The Mogamma
The Mogamma
The Mogamma , also spelled Mugamma is a government building in Cairo, Egypt. The Mogamma building was given as a gift by the Soviet Union and was ordered for construction in 1950. The building was completed in 1952, just before the revolution in Egypt...
building and Egyptian Antiquities Museum
Egyptian Museum
The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display, the remainder in storerooms....
, and then crosses the Nile River on the Qasr al-Nil Bridge
Qasr al-Nil Bridge
The Qasr al-Nil Bridge spans the Nile River in central Cairo, Egypt. It connects downtown Cairo to Gezira Island and the Zamalek district. At the bridge's east and west approaches there are two large stone lion statues flanking each entrance, they are late 19th century works by French sculptor and...
, to end on Gezira Island
Gezira Island
Gezira Island is located in the Nile River, in central Cairo, Egypt. The southern portion of the island contains the Gezira District, and the northern third contains the affluent Zamalek District....
.
Isma'il Pasha and Ismailiya era
Isma'il PashaIsma'il Pasha
Isma'il Pasha , known as Ismail the Magnificent , was the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the behest of the United Kingdom...
, the ruler of Egypt, decided to strategically reclaim the East Bank of the Nile
Nile
The Nile is a major north-flowing river in North Africa, generally regarded as the longest river in the world. It is long. It runs through the ten countries of Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.The Nile has two major...
opposite Gezira Island, and create a 'Paris on the Nile.' The lower area was part of the Nile's natural pond
Pond
A pond is a body of standing water, either natural or man-made, that is usually smaller than a lake. A wide variety of man-made bodies of water are classified as ponds, including water gardens, water features and koi ponds; all designed for aesthetic ornamentation as landscape or architectural...
, marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
, wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
, and riparian zone
Riparian zone
A riparian zone or riparian area is the interface between land and a river or stream. Riparian is also the proper nomenclature for one of the fifteen terrestrial biomes of the earth. Plant habitats and communities along the river margins and banks are called riparian vegetation, characterized by...
habitats for millennia, making this an ambitious civil engineering project. The existing 1880s Khairy Pasha palace
Khairy Pasha palace
Khairy Pasha palace is a neo-Malmuk palace residence built near Midan Ismaileyya square in 19th century Cairo, Egypt. It is now within the present day Tahrir Square area on Qasr el-Nil Street, and has been incorporated into the American University in Cairo Tahrir Square campus - 'AUC Downtown'...
was higher in the eastern Tahrir Square area, and later was absorbed into the American University in Cairo
American University in Cairo
The American University in Cairo is an independent, non-profit, apolitical, secular institution of higher learning located in Cairo, Egypt...
downtown campus. This urban project’s starting point was building the Egyptian Army
Egyptian Army
The Egyptian Army is the largest service branch within the Egyptian Armed Forces and holds power in the current Egyptian government. It is estimated to number around 379,000, in addition to 479,000 reservists for a total of 858,000 strong. The modern army was created in the 1820s, and during the...
Barracks
Barracks
Barracks are specialised buildings for permanent military accommodation; the word may apply to separate housing blocks or to complete complexes. Their main object is to separate soldiers from the civilian population and reinforce discipline, training and esprit de corps. They were sometimes called...
, which became an important Egyptian and later British government institution. This area was eventually part of the urban district called 'Ismailiya' and 617 acres (2.5 km²) were allocated for this new neighborhood in which Qasr el Nil Street was centered. After adequate civic infrastructure was completed in 1874, Ismail Pasha decided that buildings had to cost a minimum 2000 L.E. amount of money to build and furnish. The large sum for the time was intended to ensure that the buildings in the Ismailiya district would be significant, large and built with expensive materials, and therefor excluding small shops and houses. Throughout its early years the street attracted many of the Egyptian elites, socialites, celebrities, and businesspeople, who caused a commercialization
Commercialization
Commercialization is the process or cycle of introducing a new product or production method into the market. The actual launch of a new product is the final stage of new product development, and the one where the most money will have to be spent for advertising, sales promotion, and other marketing...
and development movement from the street beyond into the district that was rising to become classic downtown Cairo.
British and independence eras
When the British arrived to oversee Egypt in 1882, their first decision was to occupy the Egyptian Army Barracks on the Nile. Khedive Tawfiq disbanded the Egyptian Army five days later to humiliate the Egyptian officers who demonstrated against their own army. After many years of British occupation, King Farouk reclaimed the Barracks structures in 1948, but relocated the new Egyptian Army Barracks east to the Abbassia district. The site of the Egyptian Army Barracks was first then converted into a municipality building of Cairo (later the Nile Hilton site), changing central Qasr el-Nil Street from a military to civilian character thereafter. The adjacent Midan Ismailiyya square, later renamed as Tahrir Square—Liberation Square, was expanded after some of the British barracks demolition 'liberated' space for Cairenes.Architecture
Qasr el-Nil Street's original architectureArchitecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
is reminiscent of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an Beaux-Arts, Neo-Baroque, Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
, and Modernisme, and Art Deco
Art Deco
Art deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
architectural influences, with some Egyptian, Islamic
Islamic architecture
Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture....
, and Moorish Revival architectural styles, and recent modernist
Modern architecture
Modern architecture is generally characterized by simplification of form and creation of ornament from the structure and theme of the building. It is a term applied to an overarching movement, with its exact definition and scope varying widely...
buildings as well.
Landmarks
Some of the landmarks on or near Qasr el-Nil Street, from east to west, include:Abdin Palace
The Abdeen Palace
Abdeen Palace
Abdeen Palace is a historic Cairo palace, and one of the official residences and the principal workplace of the President of Egypt, located above Qasr el-Nil Street in eastern Downtown Cairo, Egypt.- Overview :...
—Abdin Palace was built by Khedive Ismail in the 19th century to become the official government headquarters and royal residence, replacing the Citadel of Cairo
Cairo Citadel
The Saladin Citadel of Cairo is a medieval Islamic fortification in Cairo, Egypt. The location, on Mokattam hill near the center of Cairo, was once famous for its fresh breeze and grand views of the city...
used by rulers since the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
. Construction started in 1863 and continued for 10 years and the palace was officially inaugurated in 1874.. The name means “Palace of the Nile” and refers to the name of the palace built by Said Pasha
Said Pasha
Said Pasha may refer to:*Sa'id of Egypt , Wāli and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan*Küçük Mehmet Sait Pasha , Ottoman statesman, and editor of the Turkish newspaper Jerid-i-Havadis...
in 1858. . The extensive gardens were completed in in 1921 by Sultan Fuad I. The palace includes 500 rooms. Currently the upper floors (the former living quarters of the royal family) are reserved for visiting foreign dignitaries. The palace structure is a national museums centre: with the Silver Museum, the Arms Museum, the Royal Family Museum, the Presidential Gifts Museum, and the Historical Documents Museum.
Sednaoui Department Store
- The Sednaoui Department Store is a famous department storeDepartment storeA department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
built in the 1920s by an Italian architectArchitectAn architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
. This building is a good example on the street of the unique blend of an elaborate Beaux-Arts style with Art DecoArt DecoArt deco , or deco, is an eclectic artistic and design style that began in Paris in the 1920s and flourished internationally throughout the 1930s, into the World War II era. The style influenced all areas of design, including architecture and interior design, industrial design, fashion and...
detailed decoration on the building's facade. The interior has a clear layout and style, and employed elevatorElevatorAn elevator is a type of vertical transport equipment that efficiently moves people or goods between floors of a building, vessel or other structures...
s in a store for the first time in Egypt. They provided the public easy access to many upper shopping floors, which are now is ubiquitous in megastores.
Royal Automobile Club
- The Royal Automobile ClubRoyal Automobile ClubThe Royal Automobile Club is a private club and is not to be confused with RAC plc, a motorists' organisation, which it formerly owned.It has two club houses, one in London at 89-91 Pall Mall, and the other in the countryside at Woodcote Park, Surrey, next to the City of London Freemen's School...
was built in the 1920s by an Italian architect but displays a different influence namely the Neo-Islamic style. The architecture of this building is specifically of FatimidFatimidThe Fatimid Islamic Caliphate or al-Fāṭimiyyūn was a Berber Shia Muslim caliphate first centered in Tunisia and later in Egypt that ruled over varying areas of the Maghreb, Sudan, Sicily, the Levant, and Hijaz from 5 January 909 to 1171.The caliphate was ruled by the Fatimids, who established the...
influence, evident in the keel arches and sunburstSunburstSunburst is a type of finish for musical instruments such as electric and acoustic guitars and electric basses. At the center of a sunburst-finished surface is an area of lighter color that darkens gradually towards the edges before hitting a dark rim...
motif on the façade. This club was a popular social club in addition to being a popular night spot for the affluent in Egypt during the first half of the 20th Century.
Bella Studio
- Bella Studio is one the oldest and most well known photographic studioPhotographic studioA photographic studio is both a workspace and a corporate body. As a workspace it is much like an artist’s studio, but providing space to take, develop, print and duplicate photographs. Photographic training and the display of finished photographs may also be accommodated in a photographic studio...
s in Egypt. Since it opened it has specialized in photo shootPhoto shootA photo shoot is generally used in the fashion industry, whereby a model poses for a photographer at a studio where multiple photos are taken to find the best ones for the required brief...
s for international socialites, Cairene celebrities, and Egyptian performers and actorActorAn actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
s. The photographyPhotographyPhotography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
studio and galleryGalleryGallery may refer to:* An art museum * A retail art shop * An exhibition room in a museum...
is located in the basement of a building which was designed in the Neo-Renaissance style, and built by a wealthy Italian developer living in Cairo into the 1950s. The balconiesBalconyBalcony , a platform projecting from the wall of a building, supported by columns or console brackets, and enclosed with a balustrade.-Types:The traditional Maltese balcony is a wooden closed balcony projecting from a...
are intricately detailed with artistic decoration, and its facadeFacadeA facade or façade is generally one exterior side of a building, usually, but not always, the front. The word comes from the French language, literally meaning "frontage" or "face"....
s have colored stone mosaicMosaicMosaic is the art of creating images with an assemblage of small pieces of colored glass, stone, or other materials. It may be a technique of decorative art, an aspect of interior decoration, or of cultural and spiritual significance as in a cathedral...
s with the owner’s Italian name written in KufiKufiA kufi or kufi cap is a brimless, short, rounded cap worn by many populations in West Africa of all religions and throughout the African diaspora.-African and African-American Usage:...
script. The building was nationalized and is now owned by the Central Bank of EgyptCentral Bank of EgyptThe Central Bank of Egypt is the central bank of Egypt. The bank's paid-up capital is 1000 million Egyptian pounds. According to its website, the CBE:*Regulates banks and the banking system of Egypt...
, with only one elderly resident refusing to leave residence in Qasr el Nil Street.
- Tahrir Square area
- The Egyptian Antiquities MuseumEgyptian MuseumThe Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, known commonly as the Egyptian Museum, in Cairo, Egypt, is home to an extensive collection of ancient Egyptian antiquities. It has 120,000 items, with a representative amount on display, the remainder in storerooms....
(Egyptian Museum) is north of the street on Tahrir Square. It was built as a museum in the early 20th century, being designed in the neoclassical architectureNeoclassical architectureNeoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
style with a distinctive light red color. It was designed by French architect Marcel Dourgnon and built by the Italians Giuseppe Garozzo and Francesco Zaffarani. - The MogammaThe MogammaThe Mogamma , also spelled Mugamma is a government building in Cairo, Egypt. The Mogamma building was given as a gift by the Soviet Union and was ordered for construction in 1950. The building was completed in 1952, just before the revolution in Egypt...
, a Soviet era gift to Egypt, the immense government office building was completed in 1952. - The Headquarters of the Arab League headquarters building, a diplomatic enterprise.
- The Egyptian Antiquities Museum
Qasr al-Nil Bridge
- The Qasr al-Nil BridgeQasr al-Nil BridgeThe Qasr al-Nil Bridge spans the Nile River in central Cairo, Egypt. It connects downtown Cairo to Gezira Island and the Zamalek district. At the bridge's east and west approaches there are two large stone lion statues flanking each entrance, they are late 19th century works by French sculptor and...
, It has two very tall stone lionLionThe lion is one of the four big cats in the genus Panthera, and a member of the family Felidae. With some males exceeding 250 kg in weight, it is the second-largest living cat after the tiger...
statues flanking each entrance, they are late 19th century works by French sculptor and animalierAnimalierAn animalier is an artist, mainly from the 19th century, who specializes in, or is known for, skill in the realistic portrayal of animals. "Animal painter" is the more general term for earlier artists...
Henri Alfred JacquemartHenri Alfred JacquemartHenri Alfred Marie Jacquemart , often known as Alfred Jacquemart, was a noted French sculptor and animalier....
.
Cairo Opera House
- The National Cultural Centre, with the new Cairo Opera HouseCairo Opera HouseThe Cairo Opera House , part of Cairo's National Cultural Center, is the main performing arts venue in the Egyptian capital. Home to most of Egypt's finest musical groups, it is located on the southern portion of Gezira Island in the Nile River, in the Zamalek district west of and near downtown...
, the Egyptian Modern Art MuseumGezira Center for Modern ArtThe Gezira Center for Modern Art, also known as the Egyptian Modern Art Museum, is an art museum for modern and contemporary art, located in Cairo, Egypt. It is part of the National Cultural Centre with the Cairo Opera House, on Gezira Island, just across the Nile on Qasr el-Nil Street west of...
, and other arts venues on Gezira Island.
Present day
Qasr el Nil Street today is part of the vibrant culture of downtown Cairo. There are a lot of clothing and shoe stores in addition to banks and travel agencies. "After 8" is a popular night club located on Qasr el Nil Street. There is also an ice creamIce cream
Ice cream is a frozen dessert usually made from dairy products, such as milk and cream, and often combined with fruits or other ingredients and flavours. Most varieties contain sugar, although some are made with other sweeteners...
and sweets store called Groppi’s that has been there since the turn of the century. The Qasr el Nil British Army Barracks were demolished in 1947 and replaced by an expanded Tahrir Square and the early 1950s modernist Nile Hilton Hotel complex.
In recent decades Qasr el-Nil Street has become busier, and now there is insufficient parking for residents due to increasing commercial uses and number of 'nightlife venues' on the street especially, and in the neighborhood. A recent event here was the anti-Algerian riots that targeted an Algerian airline
Airline
An airline provides air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines lease or own their aircraft with which to supply these services and may form partnerships or alliances with other airlines for mutual benefit...
in the fallout of the events that took place during the World Cup qualification matches. The most recent street events are being a part of the 2011 Egyptian protest demonstrations for democracy, especially on the street's tw approaches to and section within Tahrir Square.
See also
- Talaat Harb StreetTalaat Harb streetTalaat Harb Street is a historic street in downtown Cairo, Egypt, connecting Tahrir Square—Liberation Square and Talaat Harb Square.-Naming:...
- Qasr al-Ayn StreetQasr al-Ayn StreetQasr El-Einy Street ; also known as Tahir Qasr El-Einy Street is one of the oldest streets in Downtown Cairo, Egypt.-Namesake:...
- Downtown CairoDowntown CairoDowntown Cairo, , has been the urban center of Cairo, Egypt since the late 19th century, when the district was designed and built.-History:The area, designed by prestigious French architects was commissioned by Khedive Ismail...
- Abdeen Palace Incident of 1942Abdeen Palace Incident of 1942The Abdeen Palace Incident was a military confrontation that took place on 4 February 1942 at Abdeen Palace in Cairo, and almost resulted in the forced abdication of King Farouk I....