El Manial


El Manial is a district of Cairo, located on Rhoda Island in the Nile.

Prince Mohamed Ali Palace

The El Manial Palace and garden estate was built for Prince Mohammed Ali Tewfik between 1899 and 1929. The Prince is the first cousin of King Faruq and the younger brother of Khedive Abbas II Hilmi. The palace was given to the Egyptian nation in 1955.

El Manial Palace Museum

The complex consists of six structures. Among these structures is a museum in which Faruq's hunting trophies are found, the prince's residence and furnishings and a museum in which some of the family's memorabilia are found. The palace also includes a collection of manuscripts, carpets, textiles, brass work and crystal. Items that can be seen here are a table made of elephant ears and a 1000-piece silver service.
On part of the original grounds a hotel has been built called the Meridian Hotel. The remaining palace gardens have beautiful plants and flowers in an expansive setting fronting a small branch or the Nile.