Abdeen Palace

Abdeen Palace, the jewel of the nineteenth century, witnessed many of the events that contributed to the establishment of Egypt as an independent country. From its inception in 1863 until the 1952 revolution, the palace was a witness to ninety years of busy social and political life.

History records that in 1867 Emperor Napoleon III of France invited Khedive Ismail to attend on behalf of Egypt at the World Exhibition held in Paris. There, the Khedive received Baron Haussmann, the master planner behind the development and reconstruction of Paris, and accompanied him on tours throughout the European city — its spacious streets, parks, landscaped gardens and new buildings of various styles.

It was then that Khedive Ismail realised his capital must keep pace with the rest of the world's capitals in development and progress.