The construction and treasures of Al-Gawhara Palace

South of the Mosque of Muhammad Ali in the Cairo Citadel stands Al-Gawhara Palace, also known as Bijou Palace. Commissioned by Muhammad Ali Pasha in 1814, the palace was designed and constructed by artisans contracted from a variety of countries, including Greeks, Turks, Bulgarians and Albanians. The complex included barracks, schools, an arsenal, a gun-powder factory and a mint. The palace was constructed as a two-storey pavilion in the style of a Turkish kushk, featuring Western style windows often topped with an oval oeil-de-boeuf.

In 1822, a fire destroyed the palace's wooden construction in a blaze that lasted for 2 days. Muhammad Ali later had the structure expanded with a large marble fountain, columned stone terraces, porticoes, flower beds, and an orange grove. The grounds also contained a menagerie with a lion, two tigers, and an elephant, which were gifts from the British Lord Hastings. In 1824, fire again damaged the palace following explosions of gunpowder, leading Muhammad Ali to import large slabs of marble from Italy to build a vestibule, staircase and corridors.

In 1825, traveler Anne Catherine Elwood described the palace's grand room as having deep niches for conversation and side rooms for music, reading, games and refreshment. The palace contains Muhammad Ali's official divan, an audience hall where the pasha received guests, which features a 1000 kg chandelier sent by Louis-Philippe I of France. The Pasha hall also contains paintings portraying the receiving of foreign ambassadors and the throne of Muhammad Ali Pasha, which was a gift from the King of Italy.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons