The District of Garden-City !!

Hello my fellow Rotaractors
as  mentioned before , we are introducing you to our neighborhoods , firstly we showed you the beauty of  Dokki and now let's introduce you to the lovely  Garden-City
                                                            

Garden City is a well-planned and leafy district of central Cairo, immediately south of the very centre of the modern city at Midan Tahrir. It is between the Nile and Downtown Cairo, just south of Tahrir Square off Qasr Al-Eini Street , situated directly south of the very middle of the contemporary city,  it is referred to as the "garden suburb." Garden City has efficiently planned out and creates a spectacular spread of greenery that illuminates central Cairo.

In 1905  Frantz Sofio, Charles Bacos and George Maksud, all three owners of the Nile Land & Agricultural Company, asked agricultural engineer Jose Lamba to create Cairo's newest district the agricultural architect  His vision was of a leafy, suburb with a layout drawn up more using a compass than a ruler, unlike the strong right angles and straight lines popular in other suburbs like Ma'adi, and Zamalek.

Lambas preferred an Art Nouveau style with smaller roads and uneven lines, interspersed with triangles often leading the walker back to where they started. Cairo's newest khedivial neighborhood occupied a well-defined hexagon. 

To the south it was bordered by Lady Cromer Hospital Street (now Dr. Handussa). To the east by Kasr al-Eini Avenue and the genteel district of Mounira; to the north by the aristocratic neighborhood of Kasr al-Dubara; and to the west by Kasr al-Aaly Street and that most magnificent of natural barriers, the Nile.

 This is one Cairo neighbourhood that once housed the elite of the 30's and 40's Egypt. It is considered, to this day, a posh place to live,

All told the Adly Yegen Palace was Garden City's largest superstructure by far. When the pasha died in Paris in October of 1933, the palace took on the name of Kasr Cherif Sabry in honor of the man who in 1925 wed the pasha's only daughter. 

The palace was lost in the real estate boom of the late 1970s when Zeinab Cherif's grandchildren sold it to a Swiss developer who intended to erect a Nova Park hotel in its place. Financial difficulties sank that project and the property lay desolate for twenty years until its recent revival as The Four Seasons Nile Plaza.

The Vatican in Rome owns the biggest portion of land in garden City with 12 of the original 273 plots, and houses the Mere de Dieu School for girls

 

By Metro

Stops in Garden City on the metro are Sayida Zeinab Station and Saad Zaghloul Station, both part of El Marg-Helwan line, Line 1 .

 Garden City is also within walking distance of Sadat Station at Tahrir Square Downtown which is an intersection of both major Metro Lines: Shubra-Giza, and El Marg-Helwan

things to see in the area :


Beit El-Sennari, Harat Monge. Built in 1794 by Ibrahim Katkhuda El-Sennari, a Sudanese occultist, Beit al-Sennari housed French artists and scholars after Napoleon arrived. The house was restored in 1995, and opened to the public in 2000. The house is home to the Institute for Applied Arts, which has glassware, pottery, and other works on display.

Egyptian Parliament and Museum,  For those who take a political interest take the time to tour the Egyptian Parliament home to both the People and the Shura Council

Ethnological Museum (Museum of modern life), . Part of the Geographical Society created by Khedive Ismail in 1895, this rather neglected museum displays more modern Egyptian cultural artifacts, and examples of daily life. Free.

Garden City is a great place to wander around admiring architecture. It's streets are filled with what once were beautiful palaces and villas, homes to the elite of Cairo. A few buildings worth mentioning are the British Embassy ( Bayt al Lourd )on Ahmed Ragab Street. A beautifully designed building with extensive grounds which can be viewed from the main street. Built in 1894 it became the focal point of many interesting historical meetings. 

the garden of the embassy was that in 1942 the British Envoy Sir Miles Lampson drove in a miltary cortege to the Palace of Abdeen to give the then King Farouk a choice of appointing a pro British cabinet or abdicate. 

churchil in the british embassy

Moving along, you arrive at Karnak Bazaar , one of landmarks. The enormous gift shop, 580 meters long, opened in 1959 ,The dusty gallery, now a warehouse, recalls glory days long gone. The walls are adorned with black and white photos of Frank Sinatra, Mickey Rooney, John and Jacqueline Kennedy and congressmen from the sixties and seventies.

and this is a brief description of our area - Garden city

 hope you have enjoyed reading it