Zamalek District
Zamalek District is one of the upscale districts in the west of Cairo. It is located on an island in the middle of the Nile River.
Name
El-Zamalek is a foreign word, and it means houses made of reeds. El-Zamalek district was just the hang-out for young men in summer and holidays during the eras of The Umayyads and then the Ayyubids. Then Khedive Ismail built the Gezira palace, which witnessed the inauguration of the Suez Canal in November 1869. After that, the Gezira palace turned into a hotel called Omar El-Khaiam, and now it is Marriot Hotel.
Origins
Zamalek did not become an island until the final quarter of the 19th century after digging the western branch of the Nile. Zamalek was a land connected to the El-Agouza area and the Imbaba area. Then, in 1877, the El-Bahr El-Amma Bridge was built on the Nile’s western branch, and in 1914 El-Galaa bridge replaced El-Bahr El-Amma as it was no longer functioning.
Egyptians used to call the El-Galaa bridge “Badea Masabni” bridge to mock the British forces, and after the evacuation of the British occupation from Egypt, the bridge restored its old name.
Landmark
El-Zamalek district flourished after building El-Andalus Park and El-Nadi Al-Ahly Club. Moreover, King Farouq established a rest house at the southern end of the Island, which later became the headquarter of the Revolutionary Command Council, and it is now Cairo Tower. The District also houses El-Gezira Club, El-Sawy Cultural Wheel, and the Academy of Arabic Language.
Last Update: 2024
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