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  • See Nile River Tourist Attractions

    Best Things to Do in Nile River

    The Nile’s tourism potential is excessive; from southern Egypt and all the way to the northern regions, The Nile River makes some of the most pleasant tourist places in Cairo on the Nile, for Egyptian dwellers and even the visitors, who traveled to Egypt for the pleasures of the country and people.

  • The Monastery of El Suryan

    The Monastery of El Suryan | Deir Al-Surian Cairo Attractions

    The Monastery of the Virgin Mary the Syrian is considered one of the oldest monasteries in the history of the church, dating back to approximately the fifth century AD, as various sources indicate. The old fortress is located to the right of the entrance to the monastery, although it has been restored.

  • 10 Most Popular Egyptian Dishes

    Traditional Egyptian food

    Each Arab country has its own character, and Egypt is one of the most famous countries for food. Egyptians are known for their love of food, so they excelled in making dishes and inventing new things. The most famous Egyptian dishes are falafel, koshari, stuffed vegetables of all kinds, and molokhia.

  • Dolphin House Reef

    Dolphin House Marsa Allam

    Wadi El Gemal Nature Reserve in Marsa Alam is taking several measures to preserve the lives of Red Sea dolphins, which are a national treasure and a source of attraction and tourist income for diving and snorkeling, and to generate financial income for the state by collecting visit fees.

  • Tanis The Ancient City of Egypt

    Tanis: The Lost City of the Pharaohs

    In the northeast of the Nile Delta in the Sharqia Governorate, about 150 km from Cairo, lies the city of “Tanis”, which is currently known as the city of “San El-Hagar”, that historical city or unknown capital that was founded on the banks of the Nile thousands of years ago, and was also known as “Ga’net” and “Sa’an”.

  • Tel Basta museum - Egypt

    Tell Basta Museum in Al-Sharqiyah

    An ancient site called Tell Basta is located outside of Zagazig in the Sharqia Governorate. It was one of the ancient Egyptian capitals and a significant place of worship. In the Old Kingdom, it served as the capital of the 18th province. During the 22nd Dynasty, it was the capital of every province. In the past, it was referred to as "Per-Bastet" in honour of "Bastet," the god of comfort, joy, and happiness. Later, "Tell Basta" was used instead.

Qasr El Nil Bridge

What to know about Qasr El Nil Bridge

  • 05 16, 2023

The Qasr Al-Nil bridge finally protected

Witness of a glorious time in the history of Egypt, the Qasr Al-Nil bridge, decorated with the famous four lions, will finally be preserved and protected. Protection that comes through its inscription as a contemporary monument by the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, which must clean it, restore and consolidate it in order to preserve it. The bridge is in fact the first viaduct built on the Nile to link east and west of Cairo (Cairo to Giza). It all starts with the celebrations for the inauguration of the Suez Canal.

The Khedive Ismail decided to make the Egyptian capital, Cairo, the Paris of the Orient. So he built Ismaili Square (now Tahrir Square). To the west, he built several palaces and seraglio. The first was the Gezira Palace, which is the former pavilion of today's Marriott Hotel, built to house the French Empress Eugenie.

There was also the Giza Palace, whose garden was later transformed into a zoo. Two other seraglio palaces, dedicated to the sons of the khedive, were also built. They occupied what is now the Faculty of Applied Arts, not to mention the land that Princess Fatma, daughter of the Khedive Ismail Pasha, donated to help build the National University, the future University of Fouad I (now Cairo University). It was against this backdrop that the Qasr Al-Nil Bridge was built.

It was in 1869 that Khedive Ismaïl Pasha gave the order to build the bridge. ‘At a cost of 2.75 million francs at the time, the French engineer Pierre-Félix Moreaux, of the Fives-Lille company, built the bridge to plans by Linant de Bellefonds, then chief engineer of public works in Egypt. The work was completed in 1871,’ explains archaeologist Ayman Fouad Saïd. But the inauguration took place a year later, in 1872, after its solidity had been examined.

 As part of the tests, ‘an artillery team consisting of 6 cannons passed over the bridge, which remained stable’, the archaeologist points out. The bridge can also be opened at certain times of the day to allow boats to continue sailing.

According to archaeologists, a metal bridge was urgently needed at the time. Before this bridge, people, animals and food were transported from Gezira Island to Cairo and vice versa via a floating bridge installed by the French army during the Egyptian Expedition (1799-1801). But accidents were common, causing a large number of casualties. So the bridge was built to link Ismaili Square to the Gezira Palace (now the Marriott Hotel).

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Egypt Tours FAQ

Read top Egypt tours FAQs

Qasr El Nil Bridge was constructed in 1931 during the reign of King Fuad I of Egypt. It was officially opened to the public in 1933.

The Qasr El Nil Bridge, or Kasr El Nil Bridge, is a bridge in Cairo that connects Tahrir Square with the Cairo Opera House on an island called Gezira

Qasr El Nil Bridge has a total length of approximately 404 meters (1,325 feet). It consists of multiple spans supported by elegant iron arches and is wide enough to accommodate vehicular traffic, pedestrians, and cyclists.

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