7
K
asr El-Nil Bridge isone
ofCairo’s remarkable
landmarks. Although the
designmaynotmeet
with today’smodern
architectural standards, it is still a
favouriteattractionamongst tourists
andEgyptians alike.Manywalk the
bridgeonadailybasis,whether ona
dailycommuteor ona touristic tour.
Very fewhowever, know the story
behind thebridgeand the storyof
how it becameKasr El-Nil…
A Brief
Introduction
Goingback inhistory to 1869, in
aneffort toaccommodate the
growingcapital andconnect it
with theother sideof theNile,
Khedive Ismail built abridge to
crossover theNile to thePalace
Island. Theonlyconnectionbefore
was through ferries and fellucas.
Thisbridgewas thefirst inhistory
tobebuilt over the spanof the
Nile. Thiswas alsopart of theSuez
Canal inaugurationcelebrations.
Thename “Kasr ElNil” came from
the reference toPrincessNazly’s
palacewhichwas situatedwhere
RamsesHiltonhotel now is and
continuedall theway toTahrir
square. Thebridgewasfirst open
onFebruary 10
th
, 1872.
As thecapital grew innumbers,
the increase in traffic –aproblem
wealways seem tohave- and
theenlargingof thecity’s capital
lead to thedeteriorationof the
original bridge. Thegovernment
thendecided to replace itwitha
newbridge that ismorecapable
of carryingandwithstanding
a largeamount of traffic.
Dorman, Long&Co., aBritish
company,was commissioned
toworkon thenewbridge; a
382m longarch-type steelwas
designedwitha section that
wouldopenelectricallywithin
3andahalfminutes. Thenew
bridgewasnamedafterKhedive
Ismail inhonour of his vision.
Ina speechdeliveredbyH.E.
IbrahimFahmi Pasha,Minister of
Communications, at theopening
ofKhedive Ismail’sbridge, Ibrahim
Pashaexpressed thegratitude
of thepeople for suchan
accomplishment andhighlights
thatKingFouad sograciously
laid the foundation stonehimself
on thedayof inauguration. The
renowned lion statueswerekept
andadded to thenewbridge
whichwould later becomean
international landmark.
