History of Montaza Palace

A summer retreat on the eastern shore

Alexandria has been a summer escape since antiquity, and in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries the wealthier classes and the ruling family built along its coast. Montaza, on the eastern edge of the city towards Maamoura, developed in that tradition: a large garden estate facing the Mediterranean, away from the crowded centre.

It is important not to reduce this to a single date. Montaza is a place that was assembled, planted and rebuilt over decades rather than designed once and finished.

Salamlek and Al-Haramlik

The Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s publication on Montazah links the Salamlek to the late nineteenth century and to Khedive Abbas Hilmi II, with its design attributed to Dimitri Fabricius. This is the earlier of the two principal buildings.

Al-Haramlik came later, around 1927, with its design attributed to Ernesto Verrucci Bey. Its towers, balconies and arches give it a very different, more ornate character than the Salamlek. Both names persist in visitor descriptions of the estate today.

The royal era and after

The estate is associated with the reign of King Farouk, whose era saw further expansion of the grounds and buildings. After the 1952 revolution and the end of the monarchy, the Montaza buildings passed into state use rather than becoming a museum in the ordinary sense.

That is one reason why visitor information about Montaza mixes heritage, garden and official uses. The historic description explains the place, but it is not an announcement about which rooms are open on any given day.

Reading the history responsibly

Montaza is best understood building by building, not as one structure with one date. If you read that “Montaza Palace was built in 1892”, treat that claim carefully — it usually refers to the beginning of the Salamlek, not to the whole estate or to Al-Haramlik.

• Salamlek: late nineteenth century, Khedive Abbas Hilmi II
• Al-Haramlik: around 1927, with its own architectural identity
• Farouk era: further expansion
• After 1952: state use of the former royal buildings

Alexandria as a summer capital

Montaza belongs to a wider story about Alexandria. From the nineteenth century the city was rebuilt and reconnected to the sea, and it served as a summer capital where the court, the government and the wealthier families moved in the hotter months. A coastal estate east of the centre fitted that seasonal pattern.

The eastern shore towards Maamoura was quieter and more open than the commercial centre, which made it suitable for a retreat that needed gardens, privacy and sea air at the same time.

Khedive Abbas Hilmi II and the making of the estate

The Salamlek is linked to the late nineteenth century and to Khedive Abbas Hilmi II, whose rule spanned the turn of the twentieth century. Under him Montaza took shape as a royal estate rather than a single house, with a garden and a coastal position assembled over time.

The design of the Salamlek is attributed by the Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s study to Dimitri Fabricius. We repeat the attribution because it comes from a documented source rather than from a general claim about “the palace”.

How the sources describe Montaza

This guide leans on documented material: the Egyptian Presidency’s pages on Al-Haramlik Palace, the State Information Service’s description of El-Haramlik Palace, the Bibliotheca Alexandrina’s historical study of Montazah, and material from the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.

Those sources do not all say exactly the same thing, and none of them turns the estate into a single building with a single date. Where a detail is uncertain or disputed, we say so rather than smoothing it into a confident sentence.

Buildings, gardens and coast as one estate

It is easy to talk about “the palace” and forget the garden, but at Montaza the two cannot really be separated. The estate was laid out as a whole: the planting frames the buildings, the coast gives the place its purpose, and the avenues and lawns connect them.

That is why the history of Montaza is also a history of landscape. Reading only the buildings misses why the site is where it is and why it has the character it does.

Frequently asked questions