Montaza Palace

Listen first. Gulls call over the water, and the sea moves against the rocks below the gardens. Somewhere behind you, a family spreads a blanket under a palm tree and laughs at a joke you cannot hear. The air smells of salt and cut grass. Ahead, through the trees, a tower of pale stone and terracotta rises above the coastline. This is Montaza, the old royal retreat on the eastern edge of Alexandria.

The name itself tells you what this place was for. In Arabic, Montaza, from al-Muntazah, means something close to a park, a place of leisure, a place to stroll. Alexandria was always a city of work: ports, cotton, trade, and crowded streets. Montaza was the opposite. It was a place where Egypt's rulers came to escape the heat of Cairo and the noise of the city center. Even today, people come here to slow down.

The story begins in the late nineteenth century with Khedive Abbas the Second. A khedive was the ruler of Egypt under the Ottoman Empire, the Turkish-based empire that held loose authority over Egypt at that time. Abbas the Second came to power as a young man in 1892, and around this time he built the first palace on this site. That building is known as the Salamlek. The word comes from Ottoman tradition, and it refers to the part of a household used by men and for receiving guests.

The Salamlek is the quieter of the two palaces. It is smaller and more modest in scale, and it was used as a hunting lodge and private residence. Its style looks toward Central Europe, with pitched roofs and wooden details that feel almost alpine on this hot shore. In later decades, the building became a hotel. So if you see guests walking in and out, that is why. Very few royal residences in the world now hand out room keys.

Now turn your attention to the larger building, the one with the tower. This is the Haramlek. In Ottoman households, the haramlek was the private family quarter, the counterpart to the salamlek. This palace was built in the early 1930s under King Fuad the First. By then Egypt had become a kingdom, and the British protectorate had formally ended. Fuad wanted a summer palace that showed royal confidence. Here is a building made to be seen from the sea.

Look closely at its design. The Haramlek mixes styles in a way that surprises many visitors. There are arches and long arcades, decorated windows, and that tall tower with its clock and lantern-like top. Many writers describe it as a blend of Italian Renaissance forms, especially from Florence, with Ottoman and Islamic touches. The design is usually credited to an Italian architect who worked for the Egyptian court. That makes sense. In those decades, Italian builders and craftsmen shaped much of Alexandria's architecture.

Here is a detail that many visitors miss. Alexandria in the early twentieth century was one of the most international cities on the Mediterranean. Greeks, Italians, Armenians, Jews, Syrians, and many others lived side by side with Egyptians. They ran shops, banks, cafés, and newspapers. This palace, with its European towers and Eastern arches, comes from that mixed world. It is not only a royal house. It is also a picture of the cosmopolitan city that once surrounded it.

After Fuad, his son King Farouk used Montaza as well. Farouk was the last reigning king of Egypt, and he is remembered for his love of cars, collections, and luxury. Then, in 1952, a group of army officers led a revolution, and the monarchy came to an end. The royal palaces passed to the new state. Montaza did not become a ruin. Instead, the Haramlek was kept as an official presidential residence, and in general its interior is not open to the public.

That brings us to the second surprise. The palace that kings built for their own privacy is now surrounded by one of the most popular public gardens in Alexandria. The gardens are large, and they stretch along the coast in lawns, palm groves, and shaded paths. On weekends and holidays, Alexandrian families come here in large numbers. You will see picnics, children on bicycles, couples taking photographs, and older men sitting quietly on benches facing the sea.

Walk toward the water and notice the shape of the shore. The coast here curves into small sheltered bays, with rocky edges and patches of sand. This calmer water is one reason the site was chosen. A small bridge reaches out from the shore toward a little island, and it is one of the favourite viewpoints in the grounds. From there, you can look back at the Haramlek and see it the way its builders intended, rising above the trees and the sea.

Notice also the light. Alexandria sits on the Mediterranean, and in the afternoon the sun sets over the water to the west. The stone of the palace changes colour through the day, from a pale sandy tone at noon to warm gold and pink in the evening. The sea moves from turquoise near the rocks to deep blue farther out. If you have time, stay until the late afternoon. The whole garden becomes softer and quieter as the heat falls.

It is worth remembering what the palace does not show you. Most visitors never step inside, so the story here is told from the outside. You read it in the arches, in the tower, in the gap between the modest Salamlek and the grand Haramlek. One palace was built by a khedive under Ottoman rule. The other was built by a king of an independent Egypt. Forty years and a whole political world stand between them.

Before you leave, find a bench or a patch of shade near the water. Look once more at the tower against the sky. Listen to the waves on the rocks, the voices of families, the wind in the palms. These grounds were made for a few people, and now they belong to thousands. As you walk back toward the gate and the traffic of the city, notice the moment when the sound of the sea fades... and Alexandria returns.