''Borg El-Qahira'' , native_name_lang = , image = Cairotower.jpg , image_alt = , map_alt = , map_caption = , caption = Cairo tower in 2008 , status = Complete , building_type = Communications, observation, restaurants, visitor attraction , architectural_style = Ancient Egypt , location =

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

, coordinates = , start_date = 1956 , completion_date = 1961 , opening = 1961 , cost = Around $US1-3 million , owner =

Government of Egypt The politics of Egypt are based on republicanism, with a semi-presidential system of government. The current political system was established following the 2013 Egyptian military coup d'état, and the takeover of President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. ...

, management = , architectural = , antenna_spire = , roof = , top_floor = , observatory = , material = Concrete , floor_count = 62 , floor_area = , elevator_count = 3 , architect =

Naoum Shebib Naoum Shebib (1915–1985), (or Naoum Chebib,نعوم شبيب) was an Egyptian architect. He is considered one of the leading Egyptian architects and the precursor of modern architecture in Egypt. He was also a structural engineer and entrepr ...

, developer = , structural_engineer = , main_contractor = , website
cairotower.net
br>(requires

Adobe Flash Adobe Flash (formerly Macromedia Flash and FutureSplash) is a multimedia Computing platform, software platform used for production of Flash animation, animations, rich web applications, application software, desktop applications, mobile apps, mo ...

; in English) , references = The Cairo Tower ( arz, برج القاهرة, ''Borg El-Qāhira'') is a free-standing concrete

tower A tower is a tall Nonbuilding structure, structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from guyed mast, masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting ...

. At , it was the tallest structure in Egypt for 37 years until 1998, when it was surpassed by the

Suez Canal overhead powerline crossing The Suez Canal overhead powerline crossing is a major electrical power line built across the Suez Canal in 1998, located near Suez, Egypt. It is designed for two 500 kV circuits. Because the required clearance over the Suez Canal is , the overhe ...

. It was the tallest structure in

North Africa North Africa, or Northern Africa is a region encompassing the northern portion of the African continent. There is no singularly accepted scope for the region, and it is sometimes defined as stretching from the Atlantic shores of Mauritania in ...

for 21 years until 1982, when it was surpassed by the

Nador transmitter Nador transmitter is the main transmission facility for longwave and shortwave of Medi 1 Radio, a privately owned broadcasting company of Morocco. It is situated approximately 18 kilometres south of the city of Nador and a few kilometres s ...

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

. It was the tallest structure in Africa for one year until 1962, when it was surpassed by

Sentech Tower The Sentech Tower, previously named the Albert Hertzog Tower and commonly known as the Brixton Tower, is a concrete television tower in the Brixton suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa, near the top of the Brixton Ridge. It is a well-known and e ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. One of Cairo's well-known modern monuments, sometimes considered Egypt's second most famous landmark after the

Pyramids of Giza The Giza pyramid complex ( ar, مجمع أهرامات الجيزة), also called the Giza necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Men ...

, it stands in the Gezira district on

Gezira Island Gezira is an island in the Nile, in central Cairo, Egypt. The southern portion of the island contains the Gezira district, and the northern third contains the Zamalek district. Gezira is west of downtown Cairo and Tahrir Square, connected acr ...

in the

River Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered the longest rive ...

, close to

downtown Cairo Downtown Cairo ( arz, وسط البلد '' "middle of town")'', has been the urban center of Cairo, Egypt, since the late 19th century, when the district was designed and built. History Downtown Cairo was designed by prestigious French archit ...

History

Built from 1956 to 1961, the tower was designed by the Egyptian architect

, inspired by the

Ancient Egyptian Architecture Spanning over three thousand years, ancient Egypt was not one stable civilization but in constant change and upheaval, commonly split into periods by historians. Likewise, ancient Egyptian architecture is not one style, but a set of styles diff ...

. Its partially open lattice-work design is intended to evoke a pharaonic lotus plant, an iconic symbol of Ancient Egypt. The tower is crowned by a circular observation deck and a revolving restaurant that rotate around its axis occasionally with a view over

greater Cairo The Greater Cairo Region (GCR; ar, القاهرة الكبرى, Al-Qāhira al-Kubrā) is th an economic region with no administrative body comprising the three governorates of Cairo, Giza and Qalyubia. Within it lies the largest metopolitan are ...

. According to documents published by Major General Adel Shaheen, the funds for the construction of the tower were originated from the Government of the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

through the

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian intelligence agency, foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gat ...

that represented by

Kermit Roosevelt Kermit Roosevelt MC (October 10, 1889 – June 4, 1943) was an American businessman, soldier, explorer, and writer. A son of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, Kermit graduated from Harvard College, served in both Wo ...

, which had provided around $US1-3 million to

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...

as a personal gift to him with the intent of stopping his support for

Algerian Revolution The Algerian War, also known as the Algerian Revolution or the Algerian War of Independence,( ar, الثورة الجزائرية '; '' ber, Tagrawla Tadzayrit''; french: Guerre d'Algérie or ') and sometimes in Algeria as the War of 1 November ...

and other

African independence movements The African independence movements took place in the 20th century, when a wave of struggles for independence in European-ruled African territories were witnessed. Notable independence movements took place: *Algeria (former French Algeria), see A ...

. Affronted by the attempt to bribe him, Nasser decided to publicly rebuke the U.S. government by transferring all of the funds to the Egyptian government for the use of the tower construction, which he stated that it would be "visible from the US Embassy just across the

Nile The Nile, , Bohairic , lg, Kiira , Nobiin language, Nobiin: Áman Dawū is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa. It flows into the Mediterranean Sea. The Nile is the longest river in Africa and has historically been considered ...

, as a taunting symbol of Egypt's, Africa and the Middle East's resistance, revolutions and pride". The book also stated that the General Intelligence Service took full responsibility for everything related to the design and planning work, including the selection of the architect who was assigned to design, the construction work, and even providing the necessary materials for the building with the aim of giving the heroic character of the president. However, its design was controversial as the

Egyptians Egyptians ( arz, المَصرِيُون, translit=al-Maṣriyyūn, ; arz, المَصرِيِين, translit=al-Maṣriyyīn, ; cop, ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ, remenkhēmi) are an ethnic group native to the Nile, Nile Valley in Egypt. Egyptian ...

called it the "waqf Roosevelt" ("Roosevelt's endowment"), which was then mistakenly interpreted by the

Embassy of Egypt in Washington, D.C. The Embassy of Egypt in Washington, D.C. is the diplomatic mission of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the United States. It is located at 3521 International Court, Northwest, Washington, D.C., in the Cleveland Park neighborhood. The embassy also ope ...

as the "waqef Roosevelt" ("Roosevelt's erection"). This prompted the

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

s to react by calling it "Nasser's prick". Because of that, a local Islamic group issued a

fatwa A fatwā ( ; ar, فتوى; plural ''fatāwā'' ) is a legal ruling on a point of Islamic law (''sharia'') given by a qualified '' Faqih'' (Islamic jurist) in response to a question posed by a private individual, judge or government. A jurist i ...

to demolish the tower in the 1990s, stating that it "could excite Egyptian women", but this failed to be implemented due to its influence on national history and popularity among the nation and tourists. Between 2006 and 2009, the tower underwent an £E15 million restoration project that included a new installation of light decoration. It was stated that the project used the LED lamp for its efficiency on energy consumption.

Gallery

File:Cairo Tower Entrance.jpg, Cairo Tower Entrance File:Cairo Tower from below.jpg, Cairo Tower from below File:Egypt-2A-010 - Cairo (2217349050).jpg, Cairo Tower File:Late evening in Cairo.jpg, Cairo Tower at sunset

References

Citations

Books

* *

External links

cairotower.net
tower's official website (requires