Qasr Eleini Street or Asr Eleini Street by Egyptian pronunciation (شارع قصر العينى; translated as Palace of Eleini Street) is one of the oldest streets in downtown Cairo, Egypt.
Asr Eleini (Egyptian for Palace of Eleini) owes its name to the nearby landmark of the same name, Eleini's Palace Hospital, which now hosts one of the oldest medical schools in the Middle East and Africa. The street has an outlet into Tahrir Square.
Qasr El Einy Street is located in downtown Cairo, running parallel to the Cairo Metro Line 1, spanning El Malek El Saleh, El Sayeda Zeinab, Saad Zaghloul and Sadat stations along its length. The street runs NNE from the National Cancer Institute to Tahrir Square, a distance of 2.4 kilometres (1.5 miles). Tahrir Square was built in the late 1860s, around the Khairy Pasha Palace, which later hosted the American University in Cairo's campus, built in the 1920s.
Tahrir Square has been the site for numerous major protests and demonstrations, including in March 2003 when people came out to protest the War in Iraq,[1] and the 2011 Egyptian protest gatherings. Tahrir Square was originally called "Ismailia Square", named after 19th-century ruler Khedive Ismail, but the name was changed to Tahrir Square after the Egyptian Revolution of 1952.[2]
The parliament building that houses Egypt's legislative body, the House of Representatives, is located on the Qasr El Einy Street. In 2008, the building was severely damaged by a fire.[3]
The Egyptian Geographic Society (الجمعية الجغرافية المصرية, French: Société de Géographie d'Egypte) was established by a decree of Khedive Isma'il Pasha on 19 May 1875. Its first president was the German botanist, traveller and ethnologist Georg August Schweinfurth. Founded as the Khedivial Society of Geography, its name was modified several times in order to reflect Egypt's changing political status. It acquired its current name following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952.[4]
This museum houses exhibits covering the activities and traditions in Cairo including village crafts, costumes, equipment and other items of daily life. The museum is located at the Geographical Society Building on Qasr El-Einy Street.[5]
The Qasr El Einy Medical School (قصر العيني) is part of the Cairo University School of Medicine, and is located in Garden City district in downtown Cairo.[6] Qasr El Eyni Medical School is one of the largest, oldest, and most prestigious medical schools in Africa and the Middle East. Along with the Cairo University Hospitals, it is considered the largest medical institution in the Middle East, and probably one of the largest in the world. Established in 1827, it was named after El Einy Pasha, whose palace was originally the school's main building. It accepts about 1600 students annually out of the thousands of applicants who apply. The students are chosen by a computer program based on the score they have achieved in high school. It provides a six-year combined premedical-medical programme leading to a MBBCh which is usually followed by a one-year internship at the university hospital.[7]
Qasr El Einy is considered a symbol of the medical profession in Egypt. Hence, the founding date of Qasr El Einy, March 11, 1827, was chosen as the day of the annual festival for the Egyptian medical profession.
Located in the center of downtown Cairo, Qasr El Einy Street has a range of buildings including apartment complexes, banks, churches, gas stations, government buildings, hospitals, internet cafes, mosques, pharmacies, and numerous shops and restaurants. Qasr El Einy Street is a one-way street that heads directly towards Tahrir Square with no intersections, 18-20 side streets, and occasional bus stops.
Qasr El-Einy Street has many notable institutions, buildings, and landmarks. Listed southeastward from its Tahrir Square terminus they include: