Guardians of the Path

My final tribute to the great kings (I promise! lool)

How many times do we Egyptians (or even Arabs) pass by this bridge and never think or recall about the great history behind this bridge? Why is the West more interested in our history and culture more than us? Cairo itself is an open musuem, everywhere you walk there is a bit of history to it...

A bit of History:

The story of this bridge goes back to February 1872 when Gezira Bridge, the one that stood here prior to the erection of the Qasr El Nile Bridge, was opened for traffic. It linked the east side of the Nile The Qasr El Nile Bridge just after completionand the Island of Zamalek for the first time. Prior to this, access to Zamalek was provided by ferry boats and many feluccas.

With a budget of only 308,000 LE, Dorman, Long, and Co. were soon at work. However, this would be a considerably more difficult job than the Australian bridge, which is fixed. Cairo's new seven-span, 382 meter long, arch-type bridge was designed so that a 67 meter section could swing open electrically within three and a half minutes in order to allow Erecting the lions that guard the bridgeboat traffic to pass.

However, one interesting point is the four amazing bronze lions that adorn the entrances to the bridge. Originally, these larger than life lions, sculpted by the French artist, Alfred Jacuemart, were intended to stand guard around the statue of Muhammed Ali in Alexandria. For reasons unknown, Linant de Bellefonds decided otherwise, and instead had them erected here in Cairo.

Full Article: [link]