From Salah el Din square we set off along Mohamed Karim street and found Taz Palace to our left on the corner of Al Soufeya street. Surprised to find that entrance is free, although we had to leave ID cards at the entrance! It’s a huge Mamluk palace built in 1352AD with an intriguing history, now used as an exhibition centre and houses the Antiquities offices. Apart from the odd cleaning ladies the place was deserted. An sprawling area with a series of stairways leading to different areas and onto the roof. From the roof are views of the area, you can see the minarets of Sultan Hassan and Al Rafaai, the Citadel, minaret of Ibn Tulun, and in the distance the iconic Nile Ritz Carlton hotel on Tahrir Square. Descending we found the balcony with its wonky chandeliers overlooking the central courtyard with its towering palm trees. There’s a hamman area with natural light shining through coloured glass. One can only imagine the splendour of the palace in its heyday. Many rooms are closed and locked but this does not detract from the immense size of the palace. We even found clean and functioning toilets tucked away in a quiet corner!

The palace is beautiful with many exhibitions held on it, but it suffered alot from neglecting through the ages, due to 1992 Egypt great earthquake, most of the buildings there is damaged, the great news that the restoration processes are happening since this date till now, about 60% of restorations are finished, the history of the palace is so interesting to pay a visit