Frescoed ceilings and artisanal corner crowns embellish the high ceilings of Ras al-Tin. The majesty of bygone eras hangs low with the chandeliers, threaded into the collar of elevator workers, stained into glass windows. Fig trees sweeten the garden and ripen the air. Crowning a peninsula off the coast of Alexandria, Ras al-Tin is one of Egypt’s oldest palaces, having been brought into being by none other than Muhammed Ali Pasha. To date, it is the only palace to witness the climb, stagnation, and fall of a dynasty from start to finish. As the reception of foreign monarchs, and the seat of the Egyptian Crown when heat waves washed in, Ras al-Tin was a world upon it. The intent behind it was Muhammad Ali’s desire to build a grand chateau in Egypt’s “second capital,” which until then had lacked a royal estate. Soon after its inception, Ras al-Tin—latinized to Promontory of the Figs—became the official summer residence for the Egyptian monarchs and their governments from June through to September. Alexandria, for six months of each year, became Egypt’s working capital. The palace is located near the local Arsenal, the naval…
