Hi, missed me

.......Today we are going to talk about a very special place we called

 Cairo Tower, was built between 1956 and 1961

It was the tallest structure in Egypt for 37 years until 1998, when it was surpassed by the  Suez Canal overhead powerline crossing . It was the tallest structure in  North Africa  for 21 years until 1982, when it was surpassed by the  Nador transmitter  in  Morocco . It was the tallest structure in Africa for one year until 1962, when it was surpassed by  Sentech Tower  in  South Africa

One of Cairo's well-known modern monuments, sometimes considered Egypt's second most famous landmark after the  Pyramids of Giza , it stands in the Gezira district on  Gezira Island  in the  River Nile , close to  downtown Cairo

This tower was designed by the Egyptian architect  Naoum Shebib , inspired by the  Ancient Egyptian Architecture .  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 rotates around its axis occasionally  with a view over  greater Cairo

A recording 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  through the  CIA  that represented by  Kermit Roosevelt , which had provided around $US1-3 million to  Gamal Abdel Nasser  as a personal gift to him with the intention of stopping his support for  the Algerian Revolution  and other  African independence movements .  Affronted by the attempt to bribe him, Nasser decided to publicly rebuke the US government by transferring all of the to the Egyptian government for the use of funds of the tower construction, which he stated would be “visible from the US Embassy just across the  Nile , ” "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  called it the "waqf Roosevelt" ("Roosevelt's endowment"), which was then mistakenly interpreted by the  Embassy of Egypt in Washington, DC .  as the "waqef Roosevelt" ("Roosevelt's erection"). This prompted the  Americans  to react by calling it "Nasser's prick."  Because of that, a local Islamic group issued a  fatwa  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.

Renovation

Between 2006 and 2009 , the tower underwent a  £E 15 million restoration project by the Egyptian Arab Contractors Company. The restoration and repair process cost about 15 million pounds, which included treating and restoring the tower's concrete and adding 3 floors of metal structures at the bottom of the  tower  inlaid with the body, and another floor above the entrance. It also added an  emergency  staircase and an elevator for visitors, and installation of new  LED lighting  to improve efficiency

In 2023, during the  war between Is*rael and Hamas , a photo of the tower with the Palestinian flag circulated on social media. However, the photo was actually a modified version of a photo taken in 2010

And at the end of our interested journey, I wish you had enjoyed, see you