Kasr-el-Aini Medical School
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling. You can assist by editing it now. A how-to guide is available. (May 2007) |
 |
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. Please improve this article if you can. (May 2007) |
Kasr El-Aini, The Faculty of Medicine, Cairo university is one of the biggest and oldest medical schools in Africa and the Middle East. Established at 1837, the faculty was named after Al-Aini Pasha, whose palace was originally the school's main building. In fact, "Kasr Al-Aini" literally means "Al-Aini's palace" when translated to the Arabic language.
[edit] History
It was out of the desire for expansion that the School of Medicine was moved from Abou Zaabal to Kasr El-Aini in 1837. This new site was preferred not only because it could accommodate 1,500 beds and 300 students (at that time), but also because it was situated in the heart of Cairo, compared to Abou Zaabal, which lies on the outskirts of the Egyptian capital.
At present, Kasr El-Aini is so well known that its name is taken for granted. Nobody even attempts to think of how it acquired this name. In fact, it takes its name from the influential man, El-Mokerr El-Shehabi Ahmed Ibn El-Aini, who built it in the 15th century as a residential palace. It then became a hotel for kings and princes, and remained so until the French Occupation of Egypt transformed the palace into a military hospital.
El-Aini had vast power in Egypt during the time of the Sultan Khochqadain. He acquired several titles during his lifetime: and his impatience and authority is best testified by the fact that there are two biographies of him. It is the is historical grandeur which gives Kasr El-Aini its special character as a solid building with enormous corridors, thick walls, and powerful foundations that have resisted and challenged the action of time.
The state found out that it needed a wider and a more spacious area, and so, the hospital and the school were transferred from Abou Zaabal to Kasr El-Aini .
The square
Kasr El-Aini is a rectangular building surrounded by parks and composed of two stories above a ground floor. Each of its wings consists of a double row of rooms on either side. each wing is divided into four compartments, each of which holds fifty beds. In the center of the building lies a very large court surrounded by trees. In the vicinity of the southern wing, stand four big separate blocks. The first off these blocks comprises the amphitheatres, the chemical and physical laboratories and the natural history hall. The second is for dormitories and dining halls. The third is for the common dispensary. The fourth is for the kitchen, baths, lavatories and laundries Kasr El-Aini web site[1]
