Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty remained nominally an Ottoman province. It was granted the status of an autonomous vassal state or Khedivate in 1867, a status which was to remain in place until 1914.
The Suez Canal, built in partnership with the French, was completed in 1869. Its construction led to enormous debt to European banks, and caused popular discontent because of the onerous taxation it required. In 1875 Ismail was forced to sell Egypt’s share in the canal to the British government. Within three years this led to the imposition of British and French controllers who sat in the Egyptian cabinet, and, “with the financial power of the bondholders behind them, were the real power in the Government.”
Other circumstances like epidemic diseases (cattle disease in the 1880s), floods and wars drove the economic downturn and increased Egypt’s dependency on foreign debt even further.
In later years, the dynasty became a British puppet. Isma’il and Tewfik Pasha governed Egypt as a quasi-independent state under Ottoman suzerainty until the British occupation of 1882.
Ancient transportation, Nile, Egypt
Feed boats (trodden straw) unloading on the Nile, Egypt
Down Nile from Kasr-el-Nil (Nile bridge), Egypt
Cairo New Hotel
Great Sphinx of Giza
Men ridding on their donkeys
Mit Rahine (statue Ramses)
In front of Temple of Amun gateway in Luxor
Children on a horse wagon
People with their camels on the Nile
People with their donkey cart
Pottery shipping at Nile River
The Great Sphinx of Giza
The Great Sphinx of Giza
The irrepressible donkey boys at Cairo
Women with their donkey cart
A group of Bisharin before their tent at Wady Halfa, Egypt
People at a mosque in Cairo
Snake charmer
Street in Cairo
Barber shop
Fellah women
Group of Sudanese in Egypt
Luxor, Ramesses II
Merchant women
Mobile Arab restaurant in Egypt
Musicians with their stringed instruments
