Egypt (CAIRO) - Cairo tower which takes the shape of Lotus flower is one of the most prominent landmarks of the Egyptian capital with its location at the heart of Cairo on Zamalek island on the banks of the River Nile.

Director of the Cairo Tower Ehab Hassan -- who hosted KUNA's team at the tower's top revolving restaurant with its panoramic and picturesque view of the Cairo city -- said that the tower will complete its 50th anniversary on April next year.

Ehab added in an interview with KUNA here today that the construction of the tower -- which was designed by Lebanese engineer Naoum Shabib in the shape of a Lotus flower symbolizing the ancient Egyptian civilization -- took five years from 1956 to 1961 with the participation of 500 Egyptian workers.

He also said that the tower is 187-metre high and it was built from a reinforced concrete in the shape of the pharaonic lotus flower which is based upon Aswan's granite stones that were formerly used by ancient Egyptians in constructing temples and tombs.

The Cairo Tower underwent an EGP 35-million restoration process that included a development of its architectural facets and spanned a period from 2004 to 2009, then it was reinaugurated under the sponsorship of Egyptian Prime Minister Dr. Ahmad Nazif.

The Tower's director said that the restoration process included addressing the tower's concrete, building an emergency staircase and visitors'elevator as well as developing the tower's gate, painting its facade and adding a new exterior lighting system.

He added that the development and restoration process included setting up a cafeteria and a cafe at the tower's entrance as well as a conference hall and distiguished visitors gallery in addition to evolving the revolving restaurant and cafeteria in the storey before the last for the benefit of the tower's visitors.

Ehab said that a number ranging between 500 and 700 people including Egyptians, Arabs and foreigners are visiting the tower daily.

He also said that the tower's administration overtakes a process of promoting and marketing the tower through the various mass media.

He narrated the story behind building the Cairo tower saying that, "it is a well-known one by most Egyptians as it was built in the era of late president Gamal Abdulnasser at a cost of EGP 6 million." He added that, "this sum of money was given to Egypt by the US in order to influence its pro-Algerian revolution stance in the face of the French occupation and at time when Egypt needed funds to build its infrastructure, though Abdulnasser wanted to build a landmark that epitomizes the Egyptians'sense of dignity even in hard times."
(KUNA)

Global Arab Network