El Gawhara Palace or the jewel palace of locates in the Citadel in the western side of the Mosque of Mohammed Ali and nearby Bab El-Azab area in which the Castle Massacre took place. To the southern side of this palace stands the palace of El-Nasir Mohammed or Qasr El Ablaq . This palace was constructed by Mohammed Ali who ruled Egypt in the period from 1805 to 1848 after deposing the Mamluks from Egypt forever. The interior plan of the palace consist of two wings, one of them is dedicated to the administrative officials now.
The second wing, that had been involving the private apartment and the reception halls, was renovated in 1983 after the fire the broke down in it few years before. After the renovation, it is used as a gallery for paintings, porcelain, and other valuable and attractive artifacts that belong to the successors of Mohamed Ali. Of special interest among the exhibits in this gallery are the pieces of the black velvet cover of the Kaaba with their handsome silver vestiges, and the wooden gilded throne of Mohammed Ali with its beautiful carvings.