El Mahrousa (, literally "The Protected"), officially renamed for a period of time as El Horreya (, "Freedom"), is a super yacht that serves as Egypt's presidential yacht, and previously served as the country's royal yacht. She was built by the British ship building firm Samuda Brothers in 1863 to the order of Khedive Ismail Pasha and the ship was handed over to its Egyptian crew two years later. El Mahrousa underwent a number of important alterations during its years of service, including the replacement of her paddle wheel engines by turbine driven propellers in 1905; the installation of a wireless telegraph in 1912 and a diesel-fueled system in 1919; as well as multiple-feet lengthenings throughout that period. She also witnessed much of Egypt's modern history since she was first commissioned in the 19th century up till now. The yacht carried three Egyptian rulers to their exile abroad, namely Khedive Ismail, Khedive Abbas II and King Farouk I, along with the latter's recently born son, Fuad II, the last ruling members of the Muhammad Ali dynasty. This marked the end of the monarchy in Egypt following the 1952 revolution and the founding of the Republic of Egypt, after which the yacht joined the Egyptian Navy and was renamed El Horreya (). The yacht continued to play a role in the country's post-revolutionary history and participated in the 1976 United States Bicentennial celebrations. She took Egypt's president, Gamal Abdel Nasser, to numerous locations and she notably sailed with President Anwar Sadat to Jaffa, Israel, during the 1979 peace talks between Egypt and Israel. She was renamed back to El Mahrousa in 2000 and became the first ship to cross the New Suez Canal extension in 2015. History She was built by the Samuda Brothers on the River Thames and designed by Oliver Lang along the same lines as . In 1867, the ship embarked on its first trip, in which it transported Egyptian troops to aid the Ottomans during the Cretan revolt. Two years later, Khedive Ismail Pasha used to the ship to go on a tour to invite royals of Europe to attend the inauguration of the Suez Canal. After the abdication of King Farouk and his arrival in Europe he sent back the yacht to Egypt with all the crew and the equipment; she was taken over by the Egyptian government for use as a naval training ship, and