 Under the rule of Isma 'il Pasha , the grandson of Muhammad Ali , major public works projects were initiated with the aim of transforming Cairo into a European styled city . These projects , at first funded by a boom in the cotton industry , eventually racked up a massive debt which was held by the British , providing an excuse for the British to occupy Egypt in 1882 after having pushed out Isma 'il Pasha in 1879 . 
