Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo Egypt | What can you see, What is not allowed in Museum, Map, Facts, Entrance Fees Price, Opening Hours, Artifacts, Antiquities and more What is interesting about Islamic art from Inside.
Facts and history of building the largest Islamic heritage museums in Egypt, how much entry tickets prices, official working hours and times, and more.
The Museum of Islamic Art located in the city of Cairo is one of the largest and most important Islamic museums in the world as a whole, as it now includes very large and diverse collections of the most important Islamic arts from around the whole world and from both India, China and Iran, passing even after that the arts on the island Arabia, the Levant, and Egypt were taken from the North African region and Andalusia.
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Museum of Islamic Art
The history of the construction of the most important Islamic museums in Egypt. Information about the most important collections and antiquities of the Museum of Islamic Art and how to get to the museum and ticket price and more.
Located in Bab al-Khalq Square in Cairo Province, the Islamic Museum is one of the largest Islamic museums in the world, which includes Islamic antiquities and treasures made in Arab countries and the rest of the world.
The most important pieces and antiques of the Museum of Islamic Art:
A very large Qur’an written in Kufic writing manually as well as a collection of Qurans decorated from the inside with golden water and fine colors.
A silk carpet and worked with gold and silver threads, in addition to drawing the Kaaba overlooking a porcelain tile.
A collection of old glass lamps known as meshkat are rare and a copper chandelier.
A distinctive and rare collection of censers, candlesticks, jugs, columns and Moushrabieh with an ancient Islamic branch.
A collection of Islamic antiquities from the Fatimid and Mamluk periods.
A collection of antiques of Turkish and Iranian origin.
Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo is the most important Islamic heritage tourist site in Egypt tourism
Located in Bab al-Khaleq, in the heart of historic Cairo, the Museum of Islamic Art in the World, the Museum of Islamic Art houses nearly 100,000 ancient Islamic pieces of various species collected in India, China, Iran, as well as the Arabian Peninsula, Egypt, North Africa and Andalusia.
History of the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo
The idea of establishing a museum of Islamic art and antiquities first emerged during the reign of Khedive Ismail, which was realized during the reign of Khedive Tawfiq, in 1869.
In 1880, Franz Pasha collected antiquities from the Islamic period in the eastern wing of the Amr Ebn Al-As mosque, bringing the number of antiquities at this stage to 111.
Twelve years later, a small building was built at the current location of the museum, named after the Arab Museum.
In December 1951, the name was changed from the House of Arab Antiquities to the Museum of Islamic Art, where the antiquities were exhibited in 23 historically classified rooms.
In 1984, the museum experienced a period of significant expansion that saw the annex of the formerly occupied land adjacent to the museum, where the museum’s textile and carpet collection was added as well as the interior storage area on the top floor.
Recently, a new phase of comprehensive development was implemented in 2003, including the construction of a new three-storey administrative building to house the staff offices, libraries, catering section and conference room.
The idea of establishing an Islamic Museum housing antiquity of Islamic heritage began during the reign of Khedive Ismail Pasha in 1869 AD, then King Tawfiq Pasha built the museum in 1880 AD and was officially opened under Khedive Abbas Helmi II on December 28, 1903, AD.
At first, Frantz Pasha collected more than 111 pieces of Islamic antiquities rare in the country at the time, and the museum was named after the Arab Museum, and in 1951 the name was changed to museum of Islamic Art.
The museum is designed with two entrances, the first entrance on the northeast side and the second entrance on the southeast side, as well as a large Islamic-style façade on Port Said Street.
The museum was divided into two parts, the first section as an exhibition hall on the first floor and the second section on the second floor as a special store for the restoration of Islamic antiquities in addition to a special basement for storage.
On January 24, 2014, the Islamic Museum was completely destroyed, corresponding to the Cairo Directorate of Security, following an act of Islamist terrorism by a car bomb but the Egyptian government and the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities and Culture, supported by UNESCO, immediately restored the façade completely and reopened the museum to visitors.
What’s inside the museum?
The Cairo Museum of Islamic Art is the largest museum specializing in Islamic art worldwide, with more than 100,000 pieces covering all branches of art from different periods of Islamic history.
The museum also has a rich collection of manuscripts and antiquities associated with fields such as medicine, surgery, horticulture and astronomical instruments such as astrolabe, compasses and geography.
In everyday life, the collection includes metal, glass and ceramic tools, as well as jewelry, weapons, wooden and ivory objects, textiles and carpets… and so on
The museum also houses rare and unique pieces that clearly show the level of excellence and precision achieved by Muslim craftsmen.
When can I visit the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo?
The museum is open all week from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Fridays from 9 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.
How do I get to the museum?
The museum is accessible by taxi, where it is located in Bab al-Khalq Square, opposite the Cairo Security Directorate, and the closest metro stations to the museum are two stations.
If you visit the museum in a private car, on the front side of the museum on Port Said Street, there is a garage for cars.
How was that archaeological museum established?
● The King or the Khedive Tawfiq issued a specific and immediate order to the Endowments Department, and that was in the year 1881 AD, in order to start desperate attempts to collect all the archaeological or precious artifacts that are found in any of the mosques and Islamic homes.
● On that basis, only one museum appeared for the first time in the whole world that includes all those Islamic antiquities around the world, and it was originally only one room at the beginning, and the crowds of the public were allowed to visit it for the comprehensive study of all the antiquities in it, and that was Specifically in 1884 AD.
Museum history
● The idea of establishing that archaeological museum for both Islamic art and antiquities began in the era of King Az-Khedive “Ismail”, and that was precisely in the year 1869.
● And then this idea was implemented in a practical and actual way during the era of Khedive Tawfiq, and that was also in the year 1880.
● At that time, Frantz Pasha carried out a comprehensive inventory and collection of all those archaeological artifacts, whose design dates back to the Islamic era, in the eastern iwan of the Al-Hakim Bi-Amr Allah Mosque.
● Hence, in 1882, specifically at the end of that year, the number of antiques they were able to obtain and collect was 111.
Description of the Museum of Islamic Art
● That museum has two entrances, one of which was an entrance located in the northeastern side, and the other was an entrance located in the southeastern side, which is the most important entrance and is used so far.
● The façade of that museum is distinguished as it overlooks the archaeological street in Port Said with its usual or Islamic decorations that were inspired by the ancient Islamic architecture in Egypt in its various eras.
● This large archaeological museum also consists of two floors; The first floor contained a large number of exhibition halls, and the second floor contained those stores and what was possible in them, and the basement, which was also used as a large store, and there is a section devoted to the work of restoring these antiquities.
● The archaeological museum also includes many of the most important collections of archaeological and Islamic holdings dating back to the Islamic era in different countries, which number approximately one hundred thousand archaeological artifacts.
● The Egyptian Museum also contained a number of Islamic antiquities from various eras, such as the Umayyad era, along with the Abbasid era, the Tulunid era, and antiquities from Persia.
What is the price of a ticket to visit the Museum of Islamic Art for Egyptians?
● The ticket fee for the Museum of Islamic Art for adults: 10 Egyptian pounds
● As for the ticket fees for the Museum of Islamic Art, they are: 5 Egyptian pounds
● The ticket fees for the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir at night are 20 for Egyptians and 10 for students.
What is the price of a ticket to visit the Museum of Islamic Art for foreigners?
● Ticket fees for visiting the Museum of Islamic Art for foreigners: 120 Egyptian pounds
● In the event that the visitor is a foreign student, the entry fee is 60 Egyptian pounds
● The ticket fees for the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir at night are 140 for foreigners and 70 for students.
