Museum of Islamic Art

The story behind The Museum of Islamic Art

The Egyptian authorities made the idea of building the museum of Islamic art come true in 1880. This year they started to collect all the precious pieces that present the islamic art from several mosques, different structures, and historical buildings. At first they stored these displays at the eastern section of Al Hakim Mosque on Al Muizz Street in Cairo.

Then, They took these antiquities and put them in a small museum built in the open courtyard of the Al Hakem Mosque specially for them and they called it the House of Arabian Antiquities.

The displays started to get bigger and bigger until they built the museum in 1903 to host all these treasures. The main opening of the museum to be available for the public was on December 28, 1903. The name “The Museum of Islamic Art” officially became the museum name after the Egyptian Revolution in 1952. 

The Displays of The Museum

The Displays of the Museum of Islamic Art are very unique as they are consist of different types like metal, wooden works, and carpets with attractive battens, lots of rare copies of the Qur’an, also there are coins from different eras, minibars, and many other exhibits that will amaze you. 

Beside all these types, the museum also includes some antiquities that come from individuals who sold their belongings to the museum or donated them. The museum hosts lots of antiquities starting from the beginning year of the Islamic era until the ruling period of the Mohamed Ali family.

The donated displays in the museum were form King Fu’ad, King Farouk, Amir Muhammad Ali and Amir Yusuf Kamal with valuable collection. There are also complete collections donated by other kings like Amir Kamal al-Din Hussein, Yakub Artin Pasha and Ali Ibrahim Pasha. All those great kings created beautiful and amazing art pieces that should be present in a special museum. 

If this is your first visit to Egypt, you should try discovering the amazing collection of historical arts in the Museum of Islamic Art. This museum hosts the most impressive Islamic art collections in the whole world and this collection is growing everyday.

This museum consists of 25 halls to display all the charming antiquities of the historical pieces. There are also many facilities inside the museum which will grab your attention plus an amazing archaeological garden you will love to spend your time there.

Reopening Of The Museum After Restoration

The museum spent around 7 years in restoration work which started in 2003 during the ruling period of the former president Hosni Mubarak. The museum was originally built in 1903 by Khedive Abbas Helmi II and now they reopened it after the restoration works.

Museum Facilities

The museum of Islamic Art is full of interesting things, beside the impressive historical art pieces there are some interesting facilities. Outside the display halls there are important shops that will grab your attention like Cafeteria for you to have some rest, a gift shop to get souvenirs to remember this place, a library for anyone who wants to know more, and an Audio-Visual room. 

There is also an amazing archaeological garden surrounding the museum full of amazing views. You can also find a lecture room there to host any events or speakers. 

The museum also has a very important feature which is wheelchair accessible to make it easier for all human beings. The museum is also multilingual to help all the people from all over the world understand what is inside the museum, so there are brochures in Arabic, English, and French. 

Let’s know more about a great civilization that lasts for thousands of years from one place which is the museum of Islamic Art. You will go through a big part of Egyptian history with amazing and interesting displays, this will blow your mind. Make sure to have a valuable time discovering valuable information and beautiful art inside the museum of Islamic Art.