Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo
The Museum of Islamic Art Cairo Looks Like a Magic Carpet Will Fly You Through the Historical Ages Amid a Dazzling Treasure. A door that will lead you to dazzling treasure, where you will walk across one hundred thousand magnificent, unique masterpieces that will show the true meaning of creativity in the decoration and the precision in the industry. You will be stunned to see these shiny metal, glass, ceramic utensils, ornaments, weapons, wood, ivory, textiles, oriental colourful, unique carpets, etc. Just open the magic door of the Museum of Islamic Art Cairo to travel through the eras going through Fatimids, the Mamluks, and the Ottomans till arriving at the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, and live each detail of life in these historical ages.
Artifacts and Manuscripts
Manuscripts and artefacts in medicine, surgery, herbs, astronomical tools such as astrolabes, compasses, and astronomical balls, and the field of sub-arts that represent the requirements of life in these historical times wait for you in the Museum of Islamic Art Cairo to feel as if you enter a magic area that will take you as if you ride a magic carpet in the novels to travel back to historical events, viewing by your eyes how was the exact real-life looked like.
The Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo is considered the world’s largest museum specializing in Islamic art, as it displays all branches of Islamic art in different eras. Its art collections are distinguished by their richness in terms of quantity and quality, which made it a beacon for Islamic arts and civilization throughout its history and became a source of familiarity with the history of Islamic civilization In various fields of sciences such as medicine, engineering, astronomy, and others.
Imported Pieces at the Museum
Delicately carved woodwork and elaborately decorated ceramic pieces allow you to wander through all periods of Islamic history. At the same time, the harmony of colours and the vibrant shades will lead your soul to the magic of the art from Arab and non-Arab nations, walking by your feet through one place to travel via the whole world, going through India, China, Iran, Turkey, the Levant, Egypt, North Africa, and Andalusia. That is how your tour will be inside the Museum of Islamic Art Cairo, which began with displaying 7,000 artefacts when it was opened in 1903, then the masterpieces increased to 78,000 in 1978, and then the displays became 96,000 in the recent past, and over 100,000 pieces today. So, what is the exact story of building this glorious landmark?
From the open courtyard of the Al Hakem Mosque to A Place Of Rare Dazzling Wonder In huge Twenty-Five Halls
The idea of establishing the Museum of Islamic Art began in 1869 AD during the reign of Khedive Ismail. It was implemented during the reign of Khedive Tawfiq in 1880 AD when Frantz Pasha collected the archaeological artefacts dating back to the Islamic era in the eastern iwan of the Al-Hakim Mosque in Al-Muizz Street. When the number of these pieces reached 111 Masterpieces in 1882 AD, there became an urgent need to build a building that included these antiques and artefacts, so a small building was constructed in the courtyard of the Al-Hakim Mosque in 1892. It was called the Arab Museum under the administration of Frantiz Pasha.
Location
The current building, located in Bab Al-Khalq district, was opened during the reign of Khedive Abbas Hilmi II in 1903 AD. The name of the museum was changed from the Arab Museum to the current name – Museum of Islamic Art Cairo– in 1951 AD, where all its exhibits and collections were distributed at that time in twenty-three halls divided according to age and materials to offer unique masterpieces from the whole world.
Between 1983 and 1984 AD, the museum’s area was expanded. The number of its halls increased until it became twenty-five halls, displaying A rare collection of textiles, seals, glass, Ottoman ceramics, Iranian and Turkish carpets, as well as a set of astronomy and engineering tools that were used in the Middle Ages and a vast collection of surgical and cupping machines that were used in the era of Islamic times, which was characterized by prosperity in all fields of medicine, engineering, and chemistry, in addition to its inclusion of many Among the means of measuring distances, such as the arm and the reed, and other means of measuring time, such as the hourglass.
How The Museum of Islamic Art Cairo Arranges the Eras To Enable You Smooth Traveling Via History Seeing The Wonders
The Islamic Museum is divided according to the eras, styles, and artistic elements, from the Umayyad, Abbasid, Ayyubid, Mamluk, and Ottoman, into ten sections according to the creative aspects, starting from the early Islamic era through Muhammad Ali Pasha, such as the department of metals, textiles, woods, carpets, decoration, glass, ornaments, stones, marble and weapons.
You will find that Islamic art in Egypt is in the north wing, and the second part is devoted to artefacts that represent the history of Islamic art in Spain, Anatolia, and Andalusia. The museum also includes a vast library on the upper floor that contains many manuscripts and documents written in Turkish and Persian, as well as collections written in English, German, and Italian, as well as several books on Islamic history and antiquities, equivalent to thirteen thousand books.
Wooden Art
While you go through this majestic landmark, you will stop in complete surprise seeing The wooden mihrab, which is one of the rarest wooden collections in the museum, and this is evidenced by the inscription in foliated Kufic script on the front of the wooden mihrab and its four facades are decorated with various floral motifs, delicate plant branches, triple and pentagonal leaves, and clusters of grapes next to fillings decorated with star-shaped geometric shapes and the beginnings of the emergence of unfinished star dishes In the Fatimid era. At that time, Samarra-style artefacts dating back to the Abbasid era, especially the Tulunid era, will attract you; it is among the rarest wooden artefacts as well.
The jug of Marwan bin Muhammad, the last of the Umayyad caliphs, made of bronze, 14 cm in length and 28 cm in diameter, is considered one of the rarest metal artefacts because it represents the latest in the art of metal decoration at the beginning of the Islamic era. Then you will go in the charming of the golden and silver treasure, seeing excellent seals, weights from the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, nayashin, rings and necklaces from the Ottoman era, and Muhammad Ali, which are among the rarest metal artefacts, Sultan’s lamp from the Mamluk period, it is considered one of the rarest glass artefacts.
Here is some info you need to know about the magic door of the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo.
- The cost of visiting the Museum of Islamic Art in Cairo is 100 LE.
- The opening hours are Saturday to Thursday: 9 am – 7 pm, Friday: 1.30 pm – 7 pm.
