Museum of Islamic Art
Museum of Islamic Art

Islamic Art Museum is one of the exceptional museums with large collections of Islamic artefacts that preserves and displays Islamic period with much aplomb. Even if you are not interested in history will mesmerise you and capture you in its slender web.

Tourism In Egypt has some of the most attractive Egyptian Sites and an interesting contemporary culture, the trove of antiquities is what attracts most visitors. Egypt has listed above 50 museums and still many have still to find their way to the list as it has reached the heart of tourist worldwide.

Nile Holiday brings you some very remarkable and ingenious Egyptian Museums that Egypt has to offer. Let’s break them up according to their locations:

General Info

Name: Islamic Art Museum
Established in: 1903
Location: 30° 3′ 0″ N, 31° 22′ 0″ E
Opening Hours: 9:00am-5:00pm
Place: Cairo
Type: Museum
Collection Size: 100, 000 items
During Ramadan: till 3:00pm

History

The Khedive Ismail approved a proposal for Islamic Art Museum which was not carried out until 1880. When an Australian scholar proposed Mosque of the Fatimid Caliph al-Hakim, to be a provisional seat for the Museum in 1881 and was furnished with 111 architectural pieces taken from other Monuments, Khedive Tawfiq approved a “Committee of Arab Antiquities”, who started running the Arab Museum, and providing it with objects as well as preserving the monuments.

As a result, in 1884, a two-storey structure was built in the courtyard with a collection of 900 objects that staffed it with a curator and a doorkeeper. By 1895, the collection increased to 1,641 making the building insufficient to house everything. That led to the foundations for the larger building in the Bab Al-Khalq area of Cairo in 1899. Officially the museum was opened in 1903 but was finished in 1902.

Architecture

The building has 2 entrances:
  • North-eastern side
  • South eastern side
  • A beautiful garden
The building is 2 storied with:
  • Lower floor: It contains the exhibition halls
  • Upper floor: It contains the general stores.
  • The Basement: It contains a store connected with the Restoration Section.

Facts:

  • The museum has displays about 4,500 artefacts in 25 Halls even if it houses more than 100,000 artefacts.
  • The museums houses a rare collection of woodwork and plaster artefacts, as well as metal, ceramic, glass, crystal, and textile objects of all periods, from all over the Islamic world.
  • The museum is known to organise large no. of national and international exhibitions and programs to preserve and promote Islamic arts throughout the world.
  • The museum was closed for renovations in 2003 and reopened in 2010. The restoration costs were believed to be US$10 million.

These classifications are not ending alls. We can also divide them into Egyptian Sites, where we can get into details. That is why we offer guides with multiple language skills and experience in Egyptology to help you see your dream destination with new eyes and fall in love with Egypt as we do… Egypt Tour Packages give you the chance to experience Egypt’s history and best attractions.

For detail viewing, come and witness the glorious history of Islamic Art Museum with Nile Holiday today.

Related Travel Guide

Frequently Asked Questions.

Some of the most common questions asked by tourists.

Enquire Now

Islamic Art Museum

send us your information and we will reply you with details about your Enquery