The Museum of Islamic Art, located in BAB AL- KHALQ in the heart of Historic Cairo, is considered to be the LARGEST Islamic Art museum in the world, as it houses close to aHUNDRED THOUSAND antique Islamic artifacts of various types collected from India, China, Iran, all the way to the ARABIAN PENINSULA, the Levant, Egypt, North Africa and Andalusia. This collection is CHARACTERIZED by its breadth of coverage of all the branches of Islamic Art throughout the ages, which makes it a BEACON of Islamic Art and Civilization for all times.
1869
The idea of establishing a museum for Islamic arts and antiquities
first came up during the rule of Khedive Ismail. This was achieved
during the rule of Khedive Tawfiq, his son.
1880
Frantz Pasha collected antiques and artifacts of the Islamic period in the eastern wing of al -Hakem Bi Amr illah’s Mosque.
1892
A small building was erected in the courtyard and was named THE ARAB MUSEUM with Frantz Pasha as its director.
1951
The name was changed from House of Arab Antiquities to the Museum of Islamic Art. The artifacts were displayed in 23 halls classified on the basis of their historical period and the material of which they were made.
1983 &1984
The Museum went through an important period of expansion that saw the
annexation of the piece of land adjacent to the Museum that was
previously occupied by a gas station. The two extra halls were used to
house the Museum’s textile and carpet collection besides an internal
storage area on the top floor, and a section for numismatics on the
bottom one. The annexed plot of land was turned into a museum garden and
a cafeteria.
2003
A new phase of comprehensive development was undertaken in 2003 which
involved the construction of a new administrative building rising three
stories high to house the staff offices, a library, a restoration
department and a lecture hall. The display layout was completely
modified.
2010
The Opening, And started to receive many visits for some time.
2014
Unfortunately, on 24th January of 2014, the Museum was the victim of
a vicious terrorist attack which has targeted the Cairo Police
Headquarters that stands across the street from it.
2016
It took a whole year, until the
beginning of 2015, before serious steps were taken to bring the Museum
to its original state before the explosion.This was made possible thanks
to the generous grants and donations offered by such reputable entities
such as the United Arab Emirates, the UNESCO, ARCE, the Swiss
Government, and the Italian Government. This led to a complete revision
of the display layout.
The museum is opened throughout the week from 9:00am to 5:00pm Fridays is opened from 9:00am to 11:30am and from 1:30pm to 5:00pm
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