Agriculture has played a major role in the lives of Egyptians since the Pharaonic era, and this is reflected in the huge Agriculture Museum in Egypt. It was established in 1938 in the palace of Princess Fatma (daughter of Khedive Ismail) and striking and decorative purpose-built edifices near the Ministry of Agriculture in Dokki. The eight buildings, each a dedicated museum, and landscaped grounds, including gardens in Pharaonic style with contemporary plants and magnificent old trees, occupy 35 feddans (acres), so that one feels in a green city of museums at the Egyptian Agricultural Museum. The visitor is welcomed in the Ancient Egyptian Agriculture Museum by statues of the Pharaonic kings who had a special interest in agriculture. One such king was Amenhotep III, who ruled Egypt between 1797 and 1892 BCE and had a dam constructed in the Fayoum near Lahun to maintain the water of the Nile in Lake Qarun. King Tuthmosis III ruled Egypt between 1504 and 1450 BCE and brought seeds and different breeds of animals and birds from the region around what is now Lebanon, whose achievements is recorded at Karnak Temple in Upper Egypt. There is also a statue of Cheops depicted with the falcon god Horus to protect him, and papyrus and lotus, respective symbols of Lower and Upper Egypt, to signify the then unity of Egypt. A charming and famous statue of a young Pharaonic servant holds in her hands a goose and a basket full of sacrifices for the gods. The process of mummification in ancient Egypt is displayed together with substances and small implements used in the process. Cosmetics for the then living are also shown including the safflower plant used to make women's lipstick. Finds from Pharaonic tombs include wheat and barley from 5000 years ago, and fascinating 3,000-year-old exhibits of biscuits, cakes and bread, some being surprisingly familiar to the modern Egyptian, including one resembling a croissant and bread filled with fig. The ancient Egyptians were expert makers of beer and wine, whose manufacture with simple tools is shown in a model, and of clothes made out of fine linen, which are displayed as well as their spinning and weaving implements. Examples of ancient plant specimens include onions, okra seeds, turnips, the Dom Palm fruits, still popular with Egyptian children today, grapes, different varieties of dates and date seeds, coriander seeds, figs, pomegranate and nuts. One of the most important plants of the ancient Egyptians was the lotus. The collections include petrified animals from the pre-historic periods. Also represented are wild birds such as the ibis, falcon, ostrich, owl, Egyptian vulture and eagle, as well as poultry like geese, ducks and pigeons and domestic animals including goats, sheep and cattle and a rare skeleton of the sacred bull of the Apis cult. The Scientific Collections Museum comprises two floors, the lower depicting the life of the Egyptian fellahin, their customs, traditions, clothes and different kinds of food. On entering it you feel that you are in the real countryside. Helping to create this impression are the life-sized and life-like figures that throng the hall. Here is a wedding celebration with the bride and groom. From a distance you feel that they are real people lacking only the ability to move and speak to you. Some are occupied in jobs on the farm and crafts like pottery and glass making. The farm market is also represented in all its aspects. The upper floor includes displays of animal wealth, animal and poultry products and their means of manufacture. The collections include stuffed local and migratory wild birds displayed in their natural habitats as well as insects including rare luminous bugs. The palace museum presenting the belongings of Princess Fatma and the royal family is now called the Ethnographic and Fine Arts Museum, in which there is a gallery of superb paintings by Egyptian and foreign artists illustrating the life and work of the Egyptian fellahin. Other magnificent pictures fill the walls of the palace, some 18 rooms in all, which also contain busts of members of the royal family and personal items including jewellery, wooden furniture and vases. The Plant Wealth Museum contains all kinds of field and orchard items and consists of two sections. The first one is devoted to field crops, including grains, oil-producing, leguminous, sugar and fibre crops with an emphasis on the most up-to-date and scientific methods of increasing productivity. The second floor includes specimens and models of various fruits and vegetables, medicinal and aromatic plants and some trees displayed with texts to inform the visitor. The Cotton Museum traces the history of Egyptian cotton since its introduction by Mohamed Ali Pasha (ruled 1805-1848) and indicates the important role it has played in modern Egyptian history. The museum contains rare manuscripts and decrees concerning cotton, exceptional old embroidered cotton textiles, illustrations, information and samples of old extinct types of cotton as well as the most recent species. Other exhibits include models that illustrate cultivation methods and the different processes of spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing. Another museum is called the Arab Hall, which specialises in rural and Bedouin agriculture, trades and artefacts and was opened in 1961 by late President Gamal Abdel-Nasser. It also shows the customs and traditions in Syria, as well as Egypt, which two countries formed a political union that lasted from 1958 to 1961 called the United Arab Republic. There is also the Chinese Museum, which displays a set of fine porcelain vases and paintings of urban and rural China together with describing Chinese life, customs and traditions. The Greco-Roman/Coptic/ Islamic Museum presents Egyptian civilisation from the Greco-Roman to the Islamic period. The Agricultural Museum is presently completing renovation and the visitor may see museums such as the Cotton, Ethnographic and Fine Arts, Plant Wealth, Scientific Collections and Ancient Egyptian Agriculture, according to the museum director, Mohamed Alaa Eddin, who told the Egyptian Mail that the remaining museums are scheduled to reopen by the end of this month. However, this spacious and leafy oasis with its architectural and garden delights so near central Cairo is always worth a visit. The Agricultural Museum is located next to the Ministry of Agriculture, Dokki, Giza, and lies just below the access to 6th October Bridge. It is open daily (except Mondays) from 9 am to 1:30 pm. Admission fee is LE5.
