The Coptic Museum has undergone a renaissance, underscoring the value of Egypt's unique Coptic heritage, writes Nadja Tomoum* The Coptic Museum,situated in the heart of Old Cairo,was built in 1910 by Marcus Simaika Pasha who devoted his life to the preservation and promotion of the Coptic heritage. With the support of the Coptic church, Simaika Pasha established the Coptic Museum at a historically significant location, among some of Cairo's oldest and most important churches. According to a Biblical narration, the holy family rested in this area on their flight from the Jewish King Herod. The journey of Joseph, Mary and the infant Christ to Egypt has greatly influenced the early spread of Christianity throughout the country. The Coptic heritage is a rather silent treasure in comparison with the splendid artefacts from the time of the great Pharaohs, and yet it is not less important and interesting. Masses of tourists are guided daily through the Egyptian museum -- Egypt's first National Museum --, whereas the Coptic museum attracts the attention of the individual tourist who enjoys the medieval flair of Old Cairo and the unique charm of the Coptic museum. The rich collection of the Coptic Museum sheds light on the outstanding artistic achievements in Egypt since the late third century A.D. during its occupation by the Roman empire. In 641, Egypt was conquered by the Arabs who called its inhabitants qibt, originally meaning Egyptian. By that time Christianity was the main religion in Egypt and copt/qibt became a designation for Christian Egyptian. However, Coptic art is not only an expression of Christian Egyptian believers, but also greatly reflects the cosmopolitan atmosphere with various ethnic groups living in the country during this period. Among them were Greeks, Romans, Armenians, Persians, Jews and Arabs who all had an impact on the local art production. The Christian Egyptians incorporated some symbols of their ancient Pharaonic tradition and transformed them into new concepts of Christianity. This cultural diversity is clearly shown by the museum's precious holdings. Simaika Pasha gathered numerous Coptic artefacts from private houses, palaces, monasteries, churches and archaeological sites, and added his own private collection to the museum. Nearly 1,500 artefacts are exhibited on two floors of a beautiful Islamic style building. Wooden lattice screens, stained glass windows, marble columns, Islamic tiles, impressive wooden and painted ceilings and domes were incorporated into the museum's building. In 1931 the Coptic Museum was turned into a National Museum under the supervision of Egypt's Antiquities Service, recognizing the importance of the Coptic heritage as a major period of Egypt's history. A new museum's wing was added in 1947 to provide more space for the increasing collection. Currently, with 16,000 thousand objects the Coptic Museum houses the largest and most important collection of Coptic artefacts and is the only one of its kind in the world. The renovation of the Coptic museum forms part of a vast modernization program for Egypt's museum sector recently initiated by Dr. Zahi Hawass, Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities of Egypt. Egypt's museums are being turned into centres of culture and education. The Coptic Museum, which finally reopened in June 2006, has been completely renovated and its displays rearranged according to modern concepts. This summer a children's workshop will be set up at the Coptic Museum premises. The curators will prepare lectures for a selected group of children to explain to them the unique characteristics of the Coptic art and heritage. A visit to the churches and Jewsish synagogue in Old Cairo and Egypt's oldest mosque at nearby Fustat will show the children that in these areas believers of three world religions have worshiped next to one another for many centuries. A teacher of art and volunteers from the Faculty of Fine Arts will complement the curators' work by practical training units based on topics related to Coptic art and heritage. * The writer is an Egyptologist working at the Coptic Museum as a Centrum fèr Internationale Migration und Entwicklung Integrated Expert.
