The scene at Bab Al-Khalq in Cairo has almost returned to normal. The January car bomb attack that targeted the Cairo Security Directorate on Port Said Street, where the Museum of Islamic Art (MIA) is located, caused heavy damage and killed four people. Now, with the directorate restored, the street is once more buzzing with activity. But the façade of the MIA, which features elaborate decorations in the Islamic style, remains damaged and the shattered glass of the windows has not been replaced. In place of the authentic Mameluke gate, inlaid with silver and iron geometric motifs, stands a temporary mud-brick wall. Ever since the 24 January bombing, the facility has been closed to visitors. Finally, this week, Minister of State of the United Arab Emirates and head of the Emirates Development Projects Cooperation Office in Egypt, Sultan Ahmed Al-Gaber, together with Egypt's minister of antiquities, Mamdouh Al-Damati, inspected the MIA with a view to its repair and restoration. Inside the building, the floor has been cleared of broken glass and metal shards, the collapsed wooden beams removed. The space now looks almost the same as it did before the explosion. Still to be replaced are boards covering the electricity and security systems set in the ceiling and broken showcases. During the tour, Al-Gaber announced that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will be working with Egyptian authorities to rescue the MIA and its priceless collection reflecting the glory of the Islamic civilization. The collection, he said, shows how art flourished through various Islamic empires: “The UAE has the honour to provide all kinds of financial and technical support to return the MIA, one of the most important museums in the world, to its former glory.” He continued, “One great Emirati citizen, who has spent a great deal on supporting science, culture and the preservation of heritage, is to provide the required budget for the restoration.” Al-Gaber did not, however, name the generous individual. He said out that restoration of the MIA is one of several projects the UAE is implementing in Egypt to preserve Islamic heritage. “The UAE leadership is keen to provide all forms of support that contribute to backing Egypt,” Al-Gaber said, adding that many UAE citizens are contributing to development projects in key sectors on Egypt. Restoring the MIA, he said, will help promote Egypt's culture and tourism and support the economy. Al-Damati expressed his gratitude to the UAE for supporting the MIA's restoration, saying that the UAE has been the only country to respond to Egypt's campaign, launched shortly after the bombing, to finance the work. “We are thankful to the UAE for its full support in bringing the museum back to its former glory in collaboration with Egyptian and foreign experts.” He said that UNESCO has contributed $100,000 while Germany, Italy and the United States have offered to help with the restoration work. Mohamed Alsheikha, head of the Projects Department at the Ministry of Antiquities, said the work may take up to one year and will include restoration of the MIA façade, building and halls. New state-of-the-art security and lighting systems are also to be installed. The collection will be arranged as it was before with the exception of the souvenir hall, previously located at the centre of the museum, which will now be “relocated to another place at the end of visitors' path.” Ahmed Sharaf, head of the Museums Department, said that the UAE did not decide on a specific budget for the restoration but promised to provide all the required funds. Hamdi Abdel-Moneim, head of the restoration department at the MIA, said the bomb blast damaged 179 out of 1,471 artefacts in the collection. To date, MIA restorers have restored 47 of the 179 items, including the mihrabs of the Mameluke Lady Rokaya and the Fatimid Al-Amer bi Ahkam Allah. They are in the process of restoring 37 other objects and researching what might be done with the remaining 65. The MIA is a two-storey building with the lower floor containing an exhibition hall of 14 galleries; the second floor and the basement are used for storage. The museum was first planned in 1869 to house Arab antiquities identified as Islamic art. It first opened in 1881 in the arcades of the mosque of the Fatimid Caliph Al-Hakim, with an initial display of 111 objects gathered from mosques and mausoleums across Egypt. The rapid increase in the size of the collection led to the construction of a new building in the courtyard of the mosque in 1883. In 1899, the government began work to construct the present building, and in 1903 the Islamic Museum opened with a display of 3,154 objects from Egypt and other countries. While the museum's name changed several times over the years, in 1952 the museum's trustees settled on its present name, the Museum of Islamic Art, in recognition of the contributions of non-Arab Muslims. Since then the museum has become the main repository of the national collection of Islamic art, which, thanks to discoveries, purchases and donations, now boasts some 100,000 objects. By the time renovation work started on the museum in 1999, the Museum of Islamic Art was beset by negligence. In more than 100 years, it had never been renovated, except for one attempt to clean the walls and improve the displays in 1983. Efforts to carry out a more comprehensive renovation were frustrated in part by the presence of a separate institution, the Dar Al-Kotob Al-Masreya,on the building's upper floor. In 2003, the Ministry of Culture launched a major restoration project. A French designer and museographer, Adrien Gardère, drew up a master plan and a new exhibition design. He worked in cooperation with the Islamic Department of the Louvre Museum in Paris, which also advised on the reorganisation of the collections. The plan shifted the museum's main entrance back to its original location, on Port Said Street. Visitors then entered an introductory gallery of panels, maps and objects from the collection. This offered an overview of Islamic art and a sense of the geography of historic Cairo starting with Fustat, the oldest Islamic settlement in Egypt. In 2010, the restored museum was officially opened with 1,471 objects distributed across 14 galleries and open courts.
