Adam Henein Sculpture Museum Al-Labeini St, Al-Harraniya district, Al-Haram, Giza, Tel 012 1173 7708 The Adam Henein Museum, which opened on 18 January 2014 in Cairo's Al-Harraniya district, displays 4,000 artworks from all stages of the artist's 60-year career. Raised in a family of metal workers, sculptor Adam Henein developed an interest in sculpting at a young age; he completed a clay statue of Ramses II at the age of eight. During his career, Henein worked in everything from clay and granite to wood and bronze, capturing the essence of natural forms using the simplest of lines. Henein expressed universal themes using a combination of motifs taken from nature and Egyptian culture. Though heritage is central to Henein's outlook, his expression remains abstract through the use of prime colours, simple lines and shapes, even to refer to the most complex of contemporary issues. Agriculture Museum Entrance next to 6th of October Bridge and the Ministry of Agriculture on Shooting Club St, Dokki, Tel 02 3337 2933/3361 6785 Museum of Ancient Agriculture This museum displays everything connected with plants, from ancient remains found in archaeological excavations to the tools and implements used in early agriculture. Museum of Natural History Ethnographical exhibits on the ground floor depict life in an Egyptian village. Models of villagers wearing traditional clothing and using everyday objects, including musical instruments, attempt to recreate what one might find in a rural community in Egypt. Scientific Collection Museum From the types of grain planted to how grain is milled, exhibits show the methods of farming historically used in Egypt. There are models of a boat that once moved along the Nile, stopping at villages to mill harvested grain, windmills in Alexandria, and a flourmill. Ahmed Shawki Museum 6, Ahmed Shawki St, off Murad St, Corniche Al-Nil, Giza, Tel 02 3572 9479 The house of Ahmed Shawki, Egypt's poet laureate and nationalist, is now a museum commemorating his life's work. In the garden is a copy of a bronze statue of the poet (the original is in Rome) by the Egyptian sculptor Gamal Al-Sigini. The ground floor includes Shawki's library, reading rooms and a reception hall. Upstairs, the bedrooms and a study allow the visitor to visualize the poet's home life. Cairo Opera House Museum Gezira Exhibition Grounds, Cairo Opera House Complex, Zamalek This collection is exhibited in the Main Hall of the Cairo Opera House, so you can see it if you are attending a performance there. During intermission, it is worth strolling through the three rooms dedicated to the performances staged over the last 130 years, including events held at both the old and new Opera House. Evening gowns worn over one hundred years ago recall an elegant time when going to the opera was a formal affair. The exhibition is open during performances, as well as throughout the day for the same hours as the ticket office. During performances, entrance is free. At other times, Egyptians and residents LE2, foreigners LE5. The Coptic Museum Mari Girgis St, next to Mari Girgis Metro, Misr Al-Qadima, Tel 02 2363 9742, 9am-5pm every day The Coptic Museum is located inside the ruins of the Roman Babylon Fort in Misr Al-Qadima in Coptic Cairo Center, an area that is full of Coptic Churches and chapels, including the famous Hanging Church and the Church of St Barbra. The Coptic Museum has two main sections: the old section established by Smeka Pasha and the new section, consisting of two floors, that was opened in 2006 after a major renovation and restoration period. The museum displays around 1,600 items collected from various parts of Egypt and dating back to different centuries in the Coptic history of Egypt. The Coptic Museum is considered to be a complete illustration of Coptic history in Egypt. There are seating areas throughout the museum and an outside tea garden serves snacks. Modern and well-maintained bathrooms are to the right of the museum entrance. The Egyptian Museum Tahrir Sq, Sadat Station, Tel 02 2578 2452 The Egyptian Museum, with over 120,000 objects, houses the largest collection of ancient Egyptian art in the world. The museum is huge, so it is best to plan beforehand which exhibits or areas you wish to visit. A two-hour visit is probably as much as most people can absorb. Egyptian Textiles Museum 121 Al-Muaaz St, Al-Gamaliya, behind Wekalet Sobhi Zakariya, Islamic Cairo, Tel 02 2786 5227 The only one of its kind in the Middle East, this interesting museum features textiles from ancient Egypt and the Roman, Coptic and Islamic eras. The collection starts at the very beginning, with Pharaonic diapers, and moves on through beautifully embroidered Coptic tunics and great embroidered qiswat (the panels that adorn the Kaaba in Mecca). It's a small museum, but well worth a peek for anyone with an affinity for weaving and fabric. Darwish Ceramic Museum 177 Saqqara-Harraniya Tourist Road, just past the new Ring Road, on the way to Saqqara Pyramid, Tel 02 3381 5294, 9am-6pm every day This ceramics centre has a workshop and showroom that displays ceramic pieces of unusual shapes and glazings. Entomological Society Museum 14 Ramses St, Nasser Metro Station towards Ramses Hilton This collection is housed on the second floor. During the daytime, only the bird collection can be viewed. In the evening, the bug room is also open for viewing. Sunday-Wednesday (9am-1pm); Saturday (10am-1pm). Also on Monday and Wednesday evenings, 5.30pm-8pm. Entrance is free. Cameras are allowed with no fee. Gamal Abdel-Nasser Museum 6 Al-Khalifa Al-Maamoun St, Al-Montaza, Heliopolis In the Cairo district of Manshiet Al-Bakri stands the two-storey residence of the late Egyptian president Gamal Abdel-Nasser, now welcoming visitors in its new guise as his museum. It consists of a 1,300 square metre two-storey building with a large garden and three distinct visitor itineraries. The first consists of the house itself and its different rooms including Nasser's office, living room and bedroom suite on the upper floor. The second is a historical itinerary that records the details of a very important part of Egypt's modern history that is connected to Nasser. The third displays Nasser's personal belongings and souvenirs given by heads of state, individuals and institutions (Entrance is free until the end of October). Gayer Anderson Museum Ahmed Ibn Tulun St, Sayida Zeinab district, 8.30am-4pm, except Fridays during midday prayer It is easy to combine a visit to the museum with a trip to the Ibn Tulun Mosque. Go south on Port Said St, and turn left on Qadri St, a large street just before Sayida Zeinab Sq. You will see the Ibn Tulun Mosque at the end of the street. Make a left when the street ends and then a right around the side of the mosque. Nothing is as alluring as a house with a story, something that is perfectly demonstrated by the Gayer Anderson Museum, which boasts an astonishing history and precious antiquities. The Gayer Anderson mansion was owned by Gayer Anderson Pasha, a British art collector who fell in love with Egypt's history and culture. The museum, which is adjacent to Ahmed Ibn Tulun Mosque, consists of two remarkable buildings. There are guides to tell you more about the house. Several films have been shot inside the museum, including James Bond's The Spy Who Loved Me. Visiting this museum is like being transported back in time. Mahmoud Mokhtar Museum 5 Tahrir St, beside Cairo Sporting Club, Tel 02 2735 1123 The architect of this museum was Ramses Wissa Wassef, an admirer of the sculptor Mahmoud Mokhtar. Most of Mokhtar's works are housed in this museum, but examples of his sculpture can be seen beyond its walls: “Egypt's Awakening” is situated in front of Cairo University, the statue of Saad Zaghloul faces Qasr Al-Nile Bridge on Gezira Island, and “The Nile Bride” is part of the collection of the Museum of Modern Art, in the Cairo Opera compound. Manial Palace Museum Al-Saraya St, Al-Manial, Cairo, visiting hours from 9am to 5pm, Tel 02 2368 7495/ 2361 0561 Al-Manial Palace, on Rhoda Island, is one of the unconventional, lesser known, but must-see attractions in the Egyptian capital. The Manial Palace was built by Prince Mohammed Ali Tewfik (1875-1955), the uncle of King Farouk, between 1899 and 1929. He had it designed in a style integrating European Art Nouveau and Rococo with many traditional Islamic architecture styles including Ottoman, Moorish, Persian, creating inspired combinations in spatial design, architectural and interior decorations, and sumptuous materials. It housed his extensive art, furniture, clothing, silver, objets d'art collections, and medieval manuscripts dating back to the Middle Ages. The ceramic tile work of the entryway and the mosque were created by the Armenian ceramist David Ohannessian. The Palace, furnishings, and Prince's collections were given to the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities in 1955. It comprises a reception, golden hall, the clock tower, a mosque, the throne hall, the residence hall and a garden. There is also Hunting Lodge Museum, that belonged to the late King Farouk. Museum of Modern Egyptian Art Cairo Opera House Grounds, Gezira, Zamalek, Tel 02 2736 6667/65 Three floors of contemporary Egyptian art fill this museum. On the ground floor there are sculptures by different generations of artists, including Mahmoud Mukhtar and Saleh Reda. There are also works by modern artists of the 1950s,including Ragheb Ayad, Mohamed Nagui, Seif Wanli, Abdel-Hadi Al-Gazzar and Hamed Nada. Nagui Museum 10 Mahmoud Al-Guindi St, Hadaaiq Al-Ahram, Tel 02 3377 3484 Mohamed Nagui's home, hidden away from the well-travelled Pyramid Road, has been converted into a museum that displays his paintings and memorabilia. Born in Alexandria, Nagui obtained his law degree from the University of Lyon, France, and studied painting at the Academy of Art in Florence, Italy, from 1910 to 1914. He met Claude Monet and went to France to study with him. Nagui died in his studio in 1956, and the Ministry of Culture turned the studio into a museum in 1968. Pharaonic Village Museums 3 Al-Bahr Al-Azam St, on the Corniche, Giza, Tel 02 3571 8675/6/7 Anwar Al-Sadat Museum Gamal Abdel-Nasser Museum Mummification Museum Pyramids Museum Islamic Museum Coptic Museum Heritage Museum Boats Museum Cleopatra's Museum Pioneering Women's Museum Dr Hassan Ragab's Museum Actor Omar Sharif Museum Actor Nour Al-Sherif Museum Dr. Boutros Ghali Museum
Post Office Museum 55 Abdel-Khalek Tharwat St, Al-Ataba Square, Tel 02 2391 3128 The museum is located at Al-Ataba Square in Central Cairo, on the second floor of the Central Post Office. The museum was established in February 1934 and was opened in January 1940. The Post Authority developed and expanded the museum into a vivid record of the development of postal service in Egypt over the years. The museum contains a collection of artifacts, pictures and documents illustrating the ways in which messages have been delivered within Egypt over the centuries. The museum's area is 543 square meters and it has more than 1,254 exhibits in its 10 different sections which are: historical, postal equipment, stamps, postal buildings, transport, uniforms, maps and statistics, air mail, conferences and foreign mail. Postal services have been present in Egypt since the Pharaonic Old and Middle kingdoms. Salaheddin Citadel Salah Salem Rd, Mokattam, Cairo, Tel 02 2512 1735 The Police Museum The Police Museum housed an artillery school during Mohamed Ali Pasha's reign. The terrace outside, with its commanding view of the city, is lined with bombardment cannons. The museum itself is small, and although interesting does not take long to visit. The displays depict everything connected with police, crimes, and criminals. The National Military Museum This museum is huge and entails a great deal of walking and climbing stairs. A visit to the citadel just to see this museum might be enough for some little ones.
Taha Hussein Museum 11 Taha Hussein St, Madkour, Al-Haram, Tel 02 3583 4869, 10am-3pm, closed Mondays You can walk through the house of Taha Hussein, a great thinker and a pioneer of enlightenment. As you enter the gates, a bust of the great man sculpted by Farouk Ibrahim greets you. The rooms contain personal belongings of Hussein and his family's furniture, paintings and books. Paintings by famous Egyptian artists such as Ragheb Ayyad hang on the walls. Um Kolthoum Museum 1 Al Malek Al Saleh St, Manial Al-Roda, Tel 02 2363 1467 An Ottoman-style building that commemorates Egypt's legendary and most beloved singer, Umm Kulthoum. The museum exhibits not only personal paraphernalia but also has an audio-visual library of the great diva's performances. Zakaria Al-Khanani and Aida Abdel-Kerim Glass Museum Al Harrania Village, Saqqara Road, opposite the Cataract Pyramids Resort, Giza, Tel 02 3381 5955, museum hours: 9am-3pm, daily except Fridays, www.glassartmuseum.com, E-mail: [email protected] A modest iron gate with a blue glass plaque marks the Al-Khanani Glass Art Museum in Saqqara. Who would imagine that such a modest provincial building could house such a remarkable collection of glass? The museum is fast becoming an important stop among the numerous attractions on Saqqara Road, which extends from Giza and runs alongside the Mariotiya Canal. For travellers who press on beyond Giza, popular stops include Al-Haraniya village, well known for its tapestries; the Habib Georgie Museum, which specialises in batik printing on textiles; and Nabil Darwish's Museum, which offers a collection of ceramics. Well-known rustic-style restaurants abound in this area, including Al-Dar, Andrea and Ish Saqqara (Saqqara Nest), to name a few. The museum represents one of the most important collections of glass sculptures in the Middle East. The sculptures are remarkable for their transparency, elegance and the beautiful blend of colours. The museum's displays include 500 glass objects. Zoological Museum Giza Zoo, entrance from Gate 2,Charles de Gaulle St, Giza, Tel 02 3570 8895/ 1552 In addition to the numerous animals in the zoo, there is a museum, dating from 1914, that exhibits animal remains. It consists of three big halls showing large groups of birds, reptiles, fish and animals as well as skeletons.
