SCZONE showcases investment opportunities to eight Japanese companies    Egypt urges Israel to accept Gaza deal amid intensifying fighting    Egypt, ADIB explore strategic partnership in digital healthcare, investment    Egypt's PM meets Tokyo governor, witnesses signing of education agreements    Egypt welcomes international efforts for peace in Ukraine    Al-Sisi, Macron reaffirm strategic partnership, coordinate on Gaza crisis    Egypt's Sisi, France's Macron discuss Gaza ceasefire efforts in phone call    Contact Reports Strong 1H-2025 on Financing, Insurance Gains    Egypt, India's BDR Group in talks to establish biologics, cancer drug facility    AUC graduates first cohort of film industry business certificate    Egypt to tighten waste rules, cut rice straw fees to curb pollution    Indian tourist arrivals to Egypt jump 18.8% in H1-2025: ministry data    Egyptian pound down vs. US dollar at Monday's close – CBE    Egypt prepares unified stance ahead of COP30 in Brazil    Egypt recovers collection of ancient artefacts from Netherlands    Egypt harvests 315,000 cubic metres of rainwater in Sinai as part of flash flood protection measures    Egypt, Namibia explore closer pharmaceutical cooperation    Fitch Ratings: ASEAN Islamic finance set to surpass $1t by 2026-end    Renowned Egyptian novelist Sonallah Ibrahim dies at 88    Egyptian, Ugandan Presidents open business forum to boost trade    Al-Sisi says any party thinking Egypt will neglect water rights is 'completely mistaken'    Egypt's Sisi warns against unilateral Nile measures, reaffirms Egypt's water security stance    Egypt's Sisi, Uganda's Museveni discuss boosting ties    Egypt, Huawei explore healthcare digital transformation cooperation    Egypt's Sisi, Sudan's Idris discuss strategic ties, stability    Egypt to inaugurate Grand Egyptian Museum on 1 November    Greco-Roman rock-cut tombs unearthed in Egypt's Aswan    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Egypt''s Museums: The Postal Museum presents a romantic history of letter sending
Published in Almasry Alyoum on 18 - 05 - 2011

Visiting Cairo's Postal Museum overlooking Attaba Square is quite an adventure. As you exit the metro and make your way through the old book market onto Abdel Khalek Tharwat Street, you're met with Cairo's epic Central Postal Office.
The building is currently undergoing massive renovation, but a glance beneath the scaffolds and tarps reveals the building's beautiful architecture, which resembles a palace more than a post office.
Its multiple entrances are chaotic with people running around shouting postal questions. After obtaining a ticket, visitors are walked through the beautiful marble entrance with spiraling staircases that lead to the second floor museum, which appeared to be closed when I visited.
“They started renovating the building before the revolution,” Mohamed al-Bakry, the museum's supervisor told Al-Masry Al-Youm. “The government tells us it should be completed in a year's time, but now it just seems like it's been frozen in time.
“Nobody really comes here anymore,” continued al- Bakry. “Maybe a few hundred people a year. And with the tickets costing between 50 piasters and LE2, we can't really afford to keep it open unless there is a visitor.”
Nonetheless, as the doors were opened and the lights turned on, an intricate display packed with postal paraphernalia began to reveal itself -- it felt like being taken to an abandoned toy store which hadn't been touched for over 50 years.
The Postal Museum of Cairo, which first opened to the public in 1940, was conceived in 1934 by King Fouad I. It started off as a large stamp collection. Over the years, donations and expansions slowly turned it into a full-scale depiction of the postal industry in Egypt since pharaonic times and it now boasts more than 1,000 exhibits.
Upon entering the main red-carpeted hallway, you are instantly bombarded with fascinating postal exhibits including artifacts, pictures, uniforms, post boxes and dioramas. The museum resembles a luxurious apartment, with pillars, carpets and chandeliers decorating the place. Densely packed with the walls lined from top to bottom as well as exhibits running down the middle of each room, the museum is quite narrow to navigate.
Divided into ten general sections that occasionally overlap, the museum showcases old envelopes and stamps, treaties signed between countries agreeing to have functioning international mail, clothing, tools, maps showing the delivery routes, statistical information, as well as wooden models of the postal vehicles, bicycles and airplanes.
The pharaonic exhibits are by far some of the most interesting; on display are papyrus letters passed between pharaohs by a messenger, detailing the importance of the scribe and writing. Dioramas then depict the scene of the messenger kneeling down to hand the pharaoh his mail using a clawing tool - so as not to touch the pharaoh's hand - while guards point spears at his neck.
The more modern 19th century artifacts include eccentric uniforms and leather handbags for postmen, intricate chains and weights to price mail, and wooden, handcrafted, communal postboxes, creating a nostalgia for times when writing was an esteemed art treated with delicacy.
“As time went on the museum became more and more important,” said al-Bakry. “When the museum was conceived, the only items of interest were old stamps. However, after the industry became depersonalized and more advanced technology was introduced, 90 percent of the items from the postal service soon belonged in the museum.”
And that couldn't ring truer given the modern establishment of Twitter, Facebook, email and other digital tools that make communication an immediate and less personal or thoughtful process. The museum helps enshrine and romanticize the era of hand-written letters.
“Personally, I miss the times when I used to receive a letter,” sighs al-Bakry. “I know that the new generation is all into computers, especially with the revolution, but still there was something beautiful about the old process that I think has probably been lost forever.”
Thankfully the museum exists to create a portal into the history of communication through the postal service. It seems imperative, however, to add symbols of modern, digital forms of communication to show the continuous evolution of the post. But for the time being at least, considering the financial state of the place, an expansion is likely only wishful thinking.


Clic here to read the story from its source.