CAIRO - Have you ever waged a war and lived in its saddening and elating moments, imaging yourself in the battlefield and surrounded by cannons, swords and weapons but without being harmed just entertained? That's the atmosphere the one can feel it in the Military Museum, located in the Cairo Citadel. This museum was previously dedicated as the residence of Mohamed Ali Pasha, the founder of modern Egypt, who ruled from 1805 -1848, his family, and his harem. However, when Egypt fell under the British Occupation in 1882, which lasted until 1956, the building became the headquarter of the military leader of the British army. The palace was later transformed into the military hospital of the British army, although in 1946 the then Egyptian Government took back the Harem Palace of the citadel in the reign of King Farouk, the last ruling king of Egypt and the Egyptian flag was raised on the top of the palace. Since that date, the palace passed into the control of the Committee of Preserving Arabian Antiquities and then the Egyptian authorities took over the palace and prepared it to become the Military Museum, which demonstrates the history of the Egyptian army throughout different periods of time. It was inaugurated on November 20, 1949. After the visitors passing from the outer entrance gate of the Military Museum, they enter inside its garden and start living their peaceful imaginary battle. This garden resembles a wide corridor that hosts a number of historical black huge canons, some of which were made in the UK and the US, while others were manufactured in Egypt during the reign of Mohamed Ali. At the end of this corridor a huge statue of Ibrahim Pasha riding a horse and holding a gun, as if he were encouraging onlookers to battle. He was the eldest son of Mohamed Ali and an Ottoman governor of Egypt. Subsequently, there is another wide passageway that presents some busts of the king and rulers of Egypt during the Pharaonic era. These include the great King Ramses II, one of ancient Egypt's most famous and longest ruling Pharaohs, who liberated Egypt from the Hyksos at the beginning of the New Kingdom and King Menes, the Unifier of Southern and Northern Egypt. There are other statues of more recent rulers of Egypt includin Salah Eddin ( Saladin) Al-Ayyouby, Al-Zaher Beybars, Mohamed Ali and Khedive Ismail. On entering the main part of the museum, you are confronted with a mural depicting some Egyptian citizens celebrating victory in wars waged by Egypt and called 'The welcoming painting'. In front of this mural there is a large statue of an Egyptian soldier with the phrase 'the best soldiers in the world' inscribed on the statue. This main entrance into the museum, according to Moustafa Sobhi, who works as a manager in the Citadel, is designed in arched entrance that was characteristic of Islamic architecture in the Ottoman era. The magnificent decorations on the ceiling of all the museum are all in Baroque style, dependent on the forms of grapes with their branching vines and leaves, considered as one of the museum's masterpieces. On the right side of the hall is the Hall of the Knights displaying statues of Egyptian knights from different periods of time riding their horses and wearing their special uniforms of each period of the Egyptian history from the early Islamic days, the Ayyubid and Mamluk periods as well as throughout the Ottoman era. The left side of the hall displays some of the scenes of the heroic Egyptian soldiers during the war of October 1973 against the Israeli forces. The next section contains statues of soldiers wearing various uniforms and costumes from various eras. The visitor will notice how they changed over time, as well as the differences between the summer and winter uniforms. There is also a section for helmets and berets and how they were transformed throughout history. The next section is where various cannons are exhibited since the cannon's invention, showing its development and versions during the days of Mohamed Ali. Following is the archaic Islamic section covering the period from 641 until 1517 AD, which includes representations of towers used when soldiers laid siege to cities and displays of Islamic weapons. These include many swords and beautiful embellished daggers. In the major hall dedicated to the Suez Canal, the digging of the canal is illustrated in detail. There is also the section on the French Occupation of Egypt, which displays battles of this period, the revolution of the Egyptian against the French occupation and how the French army encroached on Al-Azhar Mosque, the nationalistic centre of the Egyptian revolution to force the people to stop their rebellion. Visitor then encounter the Egyptian revolution of 1952 with illustration of its the events, a group portrait of the Free Officers and also the printing machine which they used in secret to publish their leaflets. Following is the section dedicated to the 1967 war and the defeat of the Egyptian forces by the Israelis in which are displayed photos of martyrs of this war. Then comes the hall marking the victory of the Egyptian Army over the Israeli forces in the war of October 6th 1973, which is full of pictures depicting Egyptian bravery in that war and a life-size statue that represents the leaders of Egypt planning the war. The lighting technique for all the displays inside the Military Museum are well done, which adds life to them. Outside the museum there are real modern weapons and war machines, which are too large for the museum's interior, like warplanes. The Military Museum is located in the Citadel. It is open daily from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. There is no specific ticket for the museum, but the tickets for the Citadel and its varied attractions are bought at the entrance of the citadel. The entry ticket costs LE50 for non-Egyptians.
