THE Coptic Museum, one of the many religious buildings in Old Cairo has this month celebrated its 100th anniversary. At the centenary gala, many archaeologists and restorers were honoured for doing so much to maintain and renovate the museum. The Coptic Museum was reopened last year by President Hosni Mubarak, after extensive renovations. The museum derives its historical importance from its assets, which chronicle an era in which Christian art reached its peak. The museum was wisely established in an area, which witnessed the dawning of Christianity in Egypt. It is located inside the ancient Babylon Fortress, which was built by the Roman Emperor in Egypt. (A Cairo Underground Metro station is nearby. The ticket costs LE1.) The area is also home to six ancient churches dating from between the fifth and eighth centuries AD: the Hanging Church, which surmounts the Babylon Fortress, Abu Sirga Church, Saint Barbara Church, Saint George Church, the Virgin's Monastery and Qasriyat el- Rihan Church. The Coptic Museum was built by a devoted Copt, Morcos Pasha Semika, in 1908. Semika, born in 1864 into a big Coptic family, wanted it to be an educational edifice, highlighting key chapters in the history of Christianity in Egypt. The Ministry of Culture decided to take over supervision of the museum in 1931. The building is home to wonderful examples of Coptic, Ancient Egyptian, Hellenic, Byzantine and Islamic art. In 1992, the place was upgraded, with a passage being constructed to connect the old museum to a new section. The new section was constructed after the museum was damaged in the powerful earthquake, which hit Egypt in October 1992. It was decided that the museum should be divided into 26 halls, while making the displays more modern and high-tech. The museum's curators insist that its most precious asset is the Psalms of David, showcased in special halls. There are also paintings of the cells, in which priests and hermits spent long hours in prayer and fasting, while there are three exquisite sculptures dating from between the fourth and sixth centuries AD. The museum is also home to the original door of the Saint Barbara Church, the original altars from the two churches of Sergios and Wakhis, as well as a beam from the Hanging Church. The museum's library contains more than 10,000 scrolls, protected from the adverse effects of light and humidity by a state-of-theart safety system. The extraordinary assets of the Coptic Museum also include monuments unearthed in Ihnasia in Upper Egypt, such as a statue of Aphrodite, which obviously suggests Greek influence. One of the halls explores the influence of Ancient Egyptian art on Coptic art: the similarity between the ankh and the Cross is highlighted, while the symbols of national unity – the crescent, the olive branch and the Cross – are also stressed.
