Museums Of Egypt

Egyptian Regions and Architecture

AR-727
1
Prepared By: Course Students
 5 8 4
6
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1- Um Kalthum Museum
2- Coptic Museum ARAB ACADEMY FOR SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY
3- Geological Museum
4- Textiles Museum AND MARITIME TRANSPORT
6- Egyptian Museum
5- Museum of Modern Egyptian Art
7- Mahmoud Mokhtar Museum College of Engineering and Technology
8- The Postal Museum
9- Ramsis Wissa Wassif Art Centre
Department of ARCHITECTURAL ENGINEERING AND ENVIRENOMENTAL DESIGN
Post Graduate Studies Program

Egyptian Regions and Architecture

AR-727

Museums of Egypt
1 Supervised By: Dr. Shaimaa Ashour
2
TABLE OF CONTENTS

3 1- Um Kalthum Museum 4-9

2- Coptic Museum 10 - 15
3- Geological Museum 16 - 21
4- Textiles Museum 22 - 27
5- Museum of Modern Egyptian Art 28 - 31
6- Egyptian Museum 32 - 39
7- Mahmoud Mokhtar Museum 40 - 45
8- The Postal Museum 46 - 50
2 9 MAP OF CAIRO 9- Ramsis Wissa Wassif Art Centre 51 - 56 3

Picture of your Museum
(1904-1975)
More than a musician
she became “THE VOICE AND FACE OF EGYPT”
4 Refrences
Umm Kalthoum Museum
Nostalgic...Authentic....MAJESTIC
(Shereen El-Kholy & Mostafa Mastour)
“Classics do not die easily, and Umm Kalthoum is a classic.” Fig. 1 museum in google earth
A biographical museum dedicated to the famous Egyptian singer and public figure of the 20th
century Fatma Ibrahim El-Sayed known by Umm Kalthoum who mesmerized, and still does,
the Arab audience and the world for half a century with her well known magnificent voice
(Danielson, 2005). The museum is located in Al Rhoda Island in Al-Manyal district (Fig.1),
where it is set in a peaceful Nile side garden in the MAJESTIC Al-Monastirli Palace which
was built in 1851. With an area of 250 m2, the museum’s aim is to display the most valuable
and AUTHENTIC personal belongings of Umm Kalthoum collected from her family
members, her friends and her loyal fans. The work began in the museum in April 1998 and Fig. 2 axis leading to main enternace
was opened to the public in December 2001. Approaching the main entrance, a lining of palm
trees demarcates the axial approach of the highly prestigious entrance of the palace (Fig. 2)
where you go through the gate, walking in the main path of the beautiful garden of the palace
till you reach the end of the pathway (Fig. 3) where museum entrance can found at the left.
The museum consists of 4 main spaces (Culture, 2009):
1- The Main Hall: Contains the belongings of Umm Kalthoum
2- The Audio-Visual Library: Contains books and interactive computers
3- Cinema Hall: A movie about the life of Umm Kalthoum is displayed
4- Panoramic Hall: A series of photos for different stages of her life is displayed Fig. 3 map for Monastirli Palace
Picture
5
Fig. 4 Panoramic View of Museum
 Upon entering, and passing through zone (1) (Fig. 5), the visitor will encounter one of
the most significant aspects that demarcate the identity of Umm Kalthoum with is her
handkerchief and her diamonds encrusted spectecals (Fig. 6), showing her grandness
and MAJESTY.
Moving forward towards the Main Hall of the Museum, the visitor will start to see in
Zone (2) (Fig. 5) the most famous dresses of Umm Kalthoum (Fig 7.) that she wore
during her well known performances which was held at the first Thursday of each
month. Glancing at the beautiful dresses that were made by the most famous tailors of
the age, one can’t help but to feel the AUTHENTICITY and the NOSTALGIA,
especially after the visitor reads the name tags put under the dresses that witnessed
the most famous performances at that time, in addition to several Collages (Fig. 9)
showing scenes of her life on the wall opposite to the dresses display.
Facing Zone (2), is zone (3), the Audio-Visual Library. This is one of the crown jewels
of the museum; simply because it is very informative and entertaining. If one seeks
the knowledge and details about Umm Kalthoum’s life, art, articles written about her,
the Audio-Visual library is the place to be at. The library mainly consists of 2 sections,
the book stacks (Fig. 8) , and the interactive computer devices and of course a place
to read, The first section of the library, which is the book stacks, contains a number of
encyclopedias which is a collection of what was written about her in the magazines,
books, periodicals…etc. also contains books that was written especially for her, or
books that are telling stories about the music of the early 20th century mentioning
Umm Kalthoum and several other pioneers of the Arab world musicians.
6 7
Fig. 9 Photo Collage hanging on the wall Fig. 8 Book Stacks in Audio-Visual Library
3 2 4 5
6 Walking in the pathway of zone (4) (Fig. 10) the visitor can see how glorious
1 7
Fig. 5 Museum plan by Authors (zone 1,2,3)
Fig. 6 Umm Kalthoum Glasses & Handkerchief
Fig. 7 Umm Kalthoum Dresses in Display
The second section of the library contains the interactive computers (Fig. 11) that are used
to watch short movies, listen to any song you like that has been sung by Umm Kalthoum.
This section of the museum was one of the favorite parts for the visitors as they could
listen to the music of the legend, and know some information about her life, combining 3 2 4 5
the MAJESTIC spirit of the golden age of music, along with the technology of today.
6
Umm Kalthoum was, experiencing the MAJESTIC feeling upon seeing how
1 7
much medals were awarded to her by royal families, presidents…etc (Fig. 14)
in the different performances and visits in so many cities foreign and domestic.
Looking at the opposite side, a showcase exhibiting AUTHENTIC possessions Fig. 10 Museum plan by Authors (zone 4,5)
of Umm Kalthoum (Fig. 12) such as her gloves, Quran made from Ivory and
sea shells and even her passports one of which was diplomatic (Fig. 13).
Zone (5) (Fig. 10) is the cinema hall (Fig. 15,16) which displays approximately
a 25 minute video showcasing Umm Kalthoum’s thriving career in singing and
acting and, portraying her life beginning from the village where she grew up, until
her funeral. Watching the video, you can’t help but feel a sense of NOSTALGIA
for the golden age of Umm Kalthoum, and also for the idea that people from Fig. 11 interactive Computers
all social levels in Egypt, and other Arab countries, would dress up in order to
attend one of her performances. Moreover, you get to see how people talked about
Fig. 12 Umm Kalthoum Personal Belongings
Fig. 14 Medals in desplay awarded to Umm Kalthoum Fig. 13 Umm Kalthoum Personal Belongings
 Moving on to zone (6) (Fig. 15), you’ll reach an aisle that’s defined by several displays on
both sides. The first display on the right contains Umm Kalthoum’s famous broche that
she wore in almost all her performances, a ‘Oud’ that presumably belonged to El Qasabgi,
3 2
Umm Kalthoum’s famous composer, and an original flyer for one of her performances.
The following display contains correspondence between Umm Kalthoum and famous
Egyptian and Arab public figures such as the late president Gamal Abdel Nasser, Gihan
El Sadat, the president of Tunisia, etc which shows how significant she was in Egypt
and the Arab world (Danielson, 1991) (Fig. 17). This once again emphasizes on her
MAJESTY. Moving on, you get to see the original records for Umm Kalthoum’s
live performances and radios, record players and recording devices that we assumed
belonged to her (Fig. 19) but couldn’t be sure due to the lack of any informative labels in
Fig. 15 Museum plan by Authors (zone 5,6)
this display. The last display on the left contains the genuine handwritten lyrics for her
most famous songs (Fig. 18) and you can see the adjustments that were made until the
lyrics became as we know them today. It also contains original pictures for her with her
brother and for her father and, more awards that she received. The content exhibited
in these displays reflects the AUTHENTICITY that is present in this museum.
The last zone in the museum (Zone 7) (Fig. 20,21) is the panoramic hall. It consists
of a very wide, white curvilinear screen which displays for 10 minutes, according to
the museum’s website, a group of pictures for Umm Kalthoum’s different age phases,
pictures from her movies, and for her with famous artists and Arab countries’ leaders.
Unfortunately, due to technical issues at the museum, we weren’t able to watch this
panoramic film which most probably would’ve added to our NOSTALGIC feeling.
8 Fig. 19 Umm Kalthoum recording devices Fig. 18 Genuine handwritten lyrics
4 5
6 that instead of just placing her dresses in displays, there would be a space that has a stage with
1 7
Fig. 16 3D Max Rendering for Cenima Hall
By Author Shereen Al Kholy
Fig. 17 Letters By presidents
Overall, our visit to Umm Kalthoum’s museum was a very interesting one which educated us a bit
more about Umm Kalthoum and made us appreciate her even more than before. The museum is
well organized and has a clear circulation path however; the lack of informative labels on some
of the exhibits and the picture collages left us missing some information. For us, the video dis- 3 2 4 5
played in the cinema hall was the most informative part of the museum as it gives you an insight
on who Umm Kalthoum really was. In order to enrich the visitor’s experience of the museum, we
suggest that Umm Kalthoum’s music would be played in the background. Moreover, we suggest
6
a real-scale statue for Umm Kalthoum on it wearing one of her dresses and her eyeglasses and
holding her handkerchief, with more statues behind her for her orchestra sitting with their in- 1 7
struments in a posture as if they’re actually playing these instruments, and as if Umm Kalthoum
is actually singing. We believe these adjustments could possibly add to the AUTHENTIC Fig. 20 Museum plan By Authors (zone 7)
and NOSTALGIC feeling of the museum and to the MAJESTY of Umm Kalthoum.
We believe that Egypt is re-presented in the museum historically through por-
traying the importance of the figure of Um Kalthoum itself, from the 20th cen-
tury, in the music industry and politically on a national and international scale.
References:
- Danielson, V. L. (1991). Shaping tradition in Arabic Song: The Career and repertory of Umm Kulthum.
University of Illinois, 57-75.
- Culture, E. M. (2009). Umm Kalthoum Museum in Al-Rawda Island . Retrieved 2018, from Cultural
Development Fund: http://www.cdf.gov.eg/?q=node/53.
- Danielson, V. L. (2005). Umm Kalthoum. Retrieved 2018, from ENCYCLOPÆDIA BRITANNICA: https://
www.britannica.com/biography/Umm-Kulthum-Egyptian-musician.
- Fund, C. D. (2005). Museum Special Report. Retrieved 2018, from Umm Kalthoum Museum: http://www.
umkalthoum.gov.eg
Fig. 21 The Curvilinear Panoramic Hall
- All Photos Were taken by Authors during site investigations.
Picture
Refrences
9
Fig. 22 Photo Collage Portraying Umm Kalthoum
Fig. 23 Panoramic Shot for Monastirli Palace and Nilometer with nole View
 The Coptic
Museum
(Esraa Abd El Sattar & Mona Mahmoud)
Praises to Marcus Simaika Pasha, having obtained the approval of Patriarch Kyrillos
V, he established the Coptic Museum which inaugurated in 1910 (Pasha, 1930). The Fig. 1. Colorful Coptic textiles used and printd on it
Museum is located within the walls of the fortress of Babylon, part of the old city walls.
It occupies an area of 8,000m2, buildings, and garden included. Members of the Cop-
tic community have sent icons, clothes, manuscripts, priestly garments, frescoes, and
wooden panels. Painted wooden ceilings and marble fountains were collected from old
Coptic palaces Figures (1,2,3,4,5).

The Museum holds a collection of 16,000 works of art, of which 1,200 real treasures are
exhibited to the public. It owns 6,000 papyrus manuscripts of which the most import- Fig. 2. Remarkable acanthus frieze from limestone
ant are the Psalms of David and the manuscripts of Nag Hammadi. (Zaki, 2008)

The museum is easily accessible from Mary Gerges Metro Station. Once we exit the
station, we saw the ruins of the circular towers of the fortress of Babylon a few meters
away and the monastery of Mary Gerges on the left side and the Hanging Church on
the right side.

A question pops into our minds, which direction do we take to reach the Coptic Mu-
seum?

10 Fig. 5. Metal Keys Fig. 4. Byzantine gold coins dates to the 7th century Fig. 3. Decorations of the niches of the oratories 11
 After asking the security guard, shockingly the museum is the space facing the station
directly, and after checking the ticket office we found a small banner referring to the
Coptic Museum (Fig. 6). By leaving ticket office, we were faced by the round towers of
the Fortress of Babylon and signs referring to the museum’s components and its direc-
tions (Fig. 7).
Walking towards the exhibition halls, the main facade draws our attention away from
the surroundings. Unconsciously We found ourselves dividing the facade visually into
three parts where the right and left side contains mashrabiyas which is a major element
in the Islamic architecture while the middle of the façade is made from stone with sim-
ilar decorations to Al-Aqumar Mosque in El Moez street.
Which made us wonder is this really the Coptic Museum? and why does the Coptic
museum facade contain elements and architectural motifs from the Islamic style?
You can feel the separation between outside and inside upon entering the reception
hall due to the transition in lighting from brightness to relative dimness.
The exhibits are displayed on two floors, as shown on the master plan hanged on the
wall (Fig. 8,9). In the ground floor halls, artifacts are displayed according to the places
where they were collected from. Starting from the Masterpieces hall, you feel eager for
the next halls due to linear axis view system used.
12 Fig. 6. The Coptic Museum main entrance Fig. 7. The massive round towers of Babylon Fortress
Fig. 8. Master Plan - Layout of the museum
“captured by the authors from the museum Reception
Hall
Fig. 9. First Floor Plan
“captured by the authors from the museum Reception
Hall
Passing through The Sculptures from Ahnas and The Legacy of Ancient Egypt halls,
the display design, lighting and the ceiling is noticed. The artifacts are displayed against
the four walls with masterpiece in the middle of the halls either inside glass showcases
with special lighting or above solid wooden boxes (Fig. 10). Moreover, the name and the
source of the artifact can be identified from a label fixed below or next to the artifact in
three langauges “Arabic, English and French”.
The interior lighting is designed to be slightly dim depending on the natural lighting.
Noticed the lighting tracks located in the corners where one focuses on the ceiling and
the others focus on the artifacts (Fig. 10). With the wooden ceiling design fulled with
details, the symbol of the cross can be shown once explicitly and sometimes is not.
Furthermore, each hall has its unique designed ceiling that is not repeated.
In Saqqara hall, by entering the court which is covered by a modern steel sructure,
calm and serenity can be felt (Fig. 11). Surrounded by walls decorated with mashrabiyas
in the first floor and a green area with palms where you can rest under. The court has
a unique atmosphere where artifacts and columns with different styles are displayed.
Ending up with Bawit hall, the change in windows glass color used can be noticed as
it contained clear glass in the earlier halls but here, it has stained glass which adds an
aesthetic dimension to the space when natural lighting flows through with its beautiful
designs carved (Fig. 12). Fig. 11. Saqqara Hall with it’s steel structure ceiling
Fig. 10. Artifacts and way of display Fig. 12. Clear V.s Stained glass windows 13
 Heading up to the first floor, the wooden staircase and the elevator with the wood
cladding are noticed as they played an important role in not separating the theme of
the space.
In the first floor, where artifacts are displayed according to their materials, you will be
greeted by a handrail surrounding an opening in the floor which overlooks the ground
floor and is topped by a skylight (Fig. 15). Yet the mashrabiya drive the attention, sitting
there to rest it can be noticed that some of the decorations have been changed at the
top with the addition of some Coptic details to suit the character of the place (Fig. 13).
Starting with the Liturgical Vestment, passing through the Textile, then the Writing
hall and ending up with The Psalms hall which contains a unique masterpiece in the
museum and kept in special glass box, through Kellia hall, a passage that connected the
old and new wings togather. After that a voice of a tour guide narrating the stories be-
hind the shown artifacts attracted the attention of the visitors as it adds an interesting
dimension while experiencing the museum exhibits.
You start your journey in the old wing with the Nile Scenes hall then the Daily Life hall,
where an alive colorful ceiling must grabs your attention with it’s fine tuning (Fig. 16).
Ending with Icons, Metals, Ceramics and Glass Halls, you will notice the change in the
halls wall painting color to orange as the entrance hall instead of off-white and different
way for artifacts display, either against one wall or in both in glass showcases (Fig. 17).
14 Fig. 17. Orange Halls Fig. 16. A masterpiece coloured ceiling
Exiting the show halls, you descend again a wooden stairs where the exhibition ends
with the display of two pieces; a howdah and a coffin (Fig. 18).
At the end of our tour in the museum (Fig. 20), We can say that we see Egypt reflected
in it through Contradiction, which was clearly seen in the use of islamic motifs
in a Coptic Museum, In contrast, we felt the Unity that characterizes Egypt between
the Copts and Muslims. In our tour, unfortunately, we weren’t able to experience the
museum as we didn’t know the whole stories behind the artifacts, as a result we only
experienced the museum as a Building through its architecture.
But the question still remained in our mind, “What was the reason for using the
Mashrabiya?” (Fig. 19) and “Why the Islamic style dominates the facades of the museum
from the outside and was reflected in the inside?”
Fig. 13. Mix between Islamic & Coptic motives
Fig. 14. Detailed wooden ceiling work Fig. 18. On your way to the exit Fig. 19. Mashrabiya Fig. 20. The end of the tour
References
- Pasha, M. S. (1930). Guide to the Coptic Museum and the most important churches and ancient monasteries. Cairo: Amiri Press.
- Rabbat, N. (1999). Architecture of Cairo : Competing Neo Styles in the Early Twentieth Century. Retrieved from Massachusetts
Institute of Technology: http://web.mit.edu/4.615/www/handout19.html
- Zaki, I. (2008, April 23). History of the Coptic Museum. Retrieved from Coptic Cairo: http://www.coptic-cairo.com
Fig. 15. The skylight
Note: “All the photos were captured by the authors” 15
 Geological Museum
(Aliaa el-Dardiry)

The Geological museum, in Egypt, is considered one of the oldest museums in the
Middle East and Africa.
It was constructed in 1901 inside the garden of ministry of public work, in el-Sultan
Hassan street (el-Shiekh Rihan street now), near el-Tahrir square.
In 1904, it was opened to the public, to be the first museum in Africa and Middle East
and the fourth in the world.
From its roles is to register different samples from rocks, excavations and minerals,
organise, sort and format to be viewed in the museum.
In WWII, almost all the important samples were buried in sand, to not be damaged Postage stamp (1)
in case the building was bombed.
In 1979, the museum celebrated the diamond jubilee and a postage stamp was re-
leased (1).
In 1980, a dicision was taken to demolish the museum due to the construction of the
undergraound subway.
In 1982, the museum was transfered to be in regional institute for river transport (2)
and was opened for the public in 1985.

Regional institute for river transport (2)

- (1) https://fekra.media/archives/215827
- http://www.touregypt.net/geo/
16 - Book: Geological museum, the importance and history. 17
 The museum includes: open air exhibition, exhibition hall, library, lecture room and
administration building.
The open air exhibition is important as a way for attracting the visitors and permit- 12
ting them to touch the exhibits without any restrictions. Famous Egyptian materials, 1
minerals, invertebrate fossils and model for Arsinotherium (an ancient animal who
used to live in Fayoum) could be found in it.
The exhibition hall is classified into: invertebrate fossils exhibition, vertebrate fossils 11 Minerals & Rocks
exhibition, minerals and rocks exhibition and others. Since Geology is in everything
(1)Invertebrate fossils
in our life, you could find colors and materials used by pharaohs, meteorites that had Location of geological musuem
fallen in Egypt, minerals and rocks from Egypt and diffeent countries, skeletons of 8
animals who used to in Egypt and invertebrate fossils organised according to their
7
era.
Invertebrate fossils

Nile transport organisation 6

Open air exhibition 5

(2)Invertebrate fossils
Administration building Open exhibition - minerals

Exhibition hall Vertebrate fossils

Lecture room
2
Library
3 4 10 9 Others

Library Lecture room

(3)Invertebrate fossils and some drawings
Layout Open exhibition - Arsinotherium Exhibition hall
18 19
 (4)Nile map by Herodotus
(5)Skeleton of an animal
(6)Model of Palameomastodon skull
20
(7)Testudo amon shell
(8)Skeleton of an animal (12)Stones from famous places
(9)Granitte from Mecca
(10)Egyptian materials Despite the condition of the museum, its location,
the way of exhibiting which need to be improved, the
glass box covering the exhibits, lightening that need
to be put in better way, the lack of information, etc,
visiting the museum will be a great opportunity to
know that we were pioneers one day, we have alot of
treasure which is not gold and shine, it is just rock
and stone.
It is important to know minerals, rocks, materials in
your own country because they are the base of any
civilization.
It is also interesting to know creatures that lived
millions of years before you, how they lived, how they
look like, ..
After knowing, we have to think about marketing our
strength points, display and encourge the next gener-
ation to know.
(6)Royal family display
# Quoted from a true story with some imagination 21
 Egyptian Textile
Museum
(Hady Gamal & Omayer Habib)
Amongst the hidden treasures, nestled in the heart of Al-Muezz street in the
Fatimid’s ‘Old Cairo’ facing the great Qalwun complex, lies the rich Sabil of
Muhamed Ali; the current home of the Egyptian Textile Museum. Housing textiles
from the Ancient Egyptian era, through to Graeco-Roman and Coptic traditions
and culminating with a vast display of the ‘Islamic’ era in Egypt, the museum tells
of the intricate and diverse history of the effervescent textile industry in Egypt. Approach to museum (courtesy: Google Earth)

The museum, the only of its kind in the Middle East and Africa, was opened
in 2010 after extensive renovations to the original Sabil led by then Minister
of Culture, Farouk Hosni. He had envisaged a carpet museum, dedicated
to the extraordinary carpet industry in Egypt; however, the sheer vastness
of textiles led to a change in heart and ultimately a change in vision. [1]

This was mot the first time the sabil had undergone extreme changes. After the death
of Isamail Pasha in 1822 in Sudan, Muhamed Ali Pasha’s paternal loyalty led to the
construction of a charitable Sabil in loving memory of his son. The building boasted
beautiful Ottoman poetic verses clad along its facade and ornate decorations covering
the dome above the water hall. A century later, the building was transformed to the ‘Al-
Nahassin’ elementary school, with former Egyptian president Gamal AbdelNasser and
renown author Naguib Mahfouz amongst its most famous graduates. [2] A few decades of
neglect led to its final transformation as the home of the Egyptian Textile Museum today.
Ottoman verses on elevation

1. Sahar Ibrahim, personal communication, March 9, 2018

2. Krasno, J. E., & LaPides, S. (2015). Personality, political leadership, and decision making: A global per-
22 spective. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, an Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC. 23
 As the bustling, busy Al-Muezz street passes by the ornate Ottoman facade,
a quiet unassuming interruption greets the passer-by. Beyond the wooden
door and external museum poster is the entrance hall, equipped with a
ticketing office (also offering publications relating to the building), a metal
detecting machine and three boards dictating the history of the building, the
renovations undertaken by Hosni and an introduction to the museum itself.
Another interesting insight into the daily life of Ancient Egyptians were the
pieces on display originally sent by Queen Hatshepsut to her secret lover. The
emotional attachment and show of love on display, extremely rooted within
Picture Egyptian culture, is evident. Once again, the story-teller is not the piece itself, nor Picture
the architecture or display tools; rather, a synthesis of these objects complimented
by the elaborate story-telling of Ibrahim conveyed a more ‘complete’ image.

The first three halls on the ground floor are dedicated to Ancient Egypt, including A further show of compassion and love is shown by an inscription, in Greek, on a
the main water hall with the dome covering. The fourth hall, more aptly described wooden tool used by an Egyptian craftsman in the Graeco-Roman hall. Simply, the
as a corridor, hosts the Graeco-Roman and early Coptic textiles. The Coptic is skilled worker wrote “I work happily with lady Sophie.” Perhaps the greatest show
continued in the first two halls on the second floor, with the introduction of of compassion comes in the last hall in the small collection from the Muhamed Red carpet gift from Muhamed Ali
the Ayyubid Islamic period textiles integrated within. The remaining five halls Picture Ali period. The richly decorated red carpet, weighing more than 20kg in gold
show off the rich textiles of the Fayyum and Tulunid, Faitimd, Kiswa (Ka’abah and silver threads, was given as a gift from the initiator of the Sabil building to his
covering) and imported Islamic, Mamluk, and Ottoman periods respectively. granddaughter on the day of her wedding. To Ibrahim and many, this piece is the
“master-piece” of the museum, concluding the exhibit walk through in a large vetrina
To many, the most striking piece on display is likely to be the black Kiswa. However, of its own dedicated to the Muhamed Ali dynasty (a mere 3 piece collection). The
an in-depth interview with one member of the curating team brought to life romanticism behind the union of the building built in memory of the great leader’s
many hidden gems. In the first hall, the most significant piece at first glance seems Above: Kiswa (Ka’abah covering) son and the heartfelt gift to his beloved granddaughter is lost on the observer
Linen piece found in Ancient Egypt
to be a delicate piece found in the tomb chamber of Tutankhamoun. A further Below: Ancient Egyptian mother’s baby set without the story-telling prowess of Ibrahim, another trait rooted to Egyptian culture. (both images courtesy: Facebook/
look at other pieces yielded a story of a mother and her child and the great deal Egyptian-Textile-Museum)
of attention paid by parental love in our society (also appropriately shown by Plan Key:
the origins of the building itself). The nappy and baby set which lie within the
8 9 1,2,3: Ancient Egypt
large ‘vetrina’ convey a subjective meaning of emotional attachment. This story 4 5
4 4: Graeco-Roman and Early Coptic
was dictated by Sahar Ibrahim during the 2-hour conversation and, without her
emotional and enthusiastic input, the piece loses part of its warmth and gleam. [3] 1 2 3 7 11 10 5. Coptic
6. Coptic and Ayyubid
6 7. Fayuum and Tulunid
8. Fatimid
Picture 9. Imported Islamic Textile and Kiswa
10. Mamluk
Ground Floor Plan First Floor Plan 11. Ottoman and Muhamed Ali
24 3. Sahar Ibrahim, personal communication, March 9, 2018 (courtesy: Museum Booklet) (courtesy: Museum Booklet) 25
 As the journey through the history of Egyptian textiles draws a close,
visitors recollect the impressions of the museum back in the vibrant Al-
Muezz street. A breath of fresh air away from the humid and closed building
replenishes visitors appetite for the remaining journey through Al-Muezz.
To put it simply, the building was purposefully built to host delicate textiles centuries
old. The building, once equipped with a flowing breeze passing through the large water
hall windows, over the cool “marmar” clad water basins and up through the now closed
“shokshikha”, fills up with trapped humid air, threatening both the safe keeping of the
textiles and the comfort of visitors. Ibrahim mentiones the need for regular maintenance
of the building’s AC system, a call which falls upon deaf ears, conceivably a reflection of
Egyptian culture today. The lack of respect and appreciation of any cultural items not
found in a pharaonic tomb or called a pyramid is evident to onlookers, Ibrahim asserts.
Beyond the inappropriate architecture, museums play a big role in shaping
the citizenship and identity of society, “the museum’s role in the social process
of citizenship” is vital. [4] To successfully represent a national identity, McClean argues
that the curating process should target a diverse representation of society. The power and
richness of most pieces on display point to a misrepresented history, with the communities
of lower social classes rarely represented, particularly in the Islamic exhibits. Along with
the lack of certain social classes, the incomplete stories, told only through descriptive
plaques and information boards, meant that only part of the message behind the artifact
is transmitted. The Kiswa, for example, might be lauded for its holy significance and
opulent decorative threads. Yet, the story behind the ceremonial journey from Cairo to
Mecca, headed by the police deputy and King at the time, holds just as much significance
in representing the Egyptian cultural identity. Pieces such as the Kiswa, the red carpet
and the Ancient Egyptian textiles may represent a sense of pride to Egyptians, but
it is perhaps their intricate and complex level of details which best represents Egypt.
4. McLean, F. (2005). Museums and National Identity [Editorial].
26
The museum also conveys a strong pious and humble identity in the pale and pure white
linen used by the Ancient Egyptians, the posture of the Graeco-Roman sculptures,
Coptic pieces and the modest pieces in certain Islamic eras. Epitomizing this piety is
a fabric worn by the Mamluk Amir , “the world is but an hour” written on the sleeve.
Overall, the museum conveyed feelings which could be used in an attempt to define
an Egyptian identity. The power or richness of the textiles on display depict an image
of Egypt’s authoritarian regimes, with power regularly found to be placed in the
hands of one supreme leader. The idea of compassion and love is also rooted to the
Mahmal Ceremony Egyptian culture, particularly on a paternal level. Gatherings, as seen in the Mahmal
(courtesy: youm7.com) ceremony, also contribute to the overall image of Egyptian identity. Adding to that
were the pieces showing the pious and humble side of Egyptians, a nation known as Coptic textiles (courtesy:
a ‘religious one in its nature’. Finally, the complexity of the pieces on show elaborate Facebook/Egyptian-Textile-Museum)
the Egyptians obssesion with details; generally, a society which can be very critical.
All these feelings were only successfully established due to the excellent efforts of
Sahar Ibrahim in explaining the story of each piece. The museum fails to tell these
stories in a ‘complete’ manner through the use of its current display tools. Models of
textile craftsmen at work were found on the second floor on three ocassions, and these
helped provide a more holistic vision of the story behind the piece on display. Efforts
could be made to provide an audio and visual guide in the museum, with extensive
information regarding each piece. Although, as we conclude, the conversation with
Sahar Ibrahim does bring up one last trait found in Egyptian culture, and which
brought about the whole museum experience; the power of human interaction.
Right: Textile found in Tutankamun chamber
(courtesy: Facebook/Egyptian-Textile-Museum)
References:
1. Sahar Ibrahim, personal communication, March 9, 2018
2. Krasno, J. E., & LaPides, S. (2015). Personality, political leadership, and decision making: A global per-
spective. Santa Barbara, CA: Praeger, an Imprint of ABC-CLIO, LLC.
Boards telling a story 3. McLean, F. (2005). Museums and National Identity [Editorial].
27
 Museum of Modern
Egyptian Art
(GHADA ASHRAF AND NOHA GHATWARY) Picture

The opera house is a landmark place , where many of us went there many times but not
most of us have the chance to enter the museum, however the location of the museum
of “Egyptian modern art” in a very attractive place (Image_01)and the paths from the
entrance till museum have sculptures until you reach the hall in front of the museum
(image_02), so may be the reason of we didn’t enter because the opening time is not aligned
with the opera or may be there is no signs to go there. The museum has a great entrance,
the building has a rectangular façade, with four columns bounding three large ornamental Picture
windows. It has 3 large rectangular doors: the main entrance, accessible via a ramp and
two flights of granite stairs. Is flanked by two towers. Visitors can enter the museum by the
door on the left and exit from the door in the right, where a small gift shop selling art prints

Picture of your Museum and publications. and the exterior hall in the left and the right have many sculpture which
make u feel as if u get inside the museum or give the feeling that u want to enter inside to
continue watching the art. Inside the entrance hall, all paneled in marble; its multi- leveled
structure has plat forms for art display and other where people can sit for response and con-
templation.(image_03)

Picture
Refrences
28 THE BOOK OF MUSEUM OF MODERN EGYPTIAN ART
http://www.walycenter.org/ar/egyptian-architects 29
 History:
As we know that the art work have been moved from many palaces and museum before reach-
ing to the opera house, briefly 1920 was few arts work from Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil in
small hall of fine art lovers society based in Tigeran place in Ibrahim pasha street (Now Gom-
hourya street) then in 1927, moved to old wax museum which had been established by Fouad
Abdel Malik ( Now 26 July).in the period from 1920 to 1935 the number of art works acquired
by museum reached 51 paintings by Egyptian artists , three of these by the artist Mahmoud
Moktar. The museum next home was the mansion of count Zugheib next to Huda Shaarawi’s
mansion at 4 Qasr el Nile Street, in 1963 the museum closed down. In 1966, museum moved
to temporary home at Ismail Aboul-Fatouh villa in Finney square in Dokki. In 1983, Place 3
(Great Palace) in the grounds of new Cairo opera house, was earmarked as the new site for the
museum of modern art. (Image_04) (Ahmed Nour, 2005)
the museum of “Egyptian modern art”, Designed in the neo-Islamic style mixed with the art
deco elements popular in Europe at the time.it was such an impressive architectural achieve-
ment that king Fouad wanted it to bear his name. so, he named the chosen hall of the museum
el Saraya El Koubra (Great palace) and made plans for its host cultural, artistic and museum
events and activities, the same as British and French royalty. (image_05) (Ahmed Nour, 2005)
Entry:
By entering the hall, you start to see an open round space and the walls are full of painting and
in the center sculptures. you could directly see the center of the hall as it is emphasized through
main sculpture and double Hight with a natural light through windows in the central dome of
the ceiling. The history of the museum and the scale of the building let you imagine that you
will see many halls, but unfortunately only the ground hall is opened, as all the floors and other
halls in the ground floor are closed for renovation. there will be new circulation and they will
add some new halls: Dimensions, a new hall for dialogue, audiovisual Hall and Artistic societ-
ies hall. By adding this hall, the museum name will be more related to the new art or modern
art, the new halls are taking in consideration all the new aspects of art. (Ahmed Nour, 2005)
Refrences
THE BOOK OF MUSEUM OF MODERN EGYPTIAN ART
http://www.walycenter.org/ar/egyptian-architects
30
MATERIAL: The museum floor is marble have no pattern and the walls are white and only few
details in the capital of the columns. the handrail of the upper floor was wooden with Islamic
pattern. the central dome is the most detailing feature inside the museum having many details
Picture in wood and small opening inside for lighting. Thinking for the material used inside the mu-
Picture
seum and however that the exterior has some of details but the interior is considered as simple
design in order to focuses on the painting and sculptures only and we think that this is a good
point in designing a museum. (image_06) (Ahmed Nour, 2005)
CIRCULATION: The journey start by entering the main hall there is a very big art work of
Mahmoud said, this work called (The city) one of the most important painting in the museum
(image_07) and by talking to the people who work there, they said that this is the only painting
that doesn’t change their location from 1983. The circulation of the museum is too clear to
Picture see all paintings and sculpture. The circulation is circular the walls having the painting and by Picture
walking through the paths in a radical way, you see the sculpture from all sides. The circulation
of the museum makes you see all painting and art work without distortion. (Ahmed Nour,
2005)
ART WORK & SCULPTURE: The way of showing the painting was separated to zones, we could
see them as seven zones (image_08). Starting from right side after the reception desk there
is an open room single Hight. After leaving this open room and start walking in through the
path to the second zone, there is a wall having different era of paintings and moving to the
third zone an open corner collecting a different topic of painting and reaching the center or the
Picture fourth zone, there is a high wall having a timeline or different stories of Egypt like: marriage, Picture
evolution, industry city, birth, and christen lady (image_09) and the mirror of this zones in the
left side. (Ahmed Nour, 2005)
LIGHTING: The lighting of the painting is artificial lighting with spot direct to the painting,
and the sculpture are natural light from the dome. (Image_10)
CONCLUSION: The Egyptian Museum of Modern Art now displays more than 10,000 paintings
and sculptures that represent the development of the Egyptian art movement from the pioneers
of the early 20th century to the contemporary art trends. The location and representing way of
art is so premium, in addition to the interesting journey. The museum is need is to make more
Picture advertising and making more events that attract the users. Picture
Refrences
Ahmed Nour, Ahmed Fouad, Helmy Toni, Moustafa El Razaz, Mohsen Shaalan. 2005. Museum of Egyptian Modern Art.
31
 Picture of your Museum

32 33
 Egyption Museum
(Ahmed Salah & Ahmed Essam)

The current museum building in

the heart of Cairo facade is in French
style with circular motifs, decorated
with marble paintings of the most im-
portant and famous archaeologists in
the world. On the sides of the wooden
entrance door are two large stone stat-
ues of two Roman-style masters, with
pharaonic headings. The interior of
the building It contains the effects of
ancient Egyptian art in the design of
its rooms and interior rooms. The en-
trance to the halls simulates the tomb
of the Egyptian temples, and the rooms
resemble the temple of Edfu.
Egyption museum contain the most
Ground floor plan Firtst floor plan
important pieces from the greatest
civilization in the history .pieces from
more than 5000 years. from this Egyp- The reality is alittle bit different .first we will talk about Egyptian museum scenario and circulation. The sequence in the
tion museum one of the most import- ground floor is Time sequence as time line start from The Foundation Age Group (Families I and II), Old kingdom Collection,
Egyptian museum locate in Eltahrir square in heart of Cairo also near the Nile ant museum in the world. middle kingdom collection,… to Greek and roman period. The first floor is different there isn’t clear scenario or circulation se-
River .There is many access to the museum one of the main access point is the under- quence . the second floor contain a collection of Funeral monuments, Papyrus leaves , Daily life tools, and also there is the most
ground . important pieces in the museum the royal mummies and king Tutankhamun tomp.
Egyptian museum Is one of the world’s largest museum of people’s civilization. It is
the first museum in Egypt designed and implemented to be a museum.
34 35
 Second we will talk about display exhibits in the Egyptian museum. The main problem
of Egyptian museum is the huge number of items which is more than 120,000 item in the
museum which doesn’t fit the building. This make the display is disordered and the muse-
um is closer to be the storage not a museum. In this sketch we can see one of the main halls
of middle kingdom in the ground floor there isn’t clear path or sequence in the display area
the plan is very crowd the items in the plan displayed random there is some items cover
other items as we can see in this photos.
There is also disorder in the exhibits sizes and orientation except in some halls the
display was good like papyrus hall in the first floor. The items in the Egyptian museum is
unique and the display of this items must show the greatness of item which isn’t achieved
in the museum.
36
Finally we will talk about the display tools in Egyptian museum. One of the most im-
portant tools is the text which used to describe every piece. In Egyptian museums the text
is not enough for the most of pieces. In Egyptian museum you need a guide to describe ev-
erything to just understand the importance and uniqueness of every piece in the museum.
One of the tools is lighting which isn’t used well is Egyptian museum. There is lots of pieces
need special lights to achieve the best way of presentation.
One of the tools which used in Egyptian museum is photos which didn’t used well too.
in Akhenaten hall (as shown in photo) the most important side the first site we see on the
hall there is a bad quality printed banner present one of the pieces in the same hall. the
bad guality printed photos or banner isn’t only in this hall it was in many other halls in the
museum.
Egyptian museum is representing Egypt very well in this sentence (The greatness of the
past and disorder of the present).
37
 Refrences
Ministry of Planning, Follow - up and Administrative Reform,2018, Egyptian muse-
um. http://www.cairo.gov.eg/art/DispArt.aspx?ID=4
Dirk van der Plas & Mohamed Saleh, 2016, The global Egyptian museum. http://www.
globalegyptianmuseum.org/?lan=A
Ola Al-hazak, 2016, Egyptian Museum .. Egyptian story dazzled the world.
https://www.egynews.net
Ali,M.S and Swarozan, H. Egyptian Museum .1st ed. Egypt: Cairo.
Shamiaa, H. 2017. The Great Egyptian Museum .. Grants and effects attested by Ram-
ses II.
http://www.soutalomma.com/Article/555317/

38 39
 Mahmoud Mokhtar Museum
Power....Dignity
(Nada Farrag & Anne Abdel Sayed)

Mahmoud Mokhatar, a modern Egyptian art pioneer born in 1891 in Tunbarah

near, al-Mahallah al-Kubra (Fig 1). He attended the school of fine arts, graduated in
1912 and travelled to Paris. The special thing about his designs is that they follow
the “Neo-Pharaonic” style. His most famous sculpture was the “Egypt Awakening”
shown in figure 2 which now occupies the university square in Giza. It is among the
statues that Mokhtar made to express the national identity of Egypt. This was all part
of Mokhtar’s political role where he participated in demonstrations for independence
and was influential. (Gabr, Ali Labib. 1998)
Fig (1) : Photo taken of Mahmoud Mokhtar

Picture of your Museum

http://www.encyclopedia.mathaf.org.qa/en/bios/Pages/Mah-
moud-Mokhtar-.aspxf
Mahmoud Mokhtar is referred to as the father of modern Egyptian sculpture due to
his great impact, therefore after his early death in 1934 of Leukemia, a museum was
built for his artworks that were collected from his friends. The latest museum built for
him is the design of the great architect Ramsis WissaWassef who wanted to design a
museum that articulated the national identity architecturally due to the impact and
the influence that Mokhtar made. (Gabr, Ali Labib. 1998)

Mahmoud Mokhtar museum was built from 60 years and was opened in 1962. It
contains 85 of Mokhtar’s masterpieces made of stone, basalt, bronze, granite, marble
and plaster including his most famous sculptures: the Khamaseen Wind and The Nile
Bride. The museum is located in the Zamalek Island, between the Opera and El Ahly
sports club and a 10 minutes’ walk from the Opera metro station. (Gabr, Ali Labib. 1998)

Gabr, Ali Labib. (1998) Neo Pharaonic Architecture in Cairo: A Western Legacy. In Medina Premier Issue:
Architecture, Interiors & Fine Arts. British Virgin Islands: Medina Magazine, 44 - 72.
40 Retrieved March 2018 from: https://archnet.org/system/publications/contents/3360/original/DPC1042.
Fig (2) : “Egypt Awakening” Sculpture 41
http://www.marefa.org
 The exterior of the museum (refer to figure 3) is a temple like to give a sense of the
Neo-Pharaonic style with its very plain and powerful facades and the massive col-
umns that decorated the elevation. This gives the visitor a dramatic sense of “power
and dignity” which represents a mix between the modern and pharaonic elements
reflected inside the museum. The architect designed the musuem as a sculpture itself
with the rooms carved inside it. (Seggerman, Alexandra Dika, 2014)
The entrance of the museum is from the bridge that is reached from the street to the
first floor of the museum (Fig 4). The first statue seen on entering the museum is a
peasant woman holding a jug on her head (Figure 6). It sends the message that the
Egyptian women represent the modern Egyptian identity presented in the museum.
Behind this statue, “Isis Room” (1) is located with a statue of Isis as in figure 5 which
has a different posture than the symmetrical postures presented by the pharaohs.
It represents the ancient Egyptian identity. (Seggerman, Alexandra Dika, 2014)
Fig (5) : The Isis Statue Fig (6) : The Peasant woman Statue
Seggerman, Alexandra Dika(2014)Mahmoud Mukhtar: ‘The first sculptor from the land of sculp-
ture’,World Art,4:1,27-46.
42 Retrieved March 2018 from:10.1080/21500894.2014.893811
Fig (3) : Exterior of Mahmoud Mokhtar Musuem
Picture
Fig (4) : First floor plan of Mahmoud Mokhtar
Musuem
The Next room is the “bronze room” (2) which represents the first statues made by
Mokhtar in bronze. They have a lot of details which differed from Mokhtar’s styles.
They prove that Mokhtar was capable of sculpturing all kinds of statues. These statues
show the powerful anatomy and details of expressions like the statue of the head of
the black woman which showed the details of her face from the cresses in her skin to
the wrinkles in her forehead (Fig 7) (Seggerman, Alexandra Dika, 2014)
Next room is “the figures room” (3) , they represented the characters that influenced
Mokhtar’s life, including his teachers, friends and public figures (Fig 9). Followed this
room is the “Saad Zakhlol room” (4) which included statues of Saad Zakhlol who
was a great political public figure at that time and inspired Mokhtar’s political moves,
therefore a whole room was dedicated to him. (Seggerman, Alexandra Dika, 2014)
The following and the last room in the first floor is the “Khamasin room” (5) which
contained his most famous sculpture of the woman moving against the khamasin Fig (7): Bronze Fig (8): Khamasin
wind (Fig 8), it represented the strength of the peasant woman therefore presenting Nigger woman head Statue
the Egyptian identity of women as strong and powerful. (Seggerman, Alexandra Dika, 2014)
Picture
Seggerman, Alexandra Dika(2014)Mahmoud Mukhtar: ‘The first sculptor from the land of sculp- Fig (9) : The Figures Room
ture’,World Art,4:1,27-46.
Retrieved March 2018 from:10.1080/21500894.2014.893811 43
 Using the stairs and reaching the ground floor (Fig 10), the first thing to notice is the
tomb (1) of Mokhtar which is located in a small room with tiny windows. Followed
by the largest and most important room called the “women peasant room” (2)(Fig
11) it contains statues of peasant women in different positions and ages, some taking
water out of the Nile, others sleeping, some carrying bowls on their heads..etc. as to
represent the everyday life of women. Mokhtar’s focus on the peasant women is due
to his inspiration by their strength and power which made them a symbol in repre-
senting the modern Egypt as seen by Mokhtar. (Seggerman, Alexandra Dika, 2014)
Next is the “Murals room” (3) which consisted of wall carvings of pharaonic periods
like those made by the pharaohs therefore representing the Egyptian pharos period.
Lastly is the “documents room” (4) which contains Mokhtar’s personal belongings
including his chairs, coat, the mask made on his face and hand after his death and
photos of him. (Seggerman, Alexandra Dika, 2014)
Seggerman, Alexandra Dika(2014)Mahmoud Mukhtar: ‘The first sculptor from the land of sculp-
ture’,World Art,4:1,27-46.
44 Retrieved March 2018 from:10.1080/21500894.2014.893811
The sculptures in the museum are displayed with spot lights as shown in figure 12,
with discreet natural light. This gives a dramatic and modern mood to the gallery
spaces, on the contrary to the plain elevation which resembles the pharaonic style.
Picture (Seggerman, Alexandra Dika, 2014)
The museum therefore is considered a representation of both the pharaonic and the
modern Egyptian identity from its design to the sculptures and the influential role
of Mahmoud Mokhtar in Egypt. On the other hand the tags under the statues just
had the name of the sculpture without any description, therefore anyone who enters
the museum without a previous research or a tour guide with him will not be able to
understand the message behind each sculpture. Lastly, data show presentations can be
Picture very beneficial if used to present the museum in the language of the 21st century.
Mahmoud Mokhtar’s museum well represents the pioneer and God father of modern
Fig (10) : Ground floor plan of Mahmoud art and the great works of RamsisWissaWassef in delivering the message of “power Fig (12) : A peasant statue from the
Mokhtar Musuem and dignity” of Egypt. The museum is considered a masterpiece and forms a unique bronze room
experience for the visitor. (Seggerman, Alexandra Dika, 2014)
Picture
Fig (13) : An abstract hand-drawn sketch representing Mahmoud Mokhtar.
Picture
Fig (11) :Peasant women’s room
Seggerman, Alexandra Dika(2014)Mahmoud Mukhtar: ‘The first sculptor from the land of sculp-
ture’,World Art,4:1,27-46.
Retrieved March 2018 from:10.1080/21500894.2014.893811 45
 The Postal Museum
At Attba Square, Cairo
(Marina Atef Faheem-Mahmoud Moussa)
The Abandoned-Hidden Treasure
Figure 1: Panoramic view for El Ataba Sqaure (picture captured & Edited by: Author, 2018)

The Egyptian post office museum, a treasure which is hidden and abandoned. An unknown museum to
most of the Egyptians. The museum was established by King Fouad in February 1934 and was opened to the
public in 1940. The museum is on the second floor at the Central Post Office. During King Fouad’s era (the
1930s), new printing techniques were introduced and the first Arabic stamp was both made and printed in
Egypt. In addition to a great development found in all the postal services and transportation methods found
in that era. Historians claim that Fouad was an enthusiastic stamp collector and most of the European stamps Figure 2: picture of
existing today at the museum were actually from his private collection. It is said that one of the main rea- King Fouad I (library of
congress,photographs
son King Fouad decided to establish a postal museum is making sure that history will not be stolen. division, accessed 2018)
The Museum is located in the Attba Squre,
downtown Cairo Egypt. The museum is found
on the second floor of the Central Post Office of
Egypt. The building has two main entrances; the
museum is found in the administrate section of
the building. For Accessibility the museum in
in front of the Azhar Bridge, Azhar Tunnel and
Figure 3, 4 & 5: Google Earth Images showing the location of the Postal Museum in Attaba, Cairo
(maps exported in 2018 from, http://earth.Google.com ) near the Atbba metro station. The main streets
surrounding the museum are 26th of July , El
Gomherya, Klot Bek and Adly Steets. The mu-
seum is also located whithin plenty of land-
marks; as the Azbakeya Park, Azbakeya Book
Market, Central Post Office, Opera Garage,
Attba Fire Station, Tiring Building, Ibrahim
46 Figure 7: Interior Panoramic view for the exibition hall in the Postal Museum (picture captured & Edited by: Basha Statue and The Egyptian High Court. 47
Author, 2018)
 Looking through the history of the Postal Service in Egypt,
it starts since the Pharaonic Age coming to nowadays. The
postal service during the Pharaonic times was discovered on
the monuments found which described the relation between
the Egyptian kings and the neighboring countries during
that time. In addition to a discovered document sent by a
scribe to his son talking about the importance of the writing.
Most probably, the postal service in that era was held by pe-
destrian postmen who travelled along the banks of the Nile.
Figure 7, 8, 9 & 10: Images showing some exhibited maquettes for the postmen at differ-
ent eras; Islamic, Khedevian & Pharaonic (picture captured by: Author, 2018)
Coming to both the Platonic and Roman Era in Egypt, the
postal service was divided in two categories. The first is the
express post; which carries the letters of the kings and the
most important people and this was done on horseback. The
second is the ordinary post; which carried letters for ordinary
people and this was done through pedestrian postmen. Such
systems continued during the early days of the Islamic era.
Figure 11 & 12: Images showing some exhibited maquettes for the postmen at the Khede-
48 vian era & there bags (picture captured by: Author, 2018)
Since the start of the Arab era
till the modern age, It is said that
the Caliphate Mo’awia Bin Abi
Sufian is the first to introduce a
Figure 13: pedestrian post man maquette
(picture captured by: Author, 2018) postal system during Islamic rule.
Messages were carried by horses which were changed at des-
ignated stops equally apart, which is equivalent to the ex-
press post found before. While the ordinary post was carried
by camels with known stops. After the Egypt became inde-
pendent from the Caliphate rule, the new rulers established
a new system depending on the postmen to carry the mail.
Figure 14, 15, 16 & 17: Images showing the various mails’ deleviring means displyed;
carrets, bikes, post boxes & model for the post office (picture captured by: Author, 2018)
Starting from the rule of the Khedive Ismail, he decided that the
postal service in Egypt must become a public utility to the peo-
ple. So he purchased the private European company, and this
was the start of the new administrative work of the Egyptian Post
Department. This Department was found in Alexandria due to
the city’s trade activities found there until King Fouad’s role
when he transferred it to Cairo in Attba’s squre. (El Akkad, 2016)
Figure 18, 19, 20 & 21: Images showing the various mails’ deleviring means; Camel,
motor bikes, birds & bikes (picture captured by: Author, 2018)
Coming to nowadays, the postal service in Egypt is not frequent-
ly used, due to the rise of technology. The appearance of Twitter,
Facebook, email and many other digital tools made communi-
cation more easy and immediate than using any post service.
The museum is found in the second floor of the central post
office with 543 square meters area. The museum contains more
than 1254 exhibits divided into ten different sections that oc-
casionally overlap. The sections are: Historical section, postal
equipment section, Stamps section, Section for different Postal
Buildings, Transportation methods section, a sections for cos- Figure 26, 27, 28 & 29: Images showing the approach to the museum,(picture captured by:
tumes all through history, Maps and Statistics section, air mails Author, 2018)
section, a section documenting all the historical conferences
and finally a section talking about the Foreign mail. The mu-
seum is a big hall with a very big red carpet. The hall is divid-
ed with very large columns which makes the hall really narrow
to navigate with very large showcases. The museum contains
a lot of postal exhibits including artifacts, pictures, uniforms, Figure 30 31, 32 & 33: Images showing the approach to the museum,(picture captured by:
Author, 2018)
post boxes, old envelopes and stamps, clothes, tools, maps venders sitting in front of the building. The main building had
showing the delivery routes, statistical information, as well as two main doors, the first where most of the people enter and
wooden models of the postal vehicles, bicycles and airplanes. queues for post services and the other which lead to the admin-
istrative office. A ticked is sold at the busy post office to enter
the museum in the administrative part of the building. Once I
entered the building there was two security men there, the first
said that there was no museum here and the other didn’t be-
lieve that I wanted to visit the museum and he decided to buy
me the ticket. He guided me all through the administrative
Figure 22, 23, 24 & 25: Images showing various ways of displaying used in the museum building to the second floor where a statue of the King Fouad
,(picture captured by: Author, 2018) was there. All lights were on and all people ran around as
Coming to reality after reading about the museum and read- there was a visitor for the museum for the first time since long.
ing about the postal history in Egypt, I decided to go and
visit it. Few meters away from the Opera parking garage and
the Attba Metro Station, the Egyptian Post Office Museum is
hidden on the second floor of Cairo’s Postal Office Building.
Figure 34, 35, 36 & 37: Images showing some of the exhibit sculptures, maquettes and post
The main post office is surrounded by heavy traffic and street boxes ,(picture captured by: Author, 2018) 49
 From my own point of view, the postal museum in Egypt is really considered to be an abandoned and hidden treasure. “They
started renovating the building before the revolution, the government told us it should be completed in a year’s time, but now it just seems
like it’s been frozen in time.” as said by Mohamed al-Bakry, the museum’s supervisor in an interview. He also added that “No-
body really comes here anymore, 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.” (Viney, 2011). Thats why this museum is considered to be Hidden from the peo-
ple and abanded because no one cares about it and it undergeos no maintance or cleaning or even update in the showcase.

Figure 38 & 39: Images showing a model of the transportation method during the Islamic era Figure 40 & 41: Images showing the change in the labels direction for two
with a broken part and with the label thrown behind, (picture captured by: Author, 2018) different sectors (picture captured by: Author, 2018)

Figure 42 & 43: Images showing how things are stored under the showcase and the Figure 44, 45 & 46: Images showing the large luxories Red carpet found in the hall-way, (pic-
broken fan, (picture captured by: Author, 2018) ture captured by: Author, 2018)
Refrences:
Egyptian Post Office Museum. (n.d.).
El Akkad, F. (2016, April 13). Post Office Museum Is Ataba’s Hidden Treasure. Egypt Today .
Lababidi, L. (2008) Cairo, The Family Guid, 4th edition
History of Postal Services in Egypt, Bibliotheca Alexandria .
50 Viney, S. (2011, May 18). Egypt’s Museums: The Postal Museum presents a romantic history of letter sending. 51
 Ramses Wissa Wassef Art center
(Laila Ashraf )

Ramses Wissa Wassef Background

Ramses Wissa Wassif was an Egyptian architect that taught both history of art and ar-
chitecture , he was born on November 1911 and got educated in Cairo . He complet-
ed his education in architectural studies at L’Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. In 1936,
he returned to Egypt and wanted to start architectural department at the College
of Fine Arts- Cairo in 1938 and he was the head of the department till his death in
1974. His works were unique as he designed buildings in vernacular style, using tradi-
Picture
tional materials. (Nosshi, 2008).

Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Center, Harania

Picture of your Museum The Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Center is considered one of the unique museum or
center in Egypt as all the processes of producing tapestry weaving are made inside
the center which is self sufficient. He has been awarded Aga Khan award in 1983 for
the Art center in Harania. Wassif art center was founded in 1952 as it includes tapes-
try workshops, gallery and the Habib Georgi sculpture museum and an agricultural Picture
land to use its products in the tapestry process. Wassef Art center is located on Harra-
nia Village Sakkara Road, El Haram Giza Governorate, near the pyrimads (Ramses
Wissa Wassef l Archnet).
Ramses Wassef inspired by early Egyptian life when he built the Art center although
it was the time for modern architecture revolution not only in the architecture design
, but also in the method of producing the art works. Now Wassef Art Center, is con-
trolled by his daughters and the family. (Nosshi, 2008)
Picture
Refrences
Nosshi, M. I. (2008). Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Center- A Journey in Creativity. Retrieved 03 17, 2018, from Ramses Wissa Wassef Art Center
52 : http://www.wissawassef.com/
 Ramses Wissa Wassef l Archnet. (n.d.). Retrieved 03 17, 2018, from Ramses Wissa Wassef: https://archnet.org/authorities/356 53
 Journey in Creativity
A journey in creativity started with meeting a member of the family who was the
guide through the whole journey. The guide Mr. Alfonse has explained the concept
of Wissa Wassef which was that he believed that every one can be creative and he
wanted to teach the uneducated children a craft. This is one of the reasons that made
Wissa Wassef learn how to make wool and cotton tapestry to be able to teach the
kids. Mr. Alfonse also added that visiting the center is for free to continue Wissa
Wassef ’s concept that art should be for everyone.
First there were workshops (1) on the right of the entrance, that have an open cor-
ridor that leads to small rooms with Nubian Styles domes and vaults which end up
with open court. Each room is suitable for two workers. Through the journey in the
workshops, I noticed that the workers make the wool and cotton tapestry without
any draft drawings. So I asked Mr. Alfonse: how do the workers know the drawing or
color?. He answered : that all the tapestry pieces from the worker’s imagination, they
just talk with the one of the family member before they start about the topic of the
54
Then I headed to the tapestry museum (2) that is next to the workshops (1). The
entrance of the tapestry museum starts with rectangular hall that is divided into cor-
ridor with three small zones for displaying the tapestry pieces(A) . First zone (A1) has
the Aga-Khan Award, Ramses Wissa Wassef picture and his small piece of tapestry.
The other two zones (A2) were used to display the small tapestry pieces, which leads
to the sale area and storage room (D) . Next to this rectangular hall(B), there is anoth-
er big hall that is used to display the large master pieces of the tapestries. In the mid-
dle of the big hall there is an entrance for small room that is used to display the Batik
(C) . The early Egyptian life affected the tapestry art in which all the master pieces
Picture in the big hall tell the stories of daily life, farm life, and nature life. Before ending the Picture
journey in the museum, Mr. Alfonse showed me a picture of tapestry that shows the
process of dying the wool.
Picture
Refrences
55
 The third experience in the journey was in the outdoor agricultural land in which
Mr. Alfonse showed me the plants that they used to dye the wool and explain to
me the process, which is that they dry the roots of the plants ,boiled them after
that leave the wool in it and then they hang the wool until it dries. Through the
outdoor journey Mr. Alfonse showed me the chicken place which is also made
of vaults. So he told me its story, as at the beginning Ramses Wissa Wassef used
the help of Nubian workers to build the center in Nubian style but later he taught
children to build the chicken place with the same technique to make this style
sustainable.
Picture
56
The last part in the journey was in the sculpture museum (Habib Georgi) (3), which
is located on the left from the entrance. This museum has drowned before and was
reconstructed with the same technique by Ramses’s grandchild. This museum was
designed to suit the sculpture’s style. The sculptures are made to show the people’s
natural daily life, so the museum is made of sand flooring and natural materials with
the same sense of sculpture and sand to refer to earth and early Egyptian life. All the
Art Center village, is made of dome and vaults to assure that it is sustainable and
environment friendly. All the buildings are designed with openings and holes in the
vaults and domes to allow natural lighting to enter the building, and the buildings
ventilation is also perfectly made. Picture
In my opinion, the sun lighting that is spotted on a specific sculpture during the day
should show the activity that is happening at the same time. And the Ramses Wissa
Wassef Art Center represents the early Egyptian life through designing the buildings
and making all the process of art from the earth and nature.
Refrences
57
 Supervised By:

Dr. Shaimaa Ashour

Ph.D in Architectural Engineering.

Cairo University.
Assistant Professor at Arab Academy
for Science, Technology & Maritime
Transport.

Author of the book “An Overview of

Pioneer Egyptian Architects during
the Liberal Era (1919-1952)”
A country that has few museums is both materially poor and spiritually poor...
Museums, like theaters and libraries, are means to freedom.
Wendy Beckett

60 61
 “The best introduction to art is to stroll through a museum. The
more art you see, the more you’ll learn to define your own taste.”
Jeanne Frank

62