Museums -- Downtown Cairo
Egyptian Museum
(The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities)
Founded in 1858 by the great French archaeologist Auguste Mariette, who was buried in the museum grounds. The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities contains the world's greatest collection of Pharaonic art and artifacts, including the treasures of Tutankhamen (pictured).
Tahrir Square
Hours: Saturday to Thursday 9.00am-4.00pm, Friday 9.00am-11.15am/1.30-4.00pm
Ramadan Hours: Daily 9.00am-11.15am/1.30-3.00pm
Admission: fees apply; there are special fees for students
Camera Permit: L.E. 10.00 (flashes and tripods prohibited)
Ethnological Museum
The museum exhibits village crafts, costumes, equipment and other items are on display.
109 Kasr El Aini
(just south of the American University campus)
Tel: 3545350
Hours: Daily except Friday and official holidays 9.00am-1.00pm
Admission: Free
Beit El Sennari
Housed in a traditional Islamic house, this museum contains an exhibition of applied arts from the Pharaonic period to the present day, including textiles, ceramics, batik, glassware, silk-screening, etc. The work of eminent modern Egyptian craftsmen, including textiles by Kamis Shehata, pottery by Kamal Ebeid and sculpture by Anwar Abdel Mawla is also featured.
Harret Monge
(just south of Saneyya Secondary School for Girls)
Tel: 938565
Hours: Daily except Friday 9.00am-2.00pm
Mostafa Kamel Museum
The tomb and personal belongings of the Egyptian nationalist leader are on display here.
Midan Salahud'din
Tel: 919943
Hours: Daily 9.00am-1.00pm
Museums -- Zamalek
Mahmoud Khalil Museum
1 Sharia Sheikh Marsafy
(opposite Gezira Club on the south side of the Marriott Hotel)
This excellent collection of 19th and 20th century art, including Rodin sculptures and French impressionist paintings Monet, Gauguin, Van Gogh, Toulouse Latrec and Pissaro, among others, as well as contemporary Egyptian art and ceramics, is housed in one of the properties once belonging to the royal family of Egypt. The Museum is named after Mohammed Mahmoud Khalil, who served as president of the Friends of the Arts Society in 1940.
Hours: Daily 9.00am-2.00pm
Admission: fees apply; there are special fees for students.
Museums -- Gezira
Museum of Modern Art
The tomb and personal belongings of the Egyptian nationalist leader are on display here.
This collection represents works of 20th century Egyptian artists from 1908 and features regularly changing exhibitions of contemporary artists.
Cairo Opera House complex
Hours: Daily except Mondays 10.00am-1.00pm/5.00-9.00pm
Friday 10.00am-12.00pm
Admission: fees apply
Mukhtar Museum (National Centre for Fine Arts)
This museum is dedicated to the work of sculptor Mahmoud Mukhtar (1891-1934) who is best remembered for several nationalistic monuments he designed and sculpted. The Museum which was designed by the late traditional Egyptian architect and tapestry weaver Ramses Wissa Wassef, contains bronze and marble sculptors by the artist, whose tomb is in the basement.
Near Qal'aa Bridge, Gezira
Tel: 340-5198
Hours: Tuesday to Sunday 10.00am-1.00pm/5.00-9.00pm
Admission: fees apply
Gezira Museum & Museum of Egyptian Civilization
The Gezira Museum contains a vast collection of objets d'art that was accumulated by the Egyptian royal family. The adjacent Museum of Egyptian Civilization contains displays chronicling Egyptian history from ancient to modern times.
Gezira Exhibition Grounds, Agricultural Pavilion
Tel: 340-5198
Museums -- Dokki
Agricultural Museum & Cotton Museum
The Agricultural Museum features a variety of displays about farming practices in Egypt from ancient times to the present day. The Cotton Museum presents exhibits and information about Egypt's most famous product.
Off Sharia Wizarat Az-Zira'a
beside the 6th October overpass
Tel: 360-8682
Hours: Daily except Monday 9.00am-2.00pm
Admission: fees apply
Museums -- Giza
Dr. Rajab's Papyrus Institute
Dr. Rajab, a former Egyptian ambassador, pioneered the revival of papyrus (pictured) making which had disappeared in the 10th century and holds the invention patent for the making of papyrus issued by the Egyptian Ministry of National Research. From all reports it began for Dr. Rajab as a rather academic hobby and turned into a bonanza with the pop-Egyptology craze. To cash in, Dr. Rajab opened up retail outlets all over Egypt and established his Papyrus Institute with an exhibition showing the stages of papyrus making and a history of papyrus with a papyrus emporium.
Tel: 989476
Hours: Daily 9.00am-7.00pm
Admission: Free
Museums -- Ataba
Post Office Museum
This is an exhibition tracing the history of Egypt's postal system and including an impressive stamp collection and other postal paraphernalia.
Central Post Office, 2nd Floor, Ataba Square
Tel: 390-9686
Hours: Daily except Friday 9.00am-1.00pm
Admission: fees apply
Museums -- Heliopolis
Housed in a cylindrical building, this is a visual glorification of the Sadat's 1973 October War against the Israelis, including a display of tanks and armaments and a three dimensional panorama depicting events in the war, accompanied by a rousing commentary and seen from a revolving dais. Commentary is in Arabic but groups can arrange for an English commentary.
October War Panorama
Sharia Uruba
Performances: Daily except Tuesday 9.30am, 11.00am, 12.30pm, 6.00pm, 7.30pm
Admission: fees apply
Museums -- Ramses
Egyptian National Railways Museum
Historical rolling stock from beautifully preserved private steam locomotives of Khedive Ismail and Empress Eug?nie to modern Rumanian railway cars.
Ramses Station (eastern end)
Hours: Daily except Monday 8.00am-1.00pm (12.00pm on Friday)
Admission: fees apply
Entomological Society Museum
A lovely and well-kept collection of birds and insects of Egypt.
14 Sharia Ramses
Hours: Daily except Friday 9.00am-1.00pm
Saturday, Monday, Wednesday 6.00-9.00pm
Museums -- Abbasiyya
Museum of Hygiene and Medicine
Sharia Sakakini
(near Ghamra Station) Hours: Daily except Friday 9.00am-2.00pm Medical exhibits are located in the late 19th century rococo style Sakakini Palace.
Museums -- Bulaq
Royal Carriage Museum
The ornate royal carriages housed in the converted stables of Mohammed Ali Pasha have been transported from the Citadel where they were formerly on display.
82 Sharia 26th July
Hours: Daily 9.00am-4.00pm
Admission: fees apply
Museums -- Islamic Cairo
The Islamic collection was first gathered in 1880 by Khedive Tewfiq and the Orientalist art historians ::Iand Cresswell as a way of preserving some of Egypt's traditional heritage which was rapidly dilapidating. The museum was established in 1902 to house an enormous collection of Islamic artifacts, from manuscripts and calligraphy to swords and armour to architectural elements and furniture to textiles, ceramics, blown glass and ornamental metalwork.
Museum of Islamic Art
Dar al-Kutub
Bur Said and Qalaa Streets
(west of ::I)
Hours: Saturday to Thursday 9.00am-4.00pm
Friday 9.00-11.00am /1.30-4.00pm
Ramadan (closes at 3.00pm)
Admission: fees apply; there are special fees for students
Photography permit: fees apply; flashes & tripods prohibited
Gayer-Anderson House (::I)
The Islamic collection was first gathered in 1880 by Khedive Tewfiq and the Orientalist art historians ::I and Cresswell as a way of preserving some of Egypt's traditional heritage which was rapidly dilapidating. The museum was established in 1902 to house an enormous collection of Islamic artifacts, from manuscripts and calligraphy to swords and armour to architectural elements and furniture to textiles, ceramics, blown glass and ornamental metalwork.
Adjacent to the Mosque of Ibn Tulun
Hours: Daily 8.00am-4.00pm (closed Fridays 12.00-1.00pm)
Admission: fees apply; there are special fees for students
Photography permit: fees apply
Formed of two adjacent houses, one built in the 16th century and the other built in the 18th century, the house was named after British army officer Major John Gayer-Anderson who lived there between 1935 and 1942 during which time he restored and furnished the building. On leaving Egypt in 1942 Gayer-Anderson donated his house to the country as a museum. Each room is elaborately furnished thematically according to the British colonial fascination with orientalia. There is a Persian Room, a Chinese Room, a Turkish Room, a Harem, etc. There is excellent carved wooden mushribiyya work over the windows and upon the roof area. The house has been used numerous times as a film location.
Bait as-Suhaymi
This is one of Cairo's finest traditional houses, constructed in the 16th and 17th centuries. Although in some disrepair, the house is an outstanding example of traditional Islamic building and retains an atmosphere of moneyed mercantile sophistication.
19 Sharia Darb Al-Asfar
(off Sharia Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah)
Admission: L.E. 3.00, Students L.E. 1.50
Bait Gamalud'din
This is fine restoration of a 16th century merchant's villa with fine examples of mushribiyya and stained glass work.
6 Sharia Khushqadam
(east off Sharia Al-Mu'izz li-Din Allah)
Hours: Daily 9.00am-5.00pm
Admission: fees apply; there are special fees for students
Musafarkhana ::/I
This beautiful palace built by Mahmoud Moharram in 1779 was the birthplace of the Khedive and has been restored by the Ministry of Culture to serve as an artist's atelier.
Darb El Tablawi, Gammalia
(behind Al-Azhar Mosque)
Tel: 920402
Hours: Daily 9.00am-4.00pm
Admission: fees apply
Museums -- The Citadel
Al-Gawhara Palace and Museum
Built in 1814 by Mohammed Ali Pasha, the palace was converted into a museum of the Khedive's jewels following the revolution of 1952.
National Police Museum
A rather interesting inventory of Egyptian criminology with mug shots and sensational cases down through the years, including an exhibit about "Police in Pharaonic and Islamic Times" and another exhibition covering major assassinations.
Museums -- Roda Island
Maniel Palace Museum
Maniel Palace, Sharia Ali Ibrahim, Maniel, Roda Island
The early 20th century palace of Prince Mohammed Ali Tewfiq was converted into a museum in 1955. Built in a melange of Middle Eastern styles -- Persian, Syrian, Ottoman, Mamluki and Moorish, the palace features some fine Islamic traditional craft work. The museum contains fine manuscripts, furniture and clothing from the royal households of Mohammed Ali Pasha and his successors. King Farouk's enormous collection of wild game trophies is housed in a royal hunting museum added to the Maniel Palace Museum in 1962. The other half of the palace grounds is occupied by Club Med.
Hours: Daily 9.00am-4.00pm
Admission: L.E. 5.00, Students L.E. 2.50
Photography permits: fees apply; flashes and tripods prohibited.
Nilometer
This was a measuring device built in the 9th century to gauge the rise and fall of the Nile River to help predict the annual crop harvest.
Southern tip of Roda Island
Admission: fees apply; there are special fees for students
Museums -- Old Cairo
Coptic Museum
Off Sharia Mar Girgis
As a proud religious minority with an ancient history encompassing many of Christendom's most celebrated events, Egypt's Coptic Christians venerate their traditions. Entered through the tower of the ancient Fortress of Babylon and set amidst lush and well tended gardens, the Coptic Museum contains the finest collection of Coptic artifacts in the world and houses exhibits tracing the history of Egyptian Christianity through the ages.
Museums -- Harraniyya
A private museum displaying the works of ceramicist Mohyid'din Hussein and attached to his workshop.
Ceramics Museum
Saqara Road
(3km beyond Siag Hotel)
Tel: 386-9474
Museums -- Al Ahram
Solar Boat Museum
Beside the Pyramids of Giza Tel: 385-7928 Hours: Daily except Tuesday 9.00am-2.00pm Admission: L.E. 27.00 for non-Egyptians A museum featuring a 43-foot boat that is estimated to be 4,500 years old. Archaeologists believe that the boat was probably used to carry the body of Pharoah Cheops down the Nile from Memphis.
Mohammed Nagy Museum
9 Mahmoud El-Gendy Street, Hadaak Alharam
(off the Cairo-Alexandria Road) Tel: 387-3484 Hours: Daily except Monday 10.00am-5.00pm Admission: Free A collection of the work of one of Egypt's leading modern painters in his former studio.
Museums -- Alexandria
The Greco-Roman Museum
An outstanding museum housing a fascinating collection of 40,000 ancient relics in 21 rooms of exhibits. Exquisite statues of Egyptian, Greek and Roman deities are on display as well as busts and statues of Greek and Roman nobility. Coins, bas reliefs, mummies, jewelry, pottery and sarcophagi can also be viewed here.
5 Sharia Al-Mathaf Ar-Romani
Hours: Daily 9.00am-4.00pm
Friday 9.00-11.30am /1.30-4.00pm
Admission: fees apply, there are special fees for students.
Museum of Fine Arts
The museum houses a fine collection of art works and serves as a venue for concerts and exhibitions as well as for film showings sponsored by a film club.
18 Menasce Street, Moharrem Bey
Tel: (3) 493-6616
Hours: Daily except Friday 8.00am-2.00pm
Aquarium & Marine Life Museum
A collection of stuffed and lacquered
marine life, including a whale skeleton and
coral specimens, housed in a wing
of Qait Bey Fort (pictured).
Fort Qait Bey
Hours: Daily 9.00am-2.00pm
Admission: 20 piastres
Cavafy Museum
A museum honouring the life of the Greek Alexandrian poet Constantine Cavafy ::/I
4 Sharm El Sheikh Street
Hours: Daily except Monday 9.00am to 2.00pm, Tuesdays and Thursdays 6-8.00pm.
Admission: Free
Hussein Sobhy Museum of Fine Arts
The museum houses a small but fine collection of modern Egyptian art as well as the Alexandria public library.
18 Menasha Street
Hours: Daily except Friday 8.00am-2.00pm /5.00-8.00pm
Admission: Free
Royal Jewelry Museum
27 Ahmad Yehyia Pasha Street, Zezeniya
Hours: Daily 9.00am-4.00pm
Friday 9.00-11.30am /1.30-4pm
Admission: L.E. 10.00, Students L.E. 5.00
Museums -- Ismailia
Ismailia Museum
This small but fascinating museum contains more than 4,000 Pharaonic and Greco-Roman relics.
Mohammed Ali Quay
Hours: Daily 9.00am-4.00pm
Admission: fees apply; there are special fees for students.
Museums -- Port Said
National Museum
The museum contains a wide variety of objects representing various periods of Egyptian history from the pre-historic to Pharaonic to Islamic and modern.
Sharia Palestine
Hours: Daily 9.00am-3.30pm
Admission: fees apply; there are special fees for students.
Military Museum
A museum which focuses on the 1967 and 1973 wars with Israel, featuring tanks, unexploded bombs, guns, etc, as well as exhibits tracing the history of Pharaonic and Islamic warfare.
Sharia 23 July
Hours: Daily 8.00am-3.00pm
Admission: fees apply
Museums -- Luxor
Luxor Museum of Ancient Egyptian Art
Considered one of the finest museums in all of Egypt, this contains a collection of objects from Thebes dating from prehistory to the Islamic period.
Hours: Daily 3.00-9.00pm
Admission: fees apply (an additional fee to visit the hall containing the recently discovered statues)
Museums -- Aswan
Aswan Museum
Southwest end of Elephantine Island
Hours: Sunday to Thursday 8.00am-5.00pm (summer 8.30am-6.00pm)
Friday 9.00am-1.00pm
Admission: L.E. 5.00, Students L.E. 2.00
This small museum is sited overlooking the ruins of the original town and contains antiquities and artefacts found in Aswan and Nubia, including weapons, pottery, utensils, mummies and sarcophagi.
Museums -- Asyut
Asyut Museum
Sharia Al-Gomhurriya
Located in the former American college in a building called the Taggart Library, the museum houses Coptic and Pharaonic artefacts, including a mummy display.
Museums -- Al Arish
Sinai Heritage Museum
Along the coastal road to Rafah
Hours: Daily 10.00am-6.00pm in winter, 8.00am-8.00pm in summer
Admission: L.E. 1.00
A recently opened museum focusing on life in the Sinai featuring a weekly Bedouin souk where tribal women sell silver and embroidered dress beside men who sell camel saddles.
