Cairo - Museum of Islamic Art 
From the Midan el-Ataba, immediately southeast of the Ezbekiya Gardens, the wide Shari el-Qala runs southeast in a dead straight line to the foot of the Citadel. About a quarter of the way there it comes to the Midan Ahmed Maher, on the north side of which is the Museum of Islamic Art, founded by the German architectand scholar Franz Pasha (d. 1915), the finest collection of its kind in the world, with masterpieces from every Islamic country.
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Must-see attractions nearby:
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Things to See
Abbasid and Tulunid Periods
Room 3: Abbasid (750-867) and Tulunid (668-905) periods: glazed pottery with stylized decoration; stucco work from dwelling houses; Late Sassanid metalwork; gravestones with Kufic inscriptions.
Museum of Islamic Arts - 18th Century Room
Room 10: 18th C. room with a fountain and a beautiful carved wooden stalactitic ceiling.
Museum of Islamic Arts - Arabic Books
Room 19: Arabic books and manuscripts (book illumination).
Museum of Islamic Arts - Arms and Armor
Room 12: arms and armor.
Museum of Islamic Arts - Asia Minor
Room 20: glass, pottery, metalwork and carpets from Asia Minor.
Museum of Islamic Arts - Court
Court (No. 18): inscriptions on stone in Kufic and Neshi script; stone-carving.
Museum of Islamic Arts - Egyptian Faience
Room 13: Egyptian faience, mainly of the Fatimid period; 18th and 19th C. tapestries.
Museum of Islamic Arts - Egyptian Library 
On the upper floor of the building is the Egyptian Library (entrance from Shari el-Qala), founded in 1869 by the amalgamation of a number of smaller libraries. It contains over 750,000 volumes, half in oriental and the rest in European languages, including 2,700 manuscripts of the Koran, papyri, Persian manuscripts and other written material from the seventh C. to modern times. In the exhibition rooms are displayed a selection of Arab coins from the Library's very extensive collection of some 5,000 items.
Museum of Islamic Arts - Faience and Porcelain
Rooms 14-16: faience and porcelain from other countries.
Museum of Islamic Arts - Fatimid Period
Room 4: utensils, textiles and jewelry in the vigorous style of the Fatimid period (969-1171 ); ceiling paintings from a bath house in Fustat, in Ayyubid style (1171-1250).
Fatimid textiles are often distinguished through the use of either woven or embroidered words/names in stylized Arabic or Kufic script. These textiles were often issued to the nobility by the ruler and contained either his name, prayers to Allah, or both. Sometime a date was also indicated, usually connected with the reign of the monarch.
Fatimid textiles are often distinguished through the use of either woven or embroidered words/names in stylized Arabic or Kufic script. These textiles were often issued to the nobility by the ruler and contained either his name, prayers to Allah, or both. Sometime a date was also indicated, usually connected with the reign of the monarch.
Museum of Islamic Arts - Fatimid and Ayyubid Periods
Room 6: woodwork of the Fatimid and Ayyubid periods, including a door from the El-Azhar Mosque (1010).
Museum of Islamic Arts - Furniture and Metalwork
Room 9: inlaid furniture and metalwork of the Mameluke period.
Museum of Islamic Arts - Glass Lamps
Room 21: glass; collection of glass lamps from mosques.
Museum of Islamic Arts - Islamic Chronology
Vestibule and Room l. chronology of the Islamic dynasties of Egypt; glass and pottery.
Museum of Islamic Arts - Mameluke Metalwork
Room 11: metalwork of the Mameluke period.
Museum of Islamic Arts - Mameluke Style
Room 5. Mameluke style (1250-1517): architectural elements and elaborate damascene work from Cairo's artistic heyday.
Museum of Islamic Arts - Omayyad Period
Room 2: applied art of the Omayyad period (661-750), including a richly decorated bronze vessel (eighth C.) from Abusir.
Museum of Islamic Arts - Persian Pottery
Room 22: a large collection of Persian pottery from the eighth to the 16th C.; Persian carpets (17-19th C.), metalwork, books and manuscripts, etc.
This attraction is especially notable for the carpet collector or enthusiast. The 17th C. was a period of extreme stylistic excellence and technical skill.
This attraction is especially notable for the carpet collector or enthusiast. The 17th C. was a period of extreme stylistic excellence and technical skill.
Museum of Islamic Arts - Temporary Exhibitions
Room 23: temporary exhibitions of material from the Museum's reserves.
Museum of Islamic Arts - Textiles
Room 17: textiles (7th-17th C.).
Islamic artisans developed a high degree of technological skill in the creation of textiles. They were a major influence on what was eventually produced throughout Europe and North Africa.
Islamic artisans developed a high degree of technological skill in the creation of textiles. They were a major influence on what was eventually produced throughout Europe and North Africa.
Museum of Islamic Arts - Woodcarving
Rooms 7 and 8: woodcarving, intarsia and inlay work of the Ayyubid and Mameluke periods.
Cairo - Museum of Islamic Art
352 Ahmed Maher Sq.
Bab El-Khalq
Cairo
Egypt
352 Ahmed Maher Sq.
Bab El-Khalq
Cairo
Egypt
Hours
| Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat | Sun | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 | 9:00 |
| Close | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 | 16:00 |
