Museum of Islamic Art, Art museum in Cairo, Egypt
The Museum of Islamic Art is an art museum in Cairo Governorate housed in a Mameluke Revival building dedicated to history and artistic expression. The collection includes calligraphy, woodcarvings, glass, carpets, and other objects displayed in thematic halls.
The institution opened in the early 20th century under Khedive Abbas Helmy II with a modest display in a single room. Later the collection grew and received its current building, which was restored after damage.
The name refers to the art forms that developed across regions over centuries and now fill the exhibition rooms. Visitors walk through halls where manuscripts, ceramics, and textiles show how scholars and craftspeople worked.
The entrance sits on a main street and the halls spread across several floors with seating for rest. Labels are often in Arabic and English, and a visit typically takes two to three hours.
The collection preserves instruments for astronomy and navigation once used on journeys across deserts and seas. Some of these pieces show fine engravings and mechanisms crafted without modern tools.
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