After 8 years, the world’s largest Islamic Art museum has reopened, much to the fanfare of Egyptian residents. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak officially made the announcement over the weekend, but art enthusiasts will have to wait until September to view the 25 galleries.
The Egyptian Museum of Islamic Art is home to some 2.500 artifacts chosen and displayed from a total archive of over 100,000 pieces.
Egypt’s Culture Minister Farouq Hosni also attended the official grand opening and said the project had resulted in “a great change in the way the works are exhibited, protected and lit.”
The entire restoration project cost the government some $10 million, but a senior ministry official told Bikya Masr that it was “completely worth it to preserve and maintain an important part of Egypt’s Islamic past.”
One of the most important and inspiring pieces to be on show was a gold-inlaid key to the Kaaba, the large building in the Grand Mosque of Islam’s holiest city of Mecca that houses the black stone and which Muslim pilgrims visit annually during the Haj.
According to the ministry, manuscripts of Islam’s holy Qur’an will be among the exhibits, Persian carpets, Ottoman-era ceramics and ancient instruments used in early astronomy, chemistry and architecture.
The re-opening of the 1903 building in central Cairo comes as rumors of the opening were beginning to buzz around Cairo.
A number of foreign visitors had repeatedly asked when the museum would be open to visitors. Now that they have their answer, Egyptians and foreigners alike are ready to flock to the world’s largest Islamic treasure trove.
“I am so excited and can’t wait. It will be a great thing for so many people to see the history of Islam and Islam’s influence in Egypt,” said Ahmed Rabie, a 29-year-old master’s student in the United States studying Islamic art and architecture.
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