Cairo · Bab el-Khalq
Museum of Islamic Art
Egypt's richest collection of Islamic art, down to the enamelled Mamluk mosque lamps.
The collection began in 1881, first housed in the al-Hakim mosque, before this neo-Mamluk building at Bab el-Khalq was put up for it and opened in 1903. The displays run by dynasty — Umayyad, Abbasid, Fatimid, Ayyubid, Mamluk, Ottoman — and by material: carved wood, inlaid metal, ceramics, glass, carpets, manuscripts, instruments of astronomy and medicine. The enamelled glass mosque lamps of the Mamluk period are what you come for. In January 2014 a car bomb aimed at the security directorate across the street wrecked the façade and part of the galleries; the museum reopened after several years of restoration.
The extra bit
The museum and Ibn Tulun are an easy walk apart, through streets worth the detour: take them in one morning, the mosque while it is still cool, the museum once the sun starts to bite.
Know before you go
The building also holds the National Library, which has its own entrance: don't take the wrong door. You are opposite Cairo's security directorate — police presence, bag checks, and photography is not always allowed. Labels are usually in Arabic and English, rarely more. Allow two hours, and don't plan a quiet lunch at this junction.
