Egypt
A review of museums and galleries in Cairo
The Arts Desk (Josh Spero)
There's very little in Cairo to make the above reviewer happy!
The Egyptian Government is investing in the arts, which would normally be a cause for celebration. However, in building the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation, it feels like the country’s cultural budget is being spent on another new display case for its past rather than on encouraging a contemporary arts scene. The NMEC, which was first mooted in 1982 (the year after Sadat was assassinated, if that signifies anything today), will open this year in south-east Cairo, after seven years of construction, nine years since the foundation stone was laid.
It has been designed as a tour d’horizon of Egypt’s cultural history, from the royal mummies being moved out of the central Museum of Egyptian Antiquities to Roman, Coptic and Islamic artefacts on a wide range of themes, including writing, the Nile and agriculture. It should be compendious and comprehensive, possibly even allowing tourists to avoid traipsing around any of Cairo’s other museums.
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The National Museum Of Egyptian Civilization
Al Ahram Weekly (Nevine El-Aref) The scene as one steps into the 33-feddan site of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation (NMEC) overlooking Ain Al-Sira Lake in the heart of Egypt's first Islamic Capital, Al-Fustat, is totally different from...
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Mubarak To Open Museum Of Islamic Art
Egypt State Information Service President Hosni Mubarak opens within days the Museum of Islamic Art in the heart of Old Cairo after the Ministry of Culture finalized its renovation which took several years. The Islamic museum holds more than 100,000 artifacts...
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National Museum Of Sinai Opens
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2007/842/fe4.htmBy Nevine El-Aref: "North Sinai's National Day celebration had a different flavour this year. Apart from the inauguration of new urban development projects that usually mark the event, the city's long-awaited...
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Forthcoming Museums
http://www.ameinfo.com/91755.htmlA short item about some of the newly opened and planned museums in Egypt: "Egyptian visitors are already spoilt for choice when it comes to cultural attractions - and they will find even more evidence of the country's...
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New Museums For All
http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/777/he2.htm"In an attempt to preserve Egypt's priceless treasures, both stored and newly-discovered, to create the best environment to display them and to release the pressure in some overstuffed museums, the Ministry...
Egypt