National Police Museum
๐ Location: Inside the Cairo Citadel, on the northern wall ย ยท ย ๐บ Focus: Policing in Egypt across the ages ย ยท ย ๐๏ธ Tickets: included with Citadel ticket
The National Police Museum is one of the smaller and more eccentric sites inside the Cairo Citadel, but worth dropping into for its sheer oddity. Built into the long north-east wing of the Citadel's outer wall, it traces the history of policing and public order in Egypt from pharaonic times โ when the medjay served as the original gendarmerie โ through the Roman vigiles, the Mamluk muhtasib (urban inspectors), and the formal establishment of the Egyptian Police in 1843.
Displays include weapons, uniforms, vintage handcuffs and shackles, models of famous criminal cases that gripped Egypt (including the spectacular Raya and Sakina serial-killer case of 1920s Alexandria), the original 19th-century police-station registers, and a small section on the modern tourist police. The terrace outside offers one of the most underrated panoramic views of Cairo โ better than the more famous mosque terrace, and almost always empty.
Highlights
- The Raya and Sakina case dossier and reconstruction
- Pharaonic medjay and Mamluk muhtasib exhibits
- 19th-century handcuffs, shackles and uniforms
- Spectacular panorama of Cairo from the terrace
Visiting
- Opening hours: 9 am โ 5 pm; same hours as the Citadel
- Tickets: included with the Cairo Citadel ticket
- Best time: when you visit the Citadel
- Nearby: Cairo Citadel, Salah al-Din Square, al-Saliba Street