Coptic Museum
๐ Location: Inside Babylon Fortress, Old Cairo ย ยท ย ๐บ Focus: Coptic Christian art ย ยท ย ๐๏ธ Tickets: ~150 EGP foreign adults
Founded in 1908 inside the walls of the Roman fortress of Babylon, the Coptic Museum holds the world's largest collection of Coptic Christian art and is the essential companion to a walk through Old Cairo. Its 16,000 objects span the period from the 3rd century AD โ when Christianity took root in Roman Egypt โ through to the 12th century, when the Coptic patriarchate moved north to Cairo.
The galleries are arranged thematically and the displays are exceptionally well lit. They include textiles (Coptic tapestries are among the finest in the world and influenced Byzantine and Islamic textile traditions for centuries), carved stone capitals and screens from early monasteries, vivid frescoes removed from the walls of Wadi El Natrun churches, fine carved woodwork from the iconostasis of medieval Cairene churches, and one of the most important early Christian manuscripts ever found โ the Nag Hammadi Codices, a collection of Gnostic gospels including the Gospel of Thomas.
The building itself, an Ottoman-revival villa with painted mashrabiya ceilings, is worth the visit alone.
Highlights
- Nag Hammadi Codices (Gnostic gospels, 4th c. AD)
- Coptic textiles โ the world's finest collection
- Wall frescoes from Wadi El Natrun monasteries
- Wooden iconostasis screens
- Painted ceilings of the museum villa itself
Visiting
- Opening hours: 9 am โ 5 pm
- Tickets: ~150 EGP foreign adults
- Best time: combine with the Hanging Church and Ben Ezra Synagogue in Old Cairo
- Nearby: Hanging Church, Ben Ezra Synagogue, NMEC