Cairo’s Museum of Islamic Art holds scientific symposium in celebration of International Day of Islamic Art

CAIRO – 28 November 2022: Under the title "Features of Islamic Art in the World Cultural Heritage," the Museum of Islamic Art in Bab al-Khalq organized a scientific symposium in cooperation with the Supreme Council of Antiquities, the UNESCO Regional Office for Science in the Arab Countries and the Supreme Council for Culture, on the occasion of the International Day of Islamic Art.

The symposium was attended by Minister Plenipotentiary and General Supervisor of the General Department of International Relations and Agreements at the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities Dalia Abdel-Fattah, former Dean of the Faculty of Archeology Ola Al-Ajizi, Professor of Islamic Archeology at Cairo University Gamal Abdel-Rahim, Director of the UNESCO Office in Cairo Nuria Sanz, and a group of professors and specialists in Islamic art.

Head of the Museums Sector at the Supreme Council of Antiquities Moamen Othman explained that the symposium presented the scientific contributions of university professors and specialists in the field of Islamic art, and included a tour of the museum to inspect the museum rehabilitation project, which is currently being implemented to raise the efficiency of the services provided to visitors, and improve their experience.

This comes within the framework of the efforts emphasizing the museum’s role as a cultural and scientific beacon, and as one of the most important museums of Islamic art and heritage in the world.

photo via Min. of Tourism & Antiquities

photo via Min. of Tourism & Antiquities

photo via Min. of Tourism & Antiquities

For his part, Director General of the Museum of Islamic Art Mamdouh Othman indicated that the rehabilitation work that was carried out in the museum included the installation of touch screens in all halls of the museum. Each screen displays digital content about a specific historical period in the history of the museum or a selection of stories related to the museum's holdings. The project also included activating the application of virtual reality and augmented reality and multimedia applications to provide a 360-degree virtual tour service for the most famous historical monuments in Islamic Cairo, as well as a narration about the museum’s treasures, and archaeological sites associated with the Islamic Museum’s holdings.

It should be noted that the International Day of Islamic Art is celebrated annually on November 18 after the General Conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization [UNESCO] approved it in 2019, to become an international day that sheds light on Islamic art and spreads awareness of its contribution to the preservation and dissemination of human civilization. Islamic art was affected by the arts that preceded it and influenced other contemporary and subsequent arts later on.

The International Day of Islamic Art was celebrated for the first time in 2020. Celebrating this day every year is an open invitation to all people to visit Islamic art museums and Islamic antiquities sites.